Alana Carr was one of the first members of the Emerging Leadership Council (ELC), having joined shortly after it was created five years ago by the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA). Earlier this year, Carr, who is the inside sales and marketing manager at Hosokawa Alpine American, Inc., was named ELC co-chair.
With about 50 members, the ELC brings together newcomers in the flexible packaging industry to network and promote the attributes of flexible packaging while encouraging recruitment and retention. Carr says she wants to advance the priorities of FPA and also promote the opportunities that the ELC can provide dedicated participants.
“There’s so much value for the ELC members to grow and learn from the leadership development opportunities by putting themselves out there,” says Carr, who will be co-chair with Weston Harcourt, director of sales at TOPPAN Packaging Americas.
“You get a lot of experience with how to take charge—whether it’s leading a project or being a co-chair or a committee chair. It’s a great overall experience on top of the many other benefits of being an ELC member. That is something that isn’t talked about enough.”
Some Reorganization
Carr says she and Harcourt want to streamline and reorganize the ELC, while formalizing its structure by creating bylaws. Those discussions include the best ways to formalize the ELC memberships to ensure new members are dedicated to the council’s goals. They began in spring 2025, shortly after FPA’s Annual Meeting in Miami, when Carr officially became co-chair. She replaced Kasie Fairbarn, vice president of sales at Windmoeller & Hoelscher Corporation, who was co-chair for the past two years.
“Weston and I have been talking a lot about revamping the ELC,” Carr says. “What’s beautiful about the ELC is that we can be fluid and change our structure and priorities as our industry changes—whatever issues or urgent things that may come up that our FPA members need us to pay attention to.”
So far, the solidified changes include merging the ELC’s Education Committee and its Recruitment and Leadership Committee into a new Education and Recruitment Committee. The ELC also has an Advocacy Committee. Each has adopted a new mission statement:
- Advocacy Committee mission statement: “Providing a voice of advocacy for the flexible packaging industry by working with lawmakers and promoting responsible packaging that supports circular economy principles.”
- Education and Recruitment Committee mission statement: “Building a sustainable future for the flexible packaging industry by attracting and developing future leaders through recruitment and education, while providing impactful resources to raise awareness of critical industry issues.”
“As leaders of the new Education and Recruitment Committee, our roles involve developing impactful educational resources and creating a pipeline of future leaders for the flexible packaging industry through recruitment and education.”
Kara Stoney, key brand manager-packaging at Dow and chair of the ELC’s Education and Recruitment Committee
Education and Recruitment
Kara Stoney, key brand manager for packaging at Dow, is chair of the Education and Recruitment Committee. The newly elected vice-chair is Patrick Clark, vice president of product development and procurement at Bryce Corporation.
“As leaders of the new Education and Recruitment Committee, our roles involve developing impactful educational resources and creating a pipeline of future leaders for the flexible packaging industry through recruitment and education,” Stoney says. “We aim to promote and protect the industry by attracting and developing future leaders while providing resources to raise awareness of critical industry issues.”
Clark says the committee supports FPA’s mission in two key ways.
“First, it offers a platform for established industry leaders to network with emerging professionals, fostering valuable connections and knowledge exchanges,” he says. “Second, it focuses on developing the next generation of industry leaders by providing them with mentorship and growth opportunities.”
The Education and Recruitment Committee will continue with previous programs adopted over the years, including a summer internship program and a speaker series. The internship program provides a forum for interns at FPA member companies to network and learn about the flexible packaging industry through a series of online meetings and webinars.
“Our summer internship series has been highly successful for several years, and we are excited to continue this initiative through this next year,” Clark says. “The program provides an excellent opportunity to introduce college students to the flexible packaging industry while also supporting our recruitment efforts as an organization.”
The summer series leverages key industry leaders to give presentations, showcasing their career paths and success stories that, in turn, highlight the diverse opportunities within the industry, he points out.
“Additionally, we organize biweekly small group sessions, led by committee members, offering focused mentorship for each intern to further enhance their experience and development,” Clark says.
The Education and Recruitment Committee will also explore initiatives to get more involved with colleges and universities. Stoney oversees the Student Flexible Packaging Design Challenge, which recognizes flexible packaging solutions developed by students. In the early spring, the annual contest had approximately 57 applicants, and the ELC was in the process of judging the entries and selecting winners.
“We are enhancing our college outreach initiatives to build stronger partnerships with schools that offer programs well-suited to the flexible packaging industry,” Clark says.
The committee will again sponsor the FlexPack Crash Course at PACK EXPO International in Chicago in 2026. “This gives member companies the opportunity to send employees to an in-depth introduction to the industry through classroom and show floor demonstrations,” he says.
Advocacy Efforts
The chair of the Advocacy Committee is Emily Williams, the sustainability and innovation partnerships leader at TC Transcontinental Packaging. The vice-chair is Natalie Jardell, Flint Group’s sustainability and technical manager of key accounts in packaging inks.
“A key part of the FPA mission is to advocate on behalf of flexible packaging to our stakeholders of which a key stakeholder is government,” Williams says. “The work the Advocacy Committee is doing is directly related to the FPA mission accordingly.”
This year, members of the Advocacy Committee will again focus on site visits and fly-ins along with members of FPA’s staff such as John Richard, FPA director of government relations, and Dan Felton, FPA president and CEO.
With the fly-ins, people representing FPA go to Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress or their representatives to discuss FPA initiatives and encourage policymakers to visit FPA member facilities. Williams says a fly-in is scheduled for September 17–18, 2025.
“It is open to the entirety of FPA,” she says, “and the ELC members will take team leader positions for the meetings.”
If time permits, other fly-ins might be scheduled, she adds.
“The September fly-in is a federal event focused on relationship building with district-appropriate legislators for FPA members,” Williams says. “We want the flexible packaging industry to be on their radar. We want FPA to be their first phone call when relevant issues arise.”
This year, the ELC is hoping more people will participate. “This allows FPA to reach more legislators, forge more relationships, and hopefully result in more site visits,” Williams says.
The site visits are another important component of the relationship-building process, and October is a good time to have those because it is manufacturing month, she also says.
“Those will be the key activities. But we have left some bandwidth open on purpose to do what we’ve dubbed ‘side quests’ with FPA,” Williams says. “With new FPA leadership and new efforts in motion, we wanted to have some availability to assist with advocacy-related requests as they arise from Dan and John.”
With the second Trump administration now firmly in place, there might be additional opportunities for advocacy. “The current administration is very focused on promoting American jobs and jobs in manufacturing,” she points out.
The U.S. flexible packaging industry had an estimated $42.9 billion in sales in 2023, up from $41.5 billion in 2022, according to FPA’s website. That level of activity, as well as the jobs it creates, is important for policymakers to understand, Williams adds.
“A key part of the FPA mission is to advocate on behalf of flexible packaging to our stakeholders, of which a key stakeholder is government. The work the Advocacy Committee is doing is directly related to the FPA mission accordingly.”
Emily Williams, sustainability and innovation partnerships leader at TC Transcontinental Packaging and chair of the ELC’s Advocacy Committee
Hard Work
Fairbarn, who ended her two-year term as the ELC co-chair in March 2025, notes that the ELC members are volunteers and put their own time and effort into ensuring the ELC runs smoothly.
“Finding the time to lead and drive change is a significant obstacle,” Fairbarn says.
Carr says she likes to joke that the work for the ELC is her weekend job. “It is like a second workload if you have a co-chair or a chair position,” Carr says. “But it’s definitely worth it.”
Another challenge of being a chair or co-chair is holding people accountable when they are volunteers, too, Fairbarn says.
“It’s one thing to lead,” she says. “But leading a group of high achievers can be intimidating. The nice part is that most people on the ELC are in a similar boat, so people get it and help one another when needed.”
She credits her co-chair, Harcourt, for helping her in the past year. Harcourt, who could not be reached for comment, will continue as co-chair over the next year.
Along the way at the ELC, Fairbarn joined FPA’s Board of Directors.
“In the future, we need more board members who have the ELC on their resumes,” Fairbarn suggests. “Representation matters and seeing the ELC alumni on the board reminds people that their contributions count.”
She says the highlight of her tenure dates to before she was the ELC co-chair and was just joining the council as a member in September 2021. And it came just a few years before FPA would celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2025.
“I wasn’t a leader of the ELC then, but I still remember how special it was,” she says. “FPA’s decision to form the ELC was a significant moment in its 75-year history. Creating 50 new seats for future leaders at the table was a smart move. FPA has a bench filled with experts, advocates, and supporters. The next generation of leaders is ready.”
Thomas A. Barstow is senior editor at FlexPack VOICE®.