Driving Safer Chemicals Through Alternatives Assessment

Michelle Bloor

University of Glasgow

Michelle is an Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Risk at the School of Social and Environmental Sustainability at the University of Glasgow and the Research Director for Scotland’s National Centre for Resilience. She is a Senior Fellow of the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Public Policy, Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and Chair of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry’s (SETAC) Advisory Panel on Chemicals Management. She is a member of the United Nations Environmental Programme’s (UNEP) Roster of Experts, which was formally known as the Technical Advisory Group to the United Nations Environmental Programme’s (UNEP) Executive Director, Sherpa to the European Commission’s High-Level Round Table for the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, European Commission expert on chemicals, waste and pollution to support the coordination of and synergies between the Green Deal call projects, PIANOFORTE partnership’s Advisory Board member, and UK Government Chemicals Stakeholder Forum member. Michelle is also the Editor-In-Chief of Sustainable Environment journal, a member of the Taylor Francis Editorial Advisory Board, Editor of the book series Issues on Environmental Science and Technology (Royal Society of Chemistry) and UK Science Media Centre expert on chemicals, waste and pollution.

Lauren Heine

Principal, Heine Group, LLC

Lauren Heine applies green chemistry, green engineering, alternatives assessment and multi-stakeholder collaboration to develop tools that result in safer and more sustainable chemical products and processes. Her work with ChemFORWARD builds on prior experience developing GreenScreen® for Safer Chemicals and CleanGredients™ with the goal to scale access to information on safer alternative chemicals that serve as building blocks for materials and products that are safe and circular. She currently serves as president of the Association for the Advancement of Alternatives Assessment.

Heine worked closely with the US EPA Safer Choice Program to facilitate development of ingredient and hazard criteria for the Safer Choice Program. For the OECD, Heine drafted Policy Principles for Sustainable Materials Management and Considerations and Criteria for Sustainable Plastics from a Chemicals Perspective. She served on the California Green Ribbon Science Panel and co-chairs the Apple Green Chemistry Advisory Board. Heine was the technical advisor for the development of the Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse Alternatives Assessment Guide. She began her career as a Fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science in the Green Chemistry Program at the US Environmental Protection Agency. Heine earned her doctorate in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Duke University. 

Annegaaike Leopold

Director Corporate Development, iBacon

Annegaaike Leopold is a biologist, with 35 years of experience in applied regulatory ecotoxicology and chemicals management. She thrives in an international environment at the interface of science and policy. Annegaaike is currently Director Corporate Development at Ibacon GmbH, a German contract laboratory studying the environmental safety of chemicals before they are brought on to the market. She is developing the strategy for the company´s future, ensuring that the company is ready to test biopesticides, and other biological plant protection products. She is also introducing alternatives to animal testing into the company to evaluate toxicity and bioaccumulation of chemicals, in addition to broadening the company´s capabilities for the PBT and PMT assessment of chemicals as well as the evaluation of potential endocrine disruptors. Annegaaike is an active member of SETAC, serving as SETAC Europe´s President from 2019 to 2020. As representative of SETAC Europe at the European Commission’s High Level Round Table for the Implementation of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS), under the European Green Deal, she is currently chairing the SETAC – European Commission consultation series aimed at harnessing the scientific knowledge of SETAC members to enhance and speed up the implementation of the Safe and Sustainable by Design Framework, developed by the European Commission, under the CSS. In her work as Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia she is researching, together with her colleagues and students, how the plurality of perspectives in the field of chemicals management can be woven into policies and regulatory processes. Currently she is involved in engaging with indigenous knowledge and knowledge holders in the context of chemicals management.

Colleen McLoughlin

Director, Toxicology, Enhesa

Colleen E. McLoughlin is the Director of Toxicology at Enhesa, within the Sustainable Chemistry business unit. In this role, she oversees the Toxicology Team, focusing on chemical hazard and risk assessments, alternatives assessments and product certifications for leading consumer product brands and their suppliers. She received her doctorate in Biomedical Engineering from Virginia Commonwealth University, where her dissertation research focused on immunotoxicity testing of a polymer used in tissue-engineered constructs and development of a novel drug delivery system. Subsequently, McLoughlin was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) In Morgantown, West Virginia. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology and a European Registered Toxicologist (UK Registry). She is an active member of the Society of Toxicology (SOT) and Association for the Advancement of Alternatives Assessment (A4) and a mentor in the Toxicology Mentoring Skills Development Training Program. In A4, she is a member of the Executive Council and co-Chair of the Program Committee. She is an advocate for human and environmental health and health equity and serves on the board of Health Equity and Access in Rural Regions, a local non profit in rural central Virginia. 

Catherine Rudisill

Owner, Safer Chemistry Advisory, LLC

Catherine Rudisill brings 19 years of comprehensive experience, specializing in expert research and consulting services. In 2022, she founded her environmental consulting firm, Safer Chemistry Advisory LLC, dedicated to advancing sustainable and safer chemicals. At Safer Chemistry Advisory, Catherine actively contributes to a variety of standard-setting and outreach organizations, aiding in methodology improvements and providing expert assessment services. Her work spans various sectors, including cleaning, personal care, textiles, and others, with a notable focus on addressing PFAS across industry sectors.

Pamela J. Spencer

Senior Vice President of Regulatory, Product Stewardship, Quality and Sustainability, Advancion (formerly ANGUS Chemical)

Pamela “Pam” Spencer is the Senior Vice President of Regulatory, Product Stewardship, Quality and Sustainability at Advancion (formerly ANGUS Chemical), in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to this role, she worked for the Dow Chemical Company for 30 years, retiring as the Scientific Director of Dow’s Toxicology Environmental Research & Consulting function at the end of 2016.

Pam is an advocate at every level, working to promote the concepts of safer product design with regulatory agencies, industry, academia, and nongovernmental organizations particularly as it relates to the application of New Approach Methods (NAMs). She was the inaugural President for the Association for the Advancement of Alternatives Assessment (A4) and a founding member of the Society of Toxicology Specialty Section, Sustainable Chemicals through Contemporary Toxicology (SCCT). She also has extensive experience conducting research to define human health risks. She is passionate about promoting interest in STEM careers, particularly as it relates to the recruitment of women. 

Pam received her doctorate from the Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, her Master of Science in Biology from Central Michigan University and is certified as a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology.

Joel Tickner

Professor of Environmental Health, University of Massachusetts, Lowell

Joel Tickner leads the Sustainable Chemistry Catalyst at the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, UMass Lowell, where his group works on research, analysis and strategy to make chemistry safer for people and the planet. His research focuses on the development of innovative scientific methods, policies and practice to accelerate the design and application of safer products and manufacturing processes. He is an expert on environmental health, risk assessment, green chemistry, chemicals policy and pollution prevention.

His research has led to the establishment and growth of the field of chemical alternatives assessment, the process of comparing alternatives for chemicals of concern. He is the founding Executive Director of the Association for the Advancement of Alternatives Assessment, a professional association dedicated to advancing the science, practice and policy of alternatives assessment and informed substitution.

Tickner also founded the Green Chemistry and Commerce Council (GC3), now called Change Chemistry, a powerful network of more than 100 companies, bringing together the entire value chain from chemical producers to major brands and retailers. The GC3 is highly credible convener that drives commercialization, adoption and scale of green chemistry solutions across sectors and supply chains. 

Tickner is a Professor of Environmental Health at University of Massachusetts, Lowell, where he has worked to build interdisciplinary bridges across departments and colleges to position the university as a leading institution in the design and application of sustainable chemicals and materials. For two years, he was Co-Director of the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute, which provides resources and tools to help businesses and communities in Massachusetts to find safer alternatives to toxic chemicals.