With staff based all over the world including the U.S., The Netherlands, the U.K., and Germany, The Sustainability Consortium brings a truly global perspective to creating more sustainable consumer products.
Since its full inception in 2009, TSC expanded our unique group of global stakeholders, partners and members to create an unparalleled opportunity for collaboration. TSC is comprised of the top academic institutions, leading civil society organizations, corporations, and life-cycle experts from all over the world. This innovative group of people dedicated to sustainability is committed to developing science-based measurement and reporting methods. TSC is able to develop solutions and a uniform approach to measure sustainability across supply chains through this team.
Carolyn Baltz joined The Sustainability Consortium on June 29, 2015. Prior to joining TSC, Carolyn dedicated 11 years to strengthening the membership efforts of the Arkansas Alumni Association at the University of Arkansas. Carolyn was instrumental in growing stewardship programs for members, engagement measurement practices and membership acquisition strategy. In addition to her expertise in relationship management, Carolyn led efforts to create and market a new brand identity for the Association. Carolyn received a Bachelor of the Arts degree in Journalism with a minor in Advertising and Public Relations. She currently volunteers for multiple non-profit organizations in the Northwest Arkansas area.
Koen Boone is Director Europe of The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) and employed by Wageningen University and Research (WUR). Before joining TSC, Koen led a research center focusing on monitoring sustainability of Dutch food chains. Koen has more than fifteen years of experience on measuring sustainability on all kinds of levels (product, company, sector). He worked together with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) on the development of GRI guidelines for sustainability reporting for the Food Processing Industry.
Dr. Kevin Dooley is a Professor of Supply Chain Management and a Dean's Council of 100 Distinguished Scholars in the WP Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. He is Chief Scientist of The Sustainability Consortium, developing science and tools to improve the sustainability of consumer goods. Dr. Dooley is a world-known expert in the application of complexity science to help organizations improve. He has published over 100 research articles and co-authored an award-winning book, "Organizational Change and Innovation Processes". He is on several journal editorial boards including Journal of Supply Chain Management and Journal of Business Logistics. He has been awarded two patents on Centering Resonance Analysis, a novel form of network text analysis, and is co-founder and CEO of Crawdad Technologies, LLC, a provider of text analysis software for academics of Business at Arizona State University.
Mike Faupel is the Director of Operations for The Sustainability Consortium and oversees finance, staffing, communications and several other functions for the entire organization. Prior to his involvement with The Consortium Mike spent many years in the value-added agricultural products industry, focusing on quality and food safety in produce and bakery products. His masters and bachelors degrees are both from the University of Arkansas Bumpers College of Agriculture.
Erika Ferrin is the Senior Director of Marketing, Communication, and Development at The Sustainability Consortium (TSC). Ferrin's main role is to set the marketing and communication strategy for TSC as well as create communication platforms to support our researchers, members and partners. Along with 15 years of non-profit and higher education marketing experience, Ferrin brings with her a passion for conservation and working with scientists and researchers to help tell their stories. Prior to joining TSC, Ferrin was the Brand Marketing Manager in the Smithsonian's Office of Public Affairs where she led Smithsonian's pan-Institutional marketing plan and national marketing campaign. Before the Smithsonian, Ferrin was the Director of Marketing at the University of Maryland, Baltimore Country (UMBC). Her branding campaign for UMBC won the national 2011 CASE gold award for Advertising. Prior to her time at UMBC, Erika was the Associate Director for Advertising and Promotion at PBS, where she worked in brand management for PBS, PBS KIDS and launched premieres and promotional campaigns for over 50 different television series. Erika received her M.A. in Professional Studies and Art History from Towson University and her B.A. in Media Communication and Design from James Madison University.
Jessica Ginger is the Sr. Director of The Sustainability Consortium’s (TSC) THESIS Impact Team where she leads global implementation projects with retailers, brands, and manufacturers that use TSC’s science-based sustainability performance management solution, THESIS. Jessica built and now oversees The Consortium’s supplier support services, including its network of trained service providers. She also directs her team’s analytics to drive impact by leveraging THESIS’ unique supply chain data that represents approximately 1700 companies and $1 trillion USD in consumer goods. Her passion for social sustainability has been the driving force behind her 16 years of global, multi-stakeholder, and multi-issue experiences. Prior to joining TSC in 2013, Jessica managed partnerships in Africa and the Middle East for the AmeriCares Foundation where she worked to improve the quality and increase the quantity of medical aid delivered to marginalized populations. She also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Moldova and was a Technical Advisory Committee Member for the UNDP's 2014 Equator Prize. Jessica received her M.A. in Sustainable International Development from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and her B.S. in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University.
Dr. Sarah E. Lewis is passionate about working through challenges at the interface of humans and the environment. A leader in the field of sustainability, Sarah is a certified Sustainability Associate (ISSP-SA), an author on topics related to ecological integrity, water resources, and improving supply chain sustainability. Sarah is Senior Director of Innovation with The Sustainability Consortium (TSC). Through her work at TSC, she has led the development of supply chain sustainability metrics across the consumer goods industry, led the creation of TSC’s stakeholder engagement methodology, founded TSC implementation program, launched the first ever TSC Innovation Program, and founded TSC Idea Forum, TSC’s first leadership development program. Sarah holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Dynamics, a Master of Arts in French, and a Bachelor of Science in Biology and French Secondary Education. An award-winning educator, Sarah has taught Earth Science, French, and Environmental Sociology. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Arkansas, serving on several graduate student research committees. She is active in her community, serving on the boards of organizations, such as the Walton Arts Center, the Illinois River Watershed Partnership, and Arkansas United. In 2008, the Arkansas Sierra Club recognized Sarah as Activist of the Year. She served a 4-year term as an elected official on the Fayetteville, Arkansas City Council where she founded the Environmental Action Committee, chaired the Solid Waste, Recycling, and Water Utilities committee, wrote and sponsored the Low Impact Development ordinance, and led the development and adoption of Fayetteville’s Streamside Protection Ordinance, the first in the State of Arkansas. Her highest honor, however, is that she is the mom of, Isaac, a beautiful little boy who inspires her every day.
Euan Murray became Chief Executive of The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) in December 2016 with a focus on driving implementation of TSC tools by retailers and large purchasers, and working with TSC members on innovative solutions to supply chain sustainability problems. Murray joined TSC in 2012 and has held a number of leadership positions, most recently COO. Prior to joining TSC, Murray was Director of Footprinting at The Carbon Trust. There, he led projects with PepsiCo, Unilever, M&S, CDP and many other TSC members, focusing on product and supply chain carbon footprinting. He has held a number of other roles in sustainability, financial services and strategy consulting. Murray has a BA in Natural Sciences and an MSc. in Materials Science & Metallurgy from Cambridge University, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. He is married to Emily and has two sons, Oscar and Zac.
Christy Slay directs the science and research application activities for The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) to develop a global, transparent, scientifically based measurement and reporting system for product sustainability. She leads efforts with strategic partners to ensure TSC’s metrics, tools, and reporting systems are harmonized and interoperable with existing initiatives. Christy leads projects in agricultural supply chains including data mobility solutions as well as the development of spatial tools for visualizing the environmental and social impacts of global supply chains for TSC’s Commodity Mapping platform. Most recently she published research on the drivers of global forest loss in the journal Science. She has also published on population ecology, conservation management, sustainable agricultural metrics, and climate change resilience in supply chains. She co-leads cave ecology research for the HICAVES Project on the island of Hawaii documenting new species during her vacation time. Christy has been with TSC since its inception in 2009. She received her doctorate in biology from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville in 2010. Christy has 22 years of experience as an educator in both collegiate and environmental education settings. She serves on the board of the Ozark Natural Science Center, a residential nature education center for school children and teaches Sustainability for Business courses in the Walton College Graduate School of Business. Prior to her graduate research she led curriculum development and strategic planning with the National Audubon Society where she also authored articles for Audubon Magazine in New York. She received her B.A. in biology with a minor in religion from Hendrix College attending courses at Birkbeck College at the University of London.
Cristian Becerra is a Data Analyst for the THESIS Impact Team at The Sustainability Consortium (TSC). In this role he takes ownership for the data analysis function at TSC, specializing in the THESIS data set of sustainability performance data from >1,500 of the world’s largest food and consumer goods companies on products worth approx. $1trillion. Additionally, he pursues the improvement of current systems, development of new reporting tools for retailers or other users throughout the value chain, and enrichment in external engagement. Prior to joining TSC in May of 2018, Cristian was a Sustainability Analyst for Dell Inc., where he created tools and process for gathering, calculating, and analyzing CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) data. Cristian holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business with a concentration in Sustainability and a certificate in Applied Business Data Analytics from Arizona State University.
Jenn joined The Sustainability Consortium in 2018 as an Administrative Assistant in the University of Arkansas office. Jenn received her bachelor’s degree in Family Studies and Human Services from Kansas State University. Before joining TSC, Jenn worked as a Quality Assurance Specialist at Tallgrass Family Services in Oklahoma. Prior to her work at the foster care agency, she was a Program Director at the Regional Prevention Center in Kansas.
Nathan Bolivar is the Graphic and Web Design Specialist at the Sustainability Consortium. Prior to joining he came from Arizona State University’s Technology Office where he worked as part of their development team in apps and design. Along with his passion for web, he has been involved with several lean startups at multiple stages. His expertise is in multimedia design, marketing strategy, and UI/UX for web and mobile. Nathan graduated with a BA in business administration and marketing from Adams State University in 2015, where he also competed as a track and field athlete. He is also a licensed real estate agent in Arizona.
Forrest Follett began working for TSC in September of 2018 as the Manager of Data Science. His work supports the Commodities Mapping Program, analyzing global sustainability risks as they relate to various commodities and modeling their spatial distributions. Forrest’s background is in Archaeology, where he has several years of experience in the Cultural Resource Management sector and got his BA in 2012. He moved to Fayetteville to pursue his MA and is currently finishing his thesis, titled “An Investigation of the Affordances of Virtual Environments for Archaeological Data Presentation” which uses video games to make more interesting archaeological site reports. The common thread between his work in archaeology and his work for the consortium is his passion for making complex geospatial data into maps and visualizations that are easy to understand and make exploring a dataset simple and engaging.
Teresa holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree from the State University of Londrina, Brazil, and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Agricultural and Food Law from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. She is a Ph.D. Candidate in Public Policy, specializing in agriculture policy. Prior to joining The Sustainability Consortium, she worked for 5 years as a research assistant at the University of Arkansas conducting research in food and agriculture policy. She also worked as a legal consultant in Fayetteville for Kramer Detergents, Inc., where she was responsible for advising the company on legal issues related to the chemical industry regulations and on the implementation of the corporate social responsibility.
Emil is a Research Associate at the European office of The Sustainability Consortium for the Food, Beverage, and Agriculture Working Group. Emil studied MSc Environment and Resource Management at VU University Amsterdam, with specialization in Environmental Studies. Prior to joining TSC, Emil worked as a researcher at Wageningen UR, where he worked on various topics, such as bio-based economy, price transparency, and competition in agri-food chains. In addition, Emil has conducted an LCA for an IKEA product during his study.
Fatima Hafsa is a doctoral student in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University. She has a Bachelor’s in polymer engineering from Pakistan and a Master’s in materials engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. Between her bachelors and masters degrees, Fatima worked at WWF-Pakistan, where she got her initial exposure to sustainability challenges. Fatima is interested in understanding how a circular economy of plastics can be made more sustainable. In particular, she is interested in modular organisational networks that can influence circularity, decisions to adopt sustainability, and the social aspects of sustainability. Fatima is also a Fulbright scholar.
Debra Harmon is the assistant to Euan Murray, CEO, at The Sustainability Consortium (TSC). Debbie has been with TSC since its launch in 2009, supporting administration and operations Scottsdale, Arizona office. Before joining TSC, Debra supported the Strategic Initiatives Officer for the Global Institute of Sustainability at the ASU Foundation.
Roel is a Research Associate at the European office of The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) for the Food, Beverage, and Agriculture Sector Working Group. As a researcher in sustainability assessment at Wageningen University and Research Center, Roel shares his time between TSC and other international and national research projects on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) application and sustainability assessment methodology. Previously, he worked for AkzoNobel as a specialist in sustainability focusing on LCA of chemicals and on environmental management. Roel holds a master degree in Chemistry and in Environmental Sciences from the Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Among other subjects, he studied the behavior of eutrophying emissions in the framework of LCA at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is a fanatic amateur cook and enjoys cyclocross and road biking at home and abroad.
Christopher Helt is the Senior Manager of Technical Development at The Sustainability Consortium (TSC), Arizona State University, responsible for the development of the Sustainability Measurement and Reporting System for manufactured and formulated goods supply chains. In addition, he is the Principal Researcher for Leadership Initiatives at TSC related to human health impacts associated with consumer product use. As such, he manages the Common Chemical Criteria Task Force at TSC which aims to provide a common framework to enhance communication regarding chemical safety among broad stakeholders.
Prior to joining TSC, Chris worked for Colgate-Palmolive Company (Piscataway, NJ) as a Senior Research Scientist in their Global Product Safety Department. Chris earned a PhD in Toxicology (2004) from the University of Rochester and a BS in Biochemistry (1997) from The Pennsylvania State University. His academic research focused on the DNA damage response following oxidative stress.
John Thomas Sutton works diligently to help clients tell their story profoundly and effectively through any print, digital, or online medium. As a designer, one of my favorite feelings is knowing a client is proud to use my work.
John graduated the University of Portland with a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Communications in May 2011. John then graduated from Arizona State University with a Master of Visual Communication Design in 2015. He then worked for ASU Project Humanities as their graphic design as well as at Catapult Strategic Design while working on his Masters degree. His next step was to join ASU EdPlus from 2015-2019. John now works with The Sustainability Consortium, a partnership between ASU, the University of Arkansas, and Wageningenur to research and promote a more sustainable future.
Erin Killeen is the Technical Development Coordinator at The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) where she supports the planning, coordination, and implementation of research and technical projects related to supply chain sustainability. Erin has also contributed to TSC as a Research Associate for TSC’s Food Beverage, and Agriculture sector, developing content for TSC Toolkits. Prior to her role with The Consortium, Erin was a Project Manager for Entegrity, a sustainability and energy services company specializing in the implementation of energy conservation and renewable energy projects. Furthermore, she holds expert knowledge regarding the topic of food waste across the supply chain. Erin holds a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics degree from the University of Arkansas, USA and a Master of Science in International Rural Development degree from the University of Gent, Belgium. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, with a minor in Anthropology and Environmental Soil and Water Science.
Jessica Kosak joined The Sustainability Consortium in 2018 as Manager, Technical Development. She is a principle researcher, and responsible for the Sustainability Measurements and Reporting system for the Clothing, Footwear, and Textiles sector. Previously, she worked in the fashion industry as an apparel and textiles designer focusing on knitwear and zero waste design. As an independent designer, her work has been shown in print and online in publications including Vogue, i-D, Nylon, 1Granary, and Vogue Italia. Jessica received her Master of Fine Arts degree in Fashion Design and Society from Parsons, The New School for Design in New York, where she focused on zero waste design and recycled textiles. She also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Fashion design with a focus on sustainability from Parsons.
Rosemary holds an MBA/MS in Sustainable Systems from the University of Michigan and a BFA in Communication Design from Carnegie Mellon University. She has worked with TSC as a project manager since 2020 and has engaged with TSC since 2011 both as a Trained Technical Service Provider and graduate intern. Her career has focused on driving and managing projects and programs within sustainable design, supply chains, sourcing, and policy management, primarily within the food/agriculture and grocery retail industries. She has worked with Fortune 500s, large and small private companies, non-profits, and academia across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and SE Asia.
Jessica Leonard is the Grants and Development Manager at The Sustainability Consortium (TSC), where she writes, develops and maintains TSC’s grants through large, multidisciplinary and collaborative proposal efforts to a wide range of global funding entities. Jessica’s background includes over 9 years of higher education and tourism marketing experience. Prior to joining TSC, Jessica managed social media content and strategy for the University of Arkansas as well as adjunct taught public relations classes. Before joining the university system, she was the Director of Communications for the Fayetteville Convention & Visitors Bureau and was named a 30 Under 30 honoree in the travel and tourism industry by Destination Marketing Association International. Jessica received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with an emphasis in Advertising and Public Relations and a minor in Marketing from the University of Arkansas.
Jennifer Park joined TSC in February 2019 as an Innovation Program Assistant. She graduated from the University of Arkansas with a bachelor’s degree in geography and minors in sustainability and history. She then completed a year of service with the AmeriCorps VISTA program managing a large-scale “giving garden” in Frederick, CO. Jennifer has extensive volunteer experience working to support local food systems through organic gardening both in the US and abroad. She is interested in the intersection of environmentalism and social justice and hopes to continue her work supporting TSC innovation programs while pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Arkansas.
Andrea Partain is an Administrative Coordinator for The Sustainability Consortium's U of A office in Fayetteville. She studied Finance at the University of Central Arkansas before completing a bachelors degree in Corporate Finance from Arkansas State University. Before joining TSC, Andrea worked in the corporate office for Marvins IGA in Fayetteville. She also managed accounts for PMP, LLC., a home based accident reconstruction business, while spending time at home raising her two daughters.
Emily graduated with her bachelor’s in Sustainability with a concentration in business in May 2019 from Arizona State University. In her studies and through her internships, she has learned how businesses can gain transparency in their supply chain and operations, uncover risks created by environmental and social impact, and take initiative to improve their sustainability in anticipation of an uncertain future. Emily believes that global changes, including climate change and an evolving middle class, create a pivotal opportunity for businesses to become drivers of profitable, sustainable development. With experience assisting in program management on the sustainability team at Sprouts Farmers Market and in sustainability communication at various green-minded magazines and websites, Emily joins the Implementation team to help industry members put TSC’s sustainability measurement and reporting tools to good use in their supply chain transparency efforts.
Chris is a GIS Analyst supporting the Commodity Mapping Program, which uses models and client supply chain data in the production of comprehensible data visualizations highlighting sustainability risks such as deforestation, water, and child labor. His work includes data analytics, along with spatial analysis and cartographic, process, and technical solution design.
Prior to joining TSC, Chris was a helpdesk manager for TerraVia--a biotechnology company that supplied a variety of sustainable algae-based food and nutrition products.
Chris has a Professional Science Master’s Degree in Environmental Studies and a certificate in Applied Spatial Analytics from Antioch University in Keene, NH. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Electronic Engineering Technology.
Frank is an experienced researcher on farming systems and sustainable agricultural production. He obtained his Pd.D. in 1998 on the topic "Potato crop growth as affected by potato cyst nematodes", and has worked on nutrient cycling and nutrient use efficiencies in dairy farming and arable farming (agriculture, horticulture, and flower bulb production), both with farmers' groups and for policy makers.
His latest research topics are on quantification of sustainable agricultural practices at global scale, and on efficient recycling of nutrients derived from anaerobic digestion of plant material and manures.
Birgit de Vos received her doctorate in environmental policy from Wageningen University (the Netherlands), and a MA in anthropology from the University of Nijmegen. Birgit joined TSC in 2013 , and has been working mainly on the development of social sustainability KPIs for FBA.
Birgit also works for Wageningen Economic research. She has fourteen years of experience in research and eight years in project leadership. At present she is a WUR liaison officer for the EU-Agrinatura network, which sets out value chain analyses in Africa, Asia and Latin America. In addition she coordinates an impact evaluation for UTZ certified on the impact of certification and services on the livelihoods of smallholders in Ivory Coast. Birgit also has extensive experience on aquaculture (animal welfare) and sustainable fisheries.
Willem Ruster is business development manager at Wageningen Research of the area “Sustainability Management in Agri & Food". He has 12 years’ experience in running societal impact assessments in the private sector. In these years, he ran several complex, informal project structures and guided consultants and researchers in projects with among others ECPA, Crop Life International, EuropaBio, Copa-Cogeca, Monsanto, Bayer CropScience, Heineken, The Coca-Cola Company, IFC (part of The World Bank Group), Johnson & Johnson and Cargill. Between 2007-2017, he worked at Steward Redqueen, an international consultancy on sustainability strategy and impact measurement. Between 2015-2017, he acted as manager of Steward Redqueen’s agrifood and biotech cluster. Market experience: Europe (>10 countries & EU level), Africa (e.g. DRC, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt; Africa-level), South-East Asia (e.g. Vietnam, Indonesia, The Philippines). Willem hold a MSc in Economics with specialization in Development & Environmental economics.
