Environmental Lawyer Named President of ISPA

The International Sleep Products Association (ISPA) has selected Alison Keane as its new president.

She will also lead the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC), which operates recycling programs in states that have passed mattress recycling laws and recycles nearly two million mattresses each year.

“I am honoured to be named president of the International Sleep Products Association and the Mattress Recycling Council,” says Keane. “I look forward to working with our members and partners to advocate for policies that enhance the growth and prosperity of this industry and help consumers sleep better.”

In her new roles at ISPA and MRC, Keane will continue to advance the interests of the sleep products industry and MRC’s mission to contribute to a sustainable future by developing and implementing innovative mattress recycling solutions.

Keane is an environmental attorney with more than 25 years of experience in the private, non-profit and governmental sectors. Prior to joining ISPA, she served eight years as president and CEO of the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA), where she represented U.S. manufacturers of film, foil, paper and other materials, as well as the converters that use those materials to make flexible packaging for food, medical devices and industrial products, among others.

Before her tenure at FPA, Keane spent 16 years with the American Coatings Association (ACA), initially as counsel and later as vice-president for government affairs. In this role, she spearheaded policy initiatives on behalf of the paint industry and served as the executive director, general counsel and corporate secretary for ACA’s product stewardship organization, PaintCare. Her earlier career included positions at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s headquarters, the Maryland state senate and private legal practice.

Keane succeeds Ryan Trainer, who is retiring after serving the mattress industry for more than 20 years, during which he established MRC and ISPA’s sustainability initiatives.

“Through her work on behalf of the paint and packaging industries, she is familiar with many of the same regulatory pressures we in the bedding industry face,” says Trainer about Keane. “Her expertise and innovative thinking have already benefitted our industry. I am confident that under her leadership ISPA and MRC will continue to thrive.”