Please join us for a lunchtime webinar on April 20, 2020 for the Chemical Society of Washington (CSW) monthly meeting. Due to COVID-19, CSW is organizing remote participation by webinar in place of its in-person April dinner meeting.
Protecting our Planet Through Chemistry
a panel discussion
Abstract:
The chemical sciences play an integral role in protecting our planet, now and for future generations. With the 50th anniversary of Earth Day this year, Chemists Celebrate Earth Week will be focused on Protecting our Planet through Chemistry. Engage in a discussion on this theme with an expert panel, bringing perspectives on the roles of climate science policy, retailers and consumers, and chemical education in shaping a sustainable future.
Moderator: Jennifer Tanir, Senior Sustainability Scientist, ToxServices LLC
Panelists:
- Carl Maxwell, Manager of Advocacy, American Chemical Society
- Boma Brown-West, Senior Manager of Consumer Health, Environmental Defense Fund
- Mary Kirchhoff, Director, ACS Green Chemistry Institute®
Webinar Logistics
Date: Monday, April 20
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 PM EDT
Connection Details: Register here and connect using Zoom.
Download the meeting brochure!
J. Carl Maxwell is responsible for advocacy on energy and environment policy on behalf of the American Chemical Society. He oversees all aspects of congressional policy related to sustainability, climate change, energy, and environmental regulation. He also works closely with related federal agencies to ensure consistent implementation of laws and regulations. Carl served in the offices of Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), Senator Bob Smith (R-NH), and Congressman Jim Turner (D-TX), handling science, energy, telecommunications, judiciary, and social security issues. He also served as Senior Legislative Assistant to Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), overseeing tax, trade, energy, and science policy. A native of Austin, Texas, Carl is a political science graduate of Bates College (B.A.) in Lewiston, ME.
Boma Brown-West joined Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in 2013. She is currently Senior Manager of Consumer Health, focused on driving safer products to the retail marketplace in order to reduce people’s exposure to toxic chemicals. In her role, Ms. Brown-West works closely with product manufacturers and retailers such as Walmart on sustainability strategies that accelerate the usage of safer chemicals in consumer products. She also leads EDF’s initiative “Behind the Label: a Blueprint for Safer Chemicals in the Marketplace” that lays out a path to corporate leadership. Prior to working at EDF, Ms. Brown-West worked for a decade at Whirlpool Corporation in product engineering and sustainability. There, she played a driving role in establishing Whirlpool’s North American sustainability strategy and working with industry colleagues to create the region’s first ever appliance sustainability standards. Ms. Brown-West has a M.S. in Technology & Policy from MIT and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Yale University.
Mary Kirchhoff is the Executive Vice President of the American Chemical Society (ACS) Scientific Advancement Division and the Director of the ACS Green Chemistry Institute®. She received her Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of New Hampshire and joined the Chemistry Department at Trinity College in Washington, DC, in 1992. She began working in green chemistry as an AAAS Environmental Fellow and Visiting Scientist with the U.S. EPA’s green chemistry program. Mary joined the ACS in 2001, serving as Director of the Education Division for 11 years. Mary is an AAAS Fellow and currently serves on the National Academies’ Chemical Sciences Roundtable.
Jennifer Y. Tanir is a Senior Sustainability Scientist at ToxServices, where she manages Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Products Program certification, Living Product Challenge’s Transparent Material Health, ToxServices’s ToxFMD Screened Chemistry® Library, and supplier outreach and audits for the U.S. EPA Safer Choice Program. Jennifer joined ToxServices in 2019 with almost 20 years of green and sustainable chemistry-related experience working in industry (DuPont), non-profit organizations (American Chemical Society’s Green Chemistry Institute and the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute), and consulting (Toward Safer LLC). Jennifer has a Ph.D. in polymer/organic chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and B.S. in chemistry from the University of Richmond. She serves in leadership roles in several professional organizations, including the Association for the Advancement of Alternatives Assessment, American Chemical Society, and Society of Toxicology.
