NRC member since 1990.

Elected and served on NRC’s board multiple times since 2002 in the capacity of Vice President and Policy Committee Chair/Cochair. During those terms, I led or co-led the development of significant policies including the Definition of Recycling (which is regularly cited in developing local, state, and national legislation), Extended Producer Responsibility, Zero Waste, Incineration, reuse, and Chemical Recycling.

Implemented and managed a variety of resource management programs during my 17-year career at the City of San Jose, CA. In the late 90s, I developed the nation’s first protocol to quantify and validate recycling rates at Construction & Demolition facilities. I later launched the Recycling Certification Institute and implemented a more robust Certification program nationally, serving as its Executive Director. Given our recycling industry’s experience and challenges, achieving TRANSPARENCY and ACCURATE recycling rates are CRITICALLY important if we are to advance recycling in the United States.

Served as Governor’s Appointee overseeing CA’s Beverage Container Recycling Program.

Member of California Resource Recovery Association since 1990, where I also served as their Executive Director for several years.

NRC has a fantastic board of talented members. If elected, I’d be honored to serve again and assist NRC and its partners in advancing recycling and circularity in North America.

I’ve been participating as an NRC board member and/or committee member nearly continuously since 2002. I have a history of where NRC has been, understand and support where it is headed, and have a breadth of experience in the industry and board acumen to contribute to NRC achieving its goals.

Serving the past three years on the NRC board has been a privilege, and serving as its President has been an honor. As NRC is building new strategic partners, updating current programs, and looking into new grants, it’s an exciting time to be working with the NRC. It has been fun working with the ED, bringing back the Congress, and fellow board members over the past three years.

Teresa is the Founder & CEO of Race to Zero Waste and Vice President of the Board. She is the strategic vision of the organization. She has worked with the organization’s staff, board, volunteers, and contractors to develop new concepts and make zero waste more accessible in public spaces. At the height of the pandemic, she worked on discovering new zero waste project opportunities and sponsorship funds. Her past project experience with RFPs and grants has led municipalities, non-profits, and institutions to significantly minimize waste streams, greatly increase composting of organic waste, save money through avoided landfill tipping fees, and create green-collar jobs. In addition, she has over 20 years of experience developing zero waste systems by implementing reuse, waste avoidance, composting, and recycling techniques for municipalities, special events, commercial businesses, and schools. Teresa holds a Master of Science in Environmental Management from the University of San Francisco and is TRUE Zero Waste certified. She is currently the President of the National Recycling Coalition and Co-Founder of CircularSTL.

I am Maggie Clarke, Ph.D., a zero waste consultant at Maggie Clarke Environmental, an educator (City University of New York and Rutgers for 15 years) and a researcher in environmental science and an advocate for zero waste practices for over 35 years. I served on the NRC board for 9 years, innovating the NRC online library as a clearinghouse of useful research, policies, legislation, plans, incentives and articles that can be used to design and promote model recycling and zero waste systems, and innovative educational programs and webinars for the benefit of NRC members, the ROC, and the general public. I am eager to return to this task.

The NRC can benefit from my decades organizing conference sessions and peer reviewing papers for NRC and other organizations, and testifying at legislatures and agencies to assist these critical missions of NRC’s outreach. I would like to serve NRC in producing white papers on topics like the impact on climate change of using zero waste solutions like recycling, how to design a municipal reuse collection, repair, and sale system, and methods of recycling and reuse measurement. I’d like to assist the policy committee to update and create new policies in light of zero waste. I can help NRC in planning for the Congress.

I served on the board of the New York State Association for Reduction Reuse and Recycling and have been on its legislative and reuse committees. My doctoral research tested environmental shopping campaigns and shopper knowledge, attitudes and behavior in Manhattan. Subsequent research in New York City neighborhoods focused on reasons for non-participation in recycling.

I have been chair of the long range planning committee of the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board for ten years, taking every opportunity to show the benefits to the environment and climate of sustainable, zero waste initiatives using fact sheets, creating budget testimony and working with environmental groups to propose zero waste plans for New York City. I’m the longest serving member of the MSWAB board of directors, having chaired the board in 1992-3 as New York City was first rolling out its recycling program.

Hello Members, my name is Victoria Czapski and I have been the Community Engagement Specialist at Priority Waste since July 2024. In my role, I am responsible for creating, marketing, scheduling and presenting sustainability presentations to not only schools but also the communities we service.

I graduated Cum Laude from Central Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education with majors in secondary education and history and minors in psychology and music. I also had the unique experience of studying abroad at the University of Cambridge in England.

My passions are education, music and I do have some political experience. I once ran for County Commissioner and for two election cycles I was a Field Director in charge of operations of the field office — education, recruitment, scheduling and events.

Many organizations I have joined share a passion for making the world a better place. While admirable, their messaging often amounts to “preaching to the choir.” Members tend to have similar backgrounds, understand common technology, and recognize how inaction threatens a sustainable future. Growth requires all stakeholders to feel welcome and have a seat at the table.

Second, I would focus on growing the organization. To expand beyond New England and the West Coast, the organization should engage more intentionally with states in the often-overlooked “flyover” region.

Third, I would bring more industry representatives to the table, including haulers, material recovery facilities (MRFs), and end-market companies. Their practical insight could help identify implementation challenges, strengthen the organization’s recommendations, and build industry support.

For the past 13 years I have been not only a sustainability educator in the field but also a member of the Michigan Recycling Coalition working on both their annual conference committee and their education committee.

Gena McKinley is the Deputy Director for Austin Resource Recovery, the City department charged with the implementation of the City of Austin’s Zero Waste Plan. She has spent over 20 years working in the solid waste industry. Prior to joining the City of Austin, Gena worked in sustainable development at a regional council of government, with a focus on technical assistance for municipal waste management. Her leadership, commitment and advocacy for zero waste earned national recognition as she was chosen to be included in Waste360’s 40 Under 40 list of rising stars in the industry. Gena holds a Masters of Public Health from the University of Texas School of Health and a Bachelor of Arts from Southwestern University in Biology and Sociology.

Haley Nolde previously served as both a staff member and a leader with the Nebraska Recycling Council. I have had the opportunity to work with Haley in several different capacities over the past five years, and during the last two years, we’ve worked closely together while also developing a personal relationship.

Haley Nolde would be an outstanding addition to the Board of Directors because she brings a strong combination of leadership, collaboration, and a deep commitment to advancing recycling and sustainability initiatives.

Haley is a sustainability professional specializing in SMM. With a strong background in recycling advocacy, systems thinking, and nonprofit leadership, Haley has served as the Sustainability Coordinator at the University of South Dakota and previously as the Executive Director of the Nebraska Recycling Council.

Being a board member of the Illinois Recycling Foundation for the last couple years I have been involved in hearing and learning more about ongoing challenges related to recycling around the industry. Professionally I want to learn more about these challenges and be a part of solutions to make these necessary avenues for managing our society’s waste more effectively.

Brian Zimmerman is a Solid Waste Coordinator with the City of Evanston in Illinois. Brian has had a ten-plus-year career in the waste industry, working for various private and public organizations. Brian began his career by earning a Waste Management degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.