Members of the Beyond Benign team and community will be at ACS Spring 2026 from March 22nd to 26th! This year’s hybrid event, taking place in Atlanta, Georgia, and online, will center on the theme “Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.” 👋 We look forward to connecting with you! Learn more and register here. If you are attending, stop by our kiosk (#1433) to connect, and be sure to attend our green chemistry sessions:

Bringing Green Chemistry to Life in K–12 Classrooms: Resources, Community, and Professional Development

Presented by Dr. Omar Villanueva, Beyond Benign Chief Program Officer, and Dr. Amy Cannon, Beyond Benign Co-Founder and Executive Director.

This session invites K-12 educators to explore practical strategies for integrating green chemistry into their classrooms. Participants will be introduced to Beyond Benign teaching resources, including the Soy Chemistry curriculum, classroom case studies, open-access hands-on activities, professional development opportunities, and the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community platform.

🗓️ March 22nd | 10:15-11 a.m.
📍 Room B403 — Georgia World Congress Center

Twelve Months of Green Chemistry at Georgia Gwinnett College

Presented by leaders from Georgia Gwinnett College, Veronica Sublet Breeden, Dr. Cynthia Woodbridge, Dr. Kathryn Zimmermann, Dr. Joseph Sloop, alongside Dr. Omar Villanueva, Beyond Benign Chief Program Officer and former Chemistry Department Chair at Georgia Gwinnett College.

This poster presentation highlights a year-long initiative engaging students and faculty with the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry. Supported by a Beyond Benign Green Chemistry Education Award, the program features monthly outreach events and faculty workshops to support curriculum integration and campus-wide engagement.

🗓️ March 22nd | 12-2 p.m.
📍 Poster Session — Exhibit Hall B/C

The Future of Chemistry: Designing Out Pollution

Featuring Dr. Juliana Vidal, Beyond Benign Senior Program Manager, and Ann Lee-Jeffs, Beyond Benign Board Member.

This panel, presented by the C&EN Future of Chemistry Series, explores chemistry’s role in mitigating pollution and waste across product life cycles. The discussion examines emerging technologies and design strategies that reduce hazardous inputs and advance sustainable materials innovation.

🗓️ March 23rd | 1:30-3:20 p.m.
📍 Georgia World Congress Center

Inspiring Students with Sustainable Plastics

Presented by Cassie Lydon, K-12 Educator and Beyond Benign Certified Lead Teacher.

This educator session showcases classroom approaches for teaching sustainable plastics through green chemistry principles. Participants will explore curriculum activities, materials design concepts, and strategies to engage students in real-world sustainability challenges.

🗓️ March 22nd | 2:50-3:10 p.m.
📍 ChemPod 10 — Exhibit Hall B5

Celebrating Innovations in Green and Sustainable Chemistry Education: Quality Education — Green Chemistry for a Sustainable Future

Featuring Dr. Amy Cannon, Beyond Benign Co-Founder and Executive Director.

As ACS marks 150 years of advancing science, this symposium, organized by the ACS Green Chemistry Institute, highlights the expanding role of green chemistry in shaping a sustainable future. Grounded in the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry and aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goal #4, the session explores progress in curricular integration and priorities for chemistry education.

🗓️ March 22nd | 2-6 p.m.
📍 Room B401 — Georgia World Congress Center

Partnerships as a Pathway for Green Chemistry Adoption

Presented by Dr. Melissa Hill (Vernier), in collaboration with Beyond Benign and the Lab Safety Institute.

This presentation spotlights how Vernier, Beyond Benign, and the Lab Safety Institute collaborate to create green chemistry experiments, professional development opportunities, and lab safety resources. Participants will be introduced to various tools, educator communities, and training opportunities that arise from these partnerships and will learn how to access and engage with them. By directly connecting educators with practical resources, the session illustrates how these collaborations can enhance the impact of green chemistry and support instructors in implementing sustainable laboratory practices.

🗓️ March 22nd | 4:40–5:00 p.m.
📍 ChemPod 10 — Exhibit Hall B5 — Georgia World Congress Center

Partnerships as a Pathway for Green Chemistry Adoption

Presented by Dr. Melissa Hill (Vernier), in collaboration with Beyond Benign and the Lab Safety Institute.

This Sci-Mix poster presentation emphasizes the collaborative efforts among Vernier, Beyond Benign, and the Lab Safety Institute to promote the adoption of green chemistry in teaching laboratories. Attendees will discover how partnerships across different sectors are enhancing access to sustainable laboratory experiments, professional development programs, and safety-focused implementation strategies that make green chemistry more accessible and scalable.

🗓️ March 23rd | 8:00–10:00 p.m.
📍 Sci-Mix Poster Session — Exhibit Hall B3/B4 — Georgia World Congress Center

Global Approach for a Systemic Change in Chemistry Education: Beyond Benign and the Green Chemistry Commitment Program

Presented by Beyond Benign team members Dr. Juliana Vidal (Senior Program Manager), Dr. Omar Villanueva (Chief Program Officer), and Dr. Amy Cannon (Co-Founder and Executive Director).

This presentation highlights the Green Chemistry Commitment, Beyond Benign’s global program designed to catalyze systemic change in chemistry education. By embedding green chemistry across the education continuum, institutions prepare scientists to design safer products and processes that protect human health and the environment.

🗓️ March 24th | 2:05-2:30 p.m.
📍 ChemPod 9 — Exhibit Hall B5

Green Chemistry Professional Mentoring Networks (GCPMNs): A New NSF-Funded Mechanism for Building Professional Development and Communities of Practice in Chemistry Education

Presented by Beyond Benign team members Dr. Jonathon Moir (Director of the GCTLC), Dr. Omar Villanueva (Chief Program Officer), Dr. Monica Soma Hensley (Instruction & Research Manager), Dr. Amy Cannon (Co-Founder & Executive Director) and community member Dr. Nikita Burrows (Associate Professor at Monmouth University).

This presentation introduces the Green Chemistry Professional Mentoring Networks, a multi-year initiative funded by the National Science Foundation to expand national capacity in green chemistry education through mentoring networks, curricular integration, and community-building research.

🗓️ March 24th | 3:35–3:55 p.m.
📍 Room B314 — Georgia World Congress Center