The Innovation Barn is constantly buzzing with activities for partners and community members alike. We host private events, tours, and volunteer opportunities almost daily! Please check out our calendar of events below for how you can get involved. If you have any questions, please reach out to us at engage@envisioncharlotte.org. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Erin works to drive positive change across industries by leading WWF’s packaging and material science program. Key to conservation is the overall protection of the planet’s natural resources, and packaging plays a vital role in that. Erin works with companies to strategically address their packaging work streams by focusing on developing transparency in the supply chain for the major packaging materials and pursuing strategies that reduce the environmental impact of these materials through responsible sourcing. Prior to joining WWF, Erin worked at Hewlett Packard for 10 years as a packaging engineer responsible for the design and implementation of laser jet printer and media packaging. Her expertise is in material science, design innovation, procurement, manufacturing, logistical and point of purchase aspects of packaging.
After an 18 month round-the-world trip, Daniel was reinvigorated and inspired by the many circular economies and sustainable initiatives underway abroad and wanted to ensure his own community in the U.S. was making the same progress. Using his 13 years of experience as a project manager and process improvement consultant, he began working closely with a handful of local organizations — Envision Charlotte being one of them, helping them accelerate their circular and sustainability efforts. He currently leads and manages all plastic programing for Envision Charlotte.
Alice Hartley is Director of Product Sustainability at Gap Inc. Since joining Gap in 2012, she has led work on supply chain sustainability including water savings, textile mill impacts, traceability, and sustainable cotton. She also works with design teams across the company on product sustainability and circular design strategies. Earlier in her career, Alice worked in green buildings and at nonprofit and research institutions. She holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from MIT Sloan.
Will joined the Krispy Kreme organization in 2014 and has served in several different roles during his time there. Will is currently responsible for leading the Indirect Procurement efforts for Krispy Kreme, which includes the waste and recycling category. Will’s Indirect Procurement team manages over $100 Million in annual spending and supports a network of over 400 Krispy Kreme shops, 9 manufacturing plants, and 2 corporate offices in North America. Will and his team has helped identify and execute cost savings for Krispy Kreme in excess of $5 million over the last 3 years. Prior to joining Krispy Kreme, Will worked with the restaurant brand Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen in a Supply Chain role from 2009 to 2014. Outside of work, Will enjoys spending time with his wife Brooke and their 3 sons (ages 7, 5 and 3), going to the beach, and coaching youth sports
Marcus D. Jones is the city manager for the City of Charlotte. He began his
new role on Dec. 1, 2016. Before moving to Charlotte, Jones served as the city manager of Norfolk, Virginia, a role he began in February 2011 after serving the city from 2004- 2009 as the director of budget and grants management and as an assistant city manager.
As the city manager of the second largest city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, he helped Norfolk build on its competitive advantages as the urban core of a region of more than 1.7 million people. Jones has 23 years of public service experience, which includes serving as a deputy secretary of finance for two governors in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In each case, he played a major role in protecting the Commonwealth’s coveted AAA bond rating and streamlining government
operations. He has experience managing complex budgets ranging from $1.2 billion (local) to $50 billion (state). While serving with the state government, Jones gained a strong reputation for his ability to negotiate complex financial and legislative issues across party lines. Jones earned his Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from James Madison University and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. Jones and his wife, Jillian, have three children.
Barr Blanton is Partner with McKinsey & Company and the managing partner for McKinsey’s Charlotte office where he is dedicated to advancing the needs of the Charlotte region through a variety of community leadership efforts. Barr has served clients across many industries but spends much of his time as a leader in McKinsey’s Transformation and Private Equity practices.
Rasha Hasaneen is the vice president of innovation and product excellence for Trane Technologies. She is a seasoned executive and innovation leader with a proven track record in product management, product marketing, engineering, strategy, planning and lean thinking. Rasha is also executive director of Trane Technologies’ Center for Healthy and Efficient Spaces (CHES). The center serves as a convening resource to unify and scale strategies and solutions to create safer, healthier and more efficient environments across the breadth of the company’s business portfolio – including spaces in homes, buildings and transportation. As executive director, she leads engagement with integrated internal and external advisory councils and technology partners. In leading both innovation and CHES, she is the focal point for Trane Technologies on the topics of indoor environmental quality, bringing innovative thinking and a customer focused approach to this critical topic.
Sabine is co-founder and managing director of BlueCity, a circular innovation hub located in a former waterpark in Rotterdam. BlueCity aims to accelerate the circular economy in the region through entrepreneurship and innovation. Its core focus is designing, setting up and enhancing new businesses that radically redefine how we (re)use our planet’s resources. Sabine is a business minded cultural anthropologist with a focus on the social and the economic dynamics driving sustainability and innovation.
Carly Carroll is an Enterprise Sustainability Consultant at Wells Fargo, focusing on sustainability education and employee engagement. As a part of her role, Carroll is responsible for coordinating and managing Green Teams across the company. Carroll joined the Stagecoach in August 2018 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC. At EPA, Carroll held numerous roles over 11 years in stakeholder engagement, public affairs, and environmental education. Carroll earned her Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2006. She also holds a Master’s in Science Education from North Carolina State University and earned her MBA from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan- Flagler Business School in 2017. Carroll resides in Charlotte, North Carolina with her two rescue dogs, Riley and Casper.
David Valder is a Co-Founder and Co-Owner of Crown Town Compost, a small business that collects food waste from households and businesses in Charlotte, NC and composts it to keep it out of the landfill. He is also the Director of Energy and Sustainability at Central Piedmont Community College where he manages the college’s resource consumption and leads energy efficiency and waste reduction efforts. He holds a B.S. in Sustainable Development from Appalachian State University.
Spearheading the first curbside-collection composting program for the City of Charlotte in 2018, along with an expansion of the program for a second phase in 2019, Beverlee Sanders knows a thing or two about residential food waste. During her four years at Solid Waste Services, Beverlee has used her passion for sustainability to help divert over nine tons of food waste from the landfill and generate over $30k in grant funding for green projects. Beverlee currently serves as the Public Information Coordinator where she builds and strengthens relationships with community partners to help create a more sustainable future.
Associate Partner, McKinsey & Company
Giulia is an Associate Partner in McKinsey’s San Francisco office, where she is a leader in the Sustainability and Energy practices. She advises corporations and investors around the world on sustainable solutions and energy transitions. In addition to her advisory work, she supports McKinsey’s internal and external knowledge efforts on ESG and leads McKinsey’s ESG Analytics Platform. Giulia graduated from Dartmouth College with honors in Economics and Environmental Studies and earned her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Before joining McKinsey, Giulia worked in corporate sustainability strategy and energy procurement for a leading Silicon Valley software company. Giulia sits on the Board of Multiplier, a sustainability-focused non-profit with global scope.
Jeremy Wallach is a Partner in McKinsey’s Boston office. He serves chemical companies across the value chain on corporate and business unit strategy, recycling / circular economy, merger integration and growth. He also helps to lead the firm’s Chemical Insights micro-economics group. He has over 15 years of experience advising management teams in North America and Europe.
Director of Global STEM Curriculum, Discovery Education
An experienced STEM education leader with close to 20 years in urban, public K-12 education, Camsie McAdams brings vast experience to her role at Discovery Education. Camsie is a former classroom teacher, coach, and curriculum/instructional leader at school, district, and national levels. McAdams served in the Obama Administration as the Deputy Director for STEM at the U.S. Department of Education. She has also worked as the Director of STEM for District of Columbia Public Schools. With over a decade of experience teaching math, science, and literacy in New York City Public Schools and in California’s Oakland Unified School District, she is a recipient of several teaching awards, including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching for the state of New York. McAdams received a degree in general engineering and political science from the University of Denver, and a Master of Education degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Currently working as Head of Design for Electrolux, Barry Waddilove has 30 years experience working in design and product development with brands and organizations across 25 countries. During 2014-2015, he completed extensive research into the role of Whole System Design in developing business models for a circular economy whilst working as a researcher for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Barry holds an MDes in Design and Innovation for Sustainability from Cranfield University and is a fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).
Mayor pro tem, City of Charlotte
Mayor Pro Tem Julie Eiselt had never envisioned a role in public office until a man tried to abduct her at gunpoint in 2007. This led her to found Neighbors for a Safer Charlotte, to advocate for court-system resources and policies to make all Charlotte residents safer. Julie then ran successfully for Charlotte City Council in 2015 and is in her third term on the council, serving at-large and as Mayor Pro Tem. She chairs the Transportation & Planning Committee and is Vice-Chair of the Budget and Effectiveness Committee. In 2019, Julie was appointed by Governor Cooper to serve on the North Carolina State Banking Commission, and was appointed by NC Transportation Secretary Trogden to serve on NC FIRST, a state Transportation Revenue commission. In the community Julie is a Team Leader for Room In The Inn, a board member of The Relatives, and has served on various arts boards.
Darlene Heater is the Executive Director for University City Partners, which envisions and implements strategies and actions to drive University City’s long term economic vitality as a center for employment, living, education, commerce and entertainment.
Heater is a graduate of The Ohio State University. She has held roles in the public sector for nearly twenty years. Prior to her role at University City Partners, she was the Vice President of Neighborhood Development and Sustainability at Charlotte Center City Partners and Director of Strategic Partnerships for Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools.
Heater has worked on transformational projects such as the University City Transit Station Area Plan, JW Clay Station Master Plan, the Charlotte 2020 Vision Plan, and Envision Charlotte, Charlotte’s sustainability initiative. She has built strong relationships with municipal partners at the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County and State of NC, and elected officials while actively engaging in the communities she has served.
She serves on the boards of UNC Charlotte Computer Informatics, Envision Charlotte, The Charlotte Regional Alliance Board of Advisors, SHARE Charlotte and serves on the steering committee for the Ucity Family Zone.
Jonathan Pereira serves as the Executive Director of Plant Chicago, whose mission is to cultivate local circular economies. Since joining Plant Chicago in 2015, he’s guided the organization to expand its impact beyond the project known as The Plant. Plant Chicago is now piloting a Circular Economy Network for Small Businesses, hosts over 3,600 local youth each year on educational programs, and building out the first indoor victory garden: a shared use production space for growing plants and fungi. In late 2019, Plant Chicago moved into an abandoned firehouse on the southwest side of Chicago and is now in the process of converting it to a center for circular economy programming.
Tamsin Ettefagh has 32 years of experience in the areas of recycling and plastics recycling; from implementing a recycling collection program, to running the recycling operations for a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), to purchasing raw materials for plastic recycling companies, to selling recycled resins for plastic recycling companies. She has consulted for agencies, banks, potential plastic manufacturers on market conditions, types of supply and how to evolve and diversify markets for recycled resins. Ms. Ettefagh is currently working as a Senior Consultant for other major consulting forms as well as independently consulting in the Plastics Recycling space with aiding in strategy and implementations to advancements in the recycling processes primarily in Poly Olefins.
Amy’s background is a blend of corporate, non-profit and entrepreneur expertise. Before joining Envision Charlotte, Amy served as a strategic consultant for businesses and Chambers of Commerce in marketing, fundraising, social media and public relations. She spent several years as Group Vice President for Sales and Marketing for the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, where she was responsible for leadership, fundraising and community relations. She also served as a business development and community affairs executive with Balfour Beatty Construction, and she founded, operated and recently sold a successful retail business.
Eva Gladek is the founder and CEO of Metabolic, a consulting, research, and venture building firm focused on tackling global sustainability challenges and advancing a circular economy. In her years of consulting work and concept development, Eva has drawn on her training in molecular biology and industrial ecology to advise hundreds of companies, governments, and nonprofits. She is an expert in technical environmental management techniques and has developed leading frameworks for systems thinking, the circular economy and sustainable design. She is consistently listed among the top influencers in sustainability in the Netherlands, a country recognized as leading the transition to the circular economy.
Laura Thrash graduated from Davidson College with Phi Beta Kappa honors and a passion for educational equity. She worked as the Interim Director of Education and ESL instructor for the International House, before returning to CMS as an eighth grade Science teacher through Teach For America. Laura has stayed in her placement school for the past seven years, moving up the ranks from 8th grade teacher lead, to Science Department lead, to multi-classroom teacher coach. She now oversees Whitewater’s Sustainability Magnet Program and the implementation of their interdisciplinary curriculum which places environmental equity and social justice at the forefront. In addition to her duties at Whitewater, she is currently participating in Charlotte Teacher Institute’s Urban Waterways seminar to infuse these themes into the eighth grade Hydrosphere unit. Laura and Whitewater are looking forward to continuing their partnership with Wells Fargo and Envision Charlotte.
Todd Marty is the Senior Director of Public Affairs for Coca-Cola Consolidated, third generation Coca-Cola employee, and a graduate of Indiana State University. Most recently, Todd led Sales and Merchandising operations as Vice President of the Indiana Market Unit. Currently, he leads Government Affairs in the state of Indiana and supports the sustainability efforts of the company. He sees himself as a proud American who enjoys the outdoors and has a passion for protecting the environment in which we live. Todd is also a devoted husband and father of 3 that honors God in all he does.
With over 30 years of experience in architecture and interior design and more than 6.5 million square feet of office space shaped by her expertise, Kim Marks is leaving her mark on the commercial office market across the Southeast and beyond. In her 17 years as Principal and owner at ai Design Group, Kim played a key role in growing the firm’s client list to include national accounts like Wells Fargo, Barings, Charter Communications, and AREVA. Kim’s leadership and business successes positioned the firm for a successful merger with Progressive AE in 2016, and she was instrumental in guiding the company and her team through the transition. She was named one of the Top 25 Women in Business by the Charlotte Business Journal and one of the 50 Women Extraordinaire by Business Leader Magazine.