Katherine O’Dea is a seasoned sustainability professional with 20 years of experience working with business and industry. In 2015, she co-founded Circular Economy Strategists to engage businesses, governments and NGOs in the creation of a more sustainable system of commerce catalyzed by a transition from linear take-make-use-discard business models to more resilient and circular economy models. Katherine, her partner, and her team assist clients in maximizing their material investments by eliminating the notion of waste and developing cross supply chain synergies that enable continuous material valorization. Their work leverages design for environment, sustainable materials management, industrial ecology, reverse logistics, and consumer engagement.
Prior to founding Circular Economy Strategists, Katherine was Senior Director of Innovation at GreenBlue, a non-profit focused on sustainable materials management and closed loop systems that was founded by Cradle2Cradle guru William McDonough. At Green Blue, Katherine launched the organizations Advisory Services program and built an impressive client base. She also played a principal role in strategy development, new program and project opportunity exploration, stakeholder engagement and the development of industry sector sustainability performance metrics and protocols.