Rhiad Gajraj is a licensed professional engineer in the province of Ontario with extensive experience in solid waste management, renewable energy generation, and wastewater treatment. He is experienced in the complete life cycle of waste-to-value infrastructure projects, including conceptual design, detailed design, construction, commissioning, operations, and closeout. He is currently the Director of Development for Generate Upcycle, a global sustainability leader that develops, owns, and operates waste-to-value infrastructure in Canada, US and UK that diverts organic waste from landfill to be converted into renewable electricity and renewable natural gas, compost, fertilizer, and other soil amendments.

Dr. Behzadfar is a faculty member at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Creative School. He joined academia in 2018 after spending more than four years in the packaging industry. With the decline of natural resources, his research focuses on developing sustainable solutions for polymeric material design. His approach is understanding the structure-process-property relationship in polymers and bio-composite materials through fundamental approaches to modern physics. He is the author of more than 25 peer-reviewed journal papers and has presented their research findings at several conferences.

Taylor Stimpson holds a B.Eng & Society and MASc in Chemical Engineering from McMaster University and has over 6 years of expertise in interfacial engineering with a focus on bio-based, sustainable, and compostable materials. She is, at heart, a passionate problem-solver and environmentalist working to lead systems change toward a more climate-positive, equitable, and socially-just future, letting her passion guide her to her current role as Program Manager at the Academy for Sustainable Innovation (ASI).