Lauren Heine Appointed President of The Association for the Advancement of Alternatives Assessment (A4)

ChemFORWARD would like to congratulate our Co-founder and Director of Science & Data Integrity, Dr. Lauren Heine, on her recent appointment as president of The Association for the Advancement of Alternatives Assessment (A4).

A4 is a professional association solely dedicated to advancing the science, practice, and policy of alternatives assessment and informed substitution. A community of researchers and practitioners from government agencies, academia, industry, and nonprofits, A4 works collaboratively to accelerate the transition to the use of safer chemicals, materials, processes, and products.

Heine has previously served A4 as vice president and as co-chair with Dr. Margaret Whittake of the Program Committee. In her new role, she will work to uphold A4’s mission to enhance the science of alternatives assessment, advance informed substitution, and support a vibrant, effective community of practitioners.

"I am excited for my new role with A4 and want to express my sincere admiration for our out-going president, Dr. Pam Spencer. As the inaugural president, Dr. Spencer defined the foundational structure and initial strategic pillars of A4. She was a force for collaboration and her dedication to A4 benefited us greatly when she generously extended her term for another two years during the pandemic. Over the next few years, I'm excited to support growth in the use and application of alternatives assessment (AA) in business and government. Thanks to an extraordinary mix of academic researchers, businesses, government experts, consultants, NGOs and others, we will continue our focus on developing and aligning best practices. As president, my goal is for A4 to continue to produce practical and excellent resources as well as to become a center of activity for AA." 

Please watch this recent A4 and ChemFORWARD joint webinar, Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Inadvertent PCBs (iPCBs) and a Circular Paper Economy, with Lauren Heine and Doug Krapas from Inland Empire Paper.