ABOUT US
Our cappindia.in student competition was recognized by the United Nations in 2022!
The CAPP Advisors
Joe Machado
Retired Executive: Alliance to End Plastic Waste
Joe Machado is a petrochemical industry veteran
currently based in Galveston, TX (USA). Joe earned a PhD in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Massachusetts in 1988. He enjoyed an exciting career with the Shell Oil Company that spanned 30 years working in a broad range of areas including applied research, business development, innovation, technology and sustainability strategy in businesses from plastics to energy products. Joe’s career took him from Houston to New Orleans, Belgium,
and London at various times.
Upon retiring from Shell, Joe joined The Alliance to End
Plastic Waste (AEPW) upon its formation in 2019. With AEPW, Joe led the initial development of their project sourcing team and process, led their innovation program and collaboration with venture capital and nucleated their AEPW’s Americas branch and initial Americas region project portfolio.
Joe retired from AEPW in 2023. He currently co-leads a
student design competition with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, supports conference programming with the Society of Plastics Engineers, supports a range of clean-up activities in Houston and Galveston waterways, and advises several entrepreneurial organizations in the plastic circular economy space.
Vanessa Toré
Director of the Foreign Economic Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Economic Development of Curaçao
Vanessa Toré has held various roles within the Curacao government, including the acting Secretary General of the Ministry of Economic Development, Policy Advisor to the Minister of Traffic, Transport and Urban Planning, and Acting Director of Policy at the Ministry of Traffic, Transport and Urban Planning. Currently, she is actively involved in a number of organizations: Since 2019, she is the Navigator for the process to realize a National Export Strategy for Curaçao; chairs the Integrated Water Resources Management Committee in Curaçao; a member of the Steering Committee of Global Water Partnership for the Caribbean; a member of the Blue Ribbon Committee which deals with the implementation of our ocean policy and recently she joined the Interim Steering Committee of the UN Local2030 Island Network.
Curaçao is one of the CAPP Flagship Nations
Bob Grace
Writer & reporter. Founding editor of Plastics News, which he led for 25 years.
First and foremost, Bob Grace is a writer, reporter and editor. He has Iived and worked for 7 years in Europe, and has been to China nearly 20 times. As a business journalist for more than 3 decades, he writes mostly about manufacturing, materials, design, sustainability and technologies such as additive manufacturing.
He was the founding editor of Plastics News, and over 25 years also served as that weekly newspaper's
associate publisher, conference director, and business development director.
Since founding his own consulting firm in 2014, Bob has
worked actively in global marketing communications, helping companies to clearly get their message to the market. I've played a key role in launching successful publications and C-level events on three continents, while moderating interesting events such as the Plasticity Forum plastics sustainability conference in venues ranging from
Shanghai to Lisbon to London to Anaheim.
The CAPP Team
Rob Steir
Catalyzing Action on Plastic Pollution
(CAPP) Co-Founder
Based in Florida, United States, Rob is a co-founder of CAPP. He is also a consultant for Ocean Recovery Alliance where he was the main author of a January 2020 United Nations-funded report "Crafting High-Impact Voluntary Commitments to Prevent and Reduce Marine Litter." Rob is also the co-founder of a waste-to-energy company, focused on developing countries and islands, featuring a 20-100 tons/day slow-pyrolysis solution.
Doug Woodring
Ocean Recovery Alliance Founder
CAPP Co-Founder
Based in Hong Kong, Doug is the Founder of Ocean Recovery Alliance, a non-profit organisation focused on bringing innovation solutions, technology, collaborations and policy together to impact positive improvements for the health of the ocean. He was the winner of the prestigious 2018 Prince Albert Prize for Innovative Philanthropy for his work with the ocean.
Doug is also a co-founder of CAPP!
Dr. Divya Singhal (Honorary)
Lead Blueprint Program (future)
Working Committee
Professor and Chairperson, Centre For Social Sensitivity and Action
Dr. Singhal is currently working as Professor and Chairperson of the Centre For Social Sensitivity and Action at the Goa Institute of Management, Goa, India. She teaches subjects related to Social Responsibility, Research and Music & management. Her research interest are in the area of development, responsibility and education.
Twitter: @ajmerkidivya
Dr. Justin Robertson (Honorary)
Lead Academic Competition Advisor
Working Committee
Associate Professor, City University of Hong Kong
Dr. Justin Robertson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Asian and International Studies at the City University of Hong Kong. He is active in the community as the convenor of the CityU Sustainability Lecture Series, the CityU Sustainability
Debate Series and the Asian Sustainability Case Study Challenge. He also leads the university’s Green Roofs Over Walls (GROW) project, an urban farm with a social mission linked to Pei Ho Counterparts in Sham Shui Po. A teaching award winner, his pedagogical approach is centered on encouraging students to conduct primary research, directing a lively classroom featuring interactive software and problem-solving exercises and connecting students with experts in the field and having students share their findings with practitioners.
He was the Season 1. Co-Organizer CAPP East Asia Competition
Dr. Sreerupa Sengupta (Honorary)
Working Committee
Goa Institute of Management
Assistant Professor, Healthcare Management
Member, Centre for Social Sensitivity and Action
Dr. Sengupta is Assistant Professor in the Healthcare Management area at the Goa Institute of Management (GIM). She offers courses on community health, health communication, gender and development and ethics. She is closely associated with the Centre for Social Sensitivity and Action, GIM and enjoys working on projects related to social action and sustainable development. Twitter: @SreerupaS
Sriman Banerjee
Working Committee
Indian Plastics Institute
Chairman Publication Committee
Sriman is the Chairman & Editor of IPI Journal and professionally Head's Packaging Development at Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company Ltd, based out of Boston, USA and has over 22 years of extensive global experience. He has a distinguished career with 35+ awards for excellence in packaging on Innovation and Sustainability including 7 coveted WorldStar trophies. He was featured by Hindustan Times newspaper as emerging talent in packaging in 2009 and awarded the lifetime achievement award by Express Pharma in 2018."
Future Hires
With sustainable funding, CAPP will be seeking a number of full-time hires, including an Executive Director, competition program manager, and COO.
If interested in being considered for these positions, please reach out to us at rob @ capp.global