AGENDA
SYMPOSIUM RECEPTION
Wednesday, Feb 18th, 2026, 5:30pm-9:00pm
Venue: The Pavilion at SLO Ranch
871 Froom Ranch Way San Luis Obispo, CA, 93405
Catered by: Shekamoo Grill
SYMPOSIUM
Thursday, Feb 19th, 2026
Cal Poly, Advanced Technology Lab
Time
Location
Time
Company/Speaker
Presentation Title
Track
Location
9:15-9:45
​
DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY
Senior Scientist
Andy Heitsch
Finding The Elusive Piece:  Sustainable Plastic Solutions for Industrial Packaging
Packaging Materials  
 
Packaging Design
and Development   
Packaging for the Consumer  
Packaging Reusability
9:45-10:15
PREGIS
Sr. Manager of Packaging Services
Damon Lucenta
Understanding the True Origins of Product Damage
Packaging Materials
Distribution Packaging
Packaging Design and Development
10:30-11:00
NESTLE
Head of Packaging, Nestlé Health Science
Daniel Magnin
The New Equation of Packaging Design
Packaging Materials
Packaging Reusability
Packaging Machinery and Technology
11:00-12:00
INDUSTRY PANEL
​
The Coca-Cola Company
​
Cisco
Chris Tindillier
​
Niagara Bottling
​​
McKesson
Ondrea Kassarjian, PhD ​​
​
Clorox
​
​
​
Connecting the Pieces: Cross-Industry Collaboration
13:00-13:30
OLIVER
Regional Manager
Alyssa Hezmalhalch
Putting the Pieces Together: A Hands-On Look at Medical Packaging Design
Design and Development
13:30-14:00
PACKAGING COMPLIANCE LABS
Title
Jenn Goff
&
Anna Richards
Solving the Packaging Puzzle: Design, Development, and Usability in Practice
Packaging Design and Development
Packaging for the Consumer
14:30-15:00
SMURFIT WESTROCK
General Manager, Salinas, CA
"The Elephant & the Hippo, understanding manufacturers needs better to develop a sustainable & consumer focused packaging future"
Packaging Design and Development
Packaging Machinery and Technology
Packaging for the Consumer
Packaging Reusability
15:00-15:30
HB FULLER
Area Technical Manager
Tim Lamie
Packaging Power: Turning Boxes into Brand Builders
Packaging for the Consumer
15:30-16:00
CAL POLY PACKAGING CLUB
Symposium Directors
Silent Auction Chairs
Closing
Giveaway Prize &
Silent Auction Announcements
2026 SPONSORS
PLATINUM
GOLD
SILVER
