Marc J. Schoem
Executive Director
ICPHSO

Marc J. Schoem assumed the position of Executive Director of the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO) on October 15, 2015, after more than forty years at the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). His last position at CPSC was in a senior leadership role as the Deputy Director of the Office of Compliance and Field Operations where he was responsible for all regulatory violations, product defect investigations, field investigator surveillance and investigations and corrective actions among other day to day operational and administrative activities within the Office.

As the Executive Director of ICPHSO, Marc leads the organization consisting of global members of consumer product health and safety professionals, who regularly come together at both domestic and international training meetings and symposiums to exchange ideas, share information, network, and address health and safety concerns affecting consumers. These training meetings and symposiums provide an inclusive and non-partisan global dialogue between all parties involved with consumer product health and safety, including global regulators, manufacturers, retailers, test labs, consultants, lawyers, consumer and parent advocates, NGO’s and others.

Kitty Pilarz

Kitty Pilarz retired in 2022 as Vice President of Product Safety & Regulatory Compliance for Mattel Inc. / Fisher-Price, where she was responsible for product safety policies for the corporation and brand.

She received the 2013 Ron Brown Leadership Award, recognizing leadership in promoting standardization as a way of eliminating global barriers to trade.

In 2011, Pilarz served as ASTM International’s Chairman of the Board. She is also on the ASTM F15 Executive Committee. Pilarz helps develop ASTM standards for toys and many juvenile products. Pilarz also serves on committees for the American National Standards Institute, UL and the International Organization for Standardization.

Pilarz has served as symposium chair for the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization, and as President and Board Member of that group – which works to promote product safety through education and communication.
In 2010, Pilarz received the Dana Award in recognition of her commitment to children’s safety through the development of global safety standards. She was also honored with the 2006 ASTM Award of Merit and accompanying title of fellow for her contributions to F15.

She is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo where she received a B.S. in mechanical engineering, and holds an M.B.A. from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York.

Joan Lawrence
Vice President
Standards and Regulatory Affairs
Toy Industry Association, Inc.

Joan Lawrence serves as The Toy Association’s Senior Vice President of Standards and Regulatory Affairs. Over her 30 years with the Association, she has managed product safety programs encompassing the development and harmonization of safety standards, as well as industry and consumer safety education, to ensure safe and fun toys and play.  Ms. Lawrence also serves as chair of the expert Subcommittee on Toy Safety under ASTM International, which brings together industry, government, medical and child development experts, testing engineers, and consumer representatives – and is responsible for overseeing the ASTM F963 toy safety standard, required of all toys sold in the U.S. Under her leadership, the committee and the toy standard have been recognized by the U.S. Congress, Consumer Product SafetyCommission (CPSC) and others, as setting a “gold standard” for children’s product safety.

With an ever increasingly global industry, Ms. Lawrence advocates for international harmonization of standards in order to facilitate toy manufacturers in their work to produce safe and fun toys – and to ensure consistent protection of children around the world. In this effort, her work includes chairing the U.S. technical advisory group to the ISO international toy safety standard, as well as outreach to domestic and foreign governments urging alignment of toy standards.

She has served as board member and president of the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO), an organization that brings together both governmental and non-governmental consumer product safety professionals. As a recognized expert in toy safety, Ms. Lawrence is a requested speaker in the U.S. and internationally. Dubbed “The Toy Safety Mom,” her expertise and advice on toy safety and standards appear regularly in both social and traditional media around the globe she is featured on the consumer-facing website www.PlaySafe.org. 

In addition to product safety and quality, her experience and leadership on behalf of the industry has spanned a broad range of social responsibility initiatives over the years – from environmental programs to safe and fair workplace conditions. Ms. Lawrence has been awarded the prestigious “Wonder Woman” Award for Social Responsibility by the organization
Women in Toys (WIT), in recognition of her industry leadership on toy safety; and the Margaret Dana Award by ASTM International for her “commitment to the protection of children and the safety of play,” as well the Ross Koeser Achievement Award from ICPHSO.

Michelle Reinen
Administrator
Division of Trade & Consumer Protection
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection

Michelle Reinen is the Administrator of the Division of Trade and Consumer Protection at the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. She has over 28 years of experience working within the Division serving in a variety of roles. Some of her responsibilities have included identifying and working on new initiatives, building stakeholder relations and outreach to communities and various groups, as well as being responsible for the oversight and enforcement of WI laws that protect consumers and honest businesses against unfair, deceptive, and fraudulent practices and unsafe products in the marketplace.

Michelle is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin- Madison, School of Human Ecology from which she earned her bachelor’s degree in Consumer Science; emphasis on Consumer Affairs in Business. She also holds a Business Analysis Certificate from the Wisconsin School of Business Center for Professional & Executive Development. She serves as the U.S. CPSC State Designee for Wisconsin and served on the ICPHSO Board of Directors (2003-2012, President 2010).

Al Kaufman
Consumer Product Safety Consultant

Alan P. Kaufman is an industry veteran with over 45 years of experience addressing product safety, quality assurance, regulatory compliance, product testing, and sourcing issues for toy, gift, and apparel companies and retailers.

Mr. Kaufman spent 12 years at the Toy Association as Senior Vice President, Technical Affairs. In this position, he led the development and implementation of technical policies and strategies relating to toy safety, the environment, supply chain issues, factory processes and other related matters.

Mr. Kaufman previously served as Vice-President for Global Product Safety and Regulatory Affairs at Toys“R”Us, Inc. where he oversaw regulatory matters and government relations related to quality assurance, product safety and private label product evaluation. He was Toys “R” Us’ primary liaison with government oversight agencies and standards development organizations.

Before joining Toys“R”Us, Mr. Kaufman spent more than a decade directing production, sourcing, product safety, and technical services functions within The Walt Disney Company and several of its divisions. Earlier in his career, he held technical, quality and safety, and production positions at several toy manufacturers, including Mattel, Knickerbocker, Coleco, Applause, and Worlds of Wonder.

Mr. Kaufman is a past president of the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO); he is also a member of the executive board of ASTM International’s Committee for Consumer Products F15 and is active on several F15 subcommittees responsible for toy and juvenile product safety standards. In addition, he is active on ISO Technical Committee 181 for Toy Safety, as convenor of several of its work groups. Mr. Kaufman was a nominated US expert for the current edition of ISO/IEC Guide 50 on Children’s Safety, and is a past appointed member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals. He is also a member of the steering committee for United Nations Environment’s Chemicals in Products Programme.

Mr. Kaufman received his bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and has held certification as a quality engineer by the American Society for Quality.