Susan Apel is Partner and a member of the corporate and transactional group of K&L Gates LLP, a U.S. based international law firm.

From January 2005 to August 2014, Susan was General Counsel of Ellwood Group, Inc., which manufactures engineered and heavy metal sections for capital specialty equipment manufacturers in the U.S. and internationally. While serving as General Counsel, Susan was responsible for managing the legal affairs of Ellwood Group and its subsidiaries, and also served on the Board of Directors of Ellwood Group from 2008 through 2014. Susan has also worked for WilmerHale LLP in Washington, DC and, clerked for The Honorable Carolyn Dimmick in the Western District of Washington.

Susan holds a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School and a A.B. from Kenyon College.

She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Western PA Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel from 2007 to 2014 and served as its President in 2014, prior to her return to private practice. She has also served on the Board of Directors of Bridgeway Capital since 2008.

Nicole Hamilton is the Senior Manager of the Global Environmental and Sustainability group at Ashland Inc. In this role she supports environmental compliance and sustainability efforts on a global scale for all three of Ashland’s business units: Ashland Specialty Ingredients, Ashland Performance Materials and Valvoline.

Ms. Hamilton joined Ashland in 2007 and has held positions of increasing responsibility in the environmental, health, safety & product regulatory corporate function. She recently completed redesign of Ashland’s process for identifying and assessing EHS and public relations risk. She has also participated in multiple acquisition and divestiture projects during her time with Ashland. 

Prior to joining Ashland, Ms. Hamilton worked as a process engineer for Osram Sylvania and managed environmental projects for clients as a consultant with RMT Inc. (now TRC Solutions), Keramida Environmental, and Environmental Resource Management Inc. (ERM).

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from The Ohio State University, and is a registered Professional Engineer (PE) in the state of Ohio.

Brad Waldron is Director of Corporate Risk Management for Caesars Entertainment headquartered in Las Vegas. His responsibilities include managing risk throughout the organization’s more than 50 global properties related to operations associated with facilities, acquisitions/divestitures, insurance programs, environmental compliance, and the health and safety of guests and employees.

Before making the transition to Caesars in 2012, Mr. Waldron was Vice President of NGE LLC, an environmental consulting firm based in Pittsburgh. After joining the company as a start-up in 2002, he grew to focus his efforts on serving as a senior level project advisor for numerous public and private clients on matters related to compliance, management programs and permitting. Additionally, he had a day-to-day management role regarding the company’s strategic direction, projects and staff oversight.

Brad holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science and an Master of Science degree in Environmental Management, and is a registered Qualified Environmental Professional (QEP) and Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM). He is currently Vice President and Finance Chair of the Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA).