Barry Cik
Founder and Technical Director, Naturepedic
Barry is Founder and Technical Director of Naturepedic, a manufacturer of award-winning certified organic mattresses. He has had a lifelong interest in preserving the environment, not only for us, but for all future generations as well. A board-certified environmental engineer, Barry is an advocate for legislative reform, and was invited to testify in Washington, D.C. for a congressional subcommittee exploring chemical reform. Barry is also a frequent speaker and thought leader, speaking before scientific, consumer, political and business audiences on the benefits of sustainable product design. When shopping for his first grandchild’s crib mattress, he was troubled to discover the state of the baby mattress industry. From that moment, Barry was inspired and determined to create mattress products that were safer and healthier for every child. Working in tandem with his sons, Barry established Naturepedic in 2003.
Christopher Knapp
Head of ESG and Impact Investing, Managing Director and Principal, Robertson Stephens
Chris is Head of ESG and Impact Investing, Managing Director and Principal at Robertson Stephens and has over 36 years of experience as investment advisor and entrepreneur. He began his career at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York, later co-founding and serving as CEO for Chilton Capital Management in Houston. Prior to joining Robertson Stephens Chris founded and served as CEO for Collaboration Capital, an investment advisory practice predicated on ESG principles and the power of for-profit enterprise to solve for complex, growing problems. A stalwart believer in the importance of active community engagement and civic leadership on the part of corporate citizens, Chris serves or has served as board member and/or in leadership capacity of The Honors College at the University of Houston, BridgeUp at Menninger, Hermann Park Conservancy, Houston Parks Board, Memorial Park Conservancy, The John Fairey Garden, and Workshop Houston. Chris earned a BA in Art History and History from Williams College.
Henry Rowlands
The Detox Project
Henry was brought up on a family run sheep farm in the Pembrokeshire National Park in Wales. His connection to both farming and the protection of the Welsh countryside led to a deep interest in issues related to sustainable agriculture from a young age. Following work as a news agency Journalist, Henry moved on to set up Sustainable Pulse, which focuses on sustainable agriculture and sustainable food. Sustainable Pulse now has a regular readership of over 1 million people per month from over 125 countries. In 2015 Henry set up The Detox Project to try and solve some of the issues he was made aware of during his work as a Journalist. Henry has also been an adviser on sustainable agriculture to a number of governments in the European Union.
Dr. Shanna Swan
Environmental and Reproductive Edpidemiologists and a Professor of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Dr. Swan is the best-selling author “Countdown; How Our Modern World Is Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, Threatening Sperm Counts and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race.” Dr. Swan has worked for over twenty-five years to understand the threats posed by chemicals to our environment and our health, and, when necessary, to develop new paradigms to assess their risks. Of most concern to Dr. Swan are the chemicals that our bodies can confuse with its own hormones (the “endocrine disrupting” chemicals). At the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Dr. Swan is working with a wide range of collaborators, including epidemiologists, biostatisticians, toxicologists, geneticists and systems biologists, to conduct studies and develop methods to evaluate the risks from such chemicals - methods that are sensitive enough to tease out the often subtle health effects of complex mixtures.
Bobbi Wilding
Deputy Director, Clean and Healthy New York
Bobbi has two decades of experience as an environmental health advocate. She directs the national Getting Ready for Baby coalition and CHNY’s Reducing Toxics in Child Care Program. Bobbi is an author and co-author of numerous reports and guides, including most recently New York State’s Environmental Health Leadership: A Roadmap to a Nontoxic, Just, Sustainable Circular Economy, and the Getting Ready for Baby campaign’s Safe Baby Products Guide. Her past writing includes Selling Safer Products, about retailers to the child care community, The Mattress Matters: Protecting Babies and Toddlers While They Sleep; No Silver Living, and Hazardous Chemicals in Health Care.
Anne Reynolds Robertson
Founder, Toxic Free Future for Our Children
Anne Reynolds Robertson Founder, Toxic Free Future for Our Children It is this concern that has lead Anne on a journey of discovery and she has committed her time, resources and talents to unite a coalition of concerned individuals, organizations, businesses and communities to come together for the sake of our children. Anne is the great-granddaughter of the founder of Reynolds Aluminum and the great, great grand-niece of RJ Reynolds Tobacco. This upbringing has provided a unique perspective on the power big business can yield in the marketplace. While there are many great examples of corporations being good stewards, she has discovered there is a dark side to companies that operate with impunity and she is dedicated to finding a better way for businesses to operate. Towards that goal she has recently launched a global initiative called Toxic Free Future for Our Children to address our global toxicity crisis and provide holistic solutions and systemic change and has joined the ESG team at Robertson Stephens.
