Having worked in both the energy field as well as the field of recycling and zero waste, Chris is well positioned to talk about the interconnections between the two. He established a Community Recycling Center in 1973. In 1977, he developed the first Weatherization program in the Country. In 1985, he developed a County-wide recycling … Read more
Paula Luu is a Senior Project Director at Closed Loop Partners, an impact investment firm and innovation center focused on development of the circular economy. She leads the firm’s Composting Consortium, which works closely with brands, composters and academic institutions, and NGOs to gather and analyze data that can inform the best path forward to … Read more
Christina Riley is the East Bay Program Manager of OKAPI Reusables. As the East Bay Program Manager, she manages OKAPI’s program at participating cafes in the San Francisco East Bay Area, conducts cafe outreach and stakeholder engagement and facilitates community outreach and awareness-raising. Before joining OKAPI’s team, she helped to manage two zero waste businesses … Read more
Erica Cirino (she/her) is the Communications Manager of Plastic Pollution Coalition. She has spent the last decade working as a writer, artist, and author who explores the intersection of the human and more-than-human worlds. Erica is best known for her widely published photojournalistic works that cut through plastic industry misinformation to deliver the often shocking … Read more
Daniella Menendez is a passionate Zero Waste expert with a background in city government and extensive consulting experience. She specializes in helping develop municipal zero waste plans, managing reusable foodware programs with universities across the U.S., and partnering with municipal and nonprofit organizations to promote zero waste. Currently, Daniella consults for Race to Zero Waste … Read more
A 1998 graduate of Yale (B.A., Political Science) and a 2002 graduate of MIT (Master’s in City Planning), Michael serves as a Senior Advisor to the Commissioner at DEEP working on waste and recycling issues. He also oversees the daily operations of the Sustainable Materials Policy and Planning division within the Materials Management & Compliance … Read more
Sarah Hofman-Graham serve as a Management Analyst for Washington, D.C.’s Department of Public Works’ Office of Waste Diversion. The Office of Waste Diversion is responsible for the design and implementation of waste reduction and diversion policies and programs in order to achieve the District’s ambitious goal to divert 80% of the City’s municipal solid waste … Read more
Leigh Ratterman has been involved in climate work for over ten years. She began her career digging through trash, recycling, and compost bins as a Zero Waste Event Coordinator at a nonprofit in Boulder, Colorado and worked her way into local government where she’s led programs and projects in business sustainability, sustainable food and agriculture, … Read more
Dr. Daniel Knapp is an applied Sociologist who uses Zero Waste technologies to bring affordable economic development to people who need it. Starting in 1979 as a scavenger at Berkeley’s landfill, he and his teams have used science, labor, and zeal to build a large self-sustaining resource trading enterprise called Urban Ore, Inc. Urban Ore’s … Read more
After participating as a child in the start of her town’s first recycling program, she fell in love with waste reduction and diversion and never looked back. She is Co-Founder and Partner of Think Zero LLC. Before launching Think Zero, Sarah ran the Solid Waste and Zero Waste Programs for the NYC Mayor’s Office of … Read more