Keynote Speakers
Joshua Lifrak, M.S.
Mental Performance Expert, Executive & Team Coach
Joshua Lifrak, M.S. is a world-renowned mental performance coach, leadership consultant, keynote speaker, and author of Win Today: 6 Steps to a Thriving Life (Wiley). For more than 20 years, he has helped elite athletes, executives, and organizations develop the mindset, resilience, and culture needed to perform at the highest levels under pressure.
From 2014 to 2021, Joshua served in Major League Baseball, including five seasons as Director of the Mental Skills Program for the Chicago Cubs, where he helped build the team’s championship culture leading to their historic 2016 World Series title, the franchise’s first in 108 years. He later served as the Major League Mental Performance Coach for the New York Mets.
Prior to professional baseball, Joshua spent a decade at IMG Academy, where he helped develop one of the country’s premier mental performance training programs. Throughout his career, he has worked with MLB players, NBA and NFL draft picks, the U.S. Soccer U-17 Men’s National Team, and numerous collegiate programs, including Florida State football and basketball, USC football, and the five-time NCAA Champion USC Men’s Tennis team.
Joshua is the Director of Performance and Coaching for Limitless Minds, the performance and wellness company founded by Super Bowl Champion Russell Wilson and renowned mental performance coach and bestselling author Trevor Moawad. He is also the President of Lift Up Consulting, where he partners with organizations to strengthen leadership, improve team culture, and develop high-performing people and teams.
Drawing from decades of experience in professional sports and business, Joshua translates the same mental performance strategies used by world-class athletes into practical tools that help leaders and teams thrive in today’s demanding environments. His engaging presentations combine compelling stories, actionable strategies, and science-backed principles that audiences can immediately apply to improve focus, resilience, communication, leadership, and performance.
His corporate clients include: Johnson & Johnson, Amazon, McDonald’s, Workday, AbbVie, KPMG, Bristol Myers Squibb, Sherwin-Williams
Today, Joshua is one of the leading voices on leadership, resilience, culture, and performing under pressure. His mission is simple: help individuals and organizations Win Today by developing the mindset and habits that lead to sustained excellence.
For more information contact Joshua directly at jlifrak@gmail.com
Manuela Zoninsein, Founder & CEO
Kadeya
Manuela Zoninsein is the Founder and CEO of Kadeya, a Chicago-based climate technology company building closed-loop beverage infrastructure designed to eliminate single-use packaging. Kadeya’s networked hydration stations dispense, collect, sanitize and refill reusable bottles at the point of use—transforming the traditional linear beverage supply chain into a circular system that can reduce waste, logistics complexity and cost.
A serial climate entrepreneur and systems thinker, Manuela has spent nearly two decades working at the intersection of sustainability, technology and business. Before founding Kadeya, she launched agritech ventures in China and Brazil and worked in international business development at Palantir Technologies. Earlier in her career, she spent eight years in China as a journalist covering environment, technology, infrastructure and the cleantech revolution.
Manuela’s work is grounded in the belief that pollution and climate change are fundamentally problems of systems design—and that sustainability solutions must compete on performance, convenience and economics if they are to achieve meaningful scale.
She holds degrees from Harvard University and the University of Oxford and an MBA from MIT Sloan.
Panelists for Logistics 2.0 - Synchronizing Decarbonization with Supply Chain Performance
Anne Shudy Palmer, Director of Sustainability
Green Worldwide Shipping, LLC
Anne Shudy Palmer is a sustainability expert and LEED accredited professional with over 20 years of experience in certification, program development, technical project management, reporting, and communication across business, public, and nonprofit sectors.
She serves as Director of Sustainability for Green Worldwide Shipping, a leading provider of international logistics services and supply chain management. Anne holds a Master of Science in Sustainability from the University of Wisconsin-Madison as well as a double Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Communication Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Greg Bollefer, EVP, Commercial and Product Development
Green Worldwide Shipping, LLC
Greg Bollefer is a dynamic leader that brings powerfully creative supply chain solutions to some of the world’s largest brands. He has over 20 years of industry experience and serves as the Executive Vice President of Commercial and Product Development for Green Worldwide Shipping, a leading provider of international logistics services and supply chain management. Greg is a human rights champion who is passionate about creating responsible, sustainable supply chains. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota.
Panelists for The "Double Green" Blueprint - Articulating the Financial, Reputational, and Regulatory ROI of Sustainability
MaryBeth Bucklen, Cloud ESG, & Sustainability Disclosure Lead
Microsoft
MaryBeth Bucklen is Cloud ESG & Sustainability Disclosure Lead at Microsoft, where she works at the intersection of sustainability, ESG strategy, disclosure and the rapidly evolving cloud and technology landscape. In this role, she helps advance Microsoft’s approach to sustainability disclosure and communication, translating complex environmental and operational information for stakeholders.
Previously, MaryBeth served as Senior Manager and Datacenter Sustainability Narrative Content Strategy Lead at Microsoft, helping shape how the company communicates the sustainability opportunities and challenges associated with its global datacenter operations.
In addition to her work at Microsoft, MaryBeth has advised cities on transportation electrification and EV readiness, including strategic electrification planning, charging infrastructure, economic development and equitable access to electric mobility.
Her experience spans sustainability strategy, ESG, communications, technology and infrastructure, giving her a valuable perspective on how organizations can translate ambitious sustainability commitments into credible strategies, measurable progress and effective stakeholder engagement.
Colleen Webster, Director of Sustainability
CC Industries
Colleen Webster is Director of Sustainability at CC Industries, where she leads sustainability strategy and partners across the organization to create long-term business and societal value. She brings more than 20 years of experience spanning sustainability, environmental health and safety, and food safety and quality across multiple industries.
Previously, Colleen spent 12 years at EY, where she was a founding member of the firm’s Climate Change and Sustainability Services practice and later held leadership roles in risk transformation and food and agribusiness.
A registered Professional Engineer and Certified Energy Manager, Colleen holds a BS in Environmental Engineering from Tulane University.
Corinne Graper, Founder & CEO, The Uplift Agency
Corinne Graper leads Uplift, a sustainability and social impact consulting firm that accelerates business to be more sustainable and just.
With deep strategy, change management, and sustainability experience, she helps Fortune 500 business leaders drive sustainable and responsible business transformation. Whether her team is conducting assessments, building custom strategies or helping to execute action plans to drive environmental and social goals, they pair inspiring vision with practical experience.
Corinne’s passion for helping businesses drive positive change grew from her time at Fortune 100 corporations, the United Nations, global nonprofits, and grassroots organizations. She led various social responsibility, change management, and communications initiatives at Northwestern Mutual, Allstate Insurance Company, and Kellogg Company.
She was also part of a small team that launched the United Nations — Women’s Peace & Humanitarian Fund, an innovative fund that brought together governments, NGOs and the private sector to support local nonprofits that build peace in 41 countries experiencing severe crises.
She has also served on the board of advisors of NeedsList, a technology company that brings efficiency to the global humanitarian aid system.
Corinne has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in communications from Western Michigan University. She and her husband have three children, and a golden doodle named Strudel.
Panelists for The Strategic Shift from Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to Circularity
Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a 110-year-old, family-owned regional supermarket chain known for its exceptional customer experience, restaurant-quality fresh food, and people-first culture, with 114 stores located along the east coast and Mid-Atlantic. Wegmans has been named to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list every year since 1998. The company ranked #1 in 2005 and #5 in 2026.
Jason has been with Wegmans for 37 years and leads the company’s sustainability strategy which focuses on zero waste, sustainable packaging, and carbon footprint. Jason also serves on the FMI (Food Industry Association) Sustainability Executive Committee and is past retail co-chair of the Food Waste Reduction Alliance, a collaborative initiative of the Consumer Brands Association, the Food Industry Association, and the National Restaurant Association.
Austin Pierce, Counsel,
Sidley
AUSTIN PIERCE advises companies, financial institutions, and funds on board-level strategies to advance corporate value, with a focus on the management of environmental, social, and political risks.
Blending legal experience with business pragmatism, he serves as a trusted advisor to companies across industries and market caps on matters such as:
- Corporate governance, including corporate culture, fiduciary duties, internal controls, crisis and risk management, policies, and board functioning;
- Environmental regulations, programs, and compliance strategies;
- ESG/sustainability strategies and disclosures, including on climate change, biodiversity, natural capital, circular economy, and human rights;
- Geopolitical risk management;
- SEC and other mandatory and voluntary disclosures;
- Stakeholder engagement; and
- Value chain resilience, including supply chain due diligence
Austin is a go-to advisor for companies’ most pressing sustainability-related issues, counseling clients in times of both calm and crisis. He advises clients across sectors and has extensive experience in coordinating strategies across varying geographies, including coherent corporate responses to regulatory or stakeholder fragmentation. Drawing from this experience, Austin tailors his advice to meet clients wherever they are in their corporate journey, from Series A to Fortune 500, helping them to preserve, manage, and unlock corporate value in the face of complex emerging risks.
Cassie House, Director of Sustainability Operations
Shaw Industries
Cassie House is Director of Sustainability Operations at Shaw Industries Group, Inc., the world’s largest carpet manufacturer and global provider of floor coverings.
In this role, Cassie leads a cross-functional team responsible for advancing key initiatives, including climate strategy, enterprise utility management, regulatory and voluntary reporting, and reclamation and circularity efforts. She partners with internal stakeholders across operations, sourcing, and technical teams to advance sustainability through enterprise strategy.
Cassie brings deep expertise in product sustainability, certification management, and greenhouse gas accounting, including leading Shaw’s first Scope 3 inventory. Her process‑driven, customer‑focused approach helps translate Shaw’s sustain[HUMAN]ability® strategy into scalable, effective execution.
Cassie earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Alabama and is a member of the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership’s Class of 2026
Garr Punnett, Founder, Reuse Relay
Co-Host, Selling Circular Podcast
Garr Punnett is the Founder of Reuse Relay, a Chicago-based software solution enabling scalable material recovery, reuse and remanufacturing in the built environment deconstruction industry. In addition to founding a company, Garr co-hosts The Selling Circular Podcast, where every week, they discuss circular economy strategies with business leaders and policymakers from around the world.
With degrees a BA of Economics and an MS of Sustainability Solutions, Garr is passionate about helping all teams create business models in circular manufacturing, reverse supply chains and material recovery. Previously, Garr served as Chief Impact Officer at Rheaply, where he helped some of the largest organizations in our economy operationalize zero-waste and reuse strategies across their portfolios.