Archive | Shoot for the Stars

Chris is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sixone, a company revolutionizing blended plastic recycling. Sixone’s technology selectively extracts useful materials from complex waste – starting with polyester from post-consumer textiles – into high-quality circular polymers. Prior to founding Sixone, Chris was an executive at Texhong Textile Group and was both an operator and investor in […]

Joanne Dafoe is the Owner and President of ChopValue YYC, the Calgary microfactory that remanufactures used bamboo chopsticks into furniture and décor. A lifelong Calgarian with a design background and entrepreneurial spirit, Joanne launched ChopValue YYC in 2020 after connecting with the concept during the pandemic. Under her leadership, the microfactory has partnered with dozens […]

Riley Dewan is a Métis entrepreneur and founder of Circular Supply Inc., an Indigenous owned company that turns discarded personal protective equipment into a resource. After years in oil and gas, he saw pallets of gloves and hard hats go to landfill and set out to build a simple closed loop system. Circular Supply pairs […]

Rick is an innovator with a deep passion for developing solutions that address sustainability challenges with a focus on circularity. As President of Emerge Knowledge Design Inc, Rick has spent the last 24 years successfully guiding the transformation of Re-TRAC™ from a great idea to a one of the most widely used material management reporting […]

Blaire Gaalaas is Managing Director for Alberta and the Yukon at Circular Materials. In this role, Blaire is responsible for overseeing Circular Materials’ extended producer responsibility (EPR) recycling program operations in Alberta and the Yukon, ensuring compliance with the regulatory frameworks in both regions. Her strategic vision, deep knowledge of regulatory environments and exceptional team […]

Lauren Degenstein (she/her) is the Sustainability, Training/Production Coordinator at Davey Textile Solutions Inc. in Edmonton, Alberta. She holds a Master of Science in Human Ecology (Clothing & Textiles) from the University of Alberta, where her research focused on product stewardship and the environmental impacts of the textile industry. She is also Co-Chair of the Canadian […]

Based in Toronto, Clayton has been recycling electronics for over 25 years and has seen the industry evolve dramatically over that time, just like the technology itself. He brings a passion for business and the environmental sustainability to the table, with a particular focus on the intersection where each drive value for the other. Having […]

Jodi is a waste, recycling, and EPR policy wonk at work, and a passionate waste minimization advocate at play. She began her career in 2001 as an RCA Ambassador while working on her Master’s degree and writing a thesis on extended producer responsibility (EPR). Since then, she’s built a career as a waste and recycling […]

Ms. Dubois has worked in the non-profit and socio-environmental sector for nearly 20 years, focusing on agro and aquatic ecosystems, climate science, and ecological conservation across Canada and internationally. Since founding Ocean Legacy in 2013, she has led operations across eight countries, engaging hundreds of thousands of people in plastic pollution cleanup, research, education, and recycling initiatives. She spearheads one […]

Maggie Bain is a project manager and researcher with Circular Innovation Council (CIC), specializing in food waste diversion and piloting circular economy solutions. With expertise in human-environment interactions, social behavior change, and system dynamics, she applies a practical approach to developing scalable, transformative solutions for circular resource management. Maggie currently collaborates with governments, industry stakeholders, […]