Neal Cohen is a product safety attorney who specialized in guiding manufacturers in all aspects of regulatory compliance, hazard analysis, import detentions, consumer allegations of harm, government investigations, mandatory government reporting, product recalls, and more.  Neal has previously served in multiple senior roles within the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), including as the agency’s first Small Business Ombudsman.  A recipient of the CPSC Chairman’s Award, Neal knows the agency inside and out and was the creator and lead author of CPSC’s Regulatory Robot at business.cpsc.gov, now available in 7 languages. In addition to serving as the Senior Legal Advisor in the CPSC Office of Compliance and as an enforcement attorney in the Office of General Counsel, Neal has also been called upon to represent the CPSC in testimony before Congress.

Prior to joining CPSC, Neal was a courtroom attorney trying complex felony cases before juries in New York City.  Neal now gets his fix of courtroom drama by performing in community theater and doing exciting presentations on regulations and product safety!  Neal is a graduate with honors from the Emory University School of Law and with distinction from Swarthmore College.

Tom Mirabile serves as global consumer & style trend strategist to the International Housewares Association and is the principal and founder of Springboard Futures, a trend services firm specializing in consumer analytics and insights and Home category trend research. He also is a contributing editor for Pantone. His emphasis on consumer-centric product development and generational relevance has guided the evolution and creative direction of some of the most well-respected brands and retailers in the Home and Housewares industries.

Thomas Lee is a member of the firm’s Energy, Environment and Infrastructure Practice Group, and is a trusted advisor to clients on a range of environmental topics.  Tom regularly works with clients in a variety of industries including real estate investment and development, food and agriculture, retail and consumer products, and chemical manufacturing and distribution.

Tom’s practice focuses on three main areas: transactional work, compliance counseling, and enforcement defense.  In his transactional work, he represents buyers and sellers of real estate and corporate entities that are impacted by environmental conditions or related liability, with a particular focus on brownfield acquisition and redevelopment.  Tom takes projects from initial due diligence, through contract drafting, closing, post-closing remediation, and regulatory closure, all with an eye toward balancing the costs and risks posed by the environmental conditions.  Tom also provides compliance counseling to ensure clients’ continued compliance, especially in the face of changing regulations.  He regularly works with a network of environmental consultants to conduct facility audits where necessary, and prepare and submit permit applications, and correct non-compliant conditions.  Finally, Tom represents clients in enforcement actions under the Clean Air Act, California Air District rules, California Air Resource Board regulations, California’s Proposition 65, California’s Green Chemistry Initiative, and TSCA.

Tom is the founder and editor of the firms’ Emerging Contaminants/Emerging Solutions blog and writes regularly on a variety of topics including California’s Proposition 65, and the developing regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).  He regularly presents at conferences and in webinars on these, and other topics, and is the leader of the firm’s PFAS and Proposition 65 teams.

Since 2013 CEO of Kuhn Rikon, a family-owned cookware company founded in 1926. Since 2016 member of the Director Committee of FEC and since 2019 President of FEC.

Derek Miller is President for the International Housewares Association (IHA), a U.S. based, not-for-profit trade association serving the home and housewares industry. In his role, Derek oversees all IHA activities, working closely with the IHA board of directors and both U.S. and international members. Previously, Derek managed the Global Marketing and International Services departments.

Derek has worked for IHA for more than 21 years and has been involved in the housewares industry for more than 25 years. Previously, he was a Director at Nordic Ware, a U.S. based housewares manufacturer where his management roles included both domestic and international sales, marketing and procurement.

Derek holds a master’s degree in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a bachelor of science degree in Business Administration from Colorado State University. He currently resides with his wife in a suburb of Chicago.

Leana Salamah has more than 20 years of experience in marketing, including all aspects of fully integrated communications for trade shows, associations, and events. A keen strategist and spokesperson, she is also well versed in all types of speaking opportunities from presentations to print to television.

Salamah joined IHA in 2018. Along with directing marketing activities for The Inspired Home Show, she concepted, supervised a team of experts and wrote the 2020 IHA Market Watch report, which identified five macro consumer lifestyle trends that shape how, what and where home and housewares products are being purchased. As the architect of IHA Market Watch, Salamah has been a frequent speaker during industry webinars on consumer trends and led a Market Watch series examining shifts in the trends in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, including implications for both suppliers and retailers.

Peter Giannetti is Editor-in-Chief for HomePage News, a B2B trade publication launched by IHA in July of 2021. Peter also spearheads IHA’s content and educational programs taking place at The Inspired Home Show and at other IHA-sponsored events throughout the year. Previously, Peter served as Editor-in-Chief for HomeWorld Business. As member of the business press, he has covered the home + housewares industry since 1990.

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Genesis Eakes is a speaker, executive mentor, and team development consultant. She specializes in working with mission-driven organizations by incorporating the unique talents of the team with business strategy. Working with teams of all sizes, Genesis knows that every business is unique and team development strategies must be designed to fit with each organization’s individual needs.

She believes that businesses exist to solve the world’s greatest problems. The most audacious goals of any organization can be accomplished when leaders tap into the wide diversity of gifts, talents, and dreams of their team, creating a productive, passionate, creative, and results-driven culture.

You’ll find Genesis volunteering for the Military Warriors Support Foundation where she helps raise awareness for the needs of combat-wounded veterans and gold star families, leading many training sessions and events, all the while enjoying her family time with her two sons, daughter-in-law, and husband. Subscribe to Genesis Eakes International YouTube channel to catch weekly team-building tips.

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