Institute Of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) with Executive Director Jane Chase

In this episode, Cory Connors welcomes Jane Chase to discuss her path into packaging, the value of IoPP membership, and how the organization supports professionals through education, certification, and community. Jane shares her engineering background, why the CPP credential matters, and how IoPP’s programs—from Fundamentals of Packaging Technology to sustainability, medical device, and project management courses—equip both new and seasoned professionals. They also cover student engagement, partnerships, AmeriStar Awards, and IoPP’s growing focus on sustainability through its technical committee and webinar series.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Jane’s engineering path and transition into packaging R&D
• Why IoPP membership helps professionals build networks and leadership skills
• Overview of IoPP courses: Fundamentals, sustainability, medical device, project management
• Student engagement and free first‑year membership after graduation
• Events and recognition: PACK EXPO participation and AmeriStar Awards

Resources Mentioned:

• IoPP education programs
• CPP certification
• AmeriStar Awards

Contact:
Listeners can reach out through the IoPP team or directly to Jane Chase.

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Transcript

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0:07

Welcome to Sustainable Packaging with Cory Connors presented by Atlantic Packaging. I'm your host, Cory Connors. In today's episode, I connected with Executive Director of the Institute of Packaging Professionals, Jane Chase. We cover a wide variety of packaging topics and focus on why it's a good idea to join the ILPP as a packaging professional. I'd also like to thank our sponsors, 3M, SpecRight, and Lorax EPI. We couldn't do this show without them. Welcome to Sustainable Packaging with Cory Connors. I'm so excited to have my friend, Jane Chase on the Executive Director of the Institute of Packaging Professionals. Welcome, Jane. Thanks for having me, Cory. It's an honor. met at a pack jam a few years ago at the university of Wisconsin stout. I was talking about that the other day with another friend of ours. And I thought that was such a neat event. Do you remember that event where we met? Absolutely, and IOPP supports PacJam every year. We're working with Michigan State to get their PacJam going for March 31st, 2026. Oh, okay. Well, that sounds like an interesting event. I'd like to attend that one. You have a very impressive background. And before we get into IOPP, I want to talk about you as a person and as a professional. Can you tell us how you got into packaging in general? I'll make it a short story, but it's kind of long. I'm actually a mechanical engineer by training. I went and got my bachelor's in mechanical engineering from Marquette University in Milwaukee. Did my master's in engineering management at Milwaukee School of Engineering and started out working for Johnson Controls as a product safety engineer. Worked my way into a quality engineer position. I was with their systems and services division. I then went to SC Johnson WACS and they hired me as a quality engineer and asked me to develop their supplier certification program for packaging components back in the mid 80s, which meant they wanted me to help them get their suppliers quality systems fixed so they could reduce or eliminate incoming inspection. And I did that for a couple of years, had an opportunity to go into operations, managed a Five high speed air cell filling lines had budget and engineering responsibility for two of them, 60 people. So I did my frontline operations stint. And from there went into packaging R &D at SC Johnson. So in my mind, that was my growing up period. In quality, it was either good or bad. You had to figure out what to do with it. I figured I'd go into operations and never make anything bad. and you know, it like if you didn't have good R &D up front, you were pretty much scum from the get-go. So that's why I got into packaging and then just different opportunities within the packaging industry. Excellent. Sounds like the perfect background for the Institute of Packaging Professionals. Can you tell us about that Institute and why it's important to, I think we have about what, 3,500 members? Yep. Getting up there with that. To me, it's twofold because I can tell you from experience as a young packaging professional, it was key in my career. I went to my first local meeting at the Minnesota chapter and walked away as the treasurer of the chapter. Nine months later, I was the president of the chapter and then got into the national organization on the board of directors like you are on the volunteer side. And I can tell you as a young engineer, it gave me great opportunities to build my network nationally, as well as regionally. And it also gives those young professionals who want to develop some of their leadership skills in a non-threatening way. A couple years out of school that somebody would give me their books and ask me to... be the treasurer for an entire organization. It was a great experience there. And then I think you flip the script where you get to the point where now you're giving back. And I feel really good about building the next generation of packaging engineers. So kind of twofold, but networking and education, it's also for people that like me. who aren't packaging engineers, didn't have the opportunity to do MSU, RIT, UW, Stout, Clemson. I know I'm gonna miss one and get in trouble, but one of the packaging schools, I actually, one of the reasons that I joined is I got my certified packaging professional designation. Quite honestly, when I went into packaging at SCJ, they were skeptical because I wasn't one of those. Um, and so with my getting my CPP, gave me my street creds with, the other packaging engineers. Well, that flows right into my next line of questioning here. We have an incredible education offering on the platform of IOPP. Can you tell us about why that's so valuable and how that's grown over the years? Yep. The value of IOPP's educational offerings, everything that we do when we develop a new program is developed, established with subject matter experts. So the SMEs really have the input, really build it. Our bread and butter is the fundamentals of packaging technology, and that has been out there forever. But we have just recently published recently year and a half, two years ago, the sixth edition of the Fundamentals of Packaging Technology, which is what the course is based on. So anytime we do that, we upgrade, have that course offered online, classroom, or we can bring it in-house. So that's our bread and butter. We figured out that there are a lot of courses that are more focused. We have a medical device packaging. course that we do. We'll be doing that in Anaheim at MDM early February. We have a sustainable packaging technical course which was established by the Sustainable Packaging Technical Committee. So we're thrilled about that. We continue to expand. Talking to leaders in the industry, we figured out that we needed a packaging project management course. We heard from the leadership in the industry that the kids coming out of school, fantastic technical acumen, great people, but they needed something that would give them the tools to actually be able to get a project from A to B. Who do you talk to? Who needs to be engaged? What do you need to think about at each of the stages, each of the different types of projects? So we launched that recently. So we're feeling really good that we've been expanding our education pretty strong in the last five years. Well, you're doing great things and it's an honor to be a part of the community. And I agree with you that, not only is this uh education system appropriate for young people, but also for people like us who've been in the industry for a long time. I'm excited to take the, uh, the EPR course, because it just keeps changing and we're getting really great feedback from the members that are taking that course. So really looking forward to taking that soon. uh As a new member of the board of directors, wanted to ask you, what should I expect? What kinds of things would you like me to focus on as our executive director? So the board of directors this year will be absolutely focusing on growing membership. It's one of our biggest focuses for the year. We're doing some really interesting marketing things. We're gonna make a foray into the digital marketing world, which is new to us. We really find that membership for us is a lot of grassroots. It's somebody talking to somebody and saying, have you heard about us? And here's what it did for me. So you're going to hear the marketing. We'll be asking that. We're always looking to expand our partnerships within the industry. We have great opportunities for companies to engage with us. We're the largest individual membership organization in the packaging world. So we're focused on individuals. But we do have partnerships where companies want to come in and work with us and either do a deep dive into education and developing their workforce. Or I have conversation this morning with a company who's really looking to expand their footprint in the industry and get their name out there. So those are kind of the two big pieces that companies are looking to partner with us. So we've always been looking for you to help us identify those companies that might find value in what we're doing. which is quite a few, I know. the people I've talked to have said, congratulations and hey, I'd like to get involved. And I think that's really the value that I'd like to add to the board is in this spreading the message, which is the podcast, the social media. So I've already talked to you about working with our social media team and helping them with LinkedIn and all kinds of different things, but, this podcast will help too, I'm sure. I hope, because I think if packaging professionals don't know about the IOPP, once they learn what it is and how valuable it is, I think they'll start jumping on, becoming members quickly. That's great. Well, let's talk about PacExpo. I know that often we have a partnership as IOPP, we have a partnership with PacExpo and we'll often have a booth there. Do you plan to do that this year at the PacExpo International or even any of the smaller events that they put on? Absolutely. we, IOPP partners with PMMI and they're fantastic partners when PAC Expo comes around. We generally have a fantastic booth with a wonderful location. We also will be part of the different educational offerings that they have, whether it be the Innovation Stage or Industry Speaks. We're going to be at PAC Expo East. in three weeks, four weeks to engage there as well. But the one fun thing they have is the amazing race. And that's where the students go around to the booth. We've been part of that. And what's interesting is that we have been really focused on student memberships and getting them in. And the key that you can help with them will be talking about it m as a board and we talk about it every time. Getting students engaged is fine. It's wonderful. It's getting them to stick with it once they graduate. We find out that they love us in school and then they get out to work and they're so busy that they forget about us and then they're looking for their next job and they come and find our Career Center and start networking and spread their wings a little bit. So we'd like to focus on keeping them in the fold. We give them a free year of professional membership after they graduate if they're a student member when they graduate. Wow, that's a big deal. That's a several hundred dollar savings. Well done. So it pays to get in early as a student and it pays to, I know if you're a member for a certain amount of years, eventually, I think it was seven or eight years, you don't have to pay ever uh after that. Is that right? elite, if you're at the elite level. The other levels, no, but the elite, if you pay that for seven years, then you're in for the rest of your career. Which is great. mean, people stay in packaging. I think you and I are examples of that. mean, both of us several decades in the industry and plan to stay for the rest of our careers, at least I do. And I think this is the type of industry where you want to kind of plant roots. And I think IOPP is really that area where you can... develop those relationships and build those bonds with other people across the country. Yeah, it's all about relationships. And I've been at multiple different organizations and have, you know, people that I know, colleagues from years and years ago that I see at PAC Expo. The other thing we do at PAC Expo, Cory, is we have started doing a ceremony to recognize the Ameristar award winners. That's our packaging competition. And again, it's the most prestigious competition in the industry, only because a lot of the others are like very focused, flexible packaging, corrugated paperboard. We were much broader in our reach. We're gonna be adding a pet category and hopefully an automotive category this year to the Ameristars. Well, that's great. Maybe top podcaster would be another category I could suggest. I have gotten to witness the Ameristar Awards at least once, I think twice, and they are so impressive. And the people that win have incredible innovations. So I want to commend you for that. Okay, so since you're on the board, I write you in for a judge for this year's Amir Stars? for sure. I'd be honored. Yes, absolutely. It's a I was so impressed with the level of technical advancements and the interesting innovations at the Ameristar Awards. was it was one in Chicago. So it was the International was probably two years ago that that was the one I sat and watched the whole thing because it was just fascinating. So if you're listening and going to Pac Expo. uh It's, when is it this year? October 18 through 21. Highly recommend going, be sure to stop by the IOPP booth and see Jane and our friends. Maybe I'll be there, I don't know, we'll see. And be sure to check out the Ameristar Awards. Yep, the submissions are open right now. So anybody who's got good work they did in the last year, go for it. Get recognized in the industry. I think I'll do a post about that to encourage that. Let's talk about sustainable packaging. We mentioned, because that's this podcast focus, you mentioned that being kind of a new focus of IOPP. How did that come to be? Was that a membership push or was that the board directive? It's a little bit of both. The Sustainable Packaging Technical Committee was chartered in 2016. I was actually the chair of that committee getting it going. It went dormant. I did that for three years. A couple more years, it kind of went dormant. And then over the last five, six years, Patrick Keenan, who's key to sustainability at General Mills, and a member of the Sustainable Packaging Technical Committee, actually chair now, put together a group of SMEs. There was a need for, they felt like training, basic training, and I heard it from people at PepsiCo that they would love to have something that a new engineer coming in could sit down and learn the ins and outs of sustainability. We knew we couldn't do it online because it the content changes so quickly. So twice a year we offer a sustainable packaging course. It's going to be in Atlanta in the spring and potentially I'm just finishing negotiating getting it to Chicago in the fall. So we offer it twice a year, hands on. We have gotten great reviews on that course and that technical committee just got new leadership in place. that are very energized, very fired up to go to the next level. They're also doing a sustainable packaging webinar series. So once a quarter, they've been doing fantastic webinars, working with people in the industry and coming in. We've had some on EPR. There's one, I can't give you the date, but coming up very shortly. Kind has done some major work with their packaging. There's going to be a panel discussion on that. So very hands on. And if you can't make those dates, one of the benefits of being a premium member or elite is that we have a resource library. And in that resource library is all of our webinars that we've done. It's over 90 hours worth of content. And you can go in and look at that library and see what's there. It's searchable, which is fantastic. For years we had it and you couldn't find it and it made me frustrated. So very searchable, great content. Even the professors at the universities will go in and find webinars to use as content for their classes. So. We do have a focus on sustainability for sure. Yeah, it's very apparent and it's excellent. It's what's needed today in the industry is uh that education because this is what's the requirement. It's not a maybe anymore. It's a we have to do this and here's the steps we're going to take. So I commend you and the team at ILPP for the incredible progress you've made over the last 10 and 20 years. Thank you. I've got a great team behind me. Jim George is our director of education. Just give him a quick shout out. He's the brains of the education programs for us. I'd love to have Jim on the show. think it would be interesting to the audience to learn about some of the more specific courses available. And like you said, that whole library of availability specific to packaging. Packaging is such an interesting niche and IOPP has certainly made it easier to learn about. So, well done. So what's the best way for people to sign up for membership and... Reach out to you and your team. You can reach out to iopp at iopp.org. There's a contact us button. But yeah, iopp.org is the website. So go on there. It's got all the information. Jaychase at iopp.org. I mean, feel free to reach out to me personally. I'd love to chat. Great. Anything else you want to tell people listening before we close this out? No, I'm thrilled to be here. clearly, IOPP is an organization that I really believe in. I've been a member since 89. So, and again, the two phases of my career. But I think it's an organization that is really making an impact. And the people that I keep in touch with that have been members and I see what they're doing in their careers, it makes me feel good that they feel the value. Well, keep up the great work. I'm excited to be a part of your team now and really encourage the audience listening to join up as soon as possible. Excellent. Thanks for having me, Cory.