Sustainable Sourcing Panel

Sustainable Sourcing Panel

November 16th @ 3:00 – 4:30pm

Virtual Event: Register here!

 It all starts with asking a question…

The products and services you and your business purchase make a difference! Join us to learn about sustainable procurement strategies and product choices. We’ll discuss how to build local and inclusive procurement strategies through executive engagement, capacity building for procurement staff, and using data to inform strategy. Our guest speakers will share valuable insights on publicly available green product specifications, different green product certifications, and how to identify and avoid greenwashing when making purchasing decisions large or small. You’ll also have the opportunity to learn from a successful case study in which the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus worked with healthcare institutions to create a food procurement supply chain that makes it easier to support local farmers and provide healthy food to patients, visitors, and employees. 

Speakers:

Antonina Simeti, Program Director at the Buffalo Purchasing Initiative 

Shea O’Neill, Vice President, U3 Advisors

Brendan Woodruff, Director of Sustainability at NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)

Jodi Smits Anderson, Director of Sustainability Programs at the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY)

Marla Guarino, Farm to Institution Program Coordinator, Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus 

Speaker Bios: 

Antonina Simeti, Program Director, Buffalo Purchasing Initiative

Antonina joined the Buffalo Purchasing Initiative (BPI) in 2019 as its first staff member. She is leading the local initiative to convene large employers in the Buffalo region to explore strategies, share resources and expand procurement opportunities for businesses owned by people of color in order to help create job opportunities and build wealth. Her role is to build the Initiative’s tools and operations, engage procurement managers, supplier diversity staff and leaders at BPI member organizations, find, learn about and support local businesses owned by people of color, and ultimately work to make connections and build relationships between these businesses and large purchasing organizations.

Antonina is an urbanist committed to creating new models for economically and environmentally sustainable development. Antonina’s professional experience includes non-profit management, public policy research, design strategy, and user research. She has experience collaborating with a wide range of organizations, and has worked with business leaders, community-based organizations, government agencies, elected officials, cultural institutions, designers and educators.

Antonina received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Tufts University and holds a Master of City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Shea O’Neill, Vice President, U3 Advisors

In his capacity as vice president, Shea builds the foundation that supports U3’s data-driven approach to economic and real estate development. Shea manages the majority of U3’s data and analytic needs and works across the company on a variety of projects. With a background in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Shea is able to leverage public and institutional datasets to visualize novel trends, such as where employees and students live and the overall impact on the local housing market. Shea also leads U3’s Buy Local Initiatives, and has helped grow and support local purchasing organizations and initiatives in Buffalo, Memphis, Rhode Island, and Chicago. In 2019, Shea began to expand U3’s external research footprint. He presented novel research on the formation of Anchor Districts at the Coalition of Urban and Municipal Universities and is currently developing tools on how to identify and support small colleges in financial distress.

 This work is enriched by Shea’s background in GIS and data management. Shea came to U3 out of University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Masters in City Planning with a focus on GIS and Community and Economic Development. Outside of U3 Advisors, Shea continues to grow his knowledge of GIS by teaching graduate level courses at the University of Pennsylvania and Jefferson University. 

Brendan Woodruff, Director of Sustainability at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)

Brendan Woodruff is the Director of Sustainability at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation where he focuses on lowering the environmental footprint of state government through providing resources and assistance to state agencies and authorities to meet their sustainability goals, creating green purchasing policies, and engaging employees on how they can be part of the solution. Prior to joining DEC he worked in the environmental advocacy field and in labor services. He has a BA in History from Skidmore College and a MS in Policy Studies from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

Jodi Smits Anderson, Director of Sustainability Programs at the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY)

Jodi is an architect and has been the Director of Sustainability at DASNY for 14 years, working on design/construction and NYS interagency greening. She focuses on process, iterative learning, and on illuminating the health, economic, and equity benefits in intentional connections with Nature and Community.

Marla Guarino, Farm to Institution Program Coordinator, Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus 

Marla Guarino works in food system strategy to help healthcare institutions form and implement plans to increase local food procurement.  A dietitian by trade she is passionate about the intersection of food and health outcomes. Food access and equity is the foundation of her work. She joined the BNMC in the Department of Health and Wellbeing in September of 2019 as a Farm to Institution Catalyst working to implement the grant funded USDA Local Food Promotion Program: Farm to Hospital Initiative.  With a deep understanding of the food system, she works to enhance food chain transparency from farm to distributor to institution while increasing awareness and knowledge among consumers of local food procurement efforts and benefits. Marla has a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from Allegheny College and a Bachelor of Science from the Dietitian Education Program at SUNY Buffalo State College.