ISRI appoints senior vice president of advocacy

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, has selected Komal Jain as senior vice president of advocacy. Jain will lead the development and implementation of ISRI strategy for advancing the organization’s advocacy agenda and priorities across all levels of government as well as with stakeholders through the recycling chain.  

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Jain most recently served as executive director for the American Chemistry Council's (ACC's) Center for Biocide Chemistries (CBC) and senior director at the ACC in Washington. She joined ACC as assistant general counsel in 2014.   

“[Komal] brings an incredible depth of experience to her role as senior vice president at ISRI and we’re excited that she’ll be leading our advocacy team,” says Robin Wiener, ISRI president. “Her strategic vision for the recycling policy landscape and regulatory environment is exactly what’s needed as we continue to champion the recycling industry and its important role in creating a more sustainable future for our planet.”  

“I am grateful for the opportunity to amplify ISRI’s voice for the recycling industry,” Jain says. “As we focus increasingly on a circular economy, sustainability and our environmental well-being, we should not debate the essentiality of recycling. I look forward to working with all levels of government and stakeholders on advancing the vital role and contributions of recycling.”   

While at ACC, Jain directed and managed the CBC’s legal, regulatory, legislative, scientific and educational programs related to antimicrobial pesticides and pesticide products. She also provided strategic legal and compliance advice to companies in the chemicals industry. Additionally, she conducted advocacy for the responsible regulation of biocides by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. states and European Union member states.  

Before working at ACC, Jain served as counsel at Keller and Heckman LLP in Washington. She counseled on environmental compliance, with a focus on community right-to-know, Superfund, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Clean Water Act and biodiversity.   

Jain also served as vice chairperson for the State Water Control Board of Virginia. She was appointed to the board by Gov. Mark Warner and Gov. Timothy Kaine. Additionally, she was an attorney-adviser to the Federal Aviation Administration, Office of the Chief Counsel and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, Water Enforcement Division.   

Jain is a trustee at the McLean Community Foundation and a former Business and Industry Representative at the OECD Working Group on Biocides. She is a former member of EPA’s federal advisory committee, the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC). Jain was selected to serve on the PPDC by EPA Administrators Gina McCarthy and Scott Pruitt.   

She received a juris doctor from The T.C. Williams School of Law, University of Richmond, Virginia, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from James Madison University in Harrisburg, Virginia.