Staff & Consultants

Staff

Dan Felton
Executive Director

Dan Felton

As AMERIPEN Executive Director, Dan can be contacted directly for comments and questions about our Board of Directors, finances and resources, association and industry leadership, coalition management, strategic planning, public policy positions, and conference and speaking requests Dan is currently staff liaison for our federal working group, Communications Committee and Compostables Work Group.

Rob Keith
Membership & Policy Director

Role

Rob Keith

As AMERIPEN Membership & Policy Director, Rob can be contacted directly for membership requests and issues, engagement information, committee information, and policy resources. Rob is currently staff liaison for our Government Affairs Committee, Government Affairs Coalition and Membership Committee.

Kyla Fisher
Program Director

Role

Kyla Fisher

As AMERIPEN Program Director, Kyla can be contacted directly concerning AMERIPEN program, projects, research and educational programs (i.e. conferences, webinars, workshops) She has been with AMERIPEN in some capacity since its inception and therefore has deep insight into AMERIPEN’s organizational history. Kyla is currently staff liaison for our Annual Summit Planning Committee, Sustainability Committee and State Recycling Market Development Taskforce.

Ashley Boger
Association Manager

Role

Ashley Boger

As AMERIPEN Association Manager, Ashley will be present on AMERIPEN calls and you may hear from her directly from time to time regarding operations and membership management. Ashley is an employee of The Markens Group (TMG), AMERIPEN’s association management company. As such, general requests for assistance from her should ideally go through Rob Keith or Dan Felton.

Brian Westerlind
Communications Consultant

Role

Brian Westerlind

As AMERIPEN Communications Consultant, Brian will be present on some AMERIPEN calls and you may hear directly from him from time to time on upcoming communications and strategic planning. Brian is an employee of The Markens Group (TMG), AMERIPEN’s association management company. As such, general requests for assistance from him should ideally go through Dan Felton.

Consultants

Andy Hackman
Principal Lobbyist

Role

Andy Hackman

As Principal Lobbyist at Serlin Haley, a multi-state contract lobbying and compliance firm, Andy is a consultant for AMERIPEN. Andy is a subject matter expert in the area of packaging policy and generally covers state-level legislative issues in the eastern half of the U.S. for AMERIPEN. He also works on federal legislative issues for AMERIPEN. While Andy is frequently present on AMERIPEN calls and may communicate directly with the membership on our behalf, communications with him directly must include Dan Felton or Rob Keith (as a CC, for example) to ensure that such requests are within the scope of AMERIPEN’s contract with Serlin Haley.

Lauren Aguilar
Government Affairs Associate

Role

Lauren Aguilar

As Government Affairs Associate at Serlin Haley, Lauren is a consultant for AMERIPEN. Lauren has a deep knowledge of AMERIPEN’s issues and generally covers state-level legislative issues in the western half of the U.S., including Hawaii. While Lauren is frequently present on AMERIPEN calls and may communicate directly with the membership on our behalf, communications with her directly must include Dan Felton or Rob Keith (as a CC, for example) to ensure that such requests are within the scope of AMERIPEN’s contract with Serlin Haley.

Greg Melkonian
Regulatory Government Affairs Associate

Role

Greg Melkonian

As Regulatory Government Affairs Associate at Serlin Haley, Greg is a consultant for AMERIPEN. Greg began his role in August 2023, bringing an impressive background in legislative policy analysis, working in the California State Legislature for the past ten years. He is leading the work that is reported on through the monthly regulatory call and weekly regulatory email updates. While Greg will be present on AMERIPEN calls, communications to the membership about his regulatory work will come through AMERIPEN staff. Additionally, requests concerning Greg’s regulatory work on behalf of AMERIPEN or for assistance on regulatory issues must go through Dan Felton or Rob Keith to ensure that such requests are within the scope of AMERIPEN’s contract with Serlin Haley.