Cher is one of Canada’s leaders in food system sustainability. She has dedicated her 20+ year career to enabling companies with embracing sustainability, purpose and circularity in order to create a more resilient food system. Her work has focused on many facets of circularity including circular plastics, food waste prevention, upcycling, regenerative culture and behaviour change.

Before founding Provision Coalition Inc., recently acquired by Anthesis Group, Cher’s career included time with the Guelph Food Technology Centre (now NSF International) where she established and directed the Sustainability Consulting Business Unit, and held several executive positions in environmental economics and policy with the George Morris Centre, a Canadian agri-food think tank. Cher holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Economics and Policy and is certified in both project and change management. Cher has also been the recipient of the Canadian Grocer Generation Next award for her leadership, innovation and excellence in sustainability within the food and beverage industry.

 David Hughes is the President and CEO of The Natural Step Canada which serves as the host organization for Circular Economy Leadership Canada, the Canada Plastics Pact, the Energy Futures Lab and other multi-stakeholder initiatives that are fostering innovation and systems change to advance a strong economy and a healthy environment.

He has previously served as President and CEO of two of Canada's leading charities - Habitat for Humanity Canada and Pathways to Education Canada - during periods of unprecedented growth, transformation and impact.

Prior to that David spent 10 years in senior positions at SOS Children's Villages International which included postings to Africa, Asia, Europe, USA and the United Nations. Other management roles have included serving as Senior Vice President of YMCA Canada and President of AIESEC Canada.

David is a Senior Fellow of the Smart Prosperity Institute (SPI), a member of the Smart Prosperity Leaders’ Initiative, an inaugural member of the Business for Purpose Network (B4PN), and has previously served on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Stem Cell Foundation, AIESEC Canada, and the Canadian branch of Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project.

He holds an economics degree from the University of Western Ontario, a postgraduate degree in social policy and non-profit management from the London School of Economics (LSE), and was recognized as a 2020 Clean50 Honouree for “outstanding contribution to clean capitalism”.

He lives in Toronto with his wife Laura and his two children, John and Alexandra, who provide the inspiration and incentive to challenge the status quo and strive for a better future for Canada and beyond.

 Paul is one of Canada’s leading experts in the emerging circular economy, providing solutions and engaging leaders who are working at the intersection of business innovation, public policy, economic development, and sustainability. For over a decade, this work has placed him at the forefront of the important transition that is underway towards a greener, more prosperous, low-carbon economy. In addition to his role as Managing Director of Circular Economy Leadership Canada (CELC), Paul was the Interim Managing Director of the Canada Plastics Pact (CPP) in 2022-23 and currently serves as Senior Director with the CPP, supporting the Pact’s efforts on advancing a circular economy for plastic packaging in Canada.

 Meg earned her PhD at University of British Columbia studying the tension we experience between dogmatic instruction for climate conscious choices and our embodied, lived experience in everyday life. Outside of academia, Meg continues to practice and facilitate collaborative approaches to motivate collective action in many areas including the Arts, social-serving non profits, industrial lands, cooperative housing, and economic development. Meg has over a decade of experience supporting transformation in business for greater economic, environmental, and social sustainability. She is a skilled facilitator, systems thinker, change manager, and team leader. Meg is also an amateur textile artist, an adventurous vegetarian cook, and a lover of spontaneous dance parties.

 As a Senior Associate, Sarah supports businesses and other organizations with integrated sustainability visioning, strategy and implementation as well as organizational learning. Previously the lead of The Natural Step’s Advisory Services Team (and a member of TNS since 2007), Sarah has worked with a wide range of partners to share her expertise on sustainability and strategy development, including a sustainability strategy and visioning program for Pratt & Whitney Canada; a comprehensive sustainability training, strategy, visioning and implementation program for The Landmark Group of Builders; and a strategic positioning and organizational change program with ISL Engineering and Land Services. Other clients include multi-national chemical company Rohm and Haas (now Dow Advanced Materials); SMART Technologies; BC Hydro; Accommodation and Real Estate Services of British Columbia; the City of Ottawa, the County of Hawaii; and many others. Sarah also provides training with international Natural Step offices.

Prior to her work with The Natural Step, Sarah was a natural building instructor, working to enable communities to create structure from locally available, minimally processed materials. She has worked with people from over 22 countries in this capacity.

Sarah holds a master’s degree in “Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability” from the Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden and an undergraduate degree in Geography from Mount Allison University.

 Moojan’s unbridled creativity and passion for driving positive change led her to study journalism at Carleton University. From speaking out on the damaging effects of toxic cosmetics to raising awareness about plastic pollution to tackling the environmental and social impact of food waste, Moojan has strived to amplify conversations around the need for innovative solutions that promote sustainability. Now with nearly 10 years of experience working in the writing field, Moojan has developed her expertise in communications, marketing, and fundraising. She has written countless stories and created compelling campaigns that have elevated the brand and mission of various nonprofits and businesses. Moojan also sits on the Board of Directors at Foodsharing Ottawa, which is an organization committed to reducing local food waste. She is currently writing a fictional short story collection on the effects of climate change.

Madeleine holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics (LSE) in Health and International Development. At the LSE Madeleine focused her dissertation on the impacts of climate change induced melting permafrost on the health of Indigenous People in Northern Canada. Prior to joining the CPP, she worked for the Smart Prosperity Institute as a Research Associate and a health social enterprise called Lucky Iron Fish as the Coordinator, Partnerships and Projects. Previously Madeleine attended Queen’s University, where she completed an undergraduate degree in Global Development. It was at Queen’s that Madeleine developed a keen interest in understanding the wide ranging impacts of climate change, specifically on human health, something that continues to motivate her research interests and work.

Shalyn studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan, with degree specialties in Biochemical Engineering and Communications. Prior to joining CPP, Shalyn has over 8 years of experience in the food and pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, providing project and operations management expertise at greenfield GMP manufacturing facilities. She has also worked with Métis Nation - Saskatchewan as an Environmental Program Manager, facilitating delivery of climate change, conservation, and consultation programs to Métis communities and citizens in Saskatchewan.

 Usman is a senior policy analyst and commercial strategist with Cardwell Grove Inc. Usman has 28 years of experience in the fields of environmental science and economics, corporate and commercial strategy, public policy development, regulatory and institutional design, advocacy, negotiation, consultation and communications.

Usman’s focus has been on industrial policy and programs toward circularity. In this regard he has advised Canadian governments on regulatory and supporting institutional design to address emissions and waste while working with private interests in building circular commercial strategies and supply-chains.

Usman has developed a number of Canadian Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulatory frameworks, programs and circular economy systems including those for Waste Electronics and Electrical Equipment (WEEE), Municipal Household and Special Waste (MHSW), beverage containers, printed paper and packaging, pharmaceuticals and sharps, used tires, batteries and end-of-life vehicles.

Usman has provided advice to all levels of Canadian government and to many of North America’s leading manufacturing, consumer products, retail and environmental services companies.

Usman is currently a technical director of the Canada Plastic Pact, an advisor to the Grocers and Manufacturers’ Collaborative, an advisor to the Circular Economy Leadership Coalition, a Director of the Alberta Beverage Container Management Board (BCMB) and was a convener of Ontario’s Circular Economy Innovation Lab.

 Mark is President of the consulting company From Here to There and an Associate of Tamarack – An Institute for Community Engagement. While studying the Solidarity movement in Krakow, Poland, in mid-1989, Mark experienced a variety of tumultuous events that signalled the end of communism in Eastern Europe – including walking on the Berlin Wall with a million people the week it came down in November 1989. He then rolled up sleeves and worked as an Investment Advisor in Poland’s Foreign Investment Agency, the Foreign Assistance Coordinator for Grants in the new Ministry of Privatization, and the Mission Coordinator for the creation of the United Nations Development Program’s first regional economic development initiative in Eastern Europe. Back in Canada, Mark was the Coordinator of the Waterloo Region’s Opportunities 2000 project (1997-2000), an initiative that won provincial, national and international awards for its multi-sector approach to poverty reduction. He served briefly as the Executive Director of the Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet) (2001) and was Vice President of the Tamarack Institute and the Executive Director of Vibrant Communities Canada (2002-2011).

Mark’s current focus is on developing practical ways to understand, plan and evaluate efforts to address complex issues. This includes challenges such as neighborhood renewal, poverty and homelessness, community safety, educational achievement and health. He is particularly involved in developing and promoting developmental evaluation, a new approach to assessment which emphasizes real time feedback and learning in emerging, messy and sometimes fast-moving environments.

 Jon Pyper is representing CPP in support of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association’s (CPMA) work in developing Canadian ‘Sustainable Packaging Food and Produce Guides’. Jon has over 32 years of experience in the chemicals and plastics business where he worked at Dow holding various senior management positions in sales, marketing, product management, financial services, purchasing, e-Business, government affairs, and sustainability across key businesses. Most recently Jon was Director of Sustainability for Dow’s N.A. Plastics Packaging business. Jon is past Director of PAC Global’s, and the Canadian Plastics Industry Association’s (CPIA), Board of Directors, and is recipient of CPIA’s Sustainability Award (2019) and Canplast Award (2013) for ‘contributing to improving the environmental performance of the Canadian plastics industry’.

Chris is an international expert in the circular economy and product-focused environmental management, policy, programs and tools, including; extended producer responsibility (EPR), design for environment (DfE), life cycle analysis (LCA), environmental product communication, end-of-life management, environmental management systems (EMS), and environmental performance indicators.

Chris has extensive experience with environmental data management, municipal recycling programs, product stewardship consultation, EPR program development and regulatory oversight.

Chris is currently a Technical Advisor to the Canada Plastics Pact. He has a PhD in Industrial Environmental Economics from the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) at Lund University, Sweden.