Recycling and Environmental Services Manager

King County Solid Waste Division

Andy leads the King County Solid Waste Division’s (SWD) team working on recycling programs, environmental stewardship and waste stream compliance activities. Recognizing the central role people, opportunity and innovation play in delivering healthy, safe and vibrant communities in a waste-free King County, Andy’s work aims to help facilitate partnerships to help realize the growth, low carbon and equity opportunities of the circular economy. Notable programs include Re+, market development, transfer station recycling, waste prevention, green building, hazardous waste, product stewardship, outreach and education, permit compliance and reporting, junk vehicle, and special waste programs. Before joining King County, Andy was a Senior Policy Advisor for the UK Government working on various roles including UK & EU climate targets, clean growth, international sustainable trade and UK natural resources policy.

Climate Mitigation and Circular Economy Policy Advisor

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU)

Ashima is the Climate Mitigation and Circular Economy Policy Advisor at SPU, City of Seattle. She is driving the development of a circular economy in the Seattle region and manages SPU's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its operations and supply chain. Ashima joined the City of Seattle from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a global thought leader on the circular economy. At the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Ashima managed the delivery of its programs in the U.S. and Canada, and led the Foundation's work on cities globally, engaging local governments in the transition towards a circular economy. She was also seconded to the World Economic Forum to support the development of its circular economy initiative. Prior to joining the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Ashima worked as a management consultant with Deloitte Consulting in New York. Ashima graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Economics focused on Sustainability & Environmental Management.

Founder

Circular by Design

Behnosh is a design researcher and strategist with a passion for circular economies. For more than a decade she has helped foundations, businesses, nonprofits and government agencies to create useful and engaging products and services through meaningful connections with their customers, and with an eye for driving innovation. In her role as Founder of Circular by Design, she supports organizations' transition to circular business models to capture untapped value and meet sustainability targets, all while connecting with end-users and stakeholders in meaningful ways.

Statewide Recycling Coordinator

Washington Department of Ecology

Dan helps coordinate the development, implementation, and evaluation of statewide strategies focused on recycling, reuse, and waste reduction. He also leads the statewide Recycle Right campaign that aims to reduce contamination in the recycling stream by educating residents about proper recycling behaviors. He joined Ecology in 2012 as a data analyst and brings a data-driven approach to materials management issues. He has a Master’s in Public Policy from Oregon State University and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Northern Iowa.

Chief Executive Officer

WasteXperts

Derek is the Chief Executive Officer of WasteXperts, Inc., a waste diversion and recycling company that provides onsite recycling solutions for 130k multifamily and commercial complexes on the west coast. Derek has over 13 years of experience in the solid waste and recycling industry where he has held the positions of Vice President of Recology in the Pacific Northwest and General Manager of Republic Services.

He is passionately focused on the zero-waste mission and thinking beyond waste. Derek is a graduate of the University of Arizona. He resides in North Bend, WA, with his wife and two young children.

Snohomish County Council Member

Megan has a 20-year work and volunteer background improving lives for working families and communities through thoughtful policy change. As a community leader and environmental health advocate, she has spent her career collaborating with community members to address complex issues facing Snohomish County. Prior to being elected, Megan was the Healthy People and Communities Program Director with the Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides, where she led efforts to help protect communities from harmful pesticides and chemicals. She spent five years at Service Employees International Union (SEIU) where she worked to secure a city-wide contract which included the first ever guaranteed sick days, raises for workers, and safer working conditions. In addition to her work on the Snohomish County Council, Megan also chairs the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Chairs the Snohomish County Board of Health, and serves on the National Association of Counties’ Energy, Environment, and Land Use Committee. Megan has a bachelor’s degree in Biology-Geology from University of Rochester and a Master of Arts in Policy Studies from University of Washington-Bothell.

Sustainability & Measurement Director

BECU

Natasha works at BECU as the Sustainability & Measurement Director as part of the larger Social Impact and Financial Health Programs team. In this role, Natasha proposes short- and long-term sustainability initiatives in addition to supporting the data collection for BECU’s carbon footprint calculation. Her professional skills and experience include developing original grant programs for the BECU Foundation; building out an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Framework & Strategy by elevating the "E" in ESG; community engagement and outreach; as well as financial health and social impact measurement. Natasha is a Leadership Tomorrow alum, a Social Venture Partners Brainerd Fellow, and community advocate.

Senator

WA 34th Legislative District

Senator Joe Nguyen was the first person of color to win a senate seat in Washington’s 34th District, the district where he grew up. The son of Vietnamese refugees, he is also the first Vietnamese American state senator. He is the Chair of the Environment, Energy & Technology Committee. Elected to the state Senate in 2019, he has spent his tenure advocating for working families and community members who historically have been left out of the political process. Joe has been a thoughtful and innovative leader in his efforts to mitigate the climate crisis. He knows only too well how marginalized communities experience environmental harm disproportionately, and that to ensure that our communities thrive as a whole, we need to act urgently. Senator Nguyen resides in West Seattle with his family.

Strategic Advisor, Waste Prevention and Product Stewardship

Seattle Public Utilities

McKenna is the waste prevention and product stewardship policy advisor for Seattle Public Utilities. In this role, she advocates for state and local policies to advance SPU’s vision of zero waste and support the development of a circular and inclusive economy. She is also part of Reuse Seattle, a City-led initiative working to make Seattle home to the first standardized, citywide reusable food and beverage container system. Previously, McKenna was a senior associate at Cascadia Consulting Group, where she led research and evaluation projects for local and state governments related to recycling programs, policies, and markets

C&D Program Manager

King County

Kinley manages the King County Construction and Demolition (C&D) materials diversion program. Building on over 29 years experience in the waste reduction field, Kinley is well versed in deconstruction and building salvage practices. He has been instrumental in promoting the local reuse of salvaged wood and the concept of design for disassembly to maximize the potential for future building reuse.

Environmental Operations Specialist

San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

Briana “Brie” plays a critical role in moving SFO toward its zero waste goals, including relaunching SFO Unites Against Hunger, which recovered over 17,200 pounds of surplus food for human consumption over 13 months, and ensuring ongoing compliance with SFO's Zero Waste Concessions policies, which eliminates single-use disposable plastic foodware and beverage containers by transitioning to reusable, compostable, and recyclable alternatives at SFO. Brie is also the Green Business Coordinator at SFO, supporting businesses in becoming California Green Business Network certified via meeting rigorous environmental standards in the credit categories of energy, water conservation, and pollution prevention. In her free time, she enjoys cultivating a more intimate connection with food through gardening, foraging, and cooking up plant-rich meals.

Program Manager

King County Solid Waste Division

Alex works on King County Solid Waste Division’s market development projects for wood, mattresses, and textiles, manages the What Do I Do With...? website, and works with the Northwest Product Stewardship Council to improve solid waste systems with producer responsibility.

CEO & President

Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC)

Jules is President and CEO of OBRC, which runs the BottleDrop program in Oregon. As CEO, Jules is responsible for charting the future of Bottle Bill implementation and ensuring the deposit and redemption system remains convenient, relevant, and effective for Oregonians, and efficient for industry.

Prior to joining OBRC, Jules served as a Multnomah County Commissioner, and is a former state legislator in Oregon with experience working on the Bottle Bill and with the beverage industry. He is trained as an economist and environmental policy specialist, receiving degrees from Princeton University and Lewis and Clark College. He is a native of Portland, Oregon, where he lives with his

family.

OBRC is the industry steward of Oregon’s nationally recognized beverage container deposit program.

Our mission is to ensure that no resource goes to waste by empowering people to redeem every container easily, efficiently, and effectively.

Senior Engineer

Metro Vancouver

Karen works on circular economy and waste reduction programs and policies for the largest regional district in BC. She is the lead for the single-use item, textiles, and circular economy work. Her latest project for her circular economy MBA looks at how local government procurement can benefit the local economy and address climate change, social resilience, and biosphere resilience.

Founder & Chief Engagement Officer

Spark Interaction

Leif Hansen is a internationally recognized group facilitator, speaker & coach. His workshops have been featured on a variety of media including NBC’s Today Show, PBS Online & the LA Times. Leif is known for using highly engaging, innovative and often playful processes to accelerate personal growth, catalyze communities and transform teams.

Executive Director

Center for Inclusive Entrepreneurship

Mike founded CIE because he deeply believes in the transformative power of entrepreneurship. Working with CIE’s Board of Directors, Mike sets the strategic direction for the organization, develops and stewards strategic partners, establishes the organizational culture, and relentlessly advocates for entrepreneurs in the margins of our rural communities.

Supervising Librarian

The Seattle Public Library

Jay Lyman is a librarian at the Seattle Public Library where he routinely helps entrepreneurs navigate the information they need to succeed in business. He and a team of colleagues offer free 1:1 business information assistance through a program called Library to Business. They also help people who are pivoting their services with market research about their competitors, customers, and industry trends.

Associate Teaching Professor

Seattle University

April Atwood is a full-time lecturer at Seattle University, where she teaches courses in consumer behavior, marketing principles, marketing and social issues, and sustainability. She has decades of teaching experience at the University of Washington, and she has been on the faculty at Bainbridge Graduate Institute (accredited MBA program in Sustainable Business) since its third year of operations.

Director of Innovation & Partnerships

Impacti

Yolanda Saito is the Co-Founder of Impacti, a sustainability consultancy and technology firm that designs an ecosystem of solutions for companies to achieve net zero and zero waste. She has worked with the United Nations, World Bank and large organizations around the world to transform their operations and supply chains towards sustainability.

Attorney

Cleantech Law Partners

Joshua is an experienced corporate transactional attorney that serves manufacturers, EPC contractors, service providers and developers in the construction, technology and renewable energy sectors. In 2011 he founded Orbit Energy Legal Consultants after more than 25 years working in-house in manufacturing, real estate and renewable energy industries. Josh is also an attorney with Cleantech Law Partners, a law firm focussing on renewable energy law.

Creative Producer

Corbin Schweitzer

Corbin is a creative producer with over a decade of film production experience in video and post production including writing, directing, cinematography, and audio production. His experience comes from creating independent films, documentaries, and commercial videos for corporate clients such as Microsoft and Disney. Corbin approaches the creative production process very methodically, combining imagination, strong attention to detail, and a passion for creative storytelling.

Director of the WA Women’s Business Center

Business Impact NW

Jessica has been a successful business owner since 1995 and has worked across all disciplines involved in operating a small business. She has built two restaurants and four WSDA certified food processing facilities, with full responsibility for all aspects of business operations. She has created and implemented training programs and has been responsible for assessing the effectiveness of operational policies and procedures under 3rd party audit review.

Co-Founder & CEO

Neptune Snacks

Nick is Co-Founder & CEO of Neptune, a mission-driven snack food brand bringing convenience and sustainability to the seafood category. From an upbringing on a New Mexico cattle ranch, Nick developed food system, fisheries, and seafood supply chain expertise working in eight countries and sailing trans-Pacific research expeditions as a Stanford Marine Scientist. He broadcasts his passion for improving the seafood industry as a speaker, published author, and passionate entrepreneur.

Small & Rural MFG Account Executive

Impact Washington

Miguel is an international bilingual senior manager, with experience in the implementation and maintenance of Quality Management Systems and process improvement, project management, customer and vendor relations, in nationwide companies, different environments, and industries. He loves new challenges and is eager to learn about new processes.

Business Advisor

WA Small Business Development Center (SBDC)

A seasoned business mentor recognized for the aptitude to foster strategic relationships and her ability to help people in under-served communities access information, capital, and markets to start and grow small businesses in Washington State.

Sustainable Business Development Director

WA Department of Commerce

Rob received a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from the University of Massachusetts and a Master of Science in toxicology from the University of Washington. For several years, Rob worked for state agencies to limit the impact of pollution on human health and the environment. Rob is currently involved in stimulating markets for recycled materials and connecting businesses to reduce and utilize waste streams with the WA Department of Commerce.

Digital Marketing & Sustainability Strategy Consultant

Anim8

Sarah O'Sell is a digital marketing and circular economy strategist with the goal to inspire open minds, curiosity, and stewardship to shape future realities. She is an ambitious technology systems innovator with over 10yrs experience in recognized impact entrepreneurship, community growth, STEAM education, and strategy development for emerging transformative infrastructure companies. Sarah is a Global 50 Woman in Sustainability (2022), a featured contributor for digital manufacturing in the “Circular Economy for Dummies'' book (2021), and helped seed a successful Solar Window innovation.

Executive Director

YES! Media

Christine is currently Executive Director of YES! Media, a nonprofit independent media organization covering community-led solutions to systemic issues. She is a cofounder of Seattle Good Business Network and a former board member of Zero Waste Washington. Christine has always been particularly excited about circular economy solutions, and has an MBA in entrepreneurship in innovation from the University of Washington.

Owner / Designer

Traversal Design

Kamal has a decade plus of experience facilitating events, mapping stakeholder needs, co-designing priorities, interventions, and summarizing complex concepts for communities. He's worked on circular economy, just transition, and stakeholder research projects with King County Solid Waste, Seattle's Office of Economic Development, the Equitable Development Initiatives, and many more community-based projects or organizations. His background is grounded in design, complex systems thinking, and sustainable practices, with a specific focus on intersections of economics and community involvement.

Methow Recycles

Executive Director

Sarah Jo Lightner is passionate about all things rural North Central Washington. She believes that the key to creating successful circular programs in the rural space is community.

Sr. Director of Innovation

Elemental Excelerator

Kim has over 15 years of experience in launching and growing engineered systems into industrial and municipal markets. Kim co-founded an early stage venture and led the market launch of a product line as a Sr. Product Manager for a company through its acquisition. She works at the intersection of the built environment and industrial related investments together with the design of technology demonstration projects. Kim participates in ongoing speaking engagements, delivering keynotes related to climate innovation and early-stage technology deployment and holds a BS in Environmental Engineering and an MBA in Sustainable Management.

Associate General Counsel

DTG Recycle

In addition to being an in-house attorney at a solid waste company, John is an experienced startup founder having taken his company through a technology accelerator program.

At DTG Recycle, he leads their internal and external development efforts, including building their own Beyond Recycling Innovation Center (BRIC) to create end markets for difficult to recycle plastics from scratch.

Policy Analyst

King County Solid Waste Division

Hannah is a Policy Analyst for the King County Solid Waste Division. She supports policy and projects related to product stewardship, recycling, and circular economy. She is passionate about environmental justice and ensuring programs and policies benefit all community members. Hannah is a board member of the Washington State Recycling Association and the Seattle Solid Waste Advisory Committee. Prior to her work at King County she managed education and outreach for Waste Management and served as an environmental technician for Peace Corps Paraguay.

President

Second Use Building Materials

Dirk Wassink has over 25 years of experience in reuse and recycling, with a focus on building materials salvage and retail. He has served on the Seattle Public Utilities Solid Waste Advisory Committee as well as the board of a national reuse non-profit. He is currently president of Second Use Building Materials.

Sr. Product Manager, Circular Economy

Amazon

Jessica is a passionate sustainability professional with more than twenty years experience running projects and strategic programs across all types of organizations. Jessica received an MBA in Sustainable Business from Bainbridge Graduate Institute (now Presidio) in 2009 and is currently working in the Worldwide Sustainability team at Amazon based in Seattle. Jessica is also a facilitator for Climate Fresk, an interactive workshop teaching fundamentals of climate science.

Planner & Policy Specialist

WA Department of Ecology

Janine has 25 years experience working on waste reduction, recycling and sustainability issues in local and state government.

Program Director

University of Washington

Cheryl is a purpose-driven learner and educator who has extensive experience creating transformative learning experiences for students and professionals. Her main interests in the zero waste field are home permaculture systems, composting, and designing products for total repairability. At the University of Washington, Cheryl has created and managed a variety of environmental education programs for international students since 2005 and manages the Green Square grant-funded community garden for the university. Cheryl is also currently vice president of the all-volunteer Seattle-based non-profit Ecologists Without Borders.

Food Waste Lead

Washington State Department of Ecology

Jade Monroe is the Food Waste Reduction Lead at the Washington State Department of Ecology. She focuses on regional food waste reduction through the Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment and is the lead author of the Use Food Well Washington Plan. Jade is dedicated to shifting our food system to a more resilient and just framework that truly values food.

Co-Owner & Lead Designer

Atwil Design

Taylor owns and operates a Staging & Design business with a Zero Waste focus. Everyday they strive to provide the best product with most efficiency and little waste.

Robotics deployment engineer

Amazon

See bio in the “Mentors” section below.

Environmental Specialist

WA Department of Ecology

See bio in the “Mentors” section below.

Faculty

Highline College

See bio in the “Mentors” section below.

Founder & Director

Kokki LLC

See bio in the “Mentors” section below.

Coordinator for the Recycling Development Center

WA State Department of Ecology

See bio in the “Mentors” section below.

Environmental Engineer

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

See bio in the “Mentors” section below.

Founder & Creative Director

Modern Species

See bio in the “Mentors” section below.

Communications

Sustainable TriCities

See bio in the “Mentors” section below.

Chief Operations Officer

BOMA Jewelry

See bio in the “Mentors” section below.