List any previous leadership positions held with the National Recycling Coalition or state recycling organizations and describe what you accomplished in those positions.
National Recycling Coalition Board of Directors, 1985-1989; Program VP in 1987, Publications VP in 1988.
California Resource Recovery Association, Board of Directors 1982-1986; Member 1976-Present; Recycler of the Year, 1982.
Northern California Recycling Association, Board of Directors & President, 1980-1983.
Californians Against Waste, Board of Directors 2000-Present, Member 1975-present.
Co-author (with Susan Kinsella) of the Single Stream Recycling Best Practices Manual and Best Practices Guide, 2007.
If you currently serve in a volunteer leadership position with another organization, please explain your role and accomplishments.
I currently serve on the Board of Directors of Californians Against Waste. In this role I participate in setting the overall policies of the organization, making recommendations on priorities for program direction, and supporting programs and legislation that match the organization’s goals.
What special abilities would you bring to NRC’s leadership?
I have a broad range of experience, having worked in the field originally as the founder and director of a non-profit recycling program, then as staff at the California Waste Management Board, as the Recycling Coordinator for a small garbage company, as the Recycling Programs Manager for the City of San Jose, as a consultant in a large engineering firm, and finally as a consultant managing my own business.
I have over 38 years of experience in waste management and recycling. I am an instructor in the California Resource Recovery Association Resource Management Professional Certification Program. I teach the ‘Introduction to Recycling’ and ‘Re-Thinking Wastes’ courses.
What do you think are the most important recycling issues facing the NRC or recycling on the national level?
First, finding a new Executive Director. But primarily keeping the focus on increasing recycling as it looses its appeal as the new Idea on the block, and must compete with climate change and greenhouse gases for relevance in today’s world. The opportunity for NRC is to highlight the place of recycling in reducing the impacts of industrialization on the planet.
What steps should the NRC take to strengthen its role and relationships with our affiliated state organizations?
I believe the challenge is to make the activities of the NRC more relevant to the local recyclers. I believe that most of the members think of NRC as the group that holds the annual conference, and is headquartered adjacent to the Nation’s capital, but does not represent the individual communities.
From this understanding, my focus on the Board would be for the NRC to participate more closely in the activities of State Recycling Associations; to be a partner, not a big brother; to help disseminate information about how different regions are dealing with problems that we all face, so that we can all benefit from the lessons learned by the early adopters.
What individual or group in the field of recycling has had the most influence on you?
California State Senator Byron Sher as the author of the legislation that made California a leader in the country, moving forward with policies that the recycling community needed to get local government involved in being part of the solution.
How would you “sell” the importance of an NRC membership to a person who is unfamiliar with the NRC?
Right now becoming a member is just a way to get into the annual conference for less money. I would like to be able to sell the NRC to potential members by inviting them to participate in a broad series of events, workshops, training programs, and other gatherings supported by NRC to provide members an increased understanding of the role of recycling in maintaining a sustainable earth.
How is the work you do as a professional compatible with NRC’s mission?
For 38 years I have worked to promote recycling as a form of resource conservation, not as a way to divert wastes from landfill. In 1985 I suggested that Solid Waste Program Managers report to Recycling Program Managers, because the waste managers were only dealing with the left-overs of a fully established recycling program. Changing the paradigm is what I have worked for, and is what the NRC is trying to accomplish.
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.
I believe that the key to consensus is having clearly defined goals, and focusing on what programs and actions will best accomplish those goals. There is no one way that is right, with all others being wrong. There may be many opportunities to achieve the stated goal, and if the goal is the focus, then individual concerns should be less important to achieving success. I am happier working toward consensus than going it alone, and will bring that spirit to my work on the NRC Board. .
What would be your personal goals as a member of the NRC Board of Directors?
First to promote the NRC as the voice of the recycling community. To make this voice the voice of the entire community by working to develop closer relationships between the NRC and the individuals and state associations that make up the bulk of the membership.