2021 Chicago Responsible Jewelry Conference

What an amazing two days of listening, sharing, and cooperative problem-solving as world government representatives, civil society, and the jewelry industry assemble to create more equitable, transparent jewelry supply chains.

Listen Deeply. Act Collaboratively.

Conference Details

ALL VIRTUAL FOR 2021

COME BE PART OF THE SOLUTION.

2021 Schedule

DAY 1

Friday, November 12

8:00 AM CST

A session by Andrea Hill, CEO, Hill Management Group|Werx Brands;
and Susan Wheeler, Founder | Responsible Jewelry Transformative

8:00 AM CST

Conference Opening

A session by Andrea Hill, CEO, Hill Management Group|Werx Brands; and Susan Wheeler, Founder | Responsible Jewelry Transformative

8:30 am CST

Keynote: Voices of the Amazon are Calling to Talk to You about your Gold

  • A short video produced by friend of the Chicago Responsible Jewelry Conference, Chief Lucas Tukano Duarte.

    9:00 am CST

    A call to action on the Environmental disaster: THE CONGO RIVER BASIN TOXIC SPILL ALLEGEDLY FROM AN ALROSA DIAMOND MINE

    A session by Hans Merket, Researcher | International Peace Information Service (IPIS); Raphael Tshimanga, Hydrology and Water Resources Scientist | Congo River Basin; and Moderated by Susan Crow, Owner & Creative Director | Susan Crow Studio

    10:15 am CST

    How laws around sourcing and responsibility, and current cases in the US Supreme Court, affect jewelers

    A session with Wyatt Gjullin, Staff Attorney | EarthRights International; Jennifer Fendrick, Sr. Intl. Relations Officer, Office Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking | U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Bureau of Intl. Labor Affairs; Juliane Kippenberg, Associate Director | Children's Rights Division, Human Rights Watch; and Moderated by Andrea Hill

    11:30 am CST

    How Jewelry Industry Funds Flow: the problem with Government Control of Gold in Venezuela, Military Control of Gemstones in Myanmar, Oligarchs’s Control of Mozambique Rubies, and Government Control in Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond fields

    A session with Dr. Joseph Hanlon, Visiting Senior Fellow, Dept. of International Development | London Schools of Economics and Political Science and Visiting Senior Research Fellow Open University | Development Policy & Practice Group; Sara Yood, Deputy General Counsel | Jewelers Vigilance Committee; Louis Marechal, Sector Lead, Minerals & Extractives | OECD Centre for Responsible Business Conduct; Dewa Mavhinga, Southern Africa Director | Human Rights Watch; and Moderated by Annabel Davidson, Editor | Vanity Fair on Jewellery

    1:45 pm CST

    Sex trafficking and gender based violence in mines and mining communities

    A session with Dr. Jocelyn Kelly, Director | Harvard Humanitarian Initiative; Grace Njapau Efrati, President | Association of Zambian Women in Mining; Gladys Balance, Gender Studies Lecturer and Researcher; and Moderated by Susan Wheeler

    3:00 pm CST

    Be aware of the vulnerabilities in our gold, diamond, and gemstone supply chains through the work of the US Department of Labor

    A session with Caleb Owen, Senior International Relations Specialist | U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking

Below is the schedule from our virtual conference

DAY 2

8:00 AM CST

Introducing the Ethical Metalsmiths SO Fresh + So Clean 2021 winner and a video presentation on safe studio practices

With Khajornsak Nakpan and Julia Giangrande, Presented by Andrea Hill

8:30 AM CST

  • The Marange Women's Alliance, an Initiative Supported by the Responsible Jewelry Transformative: Stepping Out and Stepping Up

    A session by Billy Matambo, Chairperson | Marange Women's Alliance (MWA), and Senior Officer | Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Workers Union; Abigail Sibanda, Gender Focal Person | Marange Women's Alliance (MWA); Susan Wheeler; and Moderated by Monica Stephenson, ANZA Gems

    9:45 AM CST

    CRAFT Code, An Artisanal Mining Assessment: Growing, Modifying, and Morphing

    A session with Patience Singo, Virtu Gem | Technical Advisor on CRAFT Code; Pauline Mundia, Manager | Farmer Communication Outreach Project; Charles Douglas-Hamilton, Consultant | World Bank Energy & Extractives Global Practice; Patricia Ndagano, Consultant | World Bank Energy & Extractives Global Practice; and Moderated by Monica Gichuhi, Extractives Industry Consultant | Virtu Gem and AGEC

    11:00 AM CST

    How to elevate a nation's gemstone trade through a single gemcut design

    A session with Dr. Adriano Mol, Professor & Specialist in Gem and Jewelry Design; Jessica Hudson, Owner and Designer | VIPĀKA Jewelry and Founder | The Nomad Jeweler; Lameck Thole, Head, Skills Training & Production | GPLTC; Carol Muchira, Country Coordinator for Virtu Gem in Kenya; Chikomeni Manda, Virtu Gem | Gemstone Miner, Dealer, ASM Advocate and Trainer; and Moderated by Robert Weldon, Director | RTL Gemological Library & Information Center, GIA

    1:00 PM CST

    Jewelry Designer Panel: Jewelry designers and retailers committed to clean supply chains and partnerships for change

    A session with Andrea Jose, Creative Director | Peruvian Fine Jewellery, and Founder | Casa Collab; Rachel Sweeney, Cox & Power Jewellery; Kyle Abram, Brand Catalyst | Reflective Jewelry; and Moderated by Kerry Bannigan, Executive Director | Fashion Impact Fund

    2:15 PM CST

    Deep sea mining, tailing ponds and mercury in the Amazon: ramifications of mining gold, diamonds, and gems on our worlds water

    A session with Bronwen Currie, Independent Marine Biologist; Marcelo Oliveira, Senior Programme Officer | WWF - Brasil; Daniel Franks, Program Lead, Development Minerals, Deputy Director (Research) | University of Queensland's Sustainable Minerals Institute; and Moderated by Andrea Hill

    3:30 PM CST

    Diamond Certification with SCS Global

    A session with Brandee Dallow, Vice President of Sustainability | SCS Global Services

Saturday, November 13

2021 Conference Speakers

  • Woman with dark hair, wearing pink glasses and earrings, smiling against a blue wall background.

    Andrea Hill

    CEO |Hill Management Group | Werx Brands

  • Susan Wheeler

    Susan Wheeler

    Founder | Responsible Jewelry Transformative | Chicago Responsible Jewelry Conference | Susan Wheeler Design

  • A woman with braided hair smiling outdoors, wearing a white and blue patterned top.

    Abigail Sibanda

    Gender Focal Person | Marange Women’s Alliance (MWA)

  • A woman with long curly blonde hair smiling at the camera, wearing a brown top and hoop earrings.

    Anna Bario

    Co-Founder + Designer | Bario Neal

  • A woman with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a white blazer over a green top, smiling in front of vertical white blinds.

    Anna Samsonova

    Samsonova Consulting

  • A man outdoors wearing a green wide-brimmed hat, blue jacket, and scarf, with snow-covered mountains and trees in the background.

    Brian Cook

    Founder | Nature's Geometry

  • A woman with blonde hair and blue eyes looking directly at the camera.

    Brandee Dallow

    Chief Communications & Sustainability Officer | Grandview Klein Diamond

  • A woman with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a turquoise top, smiling against a gray background.

    Brecken Branstrator

    Editor-in-Chief | GemGuide

  • Close-up of a woman smiling outdoors, wearing white earrings and an orange-and-white patterned scarf.

    Chelsea Rowe

    Graduate Student | Virginia Commonwealth University

  • A smiling man outdoors with trees and buildings in the background.

    Chikomeni Manda

    Partner | Perekezi ASM Consultants

  • A smiling woman with dark curly hair, wearing earrings, and a black patterned top, in a warmly lit indoor setting.

    Cristina Villegas

    Director | PACT Mine to Markets

  • Douglas Neves

    Douglas Neves

    Cruzeiro, Heritage | Mine

  • A smiling man with dark hair, wearing a white shirt and tie, in front of a plain background.

    Eric Braunwart

    Founder | Columbia Gem House

  • Young woman with light brown hair smiling, wearing a white top and a necklace, against a plain white wall background.

    Hannah Smythe

    Founder/Designer | Toast

  • A woman with long brown hair and glasses looking at the camera in a room with bookshelves in the background.

    Holly McHugh

    VP Sustainability | Mejuri, Inc.

  • Jay Moncada

    Jay Moncada

    Owner | Perpetuum Jewels

  • Jessica Hudson

    Jessica Hudson

    Owner and Designer | VIPĀKA Jewelry, Founder | The Nomad Jeweler

  • Laura Galvis

    Laura Galvis

    Market Development Officer | Responsible Mining (ARM) and Fairmined

  • Lisa Levin

    Lisa Levin

    Professor Emerita | Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego

  • Mark Hanna

    Mark Hanna

    Chief Marketing Officer | Richline Group

  • Megan Cochran

    Megan Cochran

    Founder/Designer | Megan Cochran Jewelry Design

  • Mkhululi Nkosilamandla Ncube

    Mkhululi Nkosilamandla Ncube

    Programmes Officer | African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC)

  • Natasha Braunwart

    Natasha Braunwart

    Brand & Corporate Social Responsibility Manager | Columbia Gem House

  • Ola Erogbogbo

    Ola Erogbogbo

    Owner/Jewelry Designer | Deinte Fine Jewelry

  • Pauline Mundia

    Pauline Mundia

    Vice President | Federation of Small Scale Mining Associations of Zambia and African Women in Mining Association-Southern African Chapter

  • Roy Maconachie

    Roy Maconachie

    Professor of Natural Resources and Development | Dept. of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath

  • Saleem Ali

    Saleem Ali

    Distinguished Professor of Geography and member of UN International Resource Panel | University of Delaware

  • Sara Yood

    Sara Yood

    Deputy General Counsel | Jewelers Vigilance

  • Sejal Karavadia

    Sejal Karavadia

    Director, Procurement and Vendor Management | Brilliant Earth

  • Shannon Kurzyniec

    Shannon Kurzyniec

    Graduate Student | Virginia Commonwealth University

  • Stuart Pool

    Stuart Pool

    Owner | Nineteen48

  • Torry Hoover

    Torry Hoover

    President | Hoover & Strong

  • Will Nevins-Alderfer

    Will Nevins-Alderfer

    Owner and Founder | W.R. Metalarts

Logo of the Chicago Responsible Jewelry Conference 2024, featuring a blue geometric heart and green and blue text.

In 2015, World Leaders Agreed to 17 Global Goals

We have made progress, but there is still work to be done, and the Goals are more important than ever. The climate crisis. Ensuring no one goes hungry. Human rights abuses. Extreme poverty. Problems of this scale can be overwhelming, but the Global Goals (also known as the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs) are the solution to tackling them.

An infographic titled 'The Global Goals for Sustainable Development' showing 17 colorful icons representing different sustainable development goals, including No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-being, Quality Education, Gender Equality, Clean Water and Sanitation, Affordable and Clean Energy, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry Innovation and Infrastructure, Reduced Inequalities, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Responsible Consumption and Production, Climate Action, Life Below Water, Life on Land, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, and Partnerships for the Goals.

Thank You to Our Generous 2023 Sponsors

The Chicago Responsible Jewelry Conference would not be possible without the financial and operational support of our sponsors. All sponsorships help us secure visas, travel, and accommodations for our speakers and panelists who come from out of the country. We have all levels of sponsorships available, which is an excellent way to contribute to the responsible jewelry cause regardless of business size.

Close-up of a computer screen displaying the Google logo with the word 'Google' in colorful text.
Red text spelling 'INSTORE' on a black background.
Logo with the words 'Hover & Strong' in stylized blue and gold text.
Michael Goldstein Ltd logo with the tagline 'inspiring insight and drive'
A geometric mountain outline with a square border, in teal and light blue tones.
Stylized purple logo reading 'Steve Quick Jeweler' with a square border.
Colorful letters spelling 'ANZA' with the phrase 'CON LAS MEJOREZ' beneath, on a black background.
Text reading 'Rio Grande Since 1944' with a decorative underline.
Logo of Alucitation Industries LLC featuring a stylized number zero inside a diamond shape.
Jeweler's Mutual Group logo with blue text and design, established 1913, on a black background.
Text reading 'ADOCUMENT & TOY' with the ampersand in gold color.
Logo with the letters 'MSA' and a silhouette of a mountain with a star above it.