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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.