Speakers

Donny Addison | Waste Prevention Program Manager (AIC), City of Eugene

Donny Addison is the Waste Prevention Program Manager (AIC) for the City of Eugene. Donny has worked in the waste management field for over 20 years managing collegiate recycling programs at both Auburn University and the University of Oregon. Originally from Mobile, Alabama, Donny has lived in Eugene for 10 years. Donny graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor's degree in environmental science and a master's degree in agriculture.

Odalis Aguilera | Bilingual Green Business Food Waste Advisor, Washington County

Odalis Aguilera is a Bilingual Green Business Food Waste Advisor for Washington County Solid Waste and Recycling.

Jacob Anderson | Recycling Operations Specialist, Circular Action Alliance

Jake Anderson was the first co-op intern with the City of Tampa Solid Waste Department. Jake received his bachelor’s from University of South Florida in marketing and his master’s in global sustainability with a certificate in sustainable tourism. As an intern, he learned about the importance of educating residents on how to recycle right and how to have fun while being creative through education and outreach. This experience solidified his passion for waste reduction and aligned with his interest in sustainability and building a circular economy.

After graduation, he spent a year in Virginia as a recycling coordinator for a university, then moved to Oregon where he served for three years as Solid Waste Program Manager for Columbia County, Oregon. This role involved managing programs and contracts included in the county’s solid waste management plan and solid waste ordinance under the public works department.

Jake's current role is Recycling Operations Specialist for Circular Action Alliance (CAA). This position consists of managing various addenda such as: transportation reimbursement, Uniform Statewide Collections List (USCL) depot, audit sampling, and reload reporting. These addenda ensure that CAA is able to distribute funding responsibly to the operating entities in jurisdictions all over the state. Route data collection and organization is another portion of his role at CAA, along with creating/updating useful tools and projects that align with CAA's program plan.

Bobbi Anne Barnowsky | Executive Director, Tribal Solid Waste Advisory Network (TSWAN)

Bobbi Anne Barnowsky has served as the Executive Director of the Tribal Solid Waste Advisory Network (TSWAN) since 2022, leading the nation’s only tribally-based solid waste organization. Representing 34 federally recognized tribes across the Pacific Northwest—including deep-rooted partnerships within Oregon—she is at the forefront of integrating traditional tribal stewardship with modern materials management.

A recognized leader in regional circularity, Bobbi Anne developed the Tribal Recycling Alliance, an innovative hub-and-spoke recycling program designed to overcome rural infrastructure challenges. Her extensive background includes serving as a tribal administrator and environmental director in Alaska, where her work earned the Alaska Forum on the Environment Environmental Excellence Award. Now focused on the future of waste reduction in the Northwest, Bobbi Anne leverages her expertise in grant development and inter-agency collaboration to secure sustainable, zero-waste solutions for tribal communities and their regional partners.

Jack Bentivoglio | Materials Recovery Assistant, BRING Recycling

Jack Bentivoglio works with BRING Recycling in Eugene, Oregon, as a Materials Recovery Assistant and with Lane County Public Works as Sustainable Event Services Coordinator.

Alex Bertolucci | Oregon Communications Manager, Circular Action Alliance

Alex Bertolucci (he/him) is the Communications Manager for Circular Action Alliance Oregon, where he leads the development of clear, engaging education and outreach materials for the nation’s first extended producer responsibility program for paper and packaging. With more than 15 years of experience in sustainable materials management across both the public and private sectors, Alex specializes in turning complex environmental concepts into accessible, actionable information for diverse audiences.

Two fun facts: his favorite color is shiny, and he’s a LEGO enthusiast.

Julia Bonnheim | Community Development Director, Waste-Free Advocates

Julia Bonnheim comes to waste reduction with a background in community building and natural construction. She's thrilled to be part of the growing reuse movement and scaling functional systems. Julia invites everyone to consider joining forces with the Reusable Portland Coalition.

Maya Buelow | Waste Reduction Specialist, Lane County Waste Management

Maya Buelow holds a master’s in soils and biogeochemistry from UC Davis. She started her work in the waste and materials management field in 2017 as a Research Analyst for the State of Oregon in the Department of Environmental Quality, conducting multi-tenant recycling research.

Maya has been on the AOR board and in her current position on the Waste Reduction Team in the Lane County Waste Management Division since 2021- evaluating and implementing waste reduction programs and policy initiatives through collaboration with diverse public and private partners.

Misty Burris | CEO, Industrial Waste Impact Solutions

Misty Burris is a nationally recognized systems strategist and executive operating at the intersection of carbon markets, circular economy infrastructure, and public-private program deployment. She serves as the CEO of CO₂ Trust, a voluntary carbon marketplace platform advancing scalable carbon removal solutions, and holds executive leadership roles across a portfolio of organizations focused on environmental resilience, industrial decarbonization, and economic navigation.

With a career defined by systems integration and capital alignment, Misty specializes in transforming complex regulatory frameworks, waste streams, and emerging climate technologies into deployable market opportunities. Her work centers on building connective infrastructure between government programs, private industry, and community based implementation networks, ensuring that climate investment translates into measurable outcomes.

Ivy Burt | Supervisor of Post Collection, City of Roses Disposal and Recycling

Ivy Burt is a Supervisor of Post-Collection at City of Roses Disposal and Recycling, a Black-owned, B-Corp certified company committed to responsible waste management. She oversees Oregon's waste audit center, established under the state's landmark extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation, where she produces inbound recycling data in partnership with the Circular Action Alliance. With a background in international affairs from Lewis and Clark College and hands-on experience in zero waste operations, Ivy brings a thoughtful, systems-level perspective to the future of recycling.

Heather Campbell | Executive Director, Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts (MECCA)

Heather Campbell is the Executive Director of MECCA, an organization bringing together the arts and environmental stewardship. MECCA diverts approximately 50,000 pounds of creative materials from the waste stream each year and brings them into creative endeavors throughout the community. MECCA merges reuse, upcycling, and circular economies while inspiring people to look creatively at the materials many consider waste. MECCA turns Waste into Wonderful.

Hannah Carleson | Coordinator II - CPPW, City of Portland - BPS

Hannah Carleson is a Policy Coordinator for waste and sustainable materials at the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability within City of Portland. She is passionate about waste prevention, equity and access to recycling, and reusing and sharing household items.

Phil Carrasco | Independent Contractor, BridgePoint/Punto de Enlace

Born in San Jose, California, Phil Carrasco arrived in Eugene at age 16. After living in Mexico City, he returned to Eugene to start a family and is a proud parent and Eugenian.

Phil is a Master Recycler and a graduate of the University of Oregon's Planning, Public Policy, and Management (PPPM) program. He has been involved with Fix-It Fairs and Love Food Not Waste.

Outreach and connection are Phil's biggest and most genuine ways of existing in the community.

Kavi Chokshi | Rethink Waste Innovation Manager, The Environmental Center

Kavi (pronounced kuh-vee, like a covey of quails) is the Rethink Waste Innovation Manager of The Environmental Center in Bend, Oregon. Kavi is leading the implementation of the Dish project bringing reusable foodware to Central Oregon. Kavi is passionate about community building and creating a culture shift around sustainability. Kavi also serves on the AOR Legislative Committee and City of Bend’s Environment and Climate Committee. Originally from India, Kavi has lived in five countries, and moved to beautiful Central Oregon in 2018 after seventeen years in Delaware.

Travis Comfort | Municipal Contract Administrator, Republic Services

Travis Comfort has been the Municipal Contract Administrator for Republic Services since 2019. As part of his role, Travis works closely with 14 municipalities and four counties, ensuring compliance with the state’s mandated Opportunity to Recycle requirements. He also helps Oregon cities understand the Recycling Modernization Act (RMA) and meet its deadlines. Previously, Travis spent 10 years working in various capacities for the Oregon Judicial Department. Outside of work, Travis has completed the Dopey Challenge five times, a feat that involves running a series of races organized by runDisney, and fundraises for the Dragon Master Foundation, an organization dedicated to medical research into childhood cancers.

Ada Contreras | Lead, Waste Reduction and Reusables Program, University of Oregon Student Sustainability Center

Ada Contreras is a community driven and bilingual (English/Spanish) student passionate about equity and sustainability.

As the Lead of the Waste Reduction and Reusables Program at the University of Oregon’s Student Sustainability Center, she focuses on building inclusive spaces for student volunteers, driving progressive change and reducing waste in creative and involving ways. She previously interned with the City of Eugene’s Waste Prevention Program and has been a researcher with the University of Oregon’s Environmental Leadership Program, focusing on climate science in old growth forests.

Ada will graduate in June of 2026 with a Bachelor of Science in environmental studies.

Angel Contreras Cruz | Food Waste Outreach Specialist, City of Gresham

Angel Contreras Cruz works as a Food Waste Outreach Specialist for the City of Gresham. He is an author and researcher, holding a Ph.D. in Engineering Technology Management from Portland State University. He lives in Gresham with his wife, Karen, his daughters, Vania and Genesis, and his dog, Kika. He balances his professional and academic activities with creating content for his podcast and enjoys a vegan lifestyle.

Louisa de Heer | Senior Consultant, Parametrix

Louisa de Heer has worked in sustainability for over 15 years. At Parametrix, she provides full sustainability program management to food clients, including mitigation and adaptation strategies, climate action planning, ingredient and packaging life cycle analyses, and greenhouse gas accounting and reporting. She has previously worked in the food and beverage industry, both as a founder of a craft brewery and as the sustainability manager for a regional ingredient wholesaler.

Claudia Denton | Climate and Sustainability Management Consultant, Parametrix

Claudia Denton serves clients with research and analysis on carbon emissions, climate action, future conditions, and triple bottom line management. With expertise in greenhouse gas (GHG) analysis, climate action planning, and technical analysis, Claudia supports both public and private sector clients in advancing climate and sustainability goals.

Her work intersects with solid waste management where she helps organizations quantify their environmental impact, implement strategies to reduce emissions, and integrate sustainable waste management practices into broader climate initiatives. Through strategic project management and data-driven analysis, Claudia helps organizations implement forward-thinking solutions that enhance sustainability principles in an equitable and accessible way.

She is passionate about leveraging best practices combined with local interests to create resilient, low-carbon communities for the future.

Tom Egleston | Policy and Program Development Manager, Metro

Thomas (Tom) Egleston is currently the Policy and Program Development Manager for Metro’s Waste Prevention and Environmental Services Department. In this role, Tom supports a team of policy planners that seek to develop and refine waste related policies and programs that benefit the Portland region by advancing the regional outcomes of preventing waste and maintaining a healthy environment, fostering shared prosperity, and maintaining an excellent, accessible, and resilient garbage and recycling system. Tom also currently serves as Legislative Chair on AOR's Board of Directors.

Tatum Flowers | Solid Waste Coordinator, Columbia County

Tatum Flowers, a University of South Florida alumna, got her start in the waste industry through food rescue and recovery. She works for Columbia County a rural county in northwestern Oregon to make it accessible and affordable for residents and businesses to participate in reuse, recycling, and hazardous waste programs. Her philosophy is that we need both system and behavior change to create a better future for people and the planet.

Elizabeth Huarte Galusha | Contract Manager and Contamination Reduction Specialist, Circular Action Alliance

Elizabeth Huarte Galusha is the Oregon Contract Manager and Oregon Contamination Reduction Specialist at Circular Action Alliance. Elizabeth has over 13 years of private and public experience in sustainability, waste, environmental health, auditing, third party certification ,and supply chain management. She holds an MBA in sustainability.

Justin Gast | Materials Management Specialist, Oregon DEQ

Justin Gast is a Materials Management Apecialist with Oregon DEQ’s Materials Management Program, currently working on implementation of the Recycling Modernization Act. In addition to his time at DEQ, Justin has spent his almost 20 years in the industry working at the local and national levels for the likes of Resource Recycling, the Washington County (OR) Solid Waste & Recycling Program, and The Recycling Partnership. Justin lives in North Portland with his wife of almost 23 years, Terra; their 3.5-year-old daughter, Birdie; their nine-year-old goldendoodle, Alice; and their flock of chickens.

Cheryl Grabham | Product Stewardship Manager, Oregon DEQ

Cheryl Grabham manages the Materials Management Product Stewardship team at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)’s headquarters in Portland. The team develops and oversees extended producer responsibility programs for electronics, paint, waste medicines, printed paper and packaging, mattresses, and will be launching a battery EPR program soon.

Cheryl spent several years as the liaison to the governor’s Regional Solutions Team for the Portland Metropolitan area and worked on innovative projects in DEQ’s Water Quality and Materials Management programs. Before coming to DEQ in 2008 she also spent more than 10 years researching wildlife habitat and organizing conservation efforts in Southeast Alaska.

In her free time Cheryl watches a lot of soccer matches with her family and helps people of all abilities access and enjoy the outdoors.

Mitra Gruwell | Community Engagement Coordinator, Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts (MECCA)

Mitra Gruwell loves using her creativity to divert waste! She enjoys designing and making costumes for fashion shows, special events, and her clients out of waste materials. Mitra designs headpieces for a local ballet company called Ballet Fantastique and incorporates materials like old felt hats, fabric scraps, beads, and broken jewelry. She loves using her creativity in other areas outside her work. She and her partner are finishing their barn, getting creative and thrifty by finding materials at places like BRING and Habitat and upcycling materials they already have for this project. She would love to see some sort of Pallet Fest in Oregon one day!

Pea Hamilton | Equity and Justice Consultant, Start Consulting Group

Pea Hamilton is based in Portland, Oregon. Pea uses they/them/she pronouns. Pea is an equity and justice expert at Start Consulting Group, drawing on a career in EDI and lived experiences. Pea believes in taking a humanistic approach to solve human-based problems.

Jessi Heiberg | Office Manager, Heiberg Garbage & Recycling

Jessi Heiberg is part of the third generation to be involved in her family business. Heiberg Garbage & Recycling was started in 1947 by her grandparents, transitioned to her father Bruce and Uncle Brian, and is now run by herself and two younger brothers, Jimmy and Joe. Heiberg Garbage & Recycling operates in the City of Portland with residential, multi-family, and commercial accounts.

Susie Houlden | Coordinator I, City of Portland - BPS

Lexi Howell | Recycling Coordinator, North Lincoln Sanitary Service

As a third-generation solid waste hauler, Lexi Howell brings a lifelong connection to the industry. She currently serves on the management team at North Lincoln Sanitary Service, located in Lincoln City, Oregon, where she works in her family-run business celebrating 60 years! Lexi serves as the Co-Conference Chair of AOR and has enjoyed her involvement on the AOR Board since 2019. In her free time, you’ll find her traveling with her husband, tasting a new menu in Portland, or doting on her two rescue kitties and dog!

Nick Isbister | Depot Operations Coordinator, Circular Action Alliance

Nick Isbister has been working to move Oregon's recycling industry forward since he showed up on the scene in 2012. He has worked in all corners of the industry from events to e-waste and in all forms such as a local government employee to a private consultant. Lucky enough to have worked for Oregon industry greats such as Dan Blue and Kim Holmes, he owes his career to the connections he's made along the way. He claims to have visited the most transfer stations in the state over any AOR member, but this can't be verified. Though Nick claims to be more handsome than his co-presenter, it's hard to get any sun living in Alex Bertolucci's shadow.

Jackie Kirouac-Fram | Senior Consultant, RRS

Jackie Kirouac-Fram is a Senior Consultant at RRS who has spent her career building organizational capacity at the intersection of climate, materials management, and community equity. Before joining RRS, she served seven years as Executive Director of the ReBuilding Center in Portland, one of the oldest and most successful community-based reuse centers in the country. At RRS, Jackie has managed complex public-sector engagements for various clients across the western United States. She brings direct experience in stakeholder coordination, interview protocol design, program administration, and translating technical findings into clear guidance for municipal decision-makers.

Susan "Skittle" Kittleson | EPR Manager - Oregon, Circular Action Alliance

Susan Kittleson joined Circular Action Alliance (CAA) in August, 2024 and is currently the EPR Manager for Oregon's CAA team. Susan, AKA Skittle, moved to Oregon to be closer to family in 2021 and was thrilled to join the Lane County Waste Reduction Team leading their plastic collection efforts. Prior to her career change, Susan spent over 25 years working at Microsoft and Dell Corporations leading sales, marketing, and project management teams.

EmilieKrecklow | Recycling Modernization Act Analyst, City of Eugene

Emilie J. Krecklow is the Recycle Modernization Act Analyst with the City of Eugene’s Waste Prevention team, where she leads complex project coordination, conducts policy analysis, and oversees public education initiatives that advance Oregon’s recycling and materials management systems. She works collaboratively with local governments, regional partners, and statewide stakeholders to strategically leverage resources from the Recycling Modernization Act, ensuring alignment with a shared vision for accessible, equitable, and sustainable materials management. Emilie brings a fresh perspective and an innovative, systems‑focused approach to addressing emerging challenges in the recycling landscape. She holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences with honors from Oregon State University, is a LEED Green Associate, and actively contributes to community sustainability efforts as a member of the Lane County Master Recyclers. Through her thoughtful analysis, collaborative leadership, and forward‑looking problem‑solving, she is committed to supporting resilient, community‑driven solutions across Oregon.

Samantha Longshore | Community Program Manager, The Recycling Partnership

Samantha Longshore is a Community Program Manager at The Recycling Partnership with extensive experience managing residential recycling collection and waste diversion programs. At The Partnership, she assists education and outreach efforts supporting the implementation of extended producer responsibility (EPR) policies, contributes to national EPR implementation strategy planning, and provides technical assistance to help communities develop and carry out recycling improvement projects. She delivers educational sessions on recycling best practices across diverse audiences and has managed major statewide recycling improvement initiatives, including a recycling contamination reduction program in Washington State and multi-year grant programs in Michigan and Ohio.

Before joining The Recycling Partnership, Samantha served as the Resource Recovery Program Manager for the City of Milwaukee, overseeing recycling collection and waste diversion services for 187,000 single family households. In addition to operations of a publicly owned MRF, drop off centers, and a municipal hauling program, she led public communications and education initiatives through social media, a recycling focused website, media engagement, and community outreach.

Laura Markley | Coordinator II - Waste Policy & Planning, City of Portland - BPS

Dr. Laura Markley serves as a Sustainable Materials and Waste Policy Coordinator with the City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. Her work focuses on policy development for multifamily properties and reducing single‑use plastics. With more than a decade of research experience in microplastics, water pollution, and recycling systems, she is committed to advancing equitable, data‑informed decision‑making. Laura integrates rigorous analysis with collaborative partnerships and proactive engagement to support communities most impacted by waste and materials management policies.

Sun Mor | Co-Owner, Frog & Toad Hauling

Sun Mor is Co-Owner and manages operations with Frog & Toad Hauling, a position concerned with looking ahead and responding cleverly to create practical systems for keeping reusable material out of the landfill. Sun enjoys engaging with the lifecycle of stuff both inside and outside of work.

Crystal Moore | RecyleOn Center Development Lead, Circular Action Alliance

McKenna Morrigan | Strategic Advisor, Seattle Public Utilities

McKenna Morrigan is a Strategic Advisor on waste prevention and solid waste policy for Seattle Public Utilities. She has been directly involved in the development of multiple extended producer responsibility policies in Washington state, including the Recycling Reform Act, which was passed by the state legislature in 2025. 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.

JeffOrlandini| Waste Management Division Manager, Lane County Public Works

Jeff Orlandini currently works for Lane County Public Works as the Manager of the Waste Management Division which operates the Short Mountain Landfill and 15 transfer stations. He has 12 years of experience in public works and 15 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, working in Detroit, Chicago, San Antonio, and Eugene. He has led large scale community-based service events, and served as the principal of an alternative high school. He holds a bachelor's degree in sociology and a master's degree in educational leadership. He enjoys camping with his family, backpacking, and snowboarding.

Maleek Owens | Operations Manager, Junk It Junk Removal LLC

Maleek Owens is the Operations Manager at Junk It Junk Removal, a family-owned business where he has worked since 2012 and grown from field crew member to operations leader. His experience includes reuse and recovery work, hoarding-related cleanouts, trauma-impacted spaces, illegal dumping response, and public-facing cleanup projects.

As part of the next generation of ownership at Junk It, Maleek brings a practical and compassionate field perspective on how cleanup work can support people, preserve usable materials, and create more thoughtful pathways between disposal, reuse, and recovery.

Eben Polk | Solid Waste & Recycling Manager, City of Portland - BPS

Adam Rack | Co-Founder, Revino

Adam Rack, is the Co-Founder of Revino, headquartered in the Willamette Valley. Revino is reviving the reusable glass bottle ecosystem in the beverage industry, with an initial focus on wine packaging.

Rack developed an interest in sustainability at an early age. In 2015, he joined Oregon’s wine industry as Operations Manager at Coopers Hall and established diverse keg wine programs and tap systems from small restaurants to the Oregon Zoo and Convention Center. In 2020 he launched a wine club exclusively featuring reusable bottles. His work has prevented the use of over one million single-use bottles.

He is a founding member of Reusable Portland, serves on the PR3 Reusable Standards Panel, is a team leader with his local Community Emergency Response Team, and served on the AOR EDI committee. His work extends to policy initiatives across the country with NGOs in the recycling and waste reduction movement.

Revel Rapp | Co-Owner, Frog & Toad Hauling

Revel Rapp is Co-Owner and Community Partnerships Manager at Frog & Toad Hauling. Their focus is on scalable and creative reuse, collaborative programming, and trauma-informed downsizing and hauling support. They are a lifelong tinkerer and enjoy breaking stuff, fixing stuff, and having a good laugh.

Alex Reyna | Senior Program Coordinator, City of Eugene

Alex Reyna, originally from Guanajuato, Guanajuato, México, has called Eugene home since 1994. He began his communications career at Churchill Media Communications, where he developed a deep understanding of culturally rooted messaging and community-centered outreach. In 2011, he founded La E‑Kiss Multimedia, an online radio platform created to strengthen access to information for Eugene’s Spanish-speaking community.

Alex’s communications work led him to explore new ways of reaching diverse audiences, and he became an early practitioner—and quiet pioneer—of transcreation, a communication approach that goes beyond translation to adapt messages so they carry the same cultural meaning, emotion, and impact as the original. His work has supported organizations across public, nonprofit, and private sectors in making their outreach more culturally authentic and effective.

Since joining the City of Eugene’s Waste Prevention Program in 2022, Alex has focused on expanding equitable access to sustainability programs for under‑represented communities. He works to ensure both new and existing City initiatives are culturally responsive, accessible, and grounded in an equity‑first approach that serves Eugene’s diverse residents.

Alice Rotsztain | Senior Project Manager: New Initiatives, Trash for Peace

Alice Rotsztain is a Senior Project Manager at Trash for Peace, a community-based nonprofit rooted at the intersection of environmental justice and popular education. Since 2022, she has partnered with community members, reuse professionals, and local governments on waste equity pilots.

A thing that Alice likes to do with reuse is to make upcycled textiles and baskets.

Joel Schoening | Senior Consultant, RRS

Joel Schoening earned a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Oregon and published research and taught courses at the nexus of sustainable urban policy, social change, and organizational development. His career includes leadership roles in public affairs, policy analysis, strategic planning, communications, and stakeholder engagement for a wide range of planning, environmental policy, economic development, and recycling initiatives. He has served as an analyst at Oregon Metro, the Director of Communications for the Oregon Environmental Council, and the Public Relations Manager for Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative. He is currently a Senior Consultant for Resource Recycling Systems (RRS) and the Chair of the Board for AOR.

Peter Spendelow | Waste Reduction Specialist, Oregon DEQ

Peter Spendelow first worked on waste reduction issues in the 1970s, trying to pass a bottle bill in Washington. He was a founding board member of Washington Citizens for Recycling (now Zero Waste Washington), but since 1985 has been a Waste Reduction Specialist at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, working on policy and data issues, including Oregon's nine waste composition studies.

Arianne Sperry | Recycling Program Implementation Lead, Oregon DEQ

Arianne Sperry joined DEQ’s product stewardship team working on materials management in 2022 to lead implementation of Oregon’s Recycling Modernization Act. She brings extensive policy and program development experience and a deep understanding of Oregon’s recycling system from her longtime role at the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.

Elizabeth Start | Happy Human, Start Consulting Group

Elizabeth Chin Start (she/her) is the founder of Start Consulting Group LLC and Circsus Upcycled. She has worked in reuse, recycling, waste prevention, and solid waste for 25 years, with a strong focus on equity and justice. Throughout her career, Elizabeth has collaborated with community members, local and state governments, private industry, and community-based nonprofits. Her goal is to build equitable, accessible, and inclusive systems within materials management and the circular economy.

A passionate reuse advocate and artist, Elizabeth is like a magpie collecting shiny treasures, known for her knack for transforming discarded objects into quirky, imaginative works of art. She channels her zeal for reuse into policies and programs, as well as into her co-owned shop, Circsus Upcycled Art & Gifts.

Dan Sutton | Senior Vice President, Rexius Forest By-Products

Dan Sutton is the Senior Vice President at Rexius Forest By-Products of Eugene, Oreegon, a family-owned business since 1935. Dan has worked for Rexius for the past 47 years, and has extensive experience in the company's compost and soils manufacturing and formulation of mixes for a wide variety of commercial grower customers, including bagged and bulk materials for private label clients across the U.S. as well. Locally, he has worked closely with the City of Eugene and Lane County in their recycling efforts of greenwaste to make high quality compost and the production of the City of Eugene's "Love Food Not Waste" foodwaste compost that is sold into the Pacific Northwest.

Dan Weston | Recycling Reform Act Lead, Washington State Department of Ecology

Dan Weston works at the Washington Department of Ecology, where he oversees implementation of the Recycling Reform Act as the state's Recycling Reform Act Lead. His work spans policy development, program oversight, and stakeholder engagement with local governments, private service providers, and producers. He has also worked on a range of product stewardship and packaging laws and led the statewide Recycle Right campaign. Dan has been with Ecology since 2012 and holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Oregon State University and a B.A. in political science from the University of Northern Iowa.

Jackie Wilson | Community Outreach Coordinator, Deschutes County Solid Waste

Jackie Wilson holds a master’s degree in sustainability and has spent the past 20 years educating Deschutes County residents about waste reduction and recycling. She brings a deep passion for sustainable behavior change, working with schools, businesses, and individuals to inspire practical, long‑lasting environmental stewardship. When she’s not helping to build a more sustainable world, Jackie can be found playing in the mountains or dancing to live music.

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