SP Innovation Summit 2025

Fred is passionate about unlocking human potential in every person and views sustainability as a pursuit that puts people at the center of what we do. He has extensive business experience working in the medical devices, power distribution and automotive industries. Fred currently leads the sustainability efforts in GM’s Global Purchasing and Supply Chain organization. His educational background is in Chemistry with an MBA, and he is currently pursuing a PhD in Systems Engineering.

Becky is a Sustainability Manager at Toyota Motor North America leading projects in renewable energy, biodiversity and environmental justice. In her first role at Toyota, she led the Green Mobility team and helped underserved populations have better access to jobs, nutrition and healthcare. Prior to Toyota, she worked at Burt's Bees, GameStop, Citigroup and several nonprofits in sustainability, international development, IT and finance. She has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from UNC-Chapel Hill and an MBA and Masters of Science in Natural Resources and Environment from the University of Michigan. In her free time, she volunteers with the Santa Monica Bay Foundation helping to restore native habitats coastal habitats in Los Angeles.

J. Duncan Pitchford is President of Hydro Aluminum Metals USA, responsible for Hydro’s Aluminium Metals business unit in the U.S. and additionally holds responsibility for the commercial activities of unit in Central and South America. He also manages the offtake of value added products from Hydro’s global joint ventures. He joined Hydro in 2018, with a broad legal and business background in both the private sector and government service.

Ahmed ElGanzouri is responsible for executing Magna International's carbon neutrality commitment and working with the various internal and external stakeholders to meet the SBTi near-term 2030 goal. Focusing on operational decarbonization and working with partners and throughout Magna's value-chain to advance the industry's ESG performance. Ahmed has 12 years of experience in the sustainability/ESG space. He started his career in International Development Impact Assessments in Northern and Eastern Africa with the EU and UN, followed by10 years at General Motors in various environmental/ sustainability roles.

Denise Carlson is vice president of the North America Production Innovation Center (NAPIC) at DENSO. Located at the company’s regional headquarters in Southfield, Michigan, Carlson oversees North America Safety, Health & Environment (NASHE) and NA the North America Sustainability Promotion (NASP) Department. As the leader of the Sustainability Promotion team, she’s responsible for implementing green practices across DENSO’s regional operations and aligning them toward achieving the company’s carbon neutrality goal by 2035.



Outside of work, Carlson serves as a year-round mentor and coach for a FIRST Robotics High School team. She also currently serves as vice-chair on the Supplier’s Partnership for the Environment board.

Carlson received both her Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and her Masters of Science in Chemical Engineering from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.

Todd Farwell is the Global Packaging Director for Cummins, Inc. He is responsible for the Packaging Engineering, Returnable Packaging and Center of Excellence team. Todd has experience in returnable packaging implementation and management, asset tracking, pooling returnables, reverse logistics operations, supplier management, packaging engineering management and warehousing operations. Cummins’ Returnable Packaging Program is tasked with reducing the packaging waste generated by their manufacturing operations by 25% by 2030.
Before coming to Cummins, Todd was the Strategic Business Planning Manager at Caterpillar, where he helped to analyze, forecast and interpret economic and competitive data to turn into actionable insights for Caterpillar’s Resource Industries executive leadership. He has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Illinois State University, a master’s degree in Business Administration from Bradley University. Todd has received training in entrepreneurship from Stanford University, the University of California Berkeley and Singularity University.

Ellen leads the development of voluntary battery labeling guidelines and collection best practices that are intended to promote battery recycling, activities tasked to EPA by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Prior to that, she managed the Landfill Methane Outreach Program at EPA, a voluntary program that works cooperatively with industry stakeholders and waste officials to reduce methane emissions from landfills.

Lavon Detweiler began his career as a rubber chemist with Nishikawa Standard Company in Indiana in 1990, after graduating from Goshen College with a degree in chemistry. This was around the time when it was becoming popular in the automotive world to look for ways to reduce landfilling of manufacturing waste. Four years later, in 1994, he cofounded a company with the focus of recycling automotive waste rubber. This company evolved into Entech Incorporated which today is one of the largest manufacturers of recycled rubber powders and metal in North America. In 2007, Entech also became involved in the manufacture of tire recycling machinery through its purchase of Jomar Machining and Fabricating. Today, Jomar is the largest producer of turn-key tire recycling systems in North America. Lavon has been working as CEO of both companies for over 20 years. Lavon’s goal is for the talented teams at Entech and Jomar to continue having a positive impact on the growth and stabilization of the tire recycling industry in North America.

Pat Tallarico is a consultant and facilitator with a unique focus on sustainable materials management. He has supported local, national, and international efforts to reduce the use of raw materials through reduced use, reuse, and recycling. He specializes in bringing people together to have productive and informed conversations. He is currently supporting EPA’s efforts to enhance battery recycling.

Alyssa Barbuto is the Environmental Sustainability Lead within the Purchasing Supply Chain Center at Honda Development and Manufacturing of America, LLC with over a year of experience in the automotive sector, and over 2 years of experience within the oil and gas sector. Specializing in supply chain sustainability, Alyssa uses her experience to ensure that suppliers disclose and reduce carbon emissions, engage in renewable energy programs, and remain in compliance with chemical substances. She strives for corporations to place sustainability at the forefront of all decisions. Alyssa is a graduate of The Ohio State University, studying Environment, Economy, Development, and Sustainability. She is currently pursuing a Master’s in Sustainability Leadership at Arizona State University.

Dr. Michael Faltenbacher joined Sphera (formerly thinkstep) in 2006 and is responsible for the transport and mobility sector as team leader. With more than 20 years of experience in the field of life cycle analysis of transport and energy systems, he has extensive know-how on automotive sector covering the transport of passengers and goods using conventional and alternative fuel and drive systems. His work focuses on the technical, ecological and economic comparison of fuel and propulsion technologies for light and heavy duty vehicles.

One example of his work and expertise is the development of a life cycle based evaluation approach for battery electric vehicles as well as hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles. This approach has been refined over the past 15 years and is currently used in a range of public funded lighthouse projects such as the European Commission’s co-funded H2Haul and JIVE/JIVE 2 project on the deployment of FC electric heavy duty trucks respectively buses. In these projects Sphera is the responsible for the life cycle based environmental and economic evaluation of the deployed ZEV vehicles and energy supply infrastructure.

Corey Davis is the Director of Fuel Strategy and Utilization at CSX Transportation where he oversees locomotive fuel conservation and emission reduction programs to help CSX implement fuel and carbon reduction strategies. He has over 27 years of experience at CSX Transportation holding various positions in Operations, Training, and regulatory compliance roles. Corey began his career with CSX on the ground as a Conductor in Atlanta, GA in 1995 and then as a locomotive Engineer in 1998, this field experience has given Corey a full perspective of railroad operations. His current role is responsible for implementing solutions to reduce locomotive emissions and improve fuel savings: Trip Optimizer, Zero to Zero, data technology improvements, and alternative fuels. He holds a degree in Transportation Technology from Mountwest Technical College and currently lives in Jacksonville, FL.

Lavon Detweiler began his career as a rubber chemist with Nishikawa Standard Company in Indiana in 1990, after graduating from Goshen College with a degree in chemistry. This was around the time when it was becoming popular in the automotive world to look for ways to reduce landfilling of manufacturing waste. Four years later, in 1994, he cofounded a company with the focus of recycling automotive waste rubber. This company evolved into Entech Incorporated which today is one of the largest manufacturers of recycled rubber powders and metal in North America. In 2007, Entech also became involved in the manufacture of tire recycling machinery through its purchase of Jomar Machining and Fabricating. Today, Jomar is the largest producer of turn-key tire recycling systems in North America. Lavon has been working as CEO of both companies for over 20 years. Lavon’s goal is for the talented teams at Entech and Jomar to continue having a positive impact on the growth and stabilization of the tire recycling industry in North America.

Kacie Freeberg is the Senior Director of the Industrial Value Stream Team at ORBIS Corporation in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. Kacie joined ORBIS in 2014, bringing in over 8 years of experience in Food & Beverage Manufacturing at various locations.

Throughout her journey at ORBIS, she has held different positions such as Continuous Improvement Manager supporting all functional areas within ORBIS, and a Project Manager for acquisitions and large capital projects.

Today, Kacie is responsible for all marketing, new product development, and pricing for reusable packaging that services the Automotive, Heavy Truck, and Agricultural markets. This includes all standard proprietary products and custom solutions.

Kacie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Chemistry from the University of Minnesota, and Masters of Science in Engineering Management from the Milwaukee School of Engineering. She received her Master Black Belt from Arizona State University in 2016, Black Belt from ASQ in 2012, and Project Management Professional (PMP) from PMI in 2014.

Vickie Lewis is passionate about advancing a circular economy, innovation, and growth in the environmental waste management industry supply chain. As a founder and CEO Of VMX International, Lewis is an award-winning executive, growing her business and innovating in Detroit by collaborating with community leaders, automotive and government employers, and environmental technology innovators.

Founded in 2001, VMX International is an environmental firm headquartered in Detroit that works with businesses across the nation to properly recycle and dispose of items ranging from office paper to hazardous materials. VMX currently has over 50 full-time employees managing environmental projects in several states across the nation.

Lewis’s accomplishments have been profiled in the "Work and Wealth" section of Essence Magazine. Motivated by her story, Essence Magazine selected Lewis’s profile for the tabletop book Making It Happen – Creating Success and Abundance.

A native Detroiter, Vickie Lewis is the wife of Rev. David Lewis, Pastor St. Matthew Missionary Baptist Church, and the proud mother of Dr. David Lewis, Jr., Anesthesiologist.

Dr. Cameron Lippert is the Co-Founder, and Chief Innovation Officer at ElectraMet. Dr. Lippert is a serial entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in developing innovations and bringing them to market. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Cameron managed multimillion dollar R&D and technology development & demonstration projects at the Center for Applied Energy Research at the University of Kentucky ranging from carbon capture to new battery chemistry.

Dr. Lippert received his BS in Biochemistry from Eckerd College and a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and has more than 50 publications and patents in the field.

Charlie O’Ryan is the Director of Sales for StrikoWestofen in North America, part of the Norican Group. While working for StrikoWestofen over the last 11 years he has assumed roles ranging from Project Management, Manufacturing Operations, Product Management, and Outside Sales. His experience includes supporting new and existing die-casting facilities in over 7 countries with special focus on new programs for electrical vehicles as well as aerospace and telecommunications. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University in Supply Chain Management (sub-focus on materials engineering), a Lean Six-Sigma Green belt, and LEED® GA accreditation.

Mr. O’Ryan has spent most of his career in new technology and process development programs within the Textile, Chemical, Automotive, Glass and Paint Finishing industries. Mr. O’Ryan has been involved in a number of successful transactions involving licensing, joint venture and strategic alliances from small and middle market companies to multinational Fortune 50 companies.

Mr. O’Ryan has or is serving on a number of private and public companies advisory boards, has lectured and presented continuing education seminars on a variety of processes and technology development programs and has consulted regularly with firms looking to facilitate new or innovative technology launches in areas that impact Automation processes and Environmental solutions. An author of over 30 articles, inventor with over 14 current patents and investor in several small niche market technologies Mr. O’Ryan also brings a history of formerly directing a small company known for very discreet benchmarking and evaluation programs with select clients of leading edge or disruptive technologies.

Prior to his current role as Senior Strategic Business Development Manager, Ecoclean, an a similar role at ATS Automation he lead the leadership role for 20 years at Advanced Technology & Marketing Group LLC. Mr. O’Ryan held a number of Senior level planning, technology and Global Product line responsibilities at ABB, Morton International, and Nordson Corporation. Mr. O’Ryan earned an MBA from Baldwin Wallace College and a BS in Business Education from Bowling Green State University where he served on the Business Colleges’ Board of Advocates until recently, while still serving as a Mentor in Residence for Oakland University and six other Michigan Universities within the states T3N Network. (Tech Transfer Talent Network

Eleni Pitses is a Battery Lifecycle Engineer at General Motors. She has nearly seven years of experience at General Motors and four years in the battery industry.  In the battery space, Eleni has experience in advanced battery module design, battery module design execution, and most recently battery lifecycle and sustainability.  In her current role, Eleni is committed to advancing multiple facets of battery sustainability, including battery carbon footprint declarations, battery recycling business cases, and end-of-life collection projects. She also leverages her battery design experience to develop and update battery design for recycling best practices, and to collaborate with colleagues in advocating for sustainable design choices. She is familiar with the challenges and trade-offs involved in all stages of product design, and is passionate about finding ways to integrate sustainable design concepts. Eleni holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and recently completed a certificate through MIT in Life Cycle Assessment.

John Sheerin serves as the Director of End-of-Life Tire Programs and is responsible for environmental, regulatory and legislative issues relating to these programs. He is a national expert on the issue of scrap tires and represents the tire industry on these matters before state legislatures, and state agencies in and develop regulations and rulemakings.

John also produces the biennial USTMA U.S. Scrap Tire Markets report and participates in various state, trade association and standard-making committees to address abandoned tire piles and encourage growth of scrap tire markets.

Before joining the USTMA in 2014, John was the Retail Environmental Director for Bridgestone Retail Operations, responsible for all the company’s environmental aspects, including compliance management, environmental education, property-related environmental issues, waste recycling and disposal, and emergency situations. Prior to that, he worked as a Professional Environmental Engineer.

Mr. Sheerin holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and his master’s degree in environmental engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He is also a JD graduate of the Chicago Kent School of Law.