COMMUNICATONS LEAD - SWAY

Alyssa is a multimedia communications professional cultivating a thriving, regenerative future through the power of storytelling. With nearly a decade of experience with regenerative agriculture and ocean organizations in marketing, communications, project management, and partnership development, she is growing and engaging a community that champions Sway’s vision. She carries a B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE - CSU CHANNEL ISLANDS

Timnit Kefela is an environmental scientist, organizer and educator who seeks to better understand (micro)plastic pathways, fates and impacts in effort to inform and design liberatory infrastructural solutions for pollution mitigation and waste management. She holds a BSc and MSc in Biology from Rutgers University-Camden and was the first Black woman to receive her PhD in Environmental Science and Management from the Bren School at UC Santa Barbara. Timnit is currently an assistant professor in environmental science and resource management with a focus on environmental justice at California State University-Channel Islands.

SENIOR STAKEHOLDER AMBASSADOR - THE MICROFIBRE CONSORTIUM

Anna is Senior Stakeholder Ambassador at The Microfibre Consortium (TMC). Her role is to support and coordinate global stakeholders across the fashion and textile industry to take meaningful action against fibre fragmentation (also known as microfibre pollution) from fabrics.

CO-FOUNDER - TEXTILE X OCEAN CONNECTOR SAIL

Carolynn has over 20 years of experience in ocean conservation and has been building educational, research and action oriented programs focused on plastic pollution for the last 10 years. Carolynn has a strong network, ranging from researchers to policymakers to philanthropists to plastic free lifestyle companies (and even started her own in 2017!). Carolylnn loves connecting the dots between all of these groups, helping people and organizations strategize a plan to execute a project, learn new information, and build experiences.

PARTNERSHIPS DIRECTOR - SUSTAINABLE SURF & SEATREES

Haley engages brands to plant and restore blue carbon coastal ecosystems to regenerate the health of our ocean planet. She spent several years in the surf, skate, and snowboard industry before pursuing her passion for protecting the planet. Haley has extensive experience working with environmental nonprofits focused on enhancing ocean conservation efforts, eliminating plastic pollution, and reversing climate change. She also worked as a corporate social responsibility consultant for several companies where she managed nonprofit partnerships, corporate philanthropy, employee engagement, and sustainability initiatives.

Dr. Win Cowger is the Research Director of the Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution Research. His current work focuses on high throughput methods for microplastic detection in environmental samples. No Trace Trails is a project led by Dr. Victoria McGruer and MS Macy Gustavus who surveyed 2600 miles of trail soil to investigate microplastics in the wilderness. He is here to share preliminary data on their textile and shoe rubber particle findings.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR - OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

Susanne’s research program, which has been funded by NOAA, DOE, EPA, NSF, Oregon Sea Grant, and California state agencies, encompasses the fields of toxicology, endocrinology, and ecology, integrating molecular approaches with measurements at the organism and population level. Her current focus is on the effects of stressors, such as emerging pollutants, microplastics (including microfibers!), and climate change, on aquatic organisms. Brander’s group conducts interdisciplinary research and thus she collaborates with ecologists, oceanographers, and fisheries biologists, among other fields. She received a Ph.D. in Toxicology and Pharmacology from UC Davis in 2011, conducting research mainly based at the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory.

CO-FOUNDER - TEXTILE X OCEAN CONNECTOR SAIL

Krystle is the founder and principal consultant of Materevolve, LLC. - a company driven to lead the evolution of our materials world. After a decade in sustainable materials innovation and development, Krystle founded Materevolve with the mission to develop and scale innovative regenerative textile systems through the lens of soil, sea, and circularity. Through Materevolve, Krystle designs nature-immersed experiential learning programs, provides technical consulting cross-sector, and fosters trail-blazing collaboration between science, industry, government, non-profit and academia. Krystle loves to nerd out on all things sustainable textiles but her superpowers are materials innovation, microfiber pollution, and regenerative agriculture.