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Packaging solutions don't always require inventing new things so much as realizing what useful things already exist, and putting them to work. When we make packaging from mushrooms we harness the incredible "technology" of nature. By utilizing resources that are normally considered waste and of low value - like corn husks, seed hulls, and saw dust - and combining them as a feedstock with mushroom mycelium we can create natural, compostable replacements for plastic foams that instead of polluting the planet nourish the Earth. Meghan Olson, Director, Mushroom® Packaging by Ecovative

As Director of Commercialization for Ecovative's Mushroom® Packaging business, Meghan leads business development, sales, product development and customer success for Mushroom® Packaging. Meghan is focused on accelerating growth and building global market share for the Mushroom® Packaging product through direct sales, partnerships, and licensing while advancing Mushroom® Packaging’s strategic vision and cultivating a network of strategic partners. Meghan is responsible for ensuring the integrated commercial success of Mushroom® Packaging and other MycoComposite™ products.

Meghan holds a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a dual B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Design, Innovation & Society from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and has been passionate about mycelium technologies for over a decade since first learning about Ecovative's founders and their story from her late mentor and early Ecovative champion, Burt Swersey. Meghan brings technical sales and business development experience from technology company Vyv, and began her career in a fluid system engineering design role at GE Power, following her M.S. in Mechanical Engineering focused on additive manufacturing of composites. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx