Editor’s note: Join the free Women in Circularity Roundtable Breakfast at our 2026 E-Scrap Conference, Oct. 26-28 in New Orleans. Register now!
Women in Circularity is growing into a community defined by connection. People come together across sectors, roles and lived experiences to shape a more circular future. Each convening reveals something new: emerging trends, shared challenges and unexpected collaborations. A special energy emerges when diverse voices gather with purpose.
This year, I’m excited to partner with Resource Recycling, Inc., to develop a special Women in Circularity-focused “Advancing ITAD” session to the E-Scrap Conference. The session will bring together professionals from across the electronics value chain to explore how we can accelerate circularity in device recovery, reuse, recycling and responsible disposition. It is both a learning space and a community space designed to spark insight, deepen relationships and surface what is emerging across ITAD.
Women in Circularity has always centered the people doing the work: those navigating system constraints, designing new pathways and pushing the field forward. This session reflects that ethos. As the founder of Women in Circularity and the host of these live events I’m reminded of how essential it is to convene remanufacturers, OEMs, recyclers, ITAD operators and technology innovators in the same room. Circularity is not a single discipline. It’s a system. Systems evolve when people share what they are seeing, what they are learning and where they believe the strongest opportunities lie.
Women in Circularity: Advancing ITAD
As a lead-in to the session, I wanted to spotlight five of the women featured in the program. Following the Women in Circularity interview format, I asked each of them a signature question exploring their career paths, professional impact, favorite projects, emerging trends or the resources that help them stay connected to the circular economy.
Allyson Mitchell, Apkudo
How has your professional path informed your perspective on advancing circularity and what experiences have most shaped the way you lead in this space?
Over the course of my career in sustainability and circularity I’ve had the opportunity to work in multiple sectors in a wide variety of organizations—local government, higher education, small business, large corporations, nonprofit organizations and a tech startup—and in every setting a common thread that emerged while solving the industry challenges was the necessity of the organizational commitment to partnerships and the personal values of curiosity, humility and inclusion.
My leadership skills were developed the most when I was working in an organization that was committed to building, maintaining, scrutinizing and constantly evolving meaningful partnerships within the industry, community served or customers sought and/or served. This was most effective when the value came from the top. I’ve had the opportunity to carry it forward from leadership above, be the leadership at the top instilling partnership as a key organizational value and to try to “be the change” within an organization by demonstrating a partnership ethic as the leader of a department. I much prefer the former, but it’s also the most rare.
The experiences of being in all those positions along the partnership-value spectrum taught me the importance of developing some critical personal skills that elevated me as a leader. For me, curiosity, humility and inclusion are next to each other on the color wheel of foundational traits of being a good leader and a good human. I’m wired to be curious, so that one comes naturally. My default is humility and while most of the time it’s helpful, there are times when asserting authority on a topic is what is needed to be an effective leader. Inclusion requires the most effort for me because it requires patience, deep listening, thoughtful consideration and risk. It’s tempting to skip this one when deadlines are driving expediency but the end result is always better if including all perspectives is a priority.
Yara Barkopoulos, Google
What do you believe is an important skill to cultivate in this space and how did you personally develop yours throughout your professional journey?
If I had to boil it down to one thing, it’s a practical business approach combined with a real understanding of how operations work. When people talk about circularity, it’s easy to focus on high-level sustainability goals, but the real magic happens in the unglamorous mechanics of reverse logistics, refurbishment and building viable secondary markets. The mindset you really need is the ability to walk into a room with engineers, supply chain leads and finance executives and show them that keeping hardware in use isn’t just an environmental box to check, it’s a smart business strategy that actually works at scale.
Over the last decade—long before joining Google—I spent my time deep in the weeds of remarketing, repairing and recycling tech products across global distribution networks. When I stepped in to lead Global Value Recovery at Google, the puzzle became how to apply those hands-on lessons to massive technical infrastructure. Hitting targets like 90%+ landfill diversion wasn’t about enforcing a rigid policy; it came from listening, understanding operational friction points and connecting the dots between infrastructure needs and carbon reduction goals. You quickly realize that circularity only works when you treat waste as a design flaw and turn secondary life into a first-class business priority.
Sanyukta Saptasagar, Microsoft
Can you share a project that significantly advanced circularity within Microsoft’s supply chain and what made it stand out for you?
One of the most impactful circularity initiatives I’ve led at Microsoft is the Rare Earth Element (REE) recovery program from decommissioned hard disk drives (HDDs) in our cloud infrastructure. Traditionally, HDDs were shredded at end of life, resulting in the loss of valuable rare earth elements contained in the drive magnets. By partnering across engineering, supply chain, sustainability teams and external recovery partners we developed and scaled a process to recover these critical minerals and return them to the supply chain. The initiative not only diverts valuable resources from waste streams but also reduces reliance on virgin material extraction and strengthens supply chain resilience.
What makes this project particularly meaningful to me is that it demonstrated how end-of-life cloud hardware can become a source of value rather than waste. The successful recovery of rare earth elements from decommissioned HDDs has advanced Microsoft’s circularity goals, established a first-of-its-kind approach for hyperscale cloud infrastructure and showcased how innovation and collaboration can create both environmental and business value.
Karen Dietel-Jenks, Sage Sustainable Electronics
What emerging ITAD trend feels most indicative of real progress, and how is it shaping the way you think about strengthening reuse pathways?
While Right to Repair has been slow to build, we’ve seen improvements on that front over the years, allowing ITAD companies to lean further into extending the life of electronics through reuse. This has been particularly noticeable in the increased ability to recover parts from a wide variety of failed electronic equipment, which has also resulted in increased opportunities for repair.
The expanded availability of used and like-new equipment can lead to greater opportunities to get creative with reuse streams. In particular, Digital Equity Programs —federal, state and local initiatives designed to ensure all individuals and communities have the affordable technology, connectivity and skills needed to participate in the modern digital economy—and other routes that make access to information and tools available to a wider audience are becoming more and more feasible for both ITAD providers and their clients.
Kimberly Labanauskas, Sims Lifecycle Services
What mentoring experiences have helped you stay engaged in circularity, and how do they influence the way you support teams working toward stronger outcomes?
Mentoring and community-building have been some of the most meaningful ways I’ve stayed engaged in the circular economy. Through my work across global ITAD programs that support circularity at its core, I’ve seen first-hand how knowledge sharing and diverse perspectives drive better environmental and business outcomes. That belief was a key reason I helped co-create Women in ITAD (WiiTAD), creating a space where professionals can learn from one another, share experiences and support the next generation of leaders.
These personal experiences have shaped how I support teams today. I focus on fostering collaboration, encouraging curiosity and creating opportunities for people to contribute and grow. Whether working on a customer program, a WiiTAD committee or a cross-functional global project, I believe stronger outcomes come from empowering individuals with the knowledge, confidence and support they need to turn sustainable ideas into measurable results.
What to Expect from Our Session
Thought Leadership
I’m pleased to be moderating our panel discussion featuring Allyson Mitchell of Apkudo, Yara Barkopoulos of Google and Sanyukta Saptasagar of Microsoft, who will share not only their professional journeys but also their perspectives on the future of circular IT.
Together, these conversations will provide a valuable lens into the trends shaping the ITAD industry, highlight emerging opportunities across the circular economy and inspire action toward a more sustainable and innovative future.
Interactive Discussions
Following the panel discussion, Kimberly Labanauskas of Sims Lifecycle Services will lead a series of small group discussions. Facilitators will include the panelists above, along with Karen Dietel-Jenks of Sage Sustainable Electronics, Cassie Gruber of Ciround and Jasmine Martirossian of IBEC.
Designed to encourage candid dialogue and collaborative problem-solving, these discussions will help participants translate ideas into practical strategies and meaningful commitments. Rather than focusing solely on industry-wide responsibilities, conversations will center on the specific actions individuals and organizations can take to drive progress.
The small group format creates space for honest exchange, often surfacing insights, challenges and opportunities that may not emerge in larger settings. We’ll conclude with group report-outs, giving participants an opportunity to share key takeaways, commitments and recommendations with the broader audience.
Mentorship and Networking
The event concludes with opportunities for mentor matching and cross-sector networking. These elements are intentional, helping participants build confidence, strengthen connections and gain clarity at every stage of their careers, particularly those who are new to the field or navigating a transition.
Women in Circularity has always been about bringing together people who do not often have the opportunity to engage with one another. This session continues that mission by elevating perspectives that are often absent from industry conversations and creating space for mentorship, collaboration and shared learning.
Join the Discussion
The Women in Circularity session at E-Scrap reflects what the community has championed from the beginning: real conversations, shared learning and practical action. Each gathering strengthens the connections that help move our industry forward. As the ITAD ecosystem continues to evolve, I am grateful to every series reader, event participant and mission-aligned partner who makes this work possible.
The future of circularity will be shaped by the relationships we build, the perspectives we elevate and the actions we take together. Thank you for being part of this journey. I invite you to join us at the E-Scrap Conference, connect with the growing Women in Circularity community and add your voice to the conversations helping shape what comes next.
