Bergen is a dedicated sustainability professional with a decade of interdisciplinary study and work experience committed to protecting the welfare of humans and the environment. As Built Environment Manager for the Americas at the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, Bergen is responsible for outreach, education, policy development and adoption of Cradle to Cradle Certified … Read more
Calvin LAKHAN, Ph.D, is currently co-investigator of the “Waste Wiki” project at York University (with Dr. Mark Winfield), a research project devoted to advancing understanding of waste management research and policy in Canada. Calvin has authored 27 academic papers, and more than 75 white papers and technical reports. His research interests include: 1) Evaluating the … Read more
Jason entered the Zero Waste arena as the co-founder of the Destination Zero program offered through Ingenium. The program is a consultative partnership that customizes diversion strategies and validates metrics to deliver effective solutions towards attaining zero waste targets and TRUE certification. Throughout his journey thus far, Jason has worked closely with University Hospitals, Biopharmaceuticals, … Read more
Adoma is an intern with the Center for Biological Diversity’s Population and Sustainability Program as well as a Senior at Yale University studying Environmental Science and Global Health. With a keen interest in global sustainability, Adoma’s research focuses on the nexus between environmental, social, and economic justice, investigating how current systems of production and waste … Read more
Zero Waste Hawai’i Island is a community group whose mission is to promote equitable waste reduction through education, advocacy and system (re)design. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1866349176732419
Samantha Sommer brings 15 years of industry experience helping businesses, governments, and communities transition to better systems that promote source reduction and reuse rather than better recycling and organics diversion. As the Director of Business Innovation at Upstream, Samantha is accelerating and promoting effective, doable, and cost saving reusable models and services focused in the … Read more
The Indiana Recycling Coalition is a statewide not-for-profit organization, founded in 1989, with the mission to strengthen the circular economy in Indiana through waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting. https://indianarecycling.org/
Upstream was founded in 2003 as a public-interest, non-profit organization by a group of Zero Waste activists in the US and Canada. While working together in the 1990s, these leaders felt too many environmental groups were only focused on “downstream” or “end of pipe” solutions like recycling and composting. But they knew we can’t recycle … Read more
The Illinois Recycling Association (IRA), a not-for-profit organization, was formed in 1980 as the Illinois Association of Recycling Centers. The name was changed to IRA in 1990. In 2020, the Association successfully split into two united but separate organizations to better address members’ needs: The Illinois Recycling Association remains the 501(c)6 legislative division, working on … Read more
Bryan Ukena, CEO, Recycle Ann Arbor Bryan has 30 years of experience that span a cross-section of public and private solid waste fields, including collections, transfer, processing, financing and policy expertise. Prior to his appointment as CEO of RAA, Bryan served as Co- President of Eureka Recycling, the nation’s largest non-profit recycler located in Minnesota. … Read more