Tackling Environmental Challenges Through Sustainable Entrepreneurship

Impacting People, the Planet, and Profits

At Bethesda Green’s Innovation Lab, we are constantly on the lookout for leaders who are building for-profit business models around innovative and sustainable solutions to tackle environmental and social challenges.

This summer, we’re bringing together founders, industry experts, and policy makers for a series of conversations that will inspire, motivate, and educate all who attend.  Join us!

Scroll down for information on each panel, links to register, and speaker bios. All sessions will be held virtually via Zoom.

Series #1:

Building a More Flexible, Efficient, and Sustainable Food System

Session #1 – Addressing Food Waste from Farm-to-Table in times of COVID-19

Join us as we explore how the COVID-19 crisis highlighted the weak links in the US food system. From factory farmed meat production to packaging, labeling, cold storage, labor shortages, and distribution hiccups, the system stalled when much of the country shut down and the complex systems in place were suddenly no longer sufficient. What are the solutions the market demands?

Panelists:

  • Karl Binns, Jr. – Founder and Principal, KAVO Consulting
  • Heather Bruskin – Executive Director, Montgomery County Food Council
  • Kim Bryden – CEO, Cureate

Session #2 – From Packaging to Ingredients: Knowing When to Spend Money on Sustainability

At what stage in product development should an entrepreneur prioritize sustainability, and at what cost? Learn how to build sustainability into your brand from the beginning as we discuss the hurdles that early stage entrepreneurs face when developing  their products. 

Panelists:

  • Seth Goldman – Founder, Eat the Change
  • Bart Yablonsky – Owner, Dawson’s Market

Session #3 – Feeding 450M Americans by 2050

How do we prioritize sustainability while meeting the food demands of an ever-growing population? The stresses from climate change will force our agricultural system to become smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable. Join us as we discuss what’s working (and not) in the US agriculture system, the challenges of feeding urban and rural communities today and in the future, particularly in the mid-Atlantic region, and opportunities to build resiliency in the face of climate change.  

Panelists:

  • Pamela Hess – Executive Director, Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture
  • Andrew Rose – Director of Innovation, Strategy and Development, MidAtlantic Farm Credit
  • Lindsay Smith – Regional Food Systems Value Chain Coordinator for Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments

Series #2:

Establishing a Circular Economy

Session #1 – How Fashion can Embrace Sustainability and the Circular Economy

The fashion and textile industry contributes to 10% of annual global carbon emissions, and after oil, is the second largest polluter in the world. Join us as we explore the innovations that are being adopted to curb the fashion industry’s environmental  impact from small fashion startups to multi-billion dollar fashion brands. We will discuss the role of corporate social responsibility in helping to direct the fashion industry toward sustainable practices, and the technologies and programs that can help make it possible. 

Panelists:

  • Julia Daviy – Founder, Julia Daviy
  • Amy Hall – Vice President, Eileen Fisher
  • Vanessa Barboni Hallik – Founder, Another Tomorrow
  • Kaveri Marathe – Sustainability Consultant, World Bank, and co-founder, DC Sustainable Fashion Collective
  • Danielle Nkojo – Manager, Global Sustainability Brands, Kontoor Brands

Session #2 – The Business Models, Innovations, and Policies Needed to Build a Circular Economy

For our final panel of the 2020 Summer Speaker Series, join us for an engaging conversation about smart cities, circular design thinking, and the business models needed to make it all work. We’ll also discuss the challenges of building a circular economy on a local, state, and federal level, and how best to gain support among  policy makers.

Panelists:

  • Holly Elwood – Sr. Advisor, Environmentally Preferable Purchasing, EPA
  • Ana Fraise-Tilden – Strategic Initiatives, PYXERA Global
  • Heidi Sumser – Circular Economy Consultant
  • Emily Yates – Smart City Director, Philadelphia

Speaker Bios

Karl Binns Jr. is the Founder and Principal at KAVO Consulting LLC, which launched in January 2020. He is a dynamic change agent with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry and establishing partnerships with corporate and federal organizations. He directs projects in the areas of strategic brand management, workforce development, diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, fundraising, and special projects. Additionally, Karl is the External Director for the Farm Credit Foundation for Agricultural Advancement. He provides strategic leadership, higher education insight and diversity and inclusion input on the Farm Credit Foundation Board. Karl also develops strategies for implementing philanthropic initiatives for a multi-million dollar budget. 

Heather Bruskin is the Executive Director of the Montgomery County Food Council. She spent the first decade of her career in higher education administration and student services, including roles as the Director of the Freshman/Alumni Summer Internship Program at MIT, a financial aid counselor at Georgetown University and the University of Virginia School of Medicine, and a Premed and Prelaw Advisor at the University of Virginia. Prior to her work with the Food Council, Heather also served as President of a number of local volunteer-driven community based organizations in Montgomery County. Heather holds a B.A. from Tufts University and an M. Ed. from the University of Virginia. Heather serves on the FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Program Board, CKC Farming Advisory Board, and the Nonprofit Montgomery Advocacy Committee, and she is an active volunteer in her community, serving as a Girl Scout Troop Leader, Coach for Girls on the Run, Vice Chair of her local elementary school Education Foundation Board, MCCPTA Delegate, and active PTA parent.

Kim Bryden is the CEO and Founder of Cureate, where she applies a holistic, systems-level approach while building an empowered food & beverage supply to meet changing consumer demand. She is an accomplished strategic business development professional with expertise in marketing, merchandising and operations with a focus on the food & beverage industry. Kim has consulted more than 250 small businesses on growth strategy, building out diversified revenue streams and identifying new market opportunities. In addition to her commitment to small business growth at-large, Kim’s expertise has led her to developing multi-sector, public-private partnerships with governmental agencies, Top Fortune 500 retailers, and food tech start-ups. Kim is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, a member of the Sandbox Network and Future Leaders, and sits on the Advisory Committee of Fair Farms Maryland.

Julia Daviy is an award-winning revolutionary, eco-friendly fashion designer and co-founder of New Age Lab, where she uses her extensive background in environmental science, clean tech, and 3D printing to achieve significant reduction in CO2 emissions while creating sustainable clothing products. Her award-winning approach to sustainable clothing and accessories have caught the attention of industry leaders around the globe, and her work continues to inspire others who share her vision for a zero-impact and positive-impact society. Julia is the winner of the 2019 Eluxe Awards as Best Luxury Fashion Brand that uses zero-waste 3D printing to create gorgeous garments with materials that are not only recyclable but also biodegradable. Daviy’s products were featured during New York Fashion Weeks in 2018 and 2020, and were featured at the Futurist Feminist Exhibition at the Boston Centre For the Arts, Museum of Sustainability in Miami, and Rethinking Plastics Exhibition in The Netherlands. Prior to her foray into fashion, Julia spent a decade in the clean tech and renewable energy spaces, and she continues to serve as a co-founder at the IB Centre, a research and consultation firm specializing in sustainable development projects. She also holds a Guinness World Record for the largest 3D-printed flag.

Holly Elwood is a Senior Advisor for the EPA’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program, helping federal agencies factor the environment into purchasing decisions. Her work includes coordinating EPA and interagency technical input into product sustainability standard development efforts, helping shape and maintain EPA’s Recommendations of Standards and Ecolabels for Federal Procurement, and Co-Chairing the Federal Electronics Stewardship Working Group. She has received an SPLC Individual Leadership Award for the development of the EPA Recommendations, an EPA Gold Award for her role in the formation and implementation of the National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship, issued by the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality, and was selected as a Fed 100, awarded to government and industry leaders who have “played pivotal roles in the federal government IT community—individuals who have gone above and beyond their daily responsibilities and have made a difference in the way technology has transformed their agency or accelerated their agency’s mission”.

Ana Fraisse-Tilden works in the Strategic Initiatives department working alongside the VP of Strategic Initiatives on Shared Value Implementation and M&E Strategy & Alignment Advisory services, Circular Economy, and Energy Poverty initiatives, as well as business development. Previously, she worked in the Enterprise and Community Development department focusing on SME capacity building and managed the MBAs Without Borders Program. She is a member of the PYXERA Global Environment Working Group and leads the zero plastic waste initiative.  Prior to working at PYXERA Global, Ana worked in corporate social responsibility and international sales at an international vegetable seed company. She also spent time working for a local organization helping businesses and individuals reduce their carbon footprints.

Seth Goldman is Founder of Eat the Change®, a platform to inform and empower consumers to make dietary choices aligned with their concerns around climate and health. Seth is also the Co-founder of PLNT Burger, Honest Tea and Chair of the board of Beyond Meat. He has been widely recognized for his entrepreneurial success and impact, including Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in Greater Washington, the Washington DC Business Hall of Fame, Beverage Industry magazine’s Executive of the Year, Beverage World’s #1 Disruptor and Partnership for Healthier America’s CEO of the Year.  Seth is the co-founder of Bethesda Green, where he continues to serve as a senior advisor and member of the board.

Amy Hall serves as Vice President, Social Consciousness for women’s clothing designer EILEEN FISHER.  In this capacity, she guides the company toward greater alignment with its Benefit / B Corporation status and Horizon2030 goals. Amy collaborates internally and externally to position the company at the leading edge of human, environmental and economic sustainability. An avid cyclist with a self-built bamboo bike, Amy can frequently be found cycling around New York’s Hudson Valley. Amy also runs her own sustainability consultancy called, Impactorum LLC.

Vanessa Barboni Hallik is the founder and CEO of Another Tomorrow, an end-to-end sustainable luxury apparel company and platform for discovery and action committed to transparency and a circular economy. She is also an investor in early-stage companies with strong ESG commitments and potential to catalyze positive change. Vanessa serves on the Advisory Boards for Harvard’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy and the Trust for Public Land. Prior to founding Another Tomorrow, Vanessa was a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley, where she held several leadership roles in the emerging markets institutional securities business. While at Morgan Stanley, she served as a Trustee on the Board of the Morgan Stanley Foundation and represented the firm at the Council on Foreign Relations. She likewise chaired the Fixed Income Philanthropy Committee, during which she initiated and subsequently led the firm’s mentoring program with East Side Community High School, in partnership with PENCIL.org. Vanessa holds a B.A. in Economics from Cornell University and is an M.S. Candidate at Columbia University’s Earth Institute. She resides in New York City with her family and two dogs.

Pamela Hess is the Executive Director at Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture, where she is dedicated to creating a more equitable and sustainable local food system in the Washington, DC area. Through Arcadia, they grow food on their Alexandria, Va., farm; train military veterans to be farmers; teach school children about sustainable agriculture and introduce them to healthy food at its source; and operate two Mobile Markets that sell top quality, local, affordable foods in under resourced neighborhoods. With a background as correspondent for the Pentagon and the AP, Pam speaks from experience when she describes the food industry as a matter of national security. 

Kaveri Marathe is a problem-solver and communicator focused on changing behavior to solve environmental challenges. Kaveri has an expertise in sustainability, circular economy, social impact, entrepreneurship, and communications with experience running her own startup and consulting for the World Bank, Xynteo, UNESCO, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and others. She is a prolific speaker and moderator on circular economy, sustainability, entrepreneurship, and textiles having presented at Sustainable Brands, Patagonia DC, Fashion Revolution Week DC, APEC, Google, Georgetown University, George Washington University, and in media interviews for National Public Radio, Voice of America, and Global News Canada.

Danielle Nkojo is the Manager of Global Sustainable Products at Kontoor Brands, with a portfolio of some of the world’s most iconic denim brands: Wrangler® and Lee®. Her 15-year career has been a steady march toward encouraging sustainable consumption and helping to build the foundation of a local circular economy. As a member of DC’s Urban Sustainability Team, Danielle worked collaboratively with other government agencies, residents, businesses and institutions to develop policies focused on source reduction and sustainable procurement. Danielle worked to implement Sustainable DC, the plan to make DC the greenest most liveable city in the nation by 2032. Prior to joining DC, Danielle launched Perfectly Good, an online clothing reuse boutique and led a team of Recycling Specialists to manage a countywide program to promote sustainable waste management practices among the local commercial and multifamily sector. She spent several years as a partner in a local environmental consulting firm and has also served as DC’s Brownfields Coordinator and as an Assistant Regional Counsel at the US Environmental Protection Agency. Danielle volunteers as a Brand Ambassador for Goodwill of Greater Washington and is a proud alumna of Vermont Law School. Danielle is also a mentor for Bethesda Green’s Innovation Lab. 

Lindsay Smith is a Planning and Food Systems Consultant, currently working with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) as its Regional Food Systems Value Chain Coordinator. Prior to her work at COG, Lindsay consulted with philanthropy on strengthening local and regional food systems and improving food access. She’s also served as a local food council coordinator, consulted on land conservation, and worked as a practicing urban planner. Lindsay holds a master’s in urban planning and a master’s in environmental policy from the University of Michigan. She is a member of American Institute of Certified Planners and serves on the Board of the National Capital Area Chapter of the American Planning Association. She is a member of Future Harvest CASA, the Virginia Association of Biological Farming, and Virginia Farm Bureau.

Heidi Sumser is a sustainability consultant with a focus on the circular economy and green finance, particularly in emerging markets. She has broad exposure in microfinance and small business (MSME) banking, impact investing, sustainability, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) finance, and development finance consulting. Most recently, she was the Green Lending Officer, Latin America, for responsAbility Investments AG in Peru. Heidi is a mentor for Bethesda Green’s Innovation Lab.

Andrew Rose is the Director of Innovation, Strategy and Business Development at the MidAtlantic Farm Credit. His role is to see past the arc of the horizon to identify blue oceans and white spaces in the agricultural sector – then make them a reality. He is a self-described part futurist, part explorer, and full-time strategist. Prior to joining Farm Credit, Andrew worked in business development, marketing and strategic alliances for a CPA firm, which led to him creating his own association of CPA firms that specialized in dental accounting. He was also responsible for business development and marketing at Zest SMS, located in Towson, Maryland. Andrew earned a degree in education from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. He is heavily involved in the non-profit community, serving as chief strategy officer in residence at the Emerging Technologies Centers and chair of the advisory board for the Maryland Cybersecurity Association. He is also an organizer for the TEDxBaltimore event. Andrew currently resides in Baldwin, MD and, outside of working, enjoys being outdoors and spending time with his family and friends.

Bart Yablonsky is the owner of Dawson’s Market, located in Rockville, MD, and has built his career with a focus on food and a passion for the environment, community, and a healthy lifestyle. Raised in Baltimore, Bart began his love of great food as a teen by taking trips to DC with his father to sample the latest and greatest new restaurants. As a small business owner his interests expanded to wellness and green business design, owning all-natural Day Spas in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. Bart joined the opening team of Dawson’s Market in 2012 as the General Manager. In late 2018, after Dawson’s Market closed under previous ownership, Bart stepped in to bring it back to life. Bart is married to Paige, who he met through one of his natural food customers, and they have a wonderful son and enjoy traveling and finding the best new places to eat.

Emily Yates is the Smart City Director for the City of Philadelphia, where she is responsible for managing and leading the implementation of the SmartCityPHL Roadmap that provides guidance on how smart and emerging technology solutions can improve the quality of life for residents, businesses and visitors while improving the delivery of City services. Throughout her career, Emily has worked to help cities position themselves as globally competitive by utilizing a systems approach to develop strategies, projects and programs that exist within the intersection of sustainability, technology, and economic development. Most recently, Emily was Deputy Director with Envision Charlotte where she was responsible for leading the development of the Circular Charlotte strategy, which made Charlotte the first city in the US to have a citywide circular economy strategy. She has held a variety of positions in Europe and North America, including urban planning positions with both the District of Columbia and the city of Cleveland planning offices. Emily was a recipient of the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt German Chancellor/ Bundeskanzler Fellowship, which funded a year of research focused on German approaches to the implementation of sustainability policy and climate change adaptation in brownfield development. Emily holds a Bachelors of Science in Landscape Architecture from Arizona State University. She is a member of the Emerging Leaders in Energy and Environmental Policy (ELEEP) Network.

Thank you to our Sponsors!

Start typing and press Enter to search