List any previous leadership positions held with the National Recycling Coalition or state recycling organizations and describe what you accomplished in those positions.
Board Member of the National Recycling Coalition
Worked to improve communication within Affiliate Organizations for a stronger Coalition,
NRC Congress Site Selection Committee (2 years)
Facilitated the site selection of the NRC Congress to insure a successful congress.
NRC-ROC Liaison 2005
Worked to identify organizational needs of Affiliate Organizations
NRC-America Recycles Day Acquisition Committee
Helped to negotiate the orderly acquisition of ARD into NRC. Efforts position ARD and NRC to improve recycling outreach and education.
Immediate Past President – NRC Board of Directors
Lead the board through leadership instability on its executive committee.
Senior Advisor – California Resource Recovery Association
Provided insight and guidance to CRRA to strengthen the organization. Advised the CRRA’s board on state policy, organizational effectiveness and government relations. Efforts helped improve CRRA’s visibility on state recycling issues and role in key state appointments.
Past NRC-ROC Liaison
Member of the ROC Listing Committee
Helped to design and implement an ongoing process to improve transparency and create an environment for respectful and impactful communication with recycling affiliates.
Thought Leader/Keynote Speaker
Thought leader on education/outreach to increase recycling behavior and improving materials markets. Participation with recycling organizations such as Association of Oregon Recyclers, Iowa Recycling Association, Northeast Recycling Council, Washington State Recycling Association, and Colorado Association for Recycling. Keynote speaker in Australia.
If you currently serve in a volunteer leadership position with another organization, please explain your role and accomplishments.
Senior Advisor – California Resource Recovery Association
Strategic and tactical counsel on positioning and growing CRRA. Guidance in government and private sector relations.
What special abilities would you bring to NRC’s leadership?
Social Marketing, Branding, Education, Outreach, Organizational Effectiveness, Legislation/Lobbying, Government Relations, Coalition Building, Activist Organizing.
What do you think are the most important recycling issues facing the NRC or recycling on the national level?
• Improving the recycling experience for citizens
• Creating local, state and federal support for funding recycling efforts and advancing recycling policy
• Challenging stakeholders to advance recycling for reasons beyond commercialism and self interest
• Advancing United States as an international leader in producer responsibility and efficient recycling infrastructure
• Stimulating a public debate on packaging decisions and recycling
• Renewing recycling as the cornerstone to sustainability and addressing climate change
What steps should the NRC take to strengthen its role and relationships with our affiliated state organizations?
• Improve transparency and openness
• Insure that all NRC initiatives have a direct local element of engagement, participation and benefit.
• Keep commitments
• Demonstrate value to affiliates and members
• Respect and engage the breadth of knowledge and experience of affiliates and members
• Perform active listening
• Set clear and measureable performance measures for partnerships
• Think of affiliates and members as customers, partners, and shareholders
• Foster greater responsiveness and accountability from all parts of NRC
• Reduce cycle time and set expectations for timely responsiveness in communications
• Improve understanding and clarity to corporate and governmental partnerships
What individual or group in the field of recycling has had the most influence on you?
• California Resource Recovery Association for pushing the envelope of what is possible
• Anne Johnson and Martha Lefler of Sustainable Packaging Coalition for making cradle to cradle principles real and demonstrating productive corporate engagement.
• The creative people of the Division of Recycling of the California Department of Conservation
• Susan Hubbard for her clarity of thought and intellectual strength in challenging the status quo
How would you “sell” the importance of an NRC membership to a person who is unfamiliar with the NRC?
The ideal way to recruit people to NRC is to not show the “importance of NRC membership”, but to:
• Show the breath of expertise and support available to members from other NRC members and leaders
• Demonstrate that NRC has big audacious goals and provides the tools and relationships to members to make it happen
• Illustrate how membership contributes to professional development
• Show how and investment in membership brings value to one’s organization
• Give examples of the lifelong friendships and contacts the come from the NRC
How is the work you do as a professional compatible with NRC’s mission?
Communication and leadership on conservation and sustainability have been cornerstones in my career. My experience in the NGO, Government, Legislative and Private Sectors position me to help NRC advocate for recycling programs at the local, state, and federal level.
The NRC Board of Directors is comprised of individuals with a concern for the common good of the Coalition. Discuss how you would help the Board reach consensus among a group of peers with varied interests and/or positions on a specific issue.
Consensus is achieved through collaboration, rather than compromise. Instead of one opinion being adopted by a plurality, the board must be brought together until a convergent decision is developed. To reach genuine consensus on the Board requires more focus on developing relationships among board members, so that they work together to achieve agreements based on willing consent. This requires equal respect and recognition that all members are valid in their world view. If I am successful in being reelected, I will support efforts to insure that meetings treat each member equally and fairly.
What would be your personal goals as a member of the NRC Board of Directors?
• Be able to tie our efforts to tangible, measurable results that have a profound world changing impact on how, where and when people recycle and think about recycling
• Demonstrate that NRC is a transparent, respectful, open and engaging organization. This is reflected in every experience affiliates, members and partners have with the board and staff.
• Be able to say with pride that our efforts have resulted in universal change in how the world thinks about and acts on recycling to the point that what we can say, “You know that _________? We did that.”
• Have fun and share in the camaraderie that comes from the satisfaction of achievement and accomplishment