If you’ve been following the journey of the Flexible Packaging Association’s (FPA’s) Emerging Leadership Council (ELC) since 2019, you have seen our contributions and perhaps felt some direct impacts. Among our achievements are the FlexPack Crash Course; Washington, D.C., fly-ins; the summer internship program; and the video on the basics of extended producer responsibility.
We talk a lot about the deliverables, but it is important that we give credit to the people behind the scenes. These people make it happen, so we wanted to highlight committee leaders by sharing their thoughts on the ELC. The committee leaders are cherished individuals who always deliver and are behind the ELC’s success.
We talk a lot about the deliverables, but it’s important that we give credit to the people behind the scenes … The committee leaders are cherished individuals who always deliver and are behind the ELC’s success.
Advocacy Committee
Leading the Advocacy Committee are Chair Monica Scott, technical sales manager of durable assembly at H.B. Fuller, and Vice-Chair Emily Williams, sustainability and innovation partnerships leader at TC Transcontinental Packaging.
Scott has been an ELC member for three years and has quickly ascended to the ELC’s leadership.
“We are constantly working on behalf of the industry, whether it’s providing input to legislators on various industry-related bills, leading legislators through tours of our facilities, or creating content to be shared with a broader audience,” she says, when asked about what others should know about the ELC’s work.
Williams has been an ELC member since 2023.
“I have no other committees that allow me to generate relationships with peers, specifically in flexible packaging, and that’s been beneficial for me personally and professionally,” she says, when asked why she volunteers for the committee.
Recruitment and Leadership Development Committee
Leading the Recruitment and Leadership Development Committee is Chair Abbey Crane, national account manager at American Packaging Corporation, and Vice-Chair Paul Cucco, regional sales manager at Windmoeller & Hoelscher Corporation.
Crane has been with the ELC since its inception in 2019.
When asked what she wants the industry to know about the ELC, she says, “This is the room where it all happens.”
She is correct.
The ELC is forever brainstorming ways to use FPA’s reach and experience and combine that with our action-oriented people to deliver results.
Cucco also has been an ELC member for most of its existence.
“We have had ELC members transition to FPA board seats, which shows the quality of talent and leadership on the ELC. It’s humbling to be a part of it,” he says, when asked what ELC contribution makes him most proud.
Education Committee
Leading the Education Committee is Chair Amy Presher, sales manager at Profol, and Vice-Chair Kara Stoney, sustainability strategy leader at Dow.
Presher is another longtime ELC member.
“Being a member of the ELC has stretched me outside of my comfort zone and provided me an incredible network of individuals I am proud to work alongside and consider friends,” she says.
Stoney has been an ELC member for two years, and she has provided a prediction when asked about the future.
“The ELC is going to directly help shape the education of sustainability for flexible packaging,” she says.
Please take a second to acknowledge the six current committee chairs and the ones who came before them. There’s never enough time to do your job while giving back to the industry. Somehow, these folks find the time, and we are forever grateful.
Kasie Fairbarn is vice president of sales for Windmoeller & Hoelscher Corporation, and Weston Harcourt is director of sales at Sonoco Flexible Packaging. They also serve as ELC co-chairs.