List any previous leadership positions held with the National Recycling Coalition or state recycling organizations and describe what you accomplished in those positions.
I served one term on the Board of Directors of the NRC. During part of the time I was on the NRC Board I also served as the Chair of America Recycles Day. While on the NRC Board I served on the Policy Committee and on the Gala Committee.
Prior to running for the Board, I served as the Federal Environmental Executive. While in that job, I organized an extensive program within the NRC for Federal government agencies. We ran a parallel track at the NRC Congress. As a result, hundreds of government employees, ranging from the CIA to the Veterans Administration attended the Congress during those years.
If you currently serve in a volunteer leadership position with another organization, please explain your role and accomplishments.
For the last 8 years I have been involved in the Boy Scouts of America. I initially worked with Cub Scouts and for three years was the Director of the Cub Scout Day Camp for 300 boys at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. As my own boys have grown, my role has evolved. I was the Den Leader for my youngest son’s Pack for 5 years, while also serving for two years as the Advancement Chair for my older sons Troop. Now, with both boys in the Boy Scout Troop, I have been the Committee Chair and I continue to serve as the Advancement Chair.
As a member of my church, Mt. Vernon Unitarian, I organized the original “Green Sanctuary Task Force” in 2001. We worked on a number of activities to educate the congregation about the environment and put a number of programs in place to ‘green’ the physical plant. The church recently earned full accreditation from the Unitarian-Universalist Association as a Green Sanctuary Church.
What special abilities would you bring to NRC’s leadership?
While I have never run a local recycling program I have worked at a national level in recycling for the past twenty years. From that perspective I believe that I can see the interrelationship of the important issues that we are dealing with.
What do you think are the most important recycling issues facing the NRC or recycling on the national level?
The primary job of the NRC is to educate and to advocate for recycling. It is important that our local communities, the media, politicians and policy makers understand the critical nature that recycling plays in our economy, society and the environment. With the pending legislative actions on climate change, it is especially important that policy makers understand the positive value of recycling.
What steps should the NRC take to strengthen its role and relationships with our affiliated state organizations?
The state organizations are the backbone of the NRC. The NRC Board has worked hard to streamline the financial relationship between national and the SRO’s, and the newest Board passed initiative should reduce the financial burden even further. This ought to allow the ROC to focus on their own initiatives and local policy issues. Beyond that, the SRO’s need to educate NRC Board about local issues and be clear about what, if any, help they need. The NRC Board needs to allow the SRO’s the opportunity to participate in any discussions about national policy.
I understand that the relationship between the ROC and the Board have been more positive in the past years as a result of regular conference calls, but I believe that semi-annual joint SRO/Board meetings would go a long way towards keeping everyone educated about the critical issues we are facing in the industry today.
I also believe that the Board meetings should be aggressively publicized, so that any interested NRC member can attend. Finally, as a way to reach out to non-affiliated state organizations, members of the Board should go to every state meeting.
What individual or group in the field of recycling has had the most influence on you?
The late Senator John Heinz and Senator Tim Wirth issued a publication in 1988 entitled “Project 88”. This was an analysis about how to use market forces to solve environmental problems. This probably had the greatest impact on my interest in national recycling issues. Using the template in Project 88, while I was working for Congressman Esteban Torres, I developed a series of market-based solutions to some conundrums in the recycling family, for example: tires; lead-acid batteries and used oil. While none of these initiatives ever became law, it provided me with an excellent opportunity to become educated about some of the most intractable problems that we face in recycling.
The work on Project 88 brought me in touch with then Senator Gore and his staff. When President Clinton appointed me as the national’s first Federal Environmental Executive, it was Vice President Gore who gave me the opportunity to help elevate recycling to a national policy issue within the federal government.
How would you “sell” the importance of an NRC membership to a person who is unfamiliar with the NRC?
The NRC should be the facilitator for a national dialogue on recycling. To someone outside the organization, I would invite them to participate in that dialogue.
How is the work you do as a professional compatible with NRC’s mission?
I serve as the Washington Representative for the Paper Recycling Coalition. The PRC companies are the manufactures of 100% recycled paper products. In order to make those products they need the material supplied by the local recycling programs. My job is as an advocate for increased collection of a clean fiber supply.
The NRC Board of Directors is comprised of individuals with a concern for the common good of the Coalition. Discuss how you would help the Board reach consensus among a group of peers with varied interests and/or positions on a specific issue.
Recycling – first, last and foremost, is the mission of the NRC. Once we’ve agreed on that principal we have to recognize that we all come to it from different perspectives. Understanding the nature of the approach that everyone comes from is essential if we are to respect their positions.
What would be your personal goals as a member of the NRC Board of Directors?
I would like to see the NRC take a leading role in the national political debate on climate change. The recycling industries have a great story to tell, and the NRC should be the one to tell it.
I would also like to see the NRC tap into its ‘legacy members’ - - those who have given years of service to the NRC on Boards or Committees, and who still have a great deal to contribute to the organization. However, once they are off the Board, these ‘Legacy Members’ sometimes seem to drift away and are rarely called upon for their expertise.