PFAS Global 2022

Judy has a background in event organising around the world and has spent most of her career producing high level regulatory events for a number of leading international organisations.

Arlene PhD, biophysical chemist, author, and mountaineer is a Research Associate in Biology at the University of California at Berkeley and executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute. The Institute’s scientific research and policy work with business and government has contributed to reducing the use of classes of harmful chemicals including flame retardants and PFAS in consumer products worldwide. She is the author of Annapurna: A Woman’s Place and Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life

Jean-Philippe Montfort is a partner at Mayer Brown based in Brussels, and the leader of Mayer Brown’s REACH and EU product regulatory team. Jean-Philippe provides strategic advice, as well as advocacy and litigation support to companies and trade associations in the defense of their substances under various REACH and CLP processes. Jean-Philippe is widely recognised as a very innovative, yet pragmatic legal advisor and litigator. He has a very successful track record before the European Courts and the Board of Appeal of ECHA, with landmark wins, such as the recent “TiO2” case.

Valentina has been working in the European Commission since 2011, dealing mainly with chemicals policy. She is currently focusing on REACH restrictions for environmental risks and on international work on chemicals. Her background is in environmental chemistry. Specifically on PFAS, she is the main author of the PFAS action plan, part of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. She is working on the REACH restrictions on PFAS and on the proposals for listing in the Stockholm Convention.

Jeff Dawson is the Science Adviser in the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In this role he assists with the development and implementation of risk-based approaches for the evaluation of new and existing industrial chemicals and pesticides. He is also responsible for PFAS coordination and homeland security policy. He has 25 years of public service as a scientist in OCSPP, including holding positions as the Acting Director of OPPT’s Risk Assessment Division and the Deputy Director of OPP’s Health Effects Division.

John Gardella is a co-owner of CMBG3 Law and a trial attorney with over 18 years of environmental litigation experience and over 75 cases tried to verdict. His practice focuses on environmental litigation, compliance matters, and risk assessment, as well as the litigation of products liability and toxic chemicals cases. Mr. Gardella is the Chair of his firm’s PFAS practice group, as well as the firm’s Environmental practice group. He currently represents numerous companies involved in PFAS litigation, ranging in size to small family-owned companies to Fortune 500 companies. He has helped guide companies through compliance, due diligence, and risk assessment projects related to PFAS.

Camilla Alexander-White is an independent chemical safety assessor of 28 years’ plus experience, reviewing and assuring the safety of product-critical ingredients or environmental contaminants coming under regulatory scrutiny in UK and Europe. She is a Eurotox Registered Toxicologist (ERT), Chartered Chemist (CChem) and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC).

Marleen joined Cefic as sector group manager in 2011. Seven years later, she took the role of Executive Director of the Halogens Industry Sector. In 2021, she set up FPP4EU, Cefic’s sector group dealing with fluoroproducts and PFAS. 

Peter Simpson is an expert in the risk management of chemicals with over 20 years’ experience in consultancy and regulatory roles in the UK and EU and is a Senior Advisor at Rud Pedersen Public Affairs.

Rae Eaton is the Chemical Hazard & Alternatives Assessment Specialist in the Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction programme at the Washington State Department of Ecology. Their work identifying and evaluating alternatives to chemicals of concern supports Washington’s progress towards improving the safety of consumer products. Rae holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Washington.

Richard is with the EPA Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure where he is developing computer models, databases and web-based dashboards to help predict toxicological effects of environmental chemicals.  Current focus areas for his team are prediction of endocrine effects of chemicals, modeling the effects of PFAS compounds using in vitro methods and development of computational methods to use high-throughput transcriptomics data.

Jonatan has background as a PhD in organic chemistry and experience from working as a project manager within different sectors, including MedTech, automotive and pharmaceutical industry. At ChemSec, he coordinates the different projects and leads the work on PFAS, with a focus on safer alternatives to PFAS, as well as being responsible for the ChemSec Business Group.

Marty is the co-founder and a managing partner in Safer Made, a mission-driven venture capital fund investing companies and technologies that reduce human exposure to harmful chemicals. Safer Made invests in teams that bring safer products and technologies to market, tell a unique story, have the potential to change their sectors, and protect our health and natural world.

David is one of the industry’s foremost experts on firefighting foams and the global transition to fluorine/PFAS free alternatives. He has been a member of many research programmes. As end-users continue their transition to fluorine free foams (F3), David is pleased to share his knowledge and a few of the important ‘lessons learnt’ from around the world.

Martyn has had technical and safety roles in the field of fluoropolymers and fluorochemistry with AGC Chemicals Europe, Ltd. for over 20 years. Over the last 3 years, Martyn has had an increasing focus on liaising with key global stakeholders to communicate on issues related to the regulation of fluorinated compounds.

Yuyun has more than 25 years of experience in environmental and health issues. She is actively involved in chemicals and wastes policy. She holds an Environmental Engineering degree from Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia, and MSc in Environmental Change and Management from the University of Oxford.

Josh is a project manager in Nike’s Chemistry Center of Excellence, where he manages the planning and execution for several of Nike’s sustainable chemistry initiatives. For the past three years, he’s been focused on Nike’s work to phase out of PFC-based water repellents across all product lines.

Experienced leader in developing corporate responsibility and product sustainability strategies that drive long range planning into tangible actions with measurable results. In-depth understanding of non-profit board governance and strategy planning, employee volunteerism, grantmaking and cause-marketing. Straight-forward, easy going coupled with an entrepreneurial spirit and a roll-up-your-sleeves attitude.

Lori is working as Operational Lead at Scivera an innovative software company that helps companies understand and select safer chemistries for products. She is a public health professional who has worked in the fields of sustainable chemistry, toxicology, and consumer products. She spent 23 years as the Chief Science Officer of NSF International, a public health and safety organization that develops standards and certification programs.

Nicole Tariku is Director of Marketing for Eco-Products®, PBC, a provider of renewable, plant-based or post-consumer recycled content foodservice packaging and pioneers in Zero Waste.  In role her she oversees marketing communications and sustainability, focusing on how Eco-Products can help other organizations be stewards of the environment.