Auburn University will host a virtual talk with Dr. Dana Breed, Global R&D Director for Packaging and Sustainability at The Coca-Cola Company, on May 27 as part of the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences’ 75th Anniversary Celebration.

Breed is the third speaker in the virtual “7 for 75 Speaker Series” as part of the school’s yearlong celebration, which began March 1. She will give a talk titled, “An Industry Career in Sustainable Materials: What do I do? How do you get a job doing something similar?” During her talk, Dr. Breed will discuss the corporate role of research and development, her career implementing various types of sustainability programs, and the types of competencies and experiences she looks for when hiring early career professionals.

The talk is open to the public via Zoom from 2-3 p.m. CDT at https://auburn.zoom.us/j/83043315591, and live-streamed via the school’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ausfws/live/.

The “7 for 75 Speaker Series” is designed to feature distinguished alumni and industry leaders representing an array of forestry, wildlife and natural resource fields and enterprises. Speakers will cover a wide range of topics, from land management to current and future technology to stakeholder engagement.

The next speaker in the series will be Mr. Rhett Johnson, emeritus director of the Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center, co-founder and former president of the Longleaf Alliance, and current board member of the Solon and Martha Dixon Foundation. Johnson will discuss his tenure at the Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center as well as his history and relationship with the Dixon family. His talk is scheduled for June 24 from 2-3 p.m. CT.

Speaker Bio:

Dana Breed is the Global R&D Director for Packaging and Sustainability at The Coca-Cola Company. She has invented or developed materials used in items you likely have in your home right now. Before joining The Coca-Cola Company, she developed innovation strategy and led the development team for medical devices, medical packaging and consumer goods at Eastman Chemical Company. Prior to that, she researched new products across a variety of industries and developed materials and structures for flexible packaging at The Dow Chemical Company.

Dana has a PhD in Chemical Engineering from University of California Santa Barbara, a M.E.Res. in Chemical Engineering from The University of Sydney, and a B.S.Ch.E. in Chemical Engineering with Environmental Engineering and B.A. in Anthropology from Rice University. She is currently on the Packaging Advisory Board of California Polytechnic State University, the External Advisory Board for the School of Materials Science & Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and the Advisory Council for the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences for Auburn University.