From startups to hands-on STEM education, Akron is emerging as a model for how cities can grow jobs, strengthen recycling systems, and build a circular economy for plastics. In this conversation, Mayor Malik shares how Akron is leveraging its roots in rubber and plastics to drive innovation—investing in pilots that help startups scale, strengthening ties between universities and industry, and creating pathways into manufacturing careers at every level.

You’ll also hear how Akron is tackling real-world recycling challenges—reducing contamination, expanding access, and improving systems over time—while working toward a more circular economy for plastics.

The episode also highlights how the city is investing in its people, from introducing students to plastics and polymers through creative STEM education to building a culture of innovation that supports the next generation of talent.

What does a career in STEM—science, technology, engineering and math—really look like today? It might mean managing thousands of employees at a federal agency, protecting breakthrough inventions through patents, or helping redesign the materials that power modern life. The common thread isn’t a straight line. It’s curiosity, adaptability and the willingness to say yes to new opportunities.

Host Mia Quinn sits down with Vaishali Udupa, Chief IP Counsel at Verizon and former Commissioner for Patents at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and Jennifer Ronk, a plastics and sustainability expert at Dow, to explore how the next generation can build meaningful careers in science, technology, and sustainability.

Together, they talk candidly about mentorship, overcoming challenges, embracing leadership, and why you don’t need your entire future mapped out at 18. Along the way, they share candid stories about mentorship, leadership and resilience—and explain why curiosity and problem-solving are at the heart of every STEM career.

You’ll also hear how patents and intellectual property fuel innovation and how emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) are reshaping careers across science, engineering and manufacturing.

What if we could recycle just half of the plastic currently going to landfills?

The answer: 173,000 new jobs, nearly $50 billion in economic output, and a stronger American manufacturing base.

In this episode of Sustainably Speaking, host Mia Quinn welcomes back Ross Eisenberg, president of America’s Plastic Makers, for a wide-ranging conversation on why recycling is no longer just an environmental issue—it’s an economic and manufacturing opportunity hiding in plain sight.

Ross highlights what’s actually working in recycling today, from large-scale facilities turning plastic into new products to advanced technologies that can recover materials once thought to be unrecyclable. He explains why the idea that “recycling doesn’t work” is one of the biggest myths holding back progress.

The conversation also tackles the policy choices shaping the future of recycling, including:

• Why flexible, technology-neutral policies matter more than one-size-fits-all mandates
• How mass balance works (and why it’s similar to Fair Trade coffee)
• What states are getting right—and wrong—on Extended Producer Responsibility
• Why a federal definition of advanced recycling as manufacturing could unlock investment nationwide

Looking ahead, Ross shares what success could look like, from scaling U.S. recycling infrastructure to reaching a global plastics agreement that expands access to waste management for billions of people worldwide.

And yes, there’s some fun along the way…from K-pop playlists to shark diving and guilty-pleasure reality TV.