What is your name? 
Angela Goebel

Where do you work and what do you do? 
I have been working as a sustainability consultant for the past few years helping startups and corporations build out their environmental management systems, manage sustainability programs, and communicate to employees and customers about the impact of their work. I am currently seeking new employment opportunities.

I moved to the Pacific Northwest two years ago. I previously worked in waste reduction in California for over 12 years implementing recycling and composting programs in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Monterey County.

Tell us how you embrace recycling/sustainability into your home or workplace? 
I believe that sustainable behaviors begin with a healthy mindset and body. By taking care of ourselves through exercising and a healthy diet, we are better able to find fulfillment outside of material consumption and make prosocial choices that support the broader health of our communities and the environment.

I love to compost and build soil, garden, and learn about native plants and mushrooms that can be harvested ethically. I also have a truffle dog named Giotto who I am training. I make an effort to purchase reusables, upcycled, and bulk goods.

Professionally, I enjoy bringing together psychology and communications to encourage others to adopt sustainable behaviors like recycling. I'm also very excited about working with ingredient suppliers to work with farmers to adopt regenerative farming practices. Every step of the chain from manufacturing a good, to recycling it, to the end product it's reborn as, is important and brings us closer to more complete circular economies.

What motivates you to recycle and live sustainably? 
I believe life is spectacular and beautiful. I'm motivated to protect it and help it thrive. I'm encouraged by the research done by UC Davis and UC Berkeley as part of the California Carbon Project, where they have studied the impacts that 1/4 inch of compost applied on grassland will revitalize the soil ecosystem and create a carbon bank. Covering half of California's rangelands would offset all greenhouse gas emissions for a year, and the impact of one application of compost would last for up to 100 years.

If you were an animal, which one would you be and why?
If I were an animal, I would be a raven or a whale. Both are intelligent creatures with different perspectives on life. I'd be curious to fly as a raven or to sing as a whale.

How did you learn about AOR?
I learned about AOR from Eben Polk, Solid Waste & Recycling Manager from the City of Portland. He thought I would benefit from learning more about Oregon's recycling issues, as well as meeting local changemakers in the field. I'm looking forward to becoming more familiar with the recycling landscape of my new home and meeting more members at AOR.