Covestro Announces Speaker Lineup for THINC30 in October

PITTSBURGH, October 6, 2020 /3BL Media/ - For the fourth year in a row, Covestro will host its THINC³⁰ summit, this time virtually and viewed through the lens of current events – the pandemic, racial justice and economic uncertainty, coupled with the climate crisis.

Titled, The UNSDGs in the New Now: Resilience and Recovery, this year’s summit will continue Covestro’s work bringing the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to Pittsburgh and galvanizing leaders from all sectors to use them as a roadmap to create a region that is inclusive, equitable and sustainable for everyone.

“Everything we’re going through now have made the Global Goals not only more relevant than ever, but also more urgent,” said Rebecca Lucore, head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability, Covestro LLC.  “Ending poverty, eliminating hunger, reversing climate change, improving health outcomes for everyone – these UN SDGs are the very goals catapulted to the top of the public agenda this year.”

THINC³⁰ will be held over three days – October 15, 20 and 22 – in roughly two-hour sessions, with each day devoted to one of the three pillars of sustainability – social, environmental and economic equity.

It will feature national, regional and local experts in a series of panel discussions, fireside chats and spotlight talks that address the central question of each day.  Day One titled, Social Resilience, will ask “How do we achieve equity in public health and education, as well as food justice?”  Day Two, Environmental Equity, “How can the City of Pittsburgh, its neighborhoods and businesses step up sustainable practices that drive environmental justice?”  And, for Economic Empowerment on Day Three, the question is, “As we plan our economic recovery, how do we ensure everyone has a fair shot to participate and prosper?”

Speakers include:

October 15, 2020:  DAY #1 - “Social Resilience”

• Equity in Public Health and Medicine
  Noble A-W Maseru, PhD, MPH, Professor, Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, Director, Center for Health Equity Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, Office of the Dean University of Pittsburgh

• Preventative Health Strategies in Low Income Communities
  Chris Norwood, Executive Director, Health People: Community Health Initiative, South Bronx, NY

• Managing the Local Food Chain
  Miriam (Mim) Seidel, Assistant Professor of Nutrition, Falk School of Sustainability & Environment, Chatham University

  Rita Resick, Co-Owner, Vice President of Marketing / Treasurer and Food Safety Officer, Laurel Vista Farms, Food21 Board Member

  Pastor Cynthia Wallace, Executive Pastor, Bible Center Church and Executive Director, The Oasis Project

• Neighborhood Allies on Investing in Healthy Neighborhoods
  Glenn Grayson Jr., Senior Program Manager for Neighborhood Development, Neighborhood Allies

• Quality Education for All 
  Saleem Ghubril, Executive Director, Pittsburgh Promise

  Dr. Gretchen Generett, Director, University Council for Educational Administration Center for Educational Leadership and Social Justice, Duquesne University

  Nicole Sims, Parent Leader at A+ Schools, Perry High School

• Strong Women, Strong Girls
  Monica Henderson, Mentor

• Nonprofit Resiliency and the Pandemic               
  Peggy Outon, Executive Director, Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management, RMU

  Trisha M. Gadson, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, Macedonia FACE

  Josh Whiteside, Executive Director, The Education Partnership

• Connecting While Apart 
  Gabriela Citrone, Director of Initiatives, Citrone33 Foundation and Co-founder and Lead, EMBRACE Pittsburgh

October 20, 2020:  DAY #2 – “Environmental Equity”

• Pittsburgh and its UN SDG Commitment
  Grant Ervin, Chief Resilience Officer, City of Pittsburgh

  Zaheen Hussain, former Millvale Sustainability Coordinator and Director of Sustainability at New Sun Rising

• Environmental Justice
  Joylette Portlock, Executive Director, Sustainable Pittsburgh

• Sustainability is Mission Critical
  David Landis, President, EPIC Metals

• Leading Sustainable Transformation
  Laura Asiala, Senior Director, Business Engagement, The Council of the Great Lakes Region and Senior Fellow, Pyxera Global

• Collaboration for Climate Change
  Kim Kipin-McDonald, Head of Sustainable Development, Covestro LLC

  Jeff Scanlon, Environmental Defense Fund Climate Corps Fellow

October 22, 2020:  DAY #3 – “Economic Empowerment”

• Ending Systemic Racism and Supporting Economic Empowerment
  Sally McCrady, Head of Community Affairs, PNC

• Investing in Female and Minority Entrepreneurs/Founders/Start-ups – Challenges and Opportunities
  James Myers Jr., Director, Community and Business Development, Riverside Center for Innovation

  Diamonte Walker, MBA, Deputy Executive Director, Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh

  Tina Daniels, Founder and CEO, Concrete Rose Construction, LLC

  Christopher Spradley, President, CS Supplies

• Fostering Inclusive Executive Leadership with TALI
  Evan Frazier, Senior Vice President of Community Affairs, Highmark Health

  Noland Cheung, Chair of the Dentons Cohen & Grigsby Intellectual Property National Practice group

• Advice from Nashville for Pittsburgh
  Brian Moyer, CEO, Nashville Technology Council

• Rebuilding our Workforce: Inclusive, Compassionate, Resilient and Sustainable
  Dina Clark, Head, Diversity & Inclusion, Covestro LLC

  Dawnita Wilson, Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion, JBG Smith

  Betty Cruz, President & CEO, World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh

  James Robert Martin II, US Steel Dean of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh

• Pittsburgh’s Innovation Ecosystem:  Now and Tomorrow
  Jonathan Kersting, Vice President, Communications and Media, Pittsburgh Technology Council

  Jen Yosef, CEO, Mighty

THINC stands for transforming, harnessing, innovating, navigating and collaborating for a purpose-driven, sustainable future by 2030. Its mission is to introduce and accelerate sustainable business development, public-private partnerships and social innovation in the Pittsburgh region by utilizing the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a roadmap and showcasing how these goals can be achieved by leveraging the growing need for purpose among individuals, organizations and businesses. 

About Covestro LLC:
Covestro LLC is one of the leading producers of high-performance polymers in North America and is part of the global Covestro business, which is among the world’s largest polymer companies with 2019 sales of EUR 12.4 billion. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, construction, wood processing and furniture, electrical and electronics, and healthcare industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employed approximately 17,200 people at the end of 2019.

i³ (ignite, imagine, innovate) is Covestro LLC’s companywide corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative that aims to spark curiosity, to envision what could be and to help create it. Built on the three pillars of philanthropy (i³ Give), employee volunteerism (i³ Engage) and STEM education (i³ STEM), i³ seeks to create sustainable and lasting impacts.

Find more information at www.covestro.us or https://www.covestro.us/en/csr-and-sustainability/overview.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Covestro AG. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Covestro’s public reports which are available at www.covestro.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

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For more information, please contact:

Russell Glorioso

Phone: 412-525-9330