Your Public Restroom Could Be Costing You: Why Inclusive Hygiene Matters
Restrooms are often the busiest rooms in a facility – yet remain one of the most overlooked. In fact, 82% of people are concerned about hygiene and cleanliness in public restrooms* and 44% say they feel anxious when using restrooms outside their home**. For facility managers, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity: how can you create a restroom experience that supports your business goals while meeting the needs of all users?
Join us for an engaging and practical webinar that explores the hidden barriers to hygiene in public restrooms and the impact these can have in your facility.
In this session, we will:
- Define the barriers by exploring a range of individual abilities and circumstances that are often overlooked when designing public restrooms.
- Highlight the crucial need for inclusive hygiene in public restrooms, especially considering that most restrooms currently fail to accommodate 54% of the population who experience or live with some sort of condition that impacts their use of restrooms.
- Discuss how these barriers can adversely affect your facility’s operations. We will demonstrate how inclusive hygiene – enabling an environment that considers the needs of a broader array of individuals, so hygiene is made more accessible – can ultimately drive your business performance.
You’ll hear firsthand from Dr. Steven Soifer of the American Restroom Association on the need for more inclusive hygiene in public restrooms and from Julio Badin, Executive Director of Gathering Place Public Park, ISSA’s 2025 Spotless Spaces award winner, who will share how his facility strives for excellence in presenting clean, safe, accessible and welcoming spaces for its community.
Learn how small changes in restroom design and product selection can lead to big improvements in guest satisfaction, employee retention, and operational efficiency. Plus, you will get an inside look of how Tork is advancing inclusive hygiene in public restrooms.
* Tork Insight Survey 2025, conducted in US, UK, Germany, France, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Spain, Sweden, Netherlands and Poland among 11,500 from the general public and 1,000 cleaning staff
** Tork Insight Survey 2024, conducted in US, UK, Germany, France and Mexico among 6000 end-users and 900 businesses
The expert panel for this webinar includes:
- Raquel Carbonari, North America Brand Activation Director, Essity
- Dr. Steven Soifer, Treasurer, American Restroom Association, Co-Founder of the International Paruresis Association (IPA)
- Julio Badin, Executive Director, Gathering Place Public Park
This webinar is brought to you by:
Interested in registering a large group?
For inquries about group ordering, please contact the event organizer.
Speakers
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Raquel CarbonariNorth America Brand Activation Director, EssityRaquel Carbonari is the North America Brand Activation Director at Essity, a global hygiene and health company. With nearly two decades working in the hygiene industry, she has experience in leading innovation projects, product management, and brand communications. Currently, she leads brand activations for the United States and Canada for Tork, Essity’s professional hygiene brand and global leader. She is a passionate advocate for the cleaning industry, recently awarded ISSA Advocate of the Year Award.
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Dr. Steven SoiferTreasurer, American Restroom Association, Co-Founder of the International Paruresis Association (IPA)Dr. Steven Soifer, MSW, Ph.D., is CEO and co-founder of the International Paruresis Association (IPA), Treasurer of the American Restroom Association (ARA), and Co-Director of the Shy Bladder Center. A nonprofit consultant and adjunct professor at Adelphi University’s School of Social Work, he previously chaired social work departments at the University of Mississippi and the University of Memphis. Dr. Soifer specializes in community development, social policy, macro practice, and CBT for social phobia, and has taught a range of related courses. He has authored numerous publications and led projects on cooperatives, housing, banking, and program evaluation, including a $130,000 grant to study affordable housing in Baltimore. An early adopter of technology, he integrates innovation into his teaching, research, and advocacy work.
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Julio BadinExecutive Director, Gathering Place Public ParkIn his role as Executive Director of GGP Parks, Julio Badin oversees Gathering Place, Guthrie Green and LowDown Jazz Club and provides strategic leadership to further advance the mission of unifying community through a vibrant and inclusive space.
Prior to joining the GGP Parks team, Badin served as the Senior Vice President of Customer Experience at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport where he oversaw experience strategy and execution at all five terminals, including operations, project management, and the DFW Airport Pandemic Preparedness Plan. Additionally, Badin spent 18 years with The Walt Disney Company where he held key leadership roles managing customer experience, attractions, retail, culinary and financial performance.
Badin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Kalamazoo College, a master’s degree in Health Services Administration from The University of Michigan – Ann Arbor and an Executive Master of Business Administration from Chapman University.
