Rick is an innovator with a deep passion for developing solutions that address environmental and social challenges.
As President of Emerge Knowledge Design Inc, Rick has spent the last 20 years successfully guiding the transformation of Re-TRAC Connect™ from a great idea to a one of the most widely used material management reporting platforms in the US and Canada.
In 2023, Rick joined Steve Means in co-founding Z3 Data Services, a software platform designed to provide corporate sustainability managers with efficient access to detailed, company-wide waste generation and materials diversion data. Z3 streamlines the process of assembling, organizing and analyzing the data companies need to manage diversion programs, measure progress toward zero waste targets, and report to stakeholders.
Rick began his career in the waste diversion world in 1991 leading the team that started the very first Habitat for Humanity ReStore and developed a successful model for conserving resources while generating revenue to support Habitat’s home-building programs. There are now over 1,000 ReStores around the world generating hundreds of millions of dollars in profit while keeping vast quantities of reusable building materials out of the landfill.