WomenInPlastics

he Women in Plastics program continued to grow and thrive in 2023, traveling across the United States and through our Wi-Fi routers to bring performance plastics professionals together to learn, build connections, get inspired and enhance their careers.

Women in Plastic Atlanta Workshop attendees volunteering at Piedmont Park Conservancy.

Four in-person Women in Plastics workshops were held in 2023: an event March 1 – 2 in Atlanta, GA with a total of 72 attendees, an event June 7 – 8 in Buffalo, NY with 59 attendees and an event September 6 – 7 in Chicago, IL with 39 attendees.

The group also hosted an Education Session in conjunction with the 67th IAPD Annual Convention + connecX in beautiful San Diego, CA.

While visiting each of these cities, Women in Plastics had the privilege of positively impacting their local communities. In Atlanta, attendees took on a landscaping project at the historic Piedmont Park Conservancy.

In Buffalo, attendees worked to sort clothing and food donations at Hearts for the Homeless’ thrift store.

Women in Plastic and IAPD Environmental Committee members organized a volunteer beach cleanup at the IAPD Annual Convention.

In Chicago, the group supported Dress for Success, a charity that provides young women entering the workforce with clothing and accessories.

In San Diego, we partnered with the IAPD Environmental Committee to execute a beach cleanup at Harbor Island Park where we collected a whopping 78 lbs of trash from the shoreline.

Keynote speakers and advisory panels covered a variety of career development topics, including advocating for women in the workplace, building a brand online, overcoming imposter syndrome and more. These engaging presentations were filled with thought-provoking insights and tools to help you thrive in your career.

The Education Session in San Diego featuring speaker Isaac Wambua was such a hit that we brought him back for a virtual event, allowing his presentation on building understanding across generations to reach even more plastics professionals.

From left: Danica Chin, PLASKOLITE; Katie Clapp, A&C Plastics, Inc.; Jennifer Crocco, CartierWilson LLC; Leah Konrady, Konrady Plastics, Inc. and Sylvia Steiger, Nylatech Inc. spoke on an advisory panel about cultivating confidence in the workplace at the Chicago workshop.

Women in Plastics also took to the internet in April for a presentation on crafting a mindset for success.

It’s been a busy year, but we can’t wait for the next one! We are looking forward to hosting three more in-person workshops and three virtual events in 2024.

Thank you to Deena Baker, CartierWilson, LLC, who served as chair of Women in Plastics in 2022 – 2023, you have truly left a mark on this program. The baton has been passed to Jeri O’Brien, PLASKOLITE, with Gina Fox, Piedmont Plastics, filling the role of vice chair, and we couldn’t be more excited.

Most importantly, thank you to our sponsors! Women in Plastics would not have become one of IAPD’s fastest growing initiative without your support.

Ready to get involved in 2024? Sponsor the WIP program by contacting IAPD staff at events@iapd.org.