Mason grew up in the Arkansas River Valley and showed up to college knowing he wanted to study business. What he didn't plan on was picking up a history major along the way. That combination turned out to matter more than he expected. Finance taught him how businesses actually work. History taught him how to think, how to read a situation, and how to make a case. He's been doing both ever since.

The conversation gets into what drew him from investment banking to the waste and recycling space, and why he thinks sustainability advocates underestimate how important it is to speak the language of capital. His take is pretty direct: great ideas don't move without money behind them, and if you can't tell the story in a way that gets investors excited, it stays an idea. That's not cynicism. It's just how he's watched things work, and not work, over the course of his career.

Episode in a glance

00:44 Growing up in Arkansas and studying business and history
01:52 Why critical thinking and liberal arts matter in business
05:06 Investment banking explained and connecting capital to sustainability
09:48 Joining Denali and the organics recycling mission
13:27 Advice for sustainability businesses and the next generation

About Mason McNeill

Mason McNeill is the Chief Commercial Officer at Denali, the nation's largest organics recycler, where he leads customer relationships, sales, and infrastructure growth across the country. He holds degrees in finance, accounting, and history from the Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas and began his career at Stephens, a leading investment banking firm, advising private and family-owned companies on accessing capital markets. His work at Denali centers on building the infrastructure and partnerships needed to divert organic material from landfills and return it to productive use as animal feed, fertilizer, compost, and renewable energy.

Connect with Mason McNeill and his work

Mason McNeill on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/masonbmcneill

Denali Website → https://www.denalicorp.com/

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Elizabeth brought a decade of independent consulting in strategic planning to the table. Marissa brought deep experience in community-centered branding and communications. What they discovered, first at the Women in Sustainability Network, then over a shared project at Summit Metro Parks, was that their two approaches were almost identical in process. That realization became Sustainable Economies.

Together, they walk us through what it looks like to help a conservation nonprofit move from a rigid five-year action plan to something more honest: a North Star that holds steady while strategies stay flexible. They share the story behind Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, a watershed that covers 20% of Ohio, and how years of community engagement led to a funded research collaboration that's now shaping real policy. And they make a case for why right now, in the middle of funding cuts and policy uncertainty, is exactly the wrong time for mission-driven organizations to go quiet.

Episode in a glance

00:00 Introduction
00:41 How They Met and Teamed Up
03:33 Why Strategy Needs Story
07:25 Founding Sustainable Economies
13:54 Client Wins and Resilience
23:37 Measuring Impact and Wrap Up

About Elizabeth Schuster & Marissa Ferrari

Elizabeth Schuster and Marissa Ferrari are the co-founders of Sustainable Economies, a consulting firm that helps conservation nonprofits and public agencies develop strategy, clarify identity, and measure impact. Elizabeth brings over 10 years of experience in strategic planning, community engagement, and facilitation. Marissa brings expertise in brand development, communications, and stakeholder research. Together, they work with clients in Ohio and across the country to build resilient organizations rooted in research and plain-language storytelling.

Connect with Elizabeth and Marissa

Sustainable Economies on LinkedIn → Sustainable-Economies 

Sustainable Economies → sustainableeconomies.com

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Marissa grew up in a small town in southwestern Michigan, spending her childhood building tree forts, wandering creeks, and roaming the woods behind her house. It was a relationship with the natural world that never left her. She went to college expecting to become a doctor, switched to literature and women's studies, and landed an internship at Ms. Magazine during the Gloria Steinem era. When that door didn't open the way she hoped, she spent years wondering if she'd missed her shot. What she found instead was a richer path with AmeriCorps, economic development, copywriting, advertising, and eventually a creative directorship that draws on every one of those stops.

For Marissa, storytelling is the engine behind effective nonprofit communications. The best stories make the audience the hero. We drive decisions on how stories captures emotion, not by the data they share. Marissa’s ambition as a woman, from the internal friction of having teachers tell her to stop raising her hand, to how building her own practice - gave her room to finally see what she could accomplish. Her realization from this work is that we are not separate from nature, and the more people remember this, the more it fuels her hope.

Episode in a glance

00:00 Introduction
00:53 Tree Fort Roots
02:38 From Biomed to Literature
06:17 Nonlinear Career Lessons
10:10 Storytelling and Creativity
21:32 Hope and Staying Connected

About Marissa Ferrari

Marissa Ferrari is Partner and Creative Director at Sustainable Economies, a consultancy supporting mission-driven nonprofits and public sector organizations working at the intersection of nature and communities. With a background in literature and women's studies and more than two decades in communications, brand strategy, and creative direction, she brings both artistic sensibility and research-driven rigor to the work of helping organizations find and tell their stories.

Connect with Marissa Ferrari and her work at Sustainable Economies

Sustainable Economies on LinkedIn → Sustainable-Economies 

Sustainable Economies → sustainableeconomies.com

Send us a message!

She grew up on 17 acres in New Hampshire, where early years of backpacking and time in nature laid the foundation for a lifelong commitment to the environment. But it was a study abroad in Venezuela, watching farmers grow food by hand, then seeing a pesticide bottle reused for drinking water - that crystallized her three-pillar approach to sustainability: human health, economic viability, and ecological impact. That has guided everything since.

During Peace Corps experience in a remote Honduran mountain village she went on a mission to plant trees, which nearly stalled after a year with only 10 planted. By shifting from top-down volunteer to community collaborator and interviewing every household, learning about coffee, corn, and the real economic trade-offs families were navigating, she helped launch a certified organic coffee co-op that delivered both a higher market price and a reforested watershed. That discovery became the spark that shaped her entire career. From there, she pursued graduate work in agricultural and environmental economics, joined the Nature Conservancy as an environmental economist, and eventually built her own firm. She also shares what it means to be a qualitative collaborator in a field that often prizes pure data, and why the most impactful sustainability work is rooted in courage, inclusion, and hearing every voice.

Episode in a glance

00:00 Introduction
00:36 Gordon the Whisper Whiner
01:16 Roots in New Hampshire
03:44 Peace Corps Turning Point
07:54 From Manufacturing to Economics
11:52 Data Trust and Closing

About Elizabeth Schuster

Elizabeth Schuster is the founder of Sustainable Economies, a strategic planning, branding, and communications firm, and a partner in environmental economics. With a background in environmental studies and a graduate degree in agricultural and environmental economics, Elizabeth spent four years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras before going on to work as an environmental economist at the Nature Conservancy. She brings a systems-level, deeply collaborative approach to sustainability work — one grounded equally in data, community voice, and her three-pillar framework of human health, economic viability, and ecological impact.

Connect with Elizabeth Schuster and her work

Sustainable Economies on LinkedIn → Sustainable-Economies 

Sustainable Economies → sustainableeconomies.com

Send us a message!

Joseph’s passion for sustainability was sparked by an unlikely source - a college job collecting recycling by bicycle. This hands-on experience ignited his fascination with waste management, leading him to pursue environmental studies. Joseph's career took him from the Ohio EPA, where he developed an innovative business-to-business recycling platform, to the Netherlands, where he joined the open-source Precious Plastic community. There, he gained invaluable insights into small-scale plastic recycling and fostering a grassroots movement. His journey continued in Portugal, training communities worldwide to implement Precious Plastics' recycling technology. Driven by a desire to tackle the plastic crisis head-on, Joseph founded Marble Plastics, creating beautiful, durable goods from 100% recycled plastic sheets. Discover how this green champion transformed his passion into a mission to revolutionize plastic recycling.

Episode in a glance

- The plastic waste issue and its impact on the environment
- Joseph's journey into plastics
- Connecting businesses for waste recycling and reuse
- The path to developing community at Precious Plastic
- How different polymers and their impact on recycling
- Marble Plastics and their sustainability work

About Joseph Klatt

Joseph Klatt is the founder of Marble Plastics, a company pioneering the creation of beautiful, durable products from 100% recycled plastic sheets. His passion for sustainability was ignited by a college job collecting recycling by bicycle, which led him to study environmental management. After developing a business-to-business recycling platform at the Ohio EPA, Joseph joined the open-source Precious Plastics community in the Netherlands, where he gained expertise in small-scale plastic recycling and fostering mission-driven movements. He then transitioned to Portugal, training communities worldwide to implement Precious Plastics' recycling technology. Driven by a desire to revolutionize plastic recycling and promote circularity, Joseph founded Marble Plastics to transform plastic waste into stunning furniture, countertops, and wall coverings, diverting materials from landfills while creating beautiful, eco-friendly products.

Connect with Joseph Klatt, Precious Plastic, and Marble Plastics

Precious Plastic → https://www.preciousplastic.com/

Marble Plastics → https://marbleplastics.com/

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/marbleplastics/

Send us a message!

Angela is the sixth generation on her family's farm up in northwest Ohio. She's really seen firsthand how hard farmers work, how little control they often have over their success, and how corporate consolidation has quietly reshaped the food system over the last forty years. That's the story she carries with her into every letter to Congress, every rally, every petition. It's also what makes her so clear-eyed about the stakes: the average American farmer is around 60 years old, and unless something shifts, a lot of those farms, and a lot of those communities, won't make it to the next generation.

Angela walks us through what Farm Action actually does day to day, from tracking shareholder reports and USDA data to running a consolidation data hub that maps every sector of agriculture. She unpacks why so many farmers are pushed into growing commodity crops like corn and soybeans, how contract growers raising chickens for companies like Tyson can be blackballed for simply speaking out, and the years-long fight to restore truth to the "Product of USA" label so consumers finally know where their beef is actually from. And she leaves us with something we can all do about it, whether that's signing up for a newsletter, calling your member of Congress, or voting with your food dollars at the farmers market down the street.

Episode in a glance

• 00:10 Meet Angela Huffman & Farm Action
• 01:29 Inside Farm Action's Watchdog Research
• 07:38 What It's Really Like to Be a Farmer Today
• 12:44 Tyson, Contracts & Retaliation Against Farmers
• 15:23 The Product of USA Labeling Win
• 20:35 How You Can Help Fix the Food System

About Angela Huffman

Angela Huffman is the co-founder and president of Farm Action, a national advocacy organization fighting corporate consolidation across the U.S. food and agriculture system. A sixth-generation Ohio farmer with a background in English and public policy from Ohio State, Angela has spent more than 15 years at the intersection of farming, communications, and federal policy, translating on-the-ground realities into pressure that moves lawmakers.

Connect with Angela Huffman and her work with Farm Action

Angela on LinkedIn → Angela Huffman

Farm Action → farmaction.us

Send us a message!

Two hundred years ago, Angela's family put down roots on a patch of land in northwest Ohio. Six generations later, she's still there, raising Katahdin sheep between trips to Washington, D.C., where she splits her time lobbying for the very kind of family farm she grew up visiting. Her path wasn't a straight line. It wound through a year teaching English in Japan, where a convenience-store sandwich quietly exposed how broken American food had become. It passed through a volunteer stint gathering signatures for an Ohio animal welfare ballot measure, and a slow-dawning realization that the farmers she loved were getting squeezed, not by the weather, but by the market itself.

That realization became Farm Action. With co-founder Joe, Angela built an organization that treats research as the foundation and communication as the lever. The work starts by uncovering how corporate power distorts the food system, then translating it into language the public and policymakers can actually act on. When egg prices spiked during the avian flu, her team dug in and showed that the largest producers had zero outbreaks yet were posting record profits. The narrative shifted. Prices came down.

Episode in a glance

• 1:32 Meet Angela Huffman, sixth-generation Ohio farmer with roots 200 years deep
• 2:05 Life on the farm raising Katahdin sheep while balancing policy work
• 3:36 From farm kid to policy advocate: realizing farmers needed a stronger voice
• 4:47 Discovering a different food system in Japan
• 17:03 Co-founding Farm Action: taking on corporate consolidation in agriculture
• 19:14 Volunteering on the 2010 Ohio farm animal welfare ballot

About Angela Huffman

Angela Huffman is the co-founder and president of Farm Action, a national advocacy organization fighting corporate consolidation across the U.S. food and agriculture system. A sixth-generation Ohio farmer with a background in English and public policy from Ohio State, Angela has spent more than 15 years at the intersection of farming, communications, and federal policy, translating on-the-ground realities into pressure that moves lawmakers.

Connect with Angela Huffman and her work with Farm Action

Angela on LinkedIn → Angela Huffman

Farm Action → farmaction.us

Send us a message!

Andrew's reframe for kitchens is simple and a little uncomfortable: they are factories. High volume, high complexity, constantly changing menus, and almost none of the process improvement thinking that transformed manufacturing over the last century. No Six Sigma. No statistical process control. Just skilled people running on experience and a deep, quiet anxiety about running out of food. That anxiety, Andrew explains, is where most waste actually comes from. Not negligence, not carelessness, but a system designed to use waste as a buffer against risk. Once you see it that way, the problem starts to look solvable.

Leanpath's approach is to make the invisible visible. A camera above a bin, a scale underneath it, and suddenly a kitchen knows not just that food is being wasted, but what, how much, and why. Andrew walks through twenty years of that evolution, from rudimentary touchscreens and USB sticks in 2004 to AI-powered tracking today. He also makes a case that doesn't get made often enough: that frontline kitchen workers are among the most underestimated climate actors in the world. They already understand the value of food. What Leanpath gives them is the data to act on it, and the evidence that their daily choices add up to something impactful.

Episode in a glance

00:36 Why a Third of All Food Never Gets Eaten
02:09 The Management Science Kitchens Are Missing
04:51 What Leanpath Actually Does Inside a Kitchen
11:32 Touchless Tracking Without Thoughtless Wasting
17:48 Why There Are No Bad Actors in Food Waste

About Andrew Shakman

Andrew Shakman is the co-founder and CEO of Leanpath, the global leader in food waste prevention technology for foodservice operations. With a background spanning theater, film producing, and early internet digital marketing, Andrew brings a distinctly human-centered lens to one of the most consequential environmental challenges of our time. Under his leadership, Leanpath has grown into an enterprise platform used in over 50 countries, helping some of the world's largest food service and hospitality organizations measure, understand, and dramatically reduce the food they waste.

Connect with Andrew Shakman and his work

• Andrew Shakman on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-shakman-3861/
• Leanpath → leanpath.com

Send us a message!

Andrew Shakman did not set out to work in sustainability. He set out to tell stories that mattered. What drew him, from early childhood through film school and into his career, was a hunger for meaning and a fascination with how things work. His father was a preventive medicine pioneer writing about food and health in the 1970s, long before the medical world caught up. It took Andrew ten years of running Leanpath to realize he had followed the same instinct into a different field. That kind of slow, earned self-awareness runs all through his story.

What makes Andrew's background so interesting is how little of it looks deliberate from the outside. Theater in college. An MFA in film producing. One of the first digital marketing agencies on the early internet, where he happened to land food and beverage clients. Each chapter looks like a detour until Andrew connects the dots himself, and suddenly the whole thing makes sense. By the time he stumbled into food waste, he had already spent years learning how to build things, how to bring people along, and how to make a complex problem feel urgent to someone who has never thought about it before. He calls it baking a four-layer cake: get people to care about food waste, convince them prevention beats composting, show them measurement is the path to prevention, then make the case for automation. Most conversations never made it past the first layer. It turned out those were exactly the skills that problem needed.

Episode at a Glance

00:54 Why Storytelling Is the Most Powerful Tool for Change
03:27 The "Prevention" seed: Growing up in a mission-driven home
05:02 From Film School to the Early Internet
07:17 How Food Brands Changed Everything
12:53 The Four-Layer Cake of Food Waste Analogy
19:18 Leadership lessons learned from training "problem horses"

About Andrew Shakman

Andrew Shakman is the co-founder and CEO of Leanpath, the global leader in food waste prevention technology for foodservice operations. With a background spanning theater, film producing, and early internet digital marketing, Andrew brings a distinctly human-centered lens to one of the most consequential environmental challenges of our time. Under his leadership, Leanpath has grown into an enterprise platform used in over 50 countries, helping some of the world's largest food service and hospitality organizations measure, understand, and dramatically reduce the food they waste.

Connect with Andrew Shakman and his work

• Andrew Shakman on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-shakman-3861/
• Leanpath → leanpath.com

Send us a message!

On a cross-country flight, she ordered tea in economy and got a styrofoam cup, a plastic stir stick, and a sugar packet. On the way back, upgraded to first class, the same tea arrived in a china cup with a silver spoon and a sugar cube. That airline wasn't trying to be sustainable. They were trying to be elegant. Nancy's point is that we've somehow convinced ourselves that sustainability means sacrifice, when the most refined, considered experiences have always been the most efficient.

The practical strategies Nancy shares in this episode are the kind that stick. The Clean Plate Club, which turns food waste reduction into a community game at multi-day conferences. The stone-in-a-jar voting system that replaced conference swag with charitable giving. The carbon uncalculator MeetGreen built during COVID to show clients exactly how much emissions they avoided by going virtual. And the emerging Hub and Spoke event model that she believes is the next major shift in how organizations gather. Each idea is grounded in the same philosophy: reduce first, always. Then measure, share the data, and let the numbers do the talking.

Episode in a glance

02:08 The internal focus group: Balancing logistics with sustainability
04:54 Rebranding Green: Why first class is the ultimate sustainability model
06:46 The Clean Plate Club: Gamifying food waste at scale
14:00 The $7.8M Business Case: Saving money through intentional reduction
23:44 The Hub and Spoke: Why the future of gathering is regional

About Nancy Zavada

Nancy Zavada is the Founder and President of MeetGreen, a firm dedicated to providing sustainable event management and consulting for some of the world's most recognizable brands. With over three decades of experience, Nancy is a recognized leader in the industry, helping organizations reduce their environmental footprint while maintaining high-quality attendee experiences. She is an Oregon native, a lifelong environmentalist, and a passionate mentor to the next generation of green event professionals.

Connect with Nancy Zavada and her work

• Email → nancy@meetgreen.com
• LinkedIn → Nancy Zavada
• Company Website → MeetGreen

Send us a message!

Nancy grew up on the Oregon Coast, where recycling wasn't a trend but a way of life. She never set out to start a company. She was simply an event planner who noticed something she couldn't unsee: a single five-day conference for 2,500 people would generate 31,000 styrofoam cups destined straight for the landfill. That moment didn't just bother her. It moved her. She made one different ordering decision, told everyone about it, and never looked back. That's the kind of founder Nancy is. Not the type chasing product market fit, but the type whose values simply outgrew the room she was in.

What followed was 32 years of building MeetGreen into a firm that serves clients from 300-person workshops to 60,000-person global conferences across Singapore, Brazil, Denmark, and beyond. Nancy shares the practical wisdom behind her approach: find the champion in every room, lead with education, and always make the business case. She also offers a beautifully simple piece of advice for young sustainability professionals: don't try to take on the world. Pick one thing. Get really good at it. Then pick the next one.

Episode in a glance

00:10 Meet the Woman Who's Been Greening Events Since Before It Was a Thing
03:16 31,000 Styrofoam Cups in One Week: The Moment That Started It All
06:03 Before It Was Called Sustainability: Pioneering Green Meetings in 1994
08:57 Still an Accidental Founder After 32 Years: The MeetGreen Origin Story
13:13 How COVID Forced the Events Industry to Finally Catch Up
16:15 Pick One Thing, Get Really Good at It, Then Pick the Next One

About Nancy Zavada

Nancy Zavada is the Founder and President of MeetGreen, a firm dedicated to providing sustainable event management and consulting for some of the world's most recognizable brands. With over three decades of experience, Nancy is a recognized leader in the industry, helping organizations reduce their environmental footprint while maintaining high-quality attendee experiences. She is an Oregon native, a lifelong environmentalist, and a passionate mentor to the next generation of green event professionals.

Connect with Nancy Zavada and her work

• Email → nancy@meetgreen.com
• LinkedIn → Nancy Zavada
• Company Website → MeetGreen

Send us a message!

The conversation also tackles the corporate "survival guide" for sustainability leaders. Karimah breaks down her signature framework for driving change without burning out. She explains why you must learn the "language of the business" (because the business won't learn yours) and how to balance personal, enterprise, and industry leadership.

Episode in a glance

04:56 From guerrilla warriors to expert coffee negotiators
08:28 Karimah's mantra: Simplify, believe in people, and stay messy
16:47 The challenge of passing the torch in long-term work
19:51 The 3 Pillars: Personal, Enterprise, and Industry leadership
22:38 Unlearning burnout: Why sustainability leaders must "flourish"

About Karimah Hudda

Karimah Hudda is the founder of Illumine Earth, a consultancy focused on helping leaders navigate complexity and drive systems change. With over 20 years of experience, she has led sustainability initiatives for global brands, non-profits, and community-based organizations. Karimah is a passionate advocate for equity and has lived, worked, and traveled in nearly 50 countries, bringing a truly global perspective to the fight for a more sustainable and just world.

Connect with Karimah Hudda and her work

Website → illumine.earth

LinkedIn → Karimah Hudda

Send us a message!

Why do we introduce ourselves by our titles instead of our roots? For Karimah Hudda, the journey didn’t start in a boardroom. It started with her grandmother’s courage in a small Indian village. Karimah shares how a legacy of compassion and a belief in "shared humanity" led her from studying microbiology to transforming global supply chains. She takes us behind the scenes of the Fairtrade movement, explaining how simple shifts in equity can change the lives of hundreds of thousands of farmers.

But how do you bring that grassroots mission into a massive corporation? Karimah pulls back the curtain on her time at giants like Mondelēz and Nike, revealing the "messy" reality of corporate sustainability. From flying to Zurich weekly to land a global coffee strategy, to using satellites to track the world’s palm oil, she shares what it actually takes to move the needle within a corporate hierarchy.

Episode in a glance

01:03 More than a title: Who are you really?
04:54 Giving up medicine for global impact
09:46 Behind the scenes of the Fairtrade movement
13:31 Going "In-House": Corporate life at Mondelēz
21:07 Using satellites to solve the Palm Oil problem
23:45 How to get noticed in the sustainability world

About Karimah Hudda

Karimah Hudda is the founder of Illumine Earth, a consultancy focused on helping leaders navigate complexity and drive systems change. With over 20 years of experience, she has led sustainability initiatives for global brands, non-profits, and community-based organizations. Karimah is a passionate advocate for equity and has lived, worked, and traveled in nearly 50 countries, bringing a truly global perspective to the fight for a more sustainable and just world.

Connect with Karimah Hudda and her work

Website → illumine.earth

LinkedIn → Karimah Hudda

Send us a message!

So who is Christy? She's a sustainability consultant and entrepreneur with over twenty years of experience in corporate sustainability, ESG, and customer success, having worked with major players like Walmart, Sodexo, and the UN Environment Program. She's also been a mentor and trusted sounding board for Dominique behind the scenes for years, so this partnership has been a long time coming.

In this intro episode, Dominique and Christy share a little about what makes them tick. Christy's light bulb moment traces back to her time at Emory University, where she got to explore how food systems could create a real sense of place and community on campus and realized sustainability could actually be a career. Dominique's "why" is a little closer to her heart: her family. With relatives living on an island directly impacted by climate change, protecting the planet feels like a personal responsibility, not just a professional one.

Together, they bring different lenses to the work. Christy with her big-picture corporate perspective, Dominique with her engineer's instinct for building processes that are replicable and scalable. As they look forward to Season 5, they promise to explore uncharted territory. From the sustainability of our sports stadiums to the hidden figures in our food systems, all while maintaining the heartwarming, real-world storytelling that has defined the first 100 episodes of Green Champions.

Episode in a glance

00:21 Meet the New Co-Host: Christy Cook
01:57 Dominique's Process-Driven Approach
04:20 Celebrating 100 Episodes and the Season 5 Roadmap
06:10 Finding Our "Why"
10:11 The Power of Creativity and Family
12:09 What's Coming This Season

About Christy Cook

Christy Cook is a sustainability consultant and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in corporate sustainability, ESG, and customer success. She has helped some of the world’s largest organizations—including the United Nations Environment Program, Sodexo, and Walmart—take meaningful action. A mentor and advocate, Christy is driven by a deep curiosity about lived experiences and how they can be leveraged to create a more sustainable world.

About Dominique Hadad

Dominique Hadad is the founder of Green Scope Consulting and a process-oriented engineer who uses her skills to help government and enterprise clients develop replicable sustainability programs. A winner of the Ohio State University President’s Prize, Dominique is dedicated to making climate action go further through data measurement and strategic program development.

Connect with Green Champions

Website → thegreenchampions.com

Instagram → @greenchampionspod

LinkedIn → Green Champions Podcast

Learn more about Green Scope Consulting → Green Scope Consulting

Follow Adam’s Podcast → People Helping People Podcast

Learn more about InvestHER Strategies → InvestHER Strategies

Send us a message!

Lauren gives us an inside look at her passion for driving waste reduction responsible pharmaceutical stewardship, and more, Lauren explains the unique ways biodiversity is addressed in the veterinary world, from creating pollinator gardens at clinics to ensuring the proper disposal of pharmaceuticals to protect local ecosystems.

She provides a masterclass in advocating for sustainability within large organizations, detailing projects focused on recycling, waste prevention through reusable sterilization tins, and reducing the carbon footprint of anesthetic gases. Lauren draws fascinating parallels between her current role and her previous work at the OSU Wexner Medical Center, sharing the powerful story of a two-year project to implement reusable sharps containers, a seemingly simple change that diverted 70 tons of waste annually. Finally, Lauren reflects on what keeps her optimistic, highlighting the deep commitment to sustainability at Mars and the power of working for a purpose-driven company.

Episode in a glance

00:57 Lauren’s Role at Mars Veterinary Health
03:03 What is Biodiversity in the Veterinary World?
06:19 The Net Zero Journey in Healthcare
10:34 A Champion Story The Reusable Sharps Container Project
16:41 The Immense Scale of Healthcare Waste
21:51 What Keeps Lauren Hopeful and Optimistic

About Lauren Koch

Lauren Koch is the Sustainability Senior Program Manager at Mars Veterinary Health, where she leads initiatives to create a more sustainable future for pets, people, and the planet. With a diverse background that spans business, public policy, and environmental science, she is a passionate advocate for data-driven strategies and collaborative action. Lauren's journey is a powerful reminder that a career with impact is always within reach if you're willing to ask questions, build relationships, and never stop learning.

Connect with Lauren Koch and her work:

Lauren Koch LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-koch-oh/

Mars Veterinary Health → https://marsveterinary.com

Mars Veterinary Health Sustainability Report → https://www.marsveterinary.com/media/uploads/2025/01/Mars-Veterinary-Health-2024-Environmental-Sustainability-Report.pdf

Green Building Article → https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283624285_Energy_performance_of_campus_LeedR_buildings_Implications_for_green_building_and_energy_policy

Health Care Without Harm → https://noharm.org/

Practice Greenhealth → https://practicegreenhealth.org/

Green Columbus → https://www.greencbus.org/

FLOW (Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed) → https://www.olentangywatershed.org/

Send us a message!

She discusses her early work at the OSU Wexner Medical Center, where she began weaving sustainability into her role as an office manager, researching best practices, and building a case for a dedicated sustainability program. This initiative and her volunteer work with local organizations like Green Columbus and FLOW (Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed) paved the way for her role at Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth. Lauren offers invaluable advice for those looking to break into the sustainability field, emphasizing the power of volunteering, seeking informational interviews, and the importance of "paying it forward." She also explores the complex, and often surprising, parallels between human healthcare and veterinary health, and the universal challenges and strategies for implementing sustainability in a clinical setting.

Episode in a glance

00:59 An "Inconvenient Truth" and a New Career Path
04:09 The GEICO Program That Taught Her About Purpose
06:38 From Office Manager to Sustainability Advocate
08:41 Advice for Aspiring Sustainability Professionals
14:06 Navigating the Safety vs. Sustainability Conversation
18:13 The Surprising Similarities Between Human and Animal Healthcare

About Lauren Koch

Lauren Koch is the Sustainability Senior Program Manager at Mars Veterinary Health, where she leads initiatives to create a more sustainable future for pets, people, and the planet. With a diverse background that spans business, public policy, and environmental science, she is a passionate advocate for data-driven strategies and collaborative action. Lauren's journey is a powerful reminder that a career with impact is always within reach if you're willing to ask questions, build relationships, and never stop learning.

Connect with Lauren Koch and her work:

Lauren Koch LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-koch-oh/

Mars Veterinary Health → https://www.marsveterinary.com/

Mars Veterinary Health Sustainability Report → https://www.marsveterinary.com/media/uploads/2025/01/Mars-Veterinary-Health-2024-Environmental-Sustainability-Report.pdf

Green Building article → (PDF) Energy performance of campus Leed® buildings: Implications for green building and energy policy

Health Care Without Harm → https://noharm.org/

Practice Greenhealth → https://practicegreenhealth.org/

Green Columbus → https://www.greencbus.org/

FLOW (Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed) → https://www.olentangywatershed.org/

Send us a message!

He offers a window into the deeply human side of the business, discussing how his teams navigate some of life's most stressful moments: death, divorce, and moving, with empathy and grace. Brody details their robust diversion process, a multi-stream system that sends furniture to the Furniture Bank of Central Ohio, clothing to Goodwill, and electronics to partners like Columbus Micro. He shares the impressive impact of these efforts, having diverted approximately 40 tons of donatable items in just the last eight months of 2025.

Brody also recounts the overwhelming success of their World Cleanup Day event, where a simple 15-second news segment brought a flood of cars, trucks, and trailers lined up to drop off items for free, proving the immense community desire for accessible and responsible disposal options. The conversation also touches on the emotional side of letting go of possessions, from the challenges of hoarder situations to the dwindling sentimentality of modern furniture.

Episode in a glance

01:02 It's Not "Junk," It's "Unwanted Items":
04:47 The Many Paths for Unwanted Items
07:34 Partnering with the Furniture Bank
11:47 World Cleanup Day An Unexpected Success
15:19  The Human Side of Hoarding and Letting Go

About Brody Olson

Brody Olson is the Sales Development Manager at Two Men and a Junk Truck. With a diverse background in operations and a deep commitment to customer service, he has played a key role in the growth and evolution of the company. Brody's journey is a powerful reminder that a fulfilling career can be found in unexpected places, and that the most valuable lessons are often learned on the front lines.

Connect with Brody Olson and his work

Website → https://twomenandajunktruck.com/

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/TMJTColumbus/

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/twomenandatruckcolumbus/?hl=en

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/brody-olson-661b48178/

Send us a message!

He gives us an inside look at the demanding and often unpredictable world of moving and junk removal, managing a team of 150 employees and a fleet of 50 trucks. Brody discusses the evolution of the company, from a traditional moving service to a one-stop shop that includes junk removal, storage, and even overseas relocation. He shares the valuable lessons he's learned about people, the importance of treating everyone with respect, and the power of giving yourself grace in a world that often feels cluttered. Brody also reflects on the leadership training that shaped his management style, the challenges of holding peers accountable, and the art of staying proactive in a reactive industry.

Episode in a glance

01:30 A Zig-Zagging Path Through College and Early Jobs
02:39 Finding a Career at Two Men and a Truck
04:25 The Difference Between Moving and Junk Removal
07:14 The Biggest Surprise About People and Their "Junk"
14:44 From a Job to a Career The Power of Mentorship
18:54 Advice for Finding Your Career Path

About Brody Olson

Brody Olson is the Sales Development Manager at Two Men and a Junk Truck. With a diverse background in operations and a deep commitment to customer service, he has played a key role in the growth and evolution of the company. Brody's journey is a powerful reminder that a fulfilling career can be found in unexpected places, and that the most valuable lessons are often learned on the front lines.

Connect with Brody Olson and his work

Website → https://twomenandajunktruck.com/

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/TMJTColumbus/

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/twomenandatruckcolumbus/?hl=en

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/brody-olson-661b48178/

Send us a message!

Lisa Goldsand, the founder of Circular Thrift, shares her mission to valorize post-consumer textile waste and scale the reuse of clothing and accessories at a hyperlocal level. Through her unique collection bins, swap events, and mobile trike sales, Lisa is revolutionizing the way communities approach sustainable fashion, making it both convenient and enjoyable. Lisa shares her insights on consumer behavior, the challenges faced in the fashion industry, and her innovative strategies for promoting a circular economy. Discover how her local, community-driven approach is paving the way for a more sustainable future in fashion.

Episode in a glance

-The Birth of Circular Thrift: Early experiments and successes
-How Circular Thrift differs from traditional thrifting
-Driving Consumer Change: Lisa's approach to positive conversations (in a trike!)
-The Circular Thrift Pyramid Explained
-The Hyperlocal Advantage: Why neighborhood solutions matter
-Expanding the Circular Thrift Model

About Lisa Goldsand

Lisa Goldsand is the founder of Circular Thrift, a convenient clothing pick and drop off service that also does community swap events. She has a unique background, having spent almost 20 years working at Abercrombie & Fitch in various roles related to apparel retail operations. During her corporate career, Lisa gained extensive experience working with garment manufacturers, mills, and factories, giving her an in-depth understanding of the traditional linear supply chain process. After leaving Abercrombie & Fitch, she started Circular Thrift, driven by a desire to address sustainability challenges in the fashion industry while empowering consumers to make a difference through their choices.

Learn more about Circular thrift here and catch their next event → https://www.circularthrift.org/

Send us a message!

He takes us inside Go Sustainable Energy, explaining how they provide accurate, unbiased information to help clients navigate the complex world of energy efficiency, load management, and distributed generation. John emphasizes the critical role of understanding and engaging all stakeholders, from the C-suite to the often-overlooked facility staff who are the true masters of a building's energy systems. He shares a powerful success story from the Ohio History Connection, where simple, common-sense solutions, championed by the facility staff, led to a staggering 50% reduction in energy use.

John reflects on the company's 19-year journey, highlighting the dramatic shifts in technology—from a time when solar and LEDs were science fiction to today's rapidly evolving landscape of EVs and smart grids. He discusses how this has changed the needs of his clients and the focus of his work, and introduces Go's subsidiary, RunnerStone, which provides crucial technical expertise to the policy and regulatory space.

Episode in a glance

00:42 The Unexpected Origin Story of Go Sustainable
04:46 What Go Sustainable Energy Actually Does
06:22 The Secret Champions: Facility Staff
09:55 The Ohio History Connection
13:25 19 Years of Change in the Energy Sector
17:04 RunnerStone Bridging Engineering and Policy

About John Seryak

John Seryak is the founder and managing partner of Go Sustainable Energy, where he is reshaping what an energy engineering firm looks like from the inside out. He has built a team of inquisitive engineering talent focused on providing accurate, unbiased guidance on sustainable energy. With a culture built on transparency and shared ownership, John is dedicated to proving that the most effective solutions emerge from a foundation of listening and genuine collaboration.

Connect with John and his work

• Website → https://www.gosustainableenergy.com/
• John’s LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-seryak-59630437/
• Go Sustainable Energy LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/go-sustainable-energy-llc/

Send us a message!

John recounts starting a sustainability club in college, not just out of passion, but as a deliberate "practice run" for entrepreneurship to see if he could build something from scratch. He discusses the crucial, and often uncomfortable, lessons learned after graduation while working in a company where he felt his vision didn't align. This experience led to a profound realization: building a successful company isn't just about the technical work; it's about creating a culture of transparency, shared ownership, and genuine interest in what your colleagues are doing. John pulls back the curtain on the challenges of leadership, the human tendency to create false narratives, and why the most important tool for solving our energy problems might just be the simple act of listening.

Episode in a glance

02:48 The Perpetual Motion Machine: An Engineer's Origin Story
04:19 A Crisis of Purpose 
07:20 Starting a Club as an Entrepreneurial Test
10:42 The Realization It's About Culture, Not Just Engineering
16:53 Go Sustainable's Culture of Sharing the Mic
20:20 The Real Barrier to Sustainable Energy Isn't Tech or Money

About John Seryak

John Seryak is the founder and managing partner of Go Sustainable Energy, where he is reshaping what an energy engineering firm looks like from the inside out. He has built a team of inquisitive engineering talent focused on providing accurate, unbiased guidance on sustainable energy. With a culture built on transparency and shared ownership, John is dedicated to proving that the most effective solutions emerge from a foundation of listening and genuine collaboration.

Connect with John and his work

• Website → https://www.gosustainableenergy.com/
• John’s LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-seryak-59630437/
• Go Sustainable Energy Linkedin → https://www.linkedin.com/company/go-sustainable-energy-llc/

Send us a message!

Danna discusses SWACO's mission to reduce landfill waste and the innovative programs they've developed to engage schools in this effort. She explains the School Recycling Champion Program, which provides free resources, education, and support to schools in Franklin County, helping them establish and improve their recycling programs. She also discusses the School District Consortium, a unique initiative that brings together district leaders to collectively bid for waste and recycling services, and the newly launched Green Team Network, which connects and empowers student environmental clubs across the region.

She shares inspiring stories of student-led initiatives, from data-tracking projects to community outreach campaigns, highlighting the creativity and passion of young environmental stewards. Danna also discusses the challenges schools face in implementing recycling programs, from logistical hurdles to the need for ongoing education and stakeholder engagement. She also shares how SWACO's approach to school programming has evolved, emphasizing the importance of dedicated staff, streamlined processes, and strong partnerships. She also discusses SWACO’s new “GreenPrint” initiative, which will focus on hard-to-recycle items like textiles and mattresses, and the expansion of convenience centers for residents.

Episode in a glance

04:01 Danna's Role at SWACO
05:47 The Power of Green Teams
07:01 The School Recycling Champion Program
13:53 Challenges in School Recycling
15:14 The Evolution of SWACO's School Programs
19:51 The Role of Schools in Sustainability
23:33 SWACO's "GreenPrint" Initiative

About Danna Lotz

Danna Lotz is the School Programs Administrator at the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO). With 18 years of experience as an elementary school teacher, she brings a deep understanding of the education system and a passion for empowering students to her role. Danna is dedicated to creating engaging and impactful programs that inspire the next generation of environmental stewards.

Connect with Danna Lotz and her work:

• Website → https://www.swaco.org/201/Schools
• Apply to be a School Recycling Champion → https://www.swaco.org/324/School-Recycling-Champion-Program
• Email → schools@swaco.org
• LinkedIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/danna-lotz-09aa99327/
• GreenPrint → https://www.swaco.org/502/Greenprint-For-a-Sustainable-Future

Send us a message!

Danna shares her journey from a small-town upbringing, where collecting bottles and cans with her dad sparked an early interest in recycling, to her 18-year career as an elementary school teacher. She recounts how the practical needs of the classroom led her to embrace upcycling and waste reduction long before it was a formal part of her job description. From turning cereal boxes into book holders to salvaging markers, Danna's classroom was a hub of creative reuse.

Her path took a pivotal turn when she discovered SWACO's free landfill tour program. Initially hesitant, she was captivated by the eye-opening experience and the powerful questions it sparked in her students. This annual field trip became a catalyst for countless student-led projects, transforming her classroom into a space for environmental action and problem-solving. Danna discusses her transition from teacher to her current role at SWACO, a move that felt like a "full circle moment," allowing her to leverage her deep understanding of the education system to support schools across the region.

Episode in a glance

- From Tutoring to Teaching
- An Early Spark for Recycling
- A Teacher's Path to SWACO
- What a Landfill Tour is Like
- Bringing a Teacher's Perspective to SWACO
- How School Green Teams Get Started

About Danna Lotz

Danna Lotz is the School Programs Administrator at the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO). With 18 years of experience as an elementary school teacher, she brings a deep understanding of the education system and a passion for empowering students to her role. Danna is dedicated to creating engaging and impactful programs that inspire the next generation of environmental stewards.

Connect with Danna Lotz and her work

Website → https://www.swaco.org/201/Schools

Apply to be a School Recycling Champion → https://www.swaco.org/324/School-Recycling-Champion-Program

Email → schools@swaco.org

LinkedIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/danna-lotz-09aa99327/

GreenPrint → https://www.swaco.org/502/Greenprint-For-a-Sustainable-Future

Send us a message!

This year took us on an incredible journey, from the mountains of Italy for the NanoValbruna conference to the heart of the Midwest for the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit. We revisit the power of international storytelling with guests like Francesca Cercelletta, who taught us how to make impactful films with just a phone, and Duccio Travaglini, who showed us how to turn "cold data" into "cool data."

We also reflect on the amazing collaborations we saw closer to home, from our live panel on waste diversion to the inspiring work of innovators like Shailah Maynard at Sew Valley and Zack Burns, who's sustainably feeding giraffes at the Cincinnati Zoo. Through it all, the beating heart of this season has been community. We discuss how champions like Jamie Richards have created change from within corporations and how the infectious energy of Emily Rials and Susan Swinford from Columbus Food Rescue inspired Adam to become a food rescue volunteer himself.

It's a celebration of the people who give us hope and a reminder that we all have a role to play. Thank you for being part of our community this year.

Episode in a glance

- A Year in Review 90+ Episodes and Counting
- Favorite Moments from Italy (NanoValbruna)
- Highlights from the Midwest Summit (MRSS)
- The Beating Heart of 2025 Community in Action
- Adam Gets Inspired to Rescue Food
- Looking Ahead to 2026

About Dominique Hadad & Adam Morris:

Dominique Hadad and Adam Morris are the co-hosts of the Green Champions podcast. Dominique brings her expertise in sustainability, while Adam adds his passion for social impact and entrepreneurship. Together, they explore the diverse ways individuals and organizations are creating a greener future.

Episodes we Discussed:

• Duccio Travaglini - Breaking Climate News With Cool Data
• Francesca Cercelletta - Using iPhone Storytelling to Frame the Change
• Shailah Maynard - Sew Much More Than Fashion
• Jessica Glorius-Dangelo - Sustainable Architecture Begins at the Drafting Table
• Zack Burns - How Hydroponics Feeds Giraffes and Cuts Emissions at the Zoo
• Kristan Uhlenbrock – Creating a New Institute at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science
• Emily & Susan – How They Rescued One Million Pounds of Food
• Jamie Richards - Inside Bansk Beauty’s Regenerative Shea Project in Uganda

Connect with Green Champions:

Website → https://www.thegreenchampions.com/

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/greenchampionspod

Linkedin →

Send us a message!

As a moderator at NanoValbruna, Duccio led discussions about regeneration versus sustainability, emphasizing how regeneration takes environmental action to the next level by focusing on community-centered economic systems. He shares insights about measuring success through quality engagement rather than quantity, and emphasizes that sustainability is a journey of continuous learning rather than a demand for perfection.

About the Mini Series

This is our mini series about NanoValbruna. We are highlighting an international forum that brings scientists, entrepreneurs, professors, professionals, journalists, science communicators, and especially young people to the heart of the Julian Alps to talk about innovation, environment, and regeneration. Enjoy conversations with climate changemakers in Valbruna, Italy.

Episode at a glance

 -The Evolution of Environmental Communication 
 -Regeneration vs. Sustainability: Moving Beyond Impact Reduction 
 -Storytelling Strategies: Combining Human Stories with Data 
 -Quality Over Quantity in Environmental Media 
 -The Journey Approach to Sustainability

About Duccio Travaglini

Duccio Travaglini is the Co-founder of Greencome Media, an Italian media platform focused on environmental and climate topics. Currently studying Environmental Economics and Politics, Duccio is pioneering a new approach to climate communication that emphasizes solutions and positive action while maintaining factual accuracy.

Connect with Duccio Travaglini and his work

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/greencome_ita

Tiktok → https://www.tiktok.com/@greencome_ita

LinkedIN → https://www.linkedin.com/company/greencome1

Newsletter → https://greencome.substack.com/

Green Tonic Podcast → https://open.spotify.com/show/7dgeH02vAlJyz3M6UR34Xq?si=887794e218404d75

Send us a message!

She discusses the institute's work in climate change, energy, natural resources, and public health, emphasizing the importance of partnerships and collaboration in tackling these complex, intersectional issues. Kristan details the institute's convening model, which brings together diverse stakeholders to find common ground and develop actionable solutions. She also introduces the new Colorado Science and Technology Policy Fellowship Program, a landmark initiative that will place scientists in the state legislature to provide technical expertise and support evidence-based policymaking. She also discusses her podcast, "Laws of Notion," explaining how it uses the power of storytelling to explore complex societal issues, from the energy transition in coal communities to the water crisis in the West.

Episode in a glance

- The Origin Story of the Institute
- Bridging the Gap Between Science and Decision-Making
- The Institute's Focus Areas
- Convenings and Collaborative Problem-Solving
- The Colorado Science and Technology Policy Fellowship Program
- The Power of Storytelling and the "Laws of Notion" Podcast

About Kristan Uhlenbrock

Kristan Uhlenbrock is a scientist, writer, and communicator who leads the Institute for Science and Policy at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. With a background in marine science and a passion for bridging the gap between science and society, she is dedicated to fostering thoughtful public conversations and evidence-based decision-making. Kristan is also the host of the "Laws of Notion" podcast, where she explores how we can rethink our ideas to create a more sustainable and equitable future.

Connect with Kristan Uhlenbrock and her work:

Laws of Notion Podcast → https://lawsofnotion.org/

Institute for Science and Policy → http://institute.dmns.org/

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/kuhlenbrock/

Send us a message!

Kristan shares her origin story, recounting how a childhood spent exploring the creeks and forests of southeast Indiana nurtured a deep love for nature. She describes her unexpected path into science, from being a "pre-med kid" to discovering her passion for chemistry and marine science, a journey that took her from the heartland to the coasts of Florida. Kristan explains how her academic pursuits evolved from pure research to a fascination with the social and political dimensions of environmental issues, leading her to write op-eds, engage with local leaders, and eventually find her way to the world of science policy in Washington D.C.

She offers valuable insights on how to find your voice and engage in public discourse, emphasizing the importance of approaching conversations with humility, curiosity, and a genuine desire to understand different perspectives. Kristan discusses the "messiness" of both science and people, advocating for an embrace of uncertainty and a willingness to learn from failure. She shares her philosophy that being kind to yourself is the first step toward creating positive change in the world.

Episode in a glance

- A Childhood Rooted in Nature
- The Winding Path from Pre-Med to Marine Science
- Finding a Voice in Science and Policy
- How to Engage with Leaders and Find Your Voice
- Embracing the "Messiness" of Science and People
- Advice for a Younger Self Be Kind

About Kristan Uhlenbrock

Kristan Uhlenbrock is a scientist, writer, and communicator who leads the Institute for Science and Policy at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. With a background in marine science and a passion for bridging the gap between science and society, she is dedicated to fostering thoughtful public conversations and evidence-based decision-making. Kristan is also the host of the "Laws of Notion" podcast, where she explores how we can rethink our ideas to create a more sustainable and equitable future.

Connect with Kristan Uhlenbrock and her work

Laws of Notion Podcast → https://lawsofnotion.org/

Institute for Science and Policy → http://institute.dmns.org/

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/kuhlenbrock/

Send us a message!

But the city taking concrete steps towards sustainability, and Aryeh Alex, its Sustainability Manager, is leading the charge. The city's ambitious Climate Action Plan has already seen success with its weekly recycling program. The new food scrap drop-off program, specifically targeting underserved communities, has collected an astounding 30,000 pounds of food scraps in just six months. Alex discussed the recently launched waste and reuse convenience centers, offering residents a free way to recycle and reuse items like electronics, clothing, and furniture. But perhaps most inspiring is Alex's vision for a circular economy in Columbus, a system that could create a thousand new jobs by transforming discarded materials, such as red solo cups, into valuable resources like marble tiles. The city's dedication to sustainability is not only reducing its environmental footprint but also empowering its residents and fostering a greener future.

Episode in a glance

- The Columbus's Climate Action Plan
- Waste reduction and the concept of a circular economy
- The potential for Food Rescue
- The success of Food Rescue Columbus
- Waste diversion successes in Columbus
- The Waste and Reuse Convenience Centers
- Aryeh's vision for a thousand circular economy jobs

About Aryeh Alex

Aryeh Alex is the Executive Director of Keep Columbus Beautiful and the Sustainability Manager for the City of Columbus, Ohio. In these roles, he leads the city's residential recycling, organic waste, waste reduction, community education, and volunteer litter programs. Aryeh also serves as the Sustainability Coordinator for the Division of Refuse Collection and is a Commissioner of the Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks.

Connect with Aryeh Alex & Keep Columbus Beautiful

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/keepcolumbusbeautifuloh/

Tiktok → https://www.tiktok.com/@keepcbusbeautiful

X/Twitter → https://x.com/kcbcolumbus

LinkedIN → https://www.linkedin.com/company/keep-columbus-beautiful

Send us a message!

Joe also shares how Reencle is empowering communities, from donating refurbished units to schools for food security programs to partnering with the People's Co-op in Detroit to create a circular food system. He also discusses upcoming innovations, including a wifi-enabled unit, a smaller apartment-sized composter, and a line of Reencle-branded compostable products. Finally, he emphasizes the critical importance of addressing food waste as a key solution to climate change, highlighting the immense impact that composting can have on soil health, carbon sequestration, and global temperatures.

Episode in a glance

- What is Reencle and How Does It Work?
- Unfinished vs. Finished Compost
- The Global Impact of Reencle
- Overcoming Challenges in a Confusing Market
- The Future of Reencle
- Food Waste as the Low-Hanging Fruit of Sustainability

About Joe Tegerdine

Joe Tegerdine is the General Manager of North America for Reencle, a company dedicated to making composting accessible and convenient. With a diverse background that spans law, consumer electronics, and marketing, he brings a unique blend of strategic vision and hands-on experience to his role. Joe is passionate about finding practical, sustainable solutions that empower individuals to make a positive impact on the environment.

Connect with Joe Tegerdine and his work

Reencle Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/reencle_global

Reencle Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/reencleus

Reencle Website → https://reencle.co/

Joe’s LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/joetegerdine/

Send us a message!

Joe recounts his childhood in the Pacific Northwest, where a love for nature and a healthy skepticism of extreme environmentalism shaped his worldview. He discusses his unexpected entry into the consumer electronics industry, a path that took him from a brief stint in real estate law to working with global manufacturing giants in Taiwan and navigating the intricate web of FCC regulations in Washington D.C. He shares how this experience gave him a deep understanding of manufacturing processes, supply chains, and the challenges of creating high-quality, long-lasting products.

He also shares his early experiences with composting, from messy backyard experiments to the realization that traditional methods weren't a perfect fit for his family's lifestyle. This set the stage for a chance encounter at a trade show in Hong Kong, where he discovered Reencle, a kitchen-to-garden composting solution that would ultimately redefine his career. Joe discusses his initial skepticism, his rigorous testing of the product, and how his passion for its potential led him to join the Reencle team.

Episode in a glance

- A Childhood Rooted in Nature
- An Unexpected Path into Consumer Electronics
- The Early Days of Composting
- Discovering Reencle in Hong Kong
- From Law to Electronics The Regulatory Maze
- Advice for Aspiring Professionals

About Joe Tegerdine

Joe Tegerdine is the General Manager of North America for Reencle, a company dedicated to making composting accessible and convenient. With a diverse background that spans law, consumer electronics, and marketing, he brings a unique blend of strategic vision and hands-on experience to his role. Joe is passionate about finding practical, sustainable solutions that empower individuals to make a positive impact on the environment.

Connect with Joe Tegerdine and his work

Reencle Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/reencle_global

Reencle Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/reencleus

Reencle Website → https://reencle.co/

Joe’s LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/joetegerdine/

Send us a message!

The heart of the conversation explores Jamie's champion story: a groundbreaking regenerative agriculture project in East Africa. Frustrated by opaque beauty supply chains, Jamie’s team invested their climate transition budget into a direct-trade shea butter source in Uganda. This initiative not only provides a transparent, high-quality ingredient but also creates a dual income stream for the local collective through a carbon insetting model, a practice that directly invests in the company's own value chain. Jamie also discusses her work with Ethique, a brand so sustainable it presents the unique challenge of finding new ways to innovate. She offers practical advice for consumers on how to spot genuinely sustainable products, from looking for robust certifications like B Corp to checking for transparency on a brand's website.

Episode in a glance

- ESG at Bansk Beauty The Five Goods
- Consumer Demand and Brand Strategy
- The Regenerative Agriculture Project in East Africa
- Measuring Impact From Carbon Sequestration to Social Value
- The B Corp Certification Journey
- Navigating Greenwashing and Empowering Consumers

About Jamie Richards

Jamie Richards is the Director of ESG at Bansk Beauty, where she leads the integration of sustainability into the company's core business strategies. With a background in environmental policy and decision-making, she brings a unique blend of scientific knowledge, consumer insights, and business acumen to her role. Jamie is a passionate advocate for creating a more sustainable and ethical beauty industry.

Connect with Jamie Richards and her work:

LinkedIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/richards-jamie/

Bansk Beauty Website → https://banskbeauty.com/

Amika → http://loveamika.com/

Eva NYC → http://evanyc.com/

Ethique → https://ethique.com/

Send us a message!

She discusses the importance of integrating sustainability into core business strategies, emphasizing the need for data-driven decision-making, lifecycle assessments, and a willingness to explore innovative solutions. She offers valuable advice for aspiring sustainability professionals, encouraging them to be open to unconventional career paths, to embrace their unique perspectives, and to never stop learning.

Episode in a glance

- Jamie’s Lifelong Passion for the Environment
- Environmental Policy and Decision Making
- From Product Purchasing to ESG
- Learning Curves and Challenges in Sustainable Beauty
- Advice for Aspiring Sustainability Professionals
- Staying Motivated in a Challenging Climate

About Jamie Richards

Jamie Richards is the Director of ESG at Bansk Beauty, where she leads the integration of sustainability into the company's core business strategies. With a background in environmental policy and decision-making, she brings a unique blend of scientific knowledge, consumer insights, and business acumen to her role. Jamie is a passionate advocate for creating a more sustainable and ethical beauty industry.

Connect with Jamie Richards and her work

LinkedIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/richards-jamie/

Send us a message!

Nicholas discusses the unique composting landscape in The Bahamas, highlighting the challenges and opportunities of leading this charge in an island nation. He reflects on the entrepreneurial journey, the periods of doubt, and the powerful moments of validation, like seeing a mother and daughter inspired to start their own compost pile because of his videos. He explains how he navigates a space with little government regulation by focusing on those eager for change and demonstrating the clear value of his services. Nicholas shares his vision for a more connected Caribbean community centered around sustainable practices and leaves listeners with a powerful reminder that making the planet just 1% better through small, consistent actions can lead to incredible growth.

Episode in a glance

- Composting is Like Baking a Cake
- The Mission of Soul and Soil
- The Entrepreneurial Journey and the Slow Process of Composting
- The Impact of Education and Inspiring a New Generation
- Making the Planet 1% Better The Avocado Tree Story

About Nicholas Fox

Nicholas Fox is the founder of Soul and Soil Composting and a passionate permaculture designer from The Bahamas. With a unique background that blends creative writing with a deep-rooted love for the environment, Nicholas is on a mission to tackle food waste and build a more resilient food system in the Caribbean. His work focuses on community-specific solutions, education, and restoring the vital connection between people, soil, and their food.

Connect with Nicholas Fox and his work

• Website → https://www.soulandsoilcomposting.com/
• Personal Socials: 
  • TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@dacompostking
  • X → https://x.com/DaCompostKing
  • Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/dacompostking/?hl=en
  • Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089194027457#
• Soul and Soil Composting: 
  • Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/p/Soul-and-Soil-100076023579996/
  • Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/soulandsoil.composting/
• Emerging Composter Challenge: https://www.compostingcouncil.org/page/EmergingComposterChallenge

Send us a message!

Nicholas provides a unique and vital perspective on the cultural and environmental challenges in The Bahamas, discussing the legacy of colonization, the prevalence of littering, and the local perception of vital forests as mere "bush" to be cleared. He paints a vivid picture of the consequences, from devastating landfill fires to the threat of climate change on the islands' future. He shares how these realities drive his work to re-establish a connection between Bahamians and their land.

Episode in a glance

- From Legos to Boy Scouts Early Inspirations
- Connecting Food Waste, Health, and Hunger
- The Bahamian Soil
- From Local Piles to National Landfills
- Advice to a Younger Self It's Okay to Fail

About Nicholas Fox

Nicholas Fox is the founder of Soul and Soil Composting and a passionate permaculture designer from The Bahamas. With a unique background that blends creative writing with a deep-rooted love for the environment, Nicholas is on a mission to tackle food waste and build a more resilient food system in the Caribbean. His work focuses on community-specific solutions, education, and restoring the vital connection between people, soil, and their food.

Connect with Nicholas Fox and his work

• Website → https://www.soulandsoilcomposting.com/
• Personal Socials: 
  • TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@dacompostking
  • X → https://x.com/DaCompostKing
  • Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/dacompostking/?hl=en
  • Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089194027457#
• Soul and Soil Composting: 
  • Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/p/Soul-and-Soil-100076023579996/
  • Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/soulandsoil.composting/
• Emerging Composter Challenge: https://www.compostingcouncil.org/page/EmergingComposterChallenge

Send us a message!

Episode at a Glance

- Christy's Role in Sustainability and Building Scalable Programs
- Reducing Bread Waste at Walmart
- The Largest Food Waste Prevention Plan Ever
- The Business Case for Sustainability
- Mentoring at SEA Change
- Building Relationships and Driving Change

About Christy Cook

Christy Cook is a sustainability consultant and entrepreneur with a passion for creating a more just and sustainable food system. With over 20 years of experience, she has worked with some of the world's largest organizations to develop and implement impactful sustainability strategies. Christy's unique blend of operational expertise, strategic vision, and a deep commitment to empowering others makes her a true Green Champion.

Connect with Christy Cook and her work

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/christycook/ InvestHER Strategies → https://investherstrategies.com/ 4xi Global Consulting → https://www.4xiconsulting.com/

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Christy recounts how her upbringing on a farm, where her family grew and raised their own food, instilled in her a deep connection to food and a respect for resources. She shares how this foundation, combined with an unexpected opportunity at Emory University while working for Sodexo, launched her into the world of sustainability. Christy describes how she and a team of colleagues developed a groundbreaking local and sustainable sourcing program, a framework that is still being used by billion-dollar companies today.

She discusses the challenges and triumphs of her career, from navigating the complexities of a large food service company like Sodexo to launching her own consulting firm, InvestHER Strategies, which focuses on supporting women and people of color in business. Christy shares her "secret sauce" for success, emphasizing the importance of listening, understanding operational realities, and finding common ground between corporate goals and the passions of frontline employees. She shares a powerful story of how a simple conversation about food waste with kitchen staff led to unexpected and inspiring community-building initiatives. Christy also reflects on the importance of personal sustainability, the power of community, and the need for continuous learning and adaptation in the ever-evolving field of sustainability.

Episode in a glance

- A Childhood on a Georgia Farm
- From a Degree to a Career in Sustainability
- Understanding Sodexo's Global Reach
- From Corporate Life to Entrepreneurship and Consulting
- Listening and Bridging the Gap
- Navigating a Changing World and Choosing Your Impact

About Christy Cook

Christy Cook is a sustainability consultant and entrepreneur with a passion for creating a more just and sustainable food system. With over 20 years of experience, she has worked with some of the world's largest organizations to develop and implement impactful sustainability strategies. Christy's unique blend of operational expertise, strategic vision, and a deep commitment to empowering others makes her a true Green Champion.

Connect with Christy Cook and her work

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/christycook/ InvestHER Strategies → https://investherstrategies.com/ 4xi Global Consulting → https://www.4xiconsulting.com/

Send us a message!

He also discusses his paper published in JAMA Network Open, which has helped to solidify pregnancy as a recognized vulnerability in the face of climate change. He also explains the work of ecoAmerica’s Climate for Health program, which provides health professionals with the knowledge and tools they need to become effective climate advocates. Bruce shares a success story from a keynote address in Australia, where a simple QR code on his final slide led to a surge of sign-ups for a local climate action group. He discusses the importance of collaboration across sectors, the need for "climate-smart" healthcare, and the power of reframing the climate crisis as an opportunity for positive change. He also previews the launch of Climate and Health Voices, a new speakers bureau that will connect leading experts with organizations and media outlets seeking to share the climate and health message.

Episode in a glance

- From OB-GYN to Climate Advocate
- The Health Impacts of Climate Change
- Climate Change and Pregnancy: A Critical Connection
- EcoAmerica's Climate for Health Program
- Climate-Smart Healthcare and Empowering Advocates

About Bruce Bekkar

Bruce Bekkar is a former OB-GYN, a passionate climate advocate, and a champion for a healthier, more sustainable future. Through his work with ecoAmerica and the Green Docs podcast, he is empowering health professionals to become leaders in the fight against climate change. Bruce's unique blend of medical expertise, communication skills, and unwavering dedication make him a powerful voice for change.

Connect with Bruce Bekkar and his work

• Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/greendocsd
• The climate crisis is not your fault, but it is your problem TED Talk → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPNr0QxhIcY
• Green Docs Podcast → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/green-docs/id1677670289

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After transitioning from full-time medical practice to dedicating his life to climate advocacy in 2013, Bruce leverages the power of health professionals as trusted voices in society. His unexpected journey into acting and stand-up comedy has shaped his communication style, allowing him to connect with diverse audiences while delivering serious messages. Bruce reframes the climate crisis as an immediate health crisis, comparing it to cancer that requires decisive treatment rather than mere adaptation, and emphasizes that climate action yields immediate health and economic benefits alongside long-term environmental protection. He offers practical advice for getting involved, from joining workplace green teams to attending local government meetings, promising that taking action will make people feel better and more connected to their community, transforming an overwhelming global problem into a source of personal empowerment and joy.

Episode in a Glance

- A Love for the Coast and the Surfrider Foundation
- The Climate Crisis as a Health Crisis
- The Power of a Doctor's Voice
- Engaging Busy Health Professionals
- Tailoring the Message to Different Audiences
- How to Get Involved in Climate Action

About Bruce Bekkar

Bruce Bekkar is a former OB-GYN, a passionate climate advocate, and a champion for a healthier, more sustainable future. Through his work with ecoAmerica and the Green Docs podcast, he is empowering health professionals to become leaders in the fight against climate change. Bruce's unique blend of medical expertise, communication skills, and unwavering dedication make him a powerful voice for change.

Connect with Bruce Bekkar and his work

• Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/greendocsd
• The climate crisis is not your fault, but it is your problem TED Talk → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPNr0QxhIcY
• Green Docs Podcast → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/green-docs/id1677670289

Send us a message!

Emily and Susan talks about the operational complexities of managing over 200 weekly food pickups, from coordinating volunteers through a web-based app to navigating the unpredictable world of "popup" rescues involving tons of surplus food. They also introduce Ro's Kitchen, a transformed kitchen named in honor of Roshelle Pate, which turns excess food into nutritious, ready-made meals for those in need.

The duo explains the various reasons for food waste, from weather-related event cancellations to supply chain disruptions and equipment failures. They offer practical advice for listeners on how to reduce food waste at home and find local resources like blessing boxes and community fridges. They share insights from their community needs assessments, highlighting the demand for culturally relevant and nutritionally appropriate food, and explain how they work to fill these gaps. They discuss the staggering scale of the food waste problem, noting that they rescue about a million pounds of food annually, a fraction of the nearly million pounds of food that goes to the Franklin County landfill every day. Emily and Susan emphasize the importance of viewing food rescue not just as a service, but as a collaborative effort that builds a stronger, more connected community. They share their vision for a future where everyone has access to the food they need and are empowered to make a difference in their own communities.

Episode in a glance

- What is a Food Rescue?
- Ro's Kitchen: Transforming Food, Nourishing Community
- Why Food Gets Wasted
- How to Find Food Rescue Resources in Your Community
- Legal Protections for Food Donors
- Measuring the Impact of Food Rescue

About Emily Rials & Susan Swinford

Emily Rials and Susan Swinford are the co-directors of Columbus Food Rescue, a program of Local Matters. With backgrounds in education and a shared passion for social justice, they are dedicated to building a more equitable and sustainable food system in Columbus.

Connect with Emily Rials, Susan Swinford, and Columbus Food Rescue

Website → https://local-matters.org/columbus-food-rescue/

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/cbusfoodrescue/?hl=en

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/ColumbusFoodRescue/

Send us a message!

They also share the deeply personal motivations behind their work, honoring the legacies of friends and family who instilled in them a passion for helping others and a belief in the power of food to connect people. Emily reflects on the profound impact Susan had on her life as a teacher, and they both discuss how their relationship has evolved into a powerful partnership. They describe the day-to-day realities of food rescue, from managing a web-based app that connects volunteers with donors to navigating the logistical challenges of rescuing and distributing large quantities of food.

Episode in a glance

- How Emily and Susan Found Columbus Food Rescue
- The Role of a Teaching Background in Food Rescue
- From Teacher and Student to Co-Directors
- Navigating the Challenges of Food Rescue
- The Personal Motivations Behind Their Work
- A Glimpse into the World of Food Rescue

About Emily Rials & Susan Swinford:

Emily Rials and Susan Swinford are the co-directors of Columbus Food Rescue, a program of Local Matters. With backgrounds in education and a shared passion for social justice, they are dedicated to building a more equitable and sustainable food system in Columbus.

Connect with Emily Rials, Susan Swinford, and Columbus Food Rescue:

Website → https://local-matters.org/columbus-food-rescue/

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/cbusfoodrescue/?hl=en

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/ColumbusFoodRescue/

Send us a message!

AJ shares his work with BIPOC farming communities, describing himself as an "access advocate and resource Robin Hood," and highlights his success story of organizing Ohio's first-ever Agroforestry Summit, which grew from a simple virtual meeting of 50 people to an in-person event with over 100 participants. He explains why agroforestry, currently practiced on only 1.7% of US farmland, is important for ecosystem benefits and closing agricultural loops, while expressing hope for "increased localization" and integrating people back into landscapes through concepts like "working woods."

AJ's key message is that anyone can be a conservationist or environmental advocate, whether through hands-on work, advocacy, or simple actions. It's about finding what capacity and access you have in the moment.

Episode at a Glance

- AJ's Day-to-Day Work at The Nature Conservancy
- Navigating the Challenges of Modern Farming
- Building an Inclusive Agricultural Community
- Advocating for Underserved Farmers
- Shifting the Narrative: Conservation in Marginalized Communities
- Hope for the Future of Conservation

About AJ Boyce:

AJ Boyce is an agricultural conservation practitioner with The Nature Conservancy, dedicated to creating a more just and sustainable world. With a background in environmental studies and a passion for community engagement, he works to advance conservation strategies that are both environmentally effective and socially inclusive. AJ's work exemplifies the power of connecting with nature, empowering communities, and advocating for a more equitable future.

Connect with AJ Boyce:

• The Nature Conservancy Ohio → https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/ohio/
• Columbus Outdoor Afro → https://outdoorafro.org/places/midwest/
• AJ's Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/homestead_heaux/

Send us a message!

AJ shares his work with BIPOC farming communities, describing himself as an "access advocate and resource Robin Hood," and highlights his success story of organizing Ohio's first-ever Agroforestry Summit, which grew from a simple virtual meeting of 50 people to an in-person event with over 100 participants. He explains why agroforestry, currently practiced on only 1.7% of US farmland, is important for ecosystem benefits and closing agricultural loops, while expressing hope for "increased localization" and integrating people back into landscapes through concepts like "working woods."

AJ's key message is that anyone can be a conservationist or environmental advocate, whether through hands-on work, advocacy, or simple actions. It's about finding what capacity and access you have in the moment.

Episode at a Glance

- AJ's Day-to-Day Work at The Nature Conservancy
- Navigating the Challenges of Modern Farming
- Building an Inclusive Agricultural Community
- Advocating for Underserved Farmers
- Shifting the Narrative: Conservation in Marginalized Communities
- Hope for the Future of Conservation

About AJ Boyce

AJ Boyce is an agricultural conservation practitioner with The Nature Conservancy, dedicated to creating a more just and sustainable world. With a background in environmental studies and a passion for community engagement, he works to advance conservation strategies that are both environmentally effective and socially inclusive. AJ's work exemplifies the power of connecting with nature, empowering communities, and advocating for a more equitable future.

Connect with AJ Boyce:

• The Nature Conservancy Ohio → https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/ohio/
• Columbus Outdoor Afro → https://outdoorafro.org/places/midwest/
• AJ's Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/homestead_heaux/

Send us a message!

She shares the story of how her organization has scaled from a single school to over 120 schools across 10 states, with plans for even greater expansion. Lauren discusses the challenges and successes of running a climate-focused nonprofit, emphasizing the importance of targeting the right audience and building strong community partnerships. She offers a preview into her free, K-12 curriculum, which uses engaging activities, from Peppa Pig videos to hands-on worm bins, to teach students about soil health, waste management, and environmental justice.

Lauren also discusses how growing up and founding her nonprofit in Arizona, a state on the front lines of extreme heat, has shaped her approach and created a unique environment for climate action. She shares critical lessons learned, including the importance of engaging all school staff: from teachers to cafeteria workers and janitors.

Episode at a Glance

- The Mission and Structure of Let's Go Compost
- The Growth and Impact of the Program
- Key Lessons for Engaging Schools and Creating Systemic Change
- How Arizona's Climate Reality Shapes the Work
- A Look Inside the Free K-12 Composting Curriculum
- The Future of Let's Go Compost and How to Get Involved

About Lauren Click

Lauren Click is the founder and executive director of Let's Go Compost, a nonprofit dedicated to making composting accessible. She is a Mercedes-Benz beVisioneers fellow, a Stanley 1913 Creator Fund recipient, and was named the US Composting Council's 2025 Young Professional of the Year. Lauren's work focuses on eliminating barriers to composting by providing free bins, curriculum, and resources to empower individuals and schools across the country to make a positive environmental impact.

Connect with Lauren Click

• Website →  https://www.letsgocompost.org/
• Curriculum →http://letsgocompost.org/schools
• LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenclick/

Send us a message!

Lauren shares her unexpected journey into the world of waste, which began not in a garden, but in a high-rise apartment in Scottsdale, Arizona. Fueled by frustration with a greenwashed composting gadget, she discovered the simple power of worm composting thanks to her sister in Brooklyn. This newfound hobby of building worm bins from discarded bakery buckets soon connected her with a surprising community: teachers. Realizing the immense need for accessible and affordable composting education in schools, a passion project was born.

Lauren recounts the organic growth of Let's Go Compost, from a one-woman operation funded out of pocket to a nationally recognized nonprofit. She details winning the Stanley 1913 Creator Fund and being selected for the prestigious Mercedes-Benz beVisioneers fellowship.

Episode in a glance

- From Arts and Crafts to a Passion for Waste
- The $500 Composting Device that Sparked a Movement
- From a Hobby to Connecting with Teachers at Seed Swaps
- The Shift from Passion Project to Nonprofit
- How Winning the Stanley Creator Fund Changed Everything
- The Mercedes-Benz beVisioneers Global Fellowship

About Lauren Click

Lauren Click is the founder and executive director of Let's Go Compost, a nonprofit dedicated to making composting accessible. She is a Mercedes-Benz beVisioneers fellow, a Stanley 1913 Creator Fund recipient, and was named the US Composting Council's 2025 Young Professional of the Year. Lauren's work focuses on eliminating barriers to composting by providing free bins, curriculum, and resources to empower individuals and schools across the country to make a positive environmental impact.

Connect with Lauren Click and her work

• Website →  https://www.letsgocompost.org/
• LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenclick/

Send us a message!

They preview Season 4's upcoming diverse lineup, featuring conversations with a major beauty brand reimagining sustainable haircare, a community-led composting pioneer in The Bahamas, an OBGYN turned climate activist exploring health-climate connections, and local food rescue initiatives. They emphasize the podcast's mission to share positive sustainability stories across various industries, providing hope and motivation during challenging times while demonstrating that climate action requires participation from everyone, regardless of background or career.

Episode in a glance

- Kicking Off Season 4
- Adam's Favorite Stories from Season 3
- Reflecting on the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit
- A Look Ahead at Season 4

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Shownotes

Recorded live at the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit, leaders from Columbus, Ohio share how they’re building a more circular and equitable approach to waste diversion. Aryeh Alex, Christy Walters, and Marcus Carano dive into practical solutions—from food rescue pilots and mattress recycling to IT reuse and green job creation. Proving that sustainability isn’t just about reducing waste, but about creating opportunities. The conversation highlights how public policy, grassroots engagement, and cross-sector partnerships can align to drive real, lasting impact. Whether you're a city planner, a nonprofit leader, or just sustainability-curious, this episode offers grounded inspiration for making circular systems work in any community.

Episode in a glance

- City-Led Initiatives: Weekly Recycling and Compost Drop-Offs
- Incentivizing Change with GreenSpot
- The Role of Technology and Innovation in Waste Diversion
- Waste and Reuse Convenience Centers
- GreenSpot Spotlight Awards: Celebrating Corporate Sustainability
- Smart Columbus and Corporate Engagement
- Policy and Equity in Waste Diversion
- Diversifying Community Engagement

About The Panelists

Aryeh Alex: Sustainability Manager for the City of Columbus, leading efforts in waste diversion, organics, and circular economy initiatives.

Christy Walters: GreenSpot Coordinator, educating and engaging residents, businesses, and community groups in sustainability.

Marcus Carano: Leader of Corporate Partnerships and Sustainability at Smart Columbus, fostering innovation and collaboration between the public and private sectors.

Connect with the panelists and their work

• GreenScope Consulting → https://www.greenscopeconsulting.com/
• City of Columbus Sustainability → https://www.columbus.gov/Government/Mayors-Office/Sustainable-Columbus
• GreenSpot → https://www.columbus.gov/Government/Mayors-Office/Sustainable-Columbus/GreenSpot
• Smart Columbus → https://smartcolumbus.com/
• SWACO → https://www.swaco.org/
• Columbus Food Rescue → https://local-matters.org/columbus-food-rescue/
• Rumpke → https://www.rumpke.com/
• Green Umbrella → https://greenumbrella.org/
• Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit → https://www.midwestsustainabilitysummit.org/

Send us a message!

Shownotes

Shelly Douglas is the Executive Director of Green Columbus, who was recently awarded the 2025 Impact Award from the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit. Since her last appearance, Shelly has broken her tree-planting records for the second year in a row, planting 74,000 seedlings in 2024 and expanding her Columbus City Schools program from 4 to 24 schools with over 650 large trees planted. However, this success story takes a sobering turn as Shelly candidly discusses how Trump's executive orders froze $75,000 in federal grant reimbursements, forcing her small nonprofit to slash their Earth Day program from 74,000 to just 14,000 seedlings. Despite these challenges, the community rallied to support Green Columbus, demonstrating the power of local action in the face of federal policy setbacks. Shelly shares her organization's evolution from a scrappy volunteer-driven operation to a more strategic force in urban forestry, complete with their own truck, consolidated nursery operations, and her new role as a Columbus Tree Subcommissioner. The conversation highlights both the tremendous impact that dedicated individuals can have on their communities and the vulnerability of grassroots environmental work to political winds, while showcasing the resilience and innovation required to keep planting trees and building greener, more equitable communities.

Episode in a glance

- The 2025 Impact Award and Green Columbus's Mission
- Increasing Equitable Tree Canopy Coverage
- Piloting a New School Planting Program
- The Linden Tree Nursery and Community Giveaways
- A New Role as Columbus Tree Subcommissioner
- The Impact of Trump’s Executive Orders
- The Future of Green Columbus

About Shelly Douglas

Shelly Douglas is the Executive Director of Green Columbus, a passionate advocate for community engagement, and a true Green Champion. She is dedicated to building a greener, more resilient Columbus by empowering volunteers, increasing equitable tree canopy coverage, and fostering a sense of community pride.

Connect with Shelly Douglas and Green Columbus

Website → https://www.greencbus.org/

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/greencolumbus

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/green_columbus/

Send us a message!

Shownotes

Carol Kauffman is the CEO of the Ohio Environmental Council (OEC). Carol traces the OEC's mission back to its 1969 founding after the Cuyahoga River fire and shares her own path into environmental advocacy through a pivotal experience in Cambodia witnessing deforestation's devastating impact. She explains the OEC's multi-level approach to advocacy, working locally, statewide, and federally to advance environmental protection and community empowerment. The conversation covers OEC's work with Power a Clean Future Ohio, their State House advocacy, executive agency engagement, and efforts to protect Lake Erie and improve water quality. Carol discusses navigating environmental advocacy in today's political climate and emphasizes strategic planning, adaptability, and collaboration. She shares a recent major victory: significant energy policy legislation in Ohio that streamlines project approvals at the Power Siting Board and incentivizes utilities to invest in Advanced Transmission Technology.

A key focus is the Ohio Business Energy Partnership—an unlikely coalition of environmental groups and business leaders advocating for clean energy policy. Carol explains how this cross-sector alliance drives progress at the state level and offers leadership lessons on sharing credit, building authentic relationships, and taking care of your team. She previews her MRSS panel on the Ohio Business Energy Partnership, hoping to inspire similar collaborations and demonstrate the power of working across traditional divides.

Episode in a glance

- Carol’s Path to Environmental Advocacy
- OEC Initiatives
- Challenges Facing Ohio's Environment
- A Win for Energy Policy in Ohio
- The Ohio Business Energy Partnership

About Carol Kauffman

Carol Kauffman is CEO of the Ohio Environmental Council. Her background in international aid and development brings a global perspective to advocating for clean air, safe water, and climate justice in Ohio.

Connect with Carol Kauffman

Website → theoec.org

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-kauffman/

Send us a message!

Shownotes

Kristi Eberhardt is the Head of Sustainable Finance at PNC Bank. She explains how financial institutions are driving sustainable change by making green investments more attractive than traditional ones.

Kristi breaks down sustainable finance and how PNC uses financial products to reward environmentally friendly projects. She traces the field's origins to green bonds in 2016 and explains how it's expanded beyond large corporations to include smaller, family-owned, and private businesses. She shares her path into sustainable finance through economic development work and how her son's environmental passion influenced her career direction. Kristi explains PNC's Midwest strategy of tailoring solutions to specific markets and using incentives rather than penalties to drive change. Kristi details how PNC identifies sustainability opportunities by researching client goals, benchmarking against industry peers, and understanding best practices.

She discusses PNC's internal Climate Solutions Partner Program that educates employees and builds cross-department collaboration. Data analytics plays a key role in identifying clients with sustainability goals and starting targeted conversations. Kristi also talks about her work with the Greater Cleveland Partnership's Sustainability Leaders Group and the importance of cross-sector collaboration.

Episode in a glance

- What is Sustainable Finance?
- Kristi's Journey into Sustainable Finance
- PNC's Role in Midwest Sustainable Finance
- PNC's Industry-Agnostic Approach
- Data Analytics and Targeted Client Engagement
- Kristi's Role with the Greater Cleveland Partnership

About Kristi Eberhardt

Kristi Eberhardt is the Head of Sustainable Finance at PNC Bank. She combines capital markets expertise with sustainability passion to help integrate environmental and social factors into financial decisions.

Connect with Kristi Eberhardt

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristi-ziegler-eberhardt-a282534/

Send us a message!

Shownotes

Zack Burns is the hydroponics technician at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. He explains how a pilot hydroponics program is cutting food miles, saving water, and connecting with the community.  Zack explains how the zoo's hydroponics program started and why reducing their carbon footprint from animal food was important. He covers the basics of hydroponics—growing plants without soil using nutrient-rich water. The zoo's vertical system sits in two 40-foot shipping containers located off zoo grounds.

The lettuce they grow feeds the giraffes in their visitor feeding program, giving people a direct connection to the zoo's sustainability work. Zack talks about the environmental benefits: no transportation emissions from growing food on-site and better protection against supply chain problems. The program fits into the zoo's zero-waste goals by creating compostable plant waste for their bio-digester. Zack mentions other sustainability projects at the zoo, like their large solar canopy and plans to reach net-zero emissions. He emphasizes working with other zoos, including their partnership with Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and how they help other facilities start similar programs. Zack shares his personal path into hydroponics, his love of growing plants, and how rewarding it is to support both animal care and community education.

Episode in a glance

- The Cincinnati Zoo's Hydroponics Program
- Hydroponics 101
- Benefits of Growing Food On-Site
- Data Collection and Analysis for Sustainability
- Zack’s Journey into Hydroponics
- Getting Involved in Sustainable Agriculture

About Zack Burns

Zack Burns is the hydroponics technician at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, where he combines his passion for plants with his commitment to sustainability.

Connect with Zack Burns and his work

• Cincinnati Zoo Website → https://cincinnatizoo.org/
• Zack on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachary-burns-b56919134/

Send us a message!

Shownotes

Susan VonderHaar is the co-director of the Cincinnati Permaculture Institute and leader of Growing Food Champions. She shares her passion for building local food systems and restoring ecosystems. Susan describes permaculture as a practice, a way of being, and a form of ecological design that marries human creativity with the wisdom of nature. With a background in science, biology, and ecological research, she shares how permaculture provided her with a solutions-oriented approach, shifting her perspective from seeing problems to recognizing opportunities for positive change. She emphasizes the permaculture principle of "the problem is the solution," an assets-based approach to finding answers within the challenges themselves.

Susan contrasts permaculture with traditional industrial farming, highlighting the importance of closed-loop systems and building self-sustaining ecosystems. She explains the concept of a food forest, describing it as a garden that mimics the structure and function of a natural forest, incorporating diverse plant species in multiple layers to create a self-maintaining, productive ecosystem. She discusses how the Growing Food Champions initiative empowers communities to reclaim their health and connection to nature through hands-on permaculture projects, planting edible, medicinal, and native plants in food forests and guilds across the Cincinnati area. Susan also shares insights into selecting appropriate plants for different locations and purposes, considering factors like harvest season, growth habits, and the needs of the local ecosystem.

Episode in a glance

- Permaculture as A Practice, a Way of Being, and a Solution
- Permaculture vs. Traditional Farming
- Food Forests and Guilds
- Growing Food Champions & Building Communities Through Permaculture
- Selecting the Right Plants for Your Food Forest

About Susan VonderHaar

Susan VonderHaar is the co-director of the Cincinnati Permaculture Institute and a passionate advocate for creating sustainable and resilient food systems. With a background in science and ecology, she brings a deep understanding of natural systems to her work in permaculture design and education. Susan's leadership in the Growing Food Champions initiative has empowered countless individuals to connect with nature, grow their own food, and build healthier communities.

Connect with Susan VonderHaar

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/permaculturecincy/

Website → https://cincinnatipermacultureinstitute.org/

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/CincinnatiPermacultureInstitute/

Send us a message!

Shownotes

Sarah Pottle is the co-founder and regional organizer for the Rust Belt Fibershed, a grassroots initiative working to rebuild a regional textile economy rooted in sustainability and care. In this conversation, Sarah shares how the Fibershed is challenging the fast fashion status quo by cultivating a local, circular system for clothing production in the Midwest—one that connects farmers, makers, and consumers in a shared ecosystem of regeneration.

She explains the concept of a "fibershed"—similar to a foodshed—as a framework for understanding where our clothing comes from and how it impacts people and the planet. Through this lens, Sarah emphasizes the importance of “cultivating care” at every stage of a garment’s life: from the health of the soil where fiber crops are grown, to the labor conditions of textile workers, to the disposal or reuse of clothing at the end of its cycle.

Sarah discusses the environmental and social costs of fast fashion, citing the growing amount of clothing production and the declining rate of clothing use. She emphasizes the importance of caring for the entire lifecycle of a garment, from the sourcing of raw materials and the treatment of workers to the end-of-life disposal and the potential for upcycling, mending, and clothing swaps. She highlights some of the innovative projects emerging within the Rust Belt Fibershed network, including the development of small-scale mills and knitting machines, and discusses the organization’s success in securing funding from the Cleveland Foundation to host annual symposiums, which have drawn hundreds of attendees.

Episode in a glance

- Sarah Pottle & her work with Rust Belt Fibershed
- The Importance of Care in the Textile Supply Chain
- Challenges and Solutions in Sustainable Fashion
- Sarah's Journey into Sustainable Fashion
- Building Community Through Education and Engagement
- The Future of Local Fiber Production
- Impact and Success Stories of Rust Belt Fibershed

About Sarah Pottle

Sarah Pottle is the co-founder and regional organizer of the Rust Belt Fibershed, a passionate advocate for building a more sustainable and equitable textile industry in the Midwest. With a background in education, she believes in the power of community engagement and hands-on learning to inspire change.

Connect with Sarah Pottle and her work with Rust Belt Fibershed

• Website → https://rustbeltfibershed.com
• Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/rustbeltfibershed

Send us a message!

Shownotes

Nathan McKee is a Sustainability Analyst at Trayak, a mission-driven company helping brands create more sustainable packaging, explores the critical role of packaging innovation in fighting climate change He talks about lifecycle assessments (LCAs), circularity metrics, and the complexities of balancing environmental impact with business needs. He explains how they use software solutions and consulting services to help companies achieve their sustainability goals and meet regulatory requirements, such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fees. He explains what EPR fees are and why they are becoming increasingly important in holding producers accountable for the end-of-life management of their products. He shares his background in environmental studies and how his passion for climate change, sparked by Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," led him to Trayak.

Nathan explains what an LCA is, describing how it analyzes the environmental impacts of a product throughout its entire lifecycle, from raw material extraction and manufacturing to transportation and end-of-life disposal. He shares examples of how companies are using LCAs to make changes to their packaging like right-weighting, incorporating recycled content, and switching from plastic to paper, and discusses how reusable packaging, despite the challenges it presents in terms of increased material usage and transportation, is a critical strategy for building a circular economy. He also discusses the importance of storytelling in effectively communicating complex sustainability information.

Episode in a glance

- Sustainability Analyst at Trayak
- Understanding Trayak's Role in Sustainable Packaging
- What is Lifecycle Assessment
- Innovations in Sustainable Packaging
- Real-World Applications of Sustainable Packaging

About Nathan McKee

Nathan McKee is a sustainability analyst at Trayak, dedicated to helping companies design and manufacture more sustainable packaging. With a background in environmental studies and experience in the manufacturing industry, Nathan brings a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities in creating a circular economy.

Connect with Nathan McKee and his work

Trayak Website → https://trayak.com/

Send us a message!

Shownotes

Jessica Glorius-Dangelo, is the sustainability manager and project manager at MA Design. She explores how they integrates sustainability into architectural design, emphasizing the importance of storytelling in unlocking funding opportunities.

Jessica discusses her journey into architecture, highlighting the influence of her father's building projects and an early college course on sustainable design that sparked her passion for giving back more than we take. She describes her experiences working on co-ops in various firms, including a pivotal experience in Beijing, where she witnessed the impact of poor air quality, further solidifying her commitment to sustainability. Jessica also explains the triple bottom line approach to sustainable design, balancing economic, social, and environmental considerations. She shares her role in leading MA Design’s internal sustainability committee and their goals for benchmarking projects, educating staff, and developing a comprehensive Sustainability Action Plan. Jessica explains how they are working to achieve the AIA 2030 Commitment, aiming for 100% of their new building projects to be carbon neutral by 2030, and how they help clients define their goals and prioritize resource efficiency, health, and wellbeing.

Episode in a Glance

- Jessica’s Journey into Sustainable Design
- Sustainable Design and the Triple Bottom Line
- MA Design’s Sustainability Initiatives
- The AIA 2030 Commitment
- Working with Certification Frameworks (LEED, WELL, Living Future)
- Jessica's MRSS Panel: Sustainability, Storytelling, and Funding

About Jessica Glorius-Dangelo

Jessica Glorius-Dangelo is a sustainability manager and project manager at MA Design, where she champions sustainable design practices and helps clients create environmentally responsible buildings.

Connect with Jessica Glorius-Dangelo and her work

MA Design website → https://designwithma.com/

Jessica’s LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-glorius-dangelo-aia-leed-ap-bd-c-well-ap-lfa-70a79574/

MA Design LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/designwithma/posts/

Send us a message!

Shownotes

Shailah Maynard is the co-founder and CEO of Sew Valley, a Cincinnati-based nonprofit redefining the fashion industry with a focus on ethical manufacturing, local production, and circular design. Shailah shares her journey into sustainable fashion and the vision behind Sew Valley, a nonprofit providing cut-and-sew services, small-batch production, studio rentals, and educational workshops. She emphasizes the organization's commitment to ethical manufacturing, paying living wages, minimizing waste, and promoting circularity. Shailah discusses the environmental and social challenges within the fashion industry, including unsafe working conditions, excessive waste, and the negative impact of fast fashion.

She highlights Sew Valley's role in proving that responsible apparel manufacturing is possible locally, and she discusses their zero-waste program which transforms fabric scraps into valuable products like upholstery fill and fiberboard. Shailah also discusses their work in educating the community about sustainable practices, including natural dyeing and DIY alterations. She explores the potential for the Midwest to become a leader in sustainable fashion and emphasizes the importance of regional collaboration and resource sharing.

Episode in a glance

- Sew Valley’s Mission and Services
- Who Sew Valley Serves
- Sustainability at Sew Valley
- Rethinking the Garment Lifecycle: Circularity and Local Production
- Sew Valley’s Zero-Waste Program
- The Midwest’s Potential in Sustainable Fashion

About Shailah Maynard

Shailah Maynard is the co-founder and CEO of Sew Valley, a nonprofit organization transforming the fashion industry in the Midwest. With a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities in apparel manufacturing, she is a passionate advocate for ethical production, circular design, and community engagement. Shailah’s vision and leadership are creating a more sustainable and equitable future for fashion.

Connect with Shailah Maynard and her work with Sew Valley:

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/sewvalley/

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/SewValley/

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/shailah-maynard-32876564/

Sew Valley LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/sew-valley/

Website → https://sewvalley.org/

Send us a message!

Shownotes

Charlie Gonzalez, from Green Umbrella, shares how the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit accelerates sustainability across the Midwest, and its diverse program, participatory model, and focus on collaborative climate solutions. Charlie highlights the 2025 theme, "The Power of Storytelling," and the importance of sharing narratives to inspire change. He describes MRSS as a spark for connection, learning, and deepening our resolve in creating a more sustainable future. He also shares his personal journey of getting involved with the summit, emphasizing the power of networking and community engagement. He encourages listeners to attend MRSS, join Green Umbrella's email list, and become part of the movement toward a healthier and more equitable future.

Episode in a glance

• What is the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit?
• The Vision and Theme of MRSS
• How to Get Involved with MRSS and Green Umbrella
• Green Umbrella's Mission and Programs
• The Role of the Midwest in Sustainability
• Understanding Sustainability and Climate Change

About Charlie Gonzalez

Charlie Gonzalez is the Event Manager for Green Umbrella and the driving force behind the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit. He is passionate about bringing people together to collaborate on climate solutions and believes in the power of storytelling to inspire change.

Learn More About MRSS

The Conference → https://www.midwestsustainabilitysummit.org

Linkedin → https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-gonzalez

Green Umbrella → https://greenumbrella.org

Send us a message!

Shownotes

Tania Vanzolini, coordinator of NanoPiçule and lecturer at the University of Urbino, shares how this unique educational program makes complex sustainability concepts accessible and engaging for children. The program's name itself reflects its deep connection to the local community – combining "Nano" (meaning little) with "Piçule" (meaning little kids in Friulano, the local language of the region). As one of the original "souls" of NanoValbruna, NanoPiçule embodies the principle of learning by doing, using hands-on laboratories and experiments to teach children about sustainability, recycling, and circular economy.

Through creative activities like examining cork under microscopes and participating in playful milk-collection competitions, children learn about regeneration and sustainability in ways that stick with them year after year. Tania explains how the program's success lies in its flexibility, dedicated volunteer team, and ability to make difficult concepts tangible through experiential learning. The impact extends beyond the children themselves – parents report that their kids bring these lessons home, teaching their families about sustainability practices and inspiring change in their communities. This aligns perfectly with NanoValbruna's motto of "think global, act local," as NanoPiçule uses local resources and examples to teach global environmental concepts.

Episode in a glance

- NanoPiçule: Making Complex Topics Simple 
- A Hands-on Education Approach
- Program Scale and Structure
- Regeneration Through Young Minds 
- Community Impact and Parent Feedback

About Tania Vanzolini

Tania Vanzolini is the coordinator of NanoPiçule and a lecturer at the University of Urbino where she teaches about biological drugs. Her experience in making complex topics accessible to children has influenced her university teaching style, emphasizing the importance of hands-on learning and engagement at all educational levels.

Connect with Tania Vanzolini and her work

LinkedIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/tania-vanzolini-2035151b4

Send us a message!

Shownotes

Duccio Travaglini, Co-founder of Greencome Media, shares his innovative approach to environmental communication and his mission to transform how we discuss climate change. Rather than contributing to climate anxiety through catastrophic messaging, Duccio and his team focus on solution-oriented storytelling that mobilizes people to action. He discusses the importance of finding relatable stories of "normal people" making change and combining these narratives with data in engaging ways - what he calls turning "cold data into cool data."

As a moderator at NanoValbruna, Duccio led discussions about regeneration versus sustainability, emphasizing how regeneration takes environmental action to the next level by focusing on community-centered economic systems. He shares insights about measuring success through quality engagement rather than quantity, and emphasizes that sustainability is a journey of continuous learning rather than a demand for perfection.

Episode in a glance

 -The Evolution of Environmental Communication 
 -Regeneration vs. Sustainability: Moving Beyond Impact Reduction 
 -Storytelling Strategies: Combining Human Stories with Data 
 -Quality Over Quantity in Environmental Media 
 -The Journey Approach to Sustainability

About Duccio Travaglini

Duccio Travaglini is the Co-founder of Greencome Media, an Italian media platform focused on environmental and climate topics. Currently studying Environmental Economics and Politics, Duccio is pioneering a new approach to climate communication that emphasizes solutions and positive action while maintaining factual accuracy.

Connect with Duccio Travaglini and his work

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/greencome_ita

Tiktok → https://www.tiktok.com/@greencome_ita

LinkedIN → https://www.linkedin.com/company/greencome1

Newsletter → https://greencome.substack.com/

Green Tonic Podcast → https://open.spotify.com/show/7dgeH02vAlJyz3M6UR34Xq?si=887794e218404d75

Send us a message!

Shownotes

Lorenzo Cercelletta is the director of Regenerative Design for ReGeneration Hub Friuli and founder of the Quiet design studio. He explores the profound impact of design on sustainability.  He challenges the individualistic tendencies in the design world, urging a shift towards a more community-focused and socially responsible approach. Lorenzo emphasizes the importance of circular design thinking, considering a product or service's entire lifecycle. He discusses his own design journey, from his early passion for drawing to working with startups in Berlin, and his current work restoring native ecosystems with Anonima Reforestazioni. Finally, he highlights NanoValbruna's commitment to measuring and reducing its environmental impact, demonstrating that sustainability must be practiced, not just preached.

Episode in a glance

• The Role of Design in a Sustainable World
• Lorenzo's Journey into Design
• Misconceptions About Design
• Regeneration vs. Sustainability: A Design Perspective
• Lorenzo's Workshop at NanoValbruna
• Tracking NanoValbruna's Carbon Footprint

About Lorenzo Cercelletta

Lorenzo Cercelletta is the director of Regenerative Design for ReGeneration Hub Friuli, he brings his expertise in interaction design and circular thinking to NanoValbruna. He is also the founder of Quiet, a multidisciplinary design studio focused on creating human-centered and sustainable solutions.

Connect with Lorenzo Cercelletta and his work

Quiet Website: https://quiet.design/lander

Anonima Reforestazioni Website: http://anonimariforestazioni.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorenzocercelletta/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorenz.konrad/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anonima_riforestazioni

Send us a message!

Shownotes

Annamaria Tartaglia, CEO of TheBrandSitter and founder of Angels4Women, brings a wealth of experience in fashion, investment, and sustainability. Annamaria shares her lifelong commitment to sustainability, emphasizing the importance of valuing resources, repairing and repurposing items, and making conscious purchasing decisions. She discusses the challenges of educating younger generations about sustainability in a culture of overconsumption and offers practical advice for consumers, such as checking labels, understanding production processes, and considering the long-term value of garments.

She provides insights into the economics of fast fashion versus luxury brands, highlighting the ethical considerations and community impact of different production models. Annamaria also explores alternative approaches to consumption, such as renting, swapping, and sharing clothes, emphasizing the importance of creativity and community in reducing waste. She discusses her journey in the fashion industry, the importance of quality and craftsmanship, and her personal commitment to avoiding online shopping. Annamaria shares her view of investing, emphasizing long-term impact and community building over short-term gains. She encourages supporting female founders and businesses that prioritize sustainability.

Episode in a glance

• A Lifelong Commitment to Sustainability in Fashion
• Making Informed Purchasing Decisions
• Annamaria's Journey in Fashion
• Changing the Fashion Mindset From Fast Fashion to Long-Term Value
• Regeneration in the Fashion Industry
• Investing in Sustainable Impact

About Annamaria Tartaglia

Annamaria Tartaglia is a visionary leader in the fashion industry, blending her expertise as CEO of TheBrandSitter with her passion for sustainable practices and impact investment. As the founder of Angels4Women, she empowers female entrepreneurs and promotes a more ethical and equitable business landscape.

Connect with Annamaria Tartaglia and her work

TheBrandSitter Website → https://www.thebrandsitter.com/

Angels4Women Website → https://angels4women.com/en/

TheBrandSitter LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/thebrandsitter/

Angels4Women LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/angels4women/

Send us a message!

Shownotes

Francesca Cercelletta, creative director for ReGeneration Hub Friuli and graphic designer for Zegna, brings a unique blend of artistic vision and sustainability passion to NanoValbruna. As the organizer of "Frame The Change," a short film festival within the forum, she champions the power of visual storytelling in communicating complex environmental issues.

Francesca shares her journey into the world of filmmaking, recounting how her participation in a workshop in Naples inspired her to bring a similar experience to NanoValbruna. She describes the "Frame The Change" program, where young filmmakers, armed with just their iPhones, create short films centered around the theme of regeneration. Francesca emphasizes the importance of creativity, especially when working with limited resources, and how it can unlock innovative solutions and captivating narratives.

She discusses her own short film, "O' mare è casa toja" ("The sea is your home"), which was selected for the Pimiento Film Festival in Rome, and how this experience further fueled her passion for filmmaking. Francesca also talks about the value of bringing together diverse perspectives, the power of mentorship, and the importance of providing young people with opportunities to explore their creative potential. She shares her perspective on regeneration, emphasizing the need for tangible, real-world solutions, particularly within the fashion industry.

Episode in a glance

- Francesca's Role at ReGeneration Hub Friuli and NanoValbruna
- Frame The Change
- Francesca's Short Film: 'O' mare è casa toja'
- The Theme of Regeneration in Filmmaking
- Regeneration vs. Sustainability: A Creative Perspective

About Francesca Cercelletta

Francesca Cercelletta is the creative director for ReGeneration Hub Friuli and graphic designer for Zegna. She is the organizer of "Frame The Change" at NanoValbruna.

Connect with Francesca Cercelletta and her work

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/franziska.konrad/

Francesca on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/francescacercelletta

Francesca's Short Film → "O' mare è casa toja”  

Website → http://nanovalbruna.com

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nanovalbruna

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/nanovalbruna

ReGeneration Hub Friuli LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/regeneration-hub-friuli

Send us a message!

Shownotes

Nihat Akin Ercan, co-founder of PiKARE SKYSOURCE and recent winner of the NanoValbruna innovation contest, is turning humidity into a valuable resource. His innovative system generates water from the air, offering a sustainable solution to water scarcity and contributing to a greener future.

Nihat shares the story behind PiKARE SKYSOURCE, a system that generates water from humidity using concentrated solar panels, while also producing electricity and providing climatization. He discusses the technology's potential to revolutionize water access for agriculture, industry, and even households, highlighting its scalability and the potential for off-grid power generation.

Based in Orlando, Florida, but with roots in Turkey, Nihat brings a global perspective to the world of sustainability. He discusses the role of his family, particularly his mother's extensive experience in regulatory compliance and green energy, in shaping his passion for innovation. Nihat also explains the connection between his system's outputs and the carbon credit market, particularly within the aviation industry.

Episode in a glance

• PiKARE SKYSOURCE: Generating Water from Air
• The Carbon Credit Connection: Aviation and CORSIA
• The Novelty of PiKARE SKYSOURCE's Technology
• Why NanoValbruna?
• The Carbon Credit Market and Its Challenges
• The Importance of Water Conservation

About Nihat Akin Ercan

Nihat Akin Ercan is the co-founder of PiKARE SKYSOURCE, an innovative company generating water from humidity. With a diverse background and a passion for solving complex problems, Nihat is dedicated to developing sustainable solutions for a variety of industries, from agriculture and manufacturing to aviation and data centers.

Connect with Nihat Akin Ercan and his work

Nihat Akin Ercan LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nihat-akin-ercan-a7bb17239

PiKARE SKYSOURCE LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/pikare-skysource

Connect with NanoValbruna

Website → http://nanovalbruna.com

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nanovalbruna

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/nanovalbruna

Send us a message!

Shownotes

Paolo Licata is a tech and impact entrepreneur and an example of the impact of NanoValbruna. A former winner of the forum's innovation contest, he returned this year as a speaker, judge, and mentor, inspiring the next generation of sustainability champions.

Paolo shares his unconventional journey from organizing events as a teenager to founding CO2NVERT, a startup focused on converting CO2 into valuable chemicals. He discusses how NanoValbruna played a pivotal role in his success, providing access to a supportive network of mentors, investors, and fellow entrepreneurs. Paolo emphasizes the importance of embracing naive thinking, combining it with experience and expertise to drive innovation.

He reflects on his experience presenting at the United Nations and the lessons he learned about communicating complex ideas and building a strong team. Paolo also offers valuable insights into his current work as a consultant, sharing his approach to corporate innovation, navigating stakeholder challenges, and fostering a culture of change. He challenges the traditional view of sustainability as requiring sacrifice, emphasizing the importance of finding solutions that benefit both business and the planet.

Episode in a glance

• Turning CO2 into Sustainable Chemicals
• Connecting Tech, Innovation, and the Environment
• The Impact of Winning the NanoValbruna Contest
• CO2NVERT's Journey
• Consulting with Corporations and Startups
• Creating Systemic Change in Sustainability

About Paolo Licata

Paolo Licata is a tech and impact entrepreneur, consultant, and former winner of the NanoValbruna innovation contest. He is passionate about bridging the gap between technology and the market, creating value through innovation, and making a positive impact on the environment.

Connect with Paolo Licata

Paolo Licata LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/paololicata/

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/co2nvert/

Connect with NanoValbruna

Website → http://nanovalbruna.com/

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nanovalbruna/

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/nanovalbruna

Send us a message!

Shownotes

Stefano Cercelletta is the coordinator of the BAITE Award, an innovation contest held at NanoValbruna, a sustainability forum in the Italian Alps. He shares his passion for bringing tangible solutions to the forefront of the sustainability conversation.

Stefano describes how the contest has evolved from its humble beginnings, where he personally sought out startup teams, to receiving over 50 applications this year. He explains the selection process, the unique opportunity for international teams to connect with experts and investors, and the supportive, collaborative atmosphere that fosters growth and innovation.

Discover the inspiring stories of past winners, like Co2nvert (recycling CO2 into ethanol) and Climate Standard (certifying sustainable businesses and events). Learn how the BAITE Award not only helps startups refine their ideas but also provides invaluable networking opportunities, including the chance to present at the United Nations. Stefano shares his own experience speaking at the UN and reflects on the importance of human connection in driving sustainable change.

Episode in a glance

- Introducing the BAITE Award
- Speaking at the United Nations
- The Value of Human Connection in Sustainability
- The Biggest Challenge in Sustainability
- Measuring the Impact of NanoValbruna
- What People Misunderstand About Sustainability

About Stefano Cercelletta

Stefano Cercelletta is the BAITE Award Coordinator at NanoValbruna, a sustainability forum held in the Italian Alps. He is passionate about fostering innovation and connecting young entrepreneurs with the resources they need to create a more sustainable future.

Connect with Stefano Cercelletta

Website → http://nanovalbruna.com

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nanovalbruna

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/nanovalbruna

ReGeneration Hub Friuli LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/regeneration-hub-friuli

Stefano Cercelletta LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefano-cercelletta

BAITE Award → https://nanovalbruna.com/baite-award

F6S Platform (for BAITE Award applications) → https://www.f6s.com/regeneration-hub-friuli/about

Send us a message!

Shownotes

Sara Molinari, Coordinator of External Relations for ReGeneration Hub Friuli, the organization behind NanoValbruna, shares her perspective on the forum's impact and evolution. With a background in international law and human rights, Sara brings a unique perspective to the world of sustainability. She discusses how her passion for making the world a better place led her to NanoValbruna and the importance of connecting seemingly disparate fields like human rights and environmentalism.

Sara describes the growth of NanoValbruna from a small online event during COVID to a vibrant in-person forum with over 400 participants. She highlights the forum's focus on regeneration, explaining how it goes beyond traditional sustainability efforts to create a positive impact on the environment, economy, and society. Sara also shares how the team selects speakers and develops the program, emphasizing the power of networking and the importance of creating informal spaces for connection and collaboration.

Episode in a glance

- Sara's Background
- The Intersection of Human Rights and Sustainability
- Joining ReGeneration Hub Friuli
- NanoValbruna's Focus on Regeneration
- The Speakers and Perspectives at NanoValbruna
- The NanoValbruna Experience

About Sara Molinari

Sara Molinari is the Coordinator of External Relations for ReGeneration Hub Friuli, the organization behind NanoValbruna. She is passionate about connecting young people to sustainability and fostering a sense of global citizenship. With a background in international law and human rights, Sara brings a unique perspective to the environmental movement, emphasizing the intersection of social justice and environmental stewardship.

Connect with Sara Molinari and her work

Website → http://nanovalbruna.com/

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nanovalbruna/

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/nanovalbruna

ReGeneration Hub Friuli LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/regeneration-hub-friuli/

Sara Molinari on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-molinari/

Send us a message!

This is our mini series about NanoValbruna. We are highlighting an international forum that brings scientists, entrepreneurs, professors, professionals, journalists, science communicators, and especially young people to the heart of the Julian Alps to talk about innovation, environment, and regeneration. Enjoy conversations with climate changemakers in Valbruna, Italy.

Shownotes

Francesca Milocco, Vice Chair of ReGeneration Hub Friuli and Global Sustainability Program Manager for Forbo Flooring Systems, shares her insights into the magic of NanoValbruna, an international event bringing together scientists, entrepreneurs, young people, and changemakers to discuss innovation, environment, and regeneration. She describes the forum's origins, its rapid growth from a small gathering during COVID to a week-long event with hundreds of attendees, and the passionate team of young volunteers who make it all happen.

Francesca highlights the diverse activities at NanoValbruna, including NanoPičiule (science workshops for kids), the BAITE Award (a startup contest), regeneration panels, local experiences (like e-bike tours and mushroom hunting), and the Data Café. She also emphasizes the importance of community, networking, and creating a space where people feel inspired to act locally while thinking globally.

Episode in a glance

- What is NanoValbruna?
- A Week at NanoValbruna
- What is ReGeneration Hub Friuli?
- Regeneration vs. Sustainability
- NanoValbruna by the Numbers

About Francesca Milocco

Francesca Milocco is the Vice Chair of ReGeneration Hub Friuli, the organization behind NanoValbruna, and a Global Sustainability Program Manager for Forbo Flooring Systems.

Connect with Francesca Milocco and her work:

Website → http://nanovalbruna.com/

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nanovalbruna/

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/nanovalbruna

ReGeneration Hub Friuli LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/regeneration-hub-friuli/

Francesca Milocco on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/francesca-milocco/

Send us a message!

This is our mini series about NanoValbruna. We are highlighting an international forum that brings scientists, entrepreneurs, professors, professionals, journalists, science communicators, and especially young people to the heart of the Julian Alps to talk about innovation, environment, and regeneration. Enjoy conversations with climate changemakers in Valbruna, Italy.

What to Know

Picture this: stunning mountain scenery, a charming Italian town, and passionate conversations about cutting-edge sustainability solutions. Get ready for a special mini-series of the Green Champions podcast from the heart of the Italian Alps! Dominique is heading to Valbruna, Italy, for NanoValbruna, an international forum dedicated to innovation, environment, and regeneration.

NanoValbruna brings together a diverse group of scientists, entrepreneurs, young people, and changemakers from around the globe. From an innovation contest for budding entrepreneurs to engaging programs for kids, this week-long conference is a melting pot of ideas and inspiration.

Dominique will be capturing the energy and excitement of NanoValbruna, interviewing Green Champions who are making a real difference. Back in the studio, Adam will share his insights and commentary, adding his unique perspective to the conversation.

Join us as we explore the power of collaboration, the importance of engaging the next generation, and the innovative solutions being developed to create a more sustainable future.

Episode in a glance

• Introducing the Green Champions Mini-Series
• What is NanoValbruna?
• Activities at NanoValbruna
• Goals for the Mini-Series
• What's to Come

Find out about the Forum

• Website → nanovalbruna.com
• Instagram → @nanovalbruna

Send us a message!

Episode in a glance

• Hemanth Setty, Founder of Zero Circle
• Understanding ESG Assessments
• Challenges for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
• Pivoting to Green Financing
• Scaling Green Financing Solutions

About Hemanth Setty

Hemanth Setty is the founder of Zero Circle and a passionate advocate for sustainable business practices. With a background in product management, supply chain analysis, and ESG development at Dun & Bradstreet, he brings a unique perspective to the world of green finance. Hemanth is dedicated to helping businesses of all sizes access the capital they need to implement sustainable solutions and achieve their net-zero objectives.

Connect with Hemanth Setty and his work

Website → https://zerocircle.eco/

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/zerocircleeco/

Send us a message!

Episode in a glance

• Hemanth's Journey to Sustainability
• Understanding Dun & Bradstreet
• The Birth of Zero Circle
• Incentives for Sustainable Practices
• Combating Greenwashing

About Hemanth Setty

Hemanth Setty is the founder of Zero Circle and a passionate advocate for sustainable business practices. With a background in product management, supply chain analysis, and ESG development at Dun & Bradstreet, he brings a unique perspective to the world of green finance. Hemanth is dedicated to helping businesses of all sizes access the capital they need to implement sustainable solutions and achieve their net-zero objectives.

Connect with Hemanth Setty and his work

Website → https://zerocircle.eco/

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/zerocircleeco/

Send us a message!

Episode in a glance

• Mary's Role and Experience
• Ohio State's Zero Waste Initiatives
• Expanding Composting at OSU
• Student Advocacy for Composting
• The Impact of Zero Waste Initiatives
• The Reusable Container Program

About Mary Leciejewski

Mary Leciejewski is a passionate advocate for zero waste with a diverse background in public service, environmental studies, and facilities management. As the Associate Director of Environmental Sustainability at Ohio State University, she leads efforts to reduce waste, increase recycling and composting, and promote new practices across the university's vast campus. Mary's commitment to data-driven strategies and her ability to engage diverse stakeholders have been instrumental in advancing Ohio State's progress toward its zero-waste goals.

Connect with Mary Leciejewski and her work at Ohio State

• FOD at Ohio State → https://fod.osu.edu/sustainability
• Recycle at OSU Email: recycle@osu.edu

Send us a message!

Episode in a glance

• Mary's Role at Ohio State
• The Three Pillars of Zero Waste
• Working with the Southside Community Land Trust
• The Pivot to Zero Waste and Facilities
• Data-Driven Decision-Making
• What People Don't Know About University Efficiency

About Mary Leciejewski

Mary Leciejewski is a passionate advocate for zero waste with a diverse background in public service, environmental studies, and facilities management. As the Associate Director of Environmental Sustainability at Ohio State University, she leads efforts to reduce waste, increase recycling and composting, and promote sustainable practices across the university's vast campus. Mary's commitment to data-driven strategies and her ability to engage diverse stakeholders have been instrumental in advancing Ohio State's progress toward its zero-waste goals.

Connect with Mary Leciejewski and her work at Ohio State

• FOD at Ohio State → https://fod.osu.edu/sustainability
• Recycle at OSU Email: recycle@osu.edu

Send us a message!

Graham also shares his innovative approach to farm management, leveraging technology and standard operating procedures to empower his team and create a more efficient and sustainable operation. He discusses the challenges facing small farms and the need for policy changes to support local, regenerative agriculture.

Episode in a glance

• Regenerative Farming at Oaks and Sprouts
• Selling Sustainable Food at Farmers Markets, Restaurants, and CSAs
• Carbon Capture and Tech on the Farm
• The Need for Policy Change in Agriculture

About Graham Oberly

Graham Oberly is a passionate advocate for sustainability and regenerative agriculture. As co-owner of Oaks and Sprouts farm, he combines his background in Natural Resource Management and his experience as a Sustainability Coordinator at Ohio State University to create a farming system that benefits both people and the planet. Growing up in Appalachia, Graham developed a deep appreciation for the environment and a commitment to protecting it. He is dedicated to building a more sustainable food system and inspiring others to connect with their food sources.

Connect with Graham Oberly and his work at Oaks & Sprouts

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/oaksandsprouts

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/OaksAndSprouts/

TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@oaksandsprouts

Website → https://www.oaksandsprouts.com/

Send us a message!

Graham Oberly, co-owner of Oaks and Sprouts farm, shares his inspiring journey from environmental activism to sustainable agriculture. Growing up in Chesapeake, Ohio, Graham witnessed the effects of extractive industries on the Appalachian landscape, sparking a lifelong passion for environmental stewardship. He discusses his involvement with the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, his experiences in the Boy Scouts, and how these early influences shaped his decision to study Natural Resource Management at Ohio State University.

Graham also talks about his impactful role as Sustainability Coordinator at Ohio State, where he spearheaded efforts to implement sustainability goals across various departments, including athletics, business advancement, and finance. His work with the Zero Waste program at Ohio Stadium involved managing a massive operation during football games, coordinating the efforts of 70-80 employees to divert waste from a crowd of 100,000 fans inside the stadium and an additional 50,000-100,000 tailgating outside. This experience provided him with valuable insights into logistics, community engagement, and the complexities of implementing sustainability initiatives on a large scale.

Episode in a glance

• Growing Up in Appalachia and Volunteering with OVEC
• From Environmental Science to Natural Resource Management
• Early Farming Classes at Ohio State
• Project Management Training in the Boy Scouts
• Becoming the Sustainability Coordinator at Ohio State
• Managing Game Day Zero Waste at Ohio Stadium
• The Scale of Ohio State Athletics and Its Sustainability Efforts
• Expanding Sustainability Beyond Athletics
• Incentivizing Sustainability at Ohio State
• From Sustainability Coordinator to Farmer
• The Transition from City to Farm
• How Regenerative Farming Benefits the Environment
• The Driving Force Behind Graham's Work: Loving Your Neighbor

About Graham Oberly

Graham Oberly is a passionate advocate for sustainability and regenerative agriculture. As co-owner of Oaks and Sprouts farm, he combines his background in Natural Resource Management and his experience as a Sustainability Coordinator at Ohio State University to create a farming system that benefits both people and the planet. Growing up in Appalachia, Graham developed a deep appreciation for the environment and a commitment to protecting it. He is dedicated to building a more sustainable food system and inspiring others to connect with their food sources.

Connect with Graham Oberly and his work at Oaks & Sprouts

• Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/oaksandsprouts
• Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/OaksAndSprouts/
• TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@oaksandsprouts
• Website → https://www.oaksandsprouts.com/

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They also emphasize the importance of community involvement, featuring guests like Lisa Goldsand of Circular Thrift and Joseph Klatt. And for those facing uncertainty on their sustainability journey, learn how Jane Boehm and Tyler Bonner embraced challenges and navigated their way to success.

Dominique and Adam emphasize the crucial role of data-driven decision-making in driving effective sustainability initiatives. They also highlight how sustainable practices can benefit businesses, with real-world examples from companies like Toyota and a leading sustainability consultancy.

Episode in a glance

• Introduction and Reflection on the Year
• Favorite Themes from the Year: Volunteering and Community Involvement
• Volunteering as a Pathway to Sustainability
• Community Involvement and Sustainable Solutions
• Making Progress Through Discomfort and Confusion:
• The Importance of a Growth Mindset
• Incorporating Sustainability into Business
• Looking Ahead to Next Year
• 
  

Green Champions Website: https://www.thegreenchampions.com/

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Nora describes the program's evolution from a proof of concept on one street to a growing initiative serving over 200 houses, diverting nearly 10,000 pounds of recyclables in just eight weeks. She shares the challenges of changing ingrained habits, the importance of data collection in demonstrating impact, and the program's ultimate goal of creating cleaner, more beautiful neighborhoods. Beyond simply collecting recyclables, the Can Fairy Program empowers residents to take ownership of their environmental impact and participate in a community-wide effort to promote sustainability. Plus, there's the added bonus of weekly prizes!

Episode in a glance

-The Can Fairy Project: A Curbside Recycling Program
-The University District
-Why is Recycling a Problem in the University District?
-The Can Fairy Origin Story
-From Proof of Concept to Pilot Program: How The Can Fairy Started
-Meeting Students Where They Are: Making Recycling Easy
-Data Collection and Program Growth
-The Goal of the Can Fairy Program
-How to Get Involved and Support the Can Fairy Program
-Tips for Sustainable Living from Nora

About Nora Gerber

Nora Gerber is a dedicated community leader and Executive Director of the University District Organization. Born and raised in Columbus, she has a deep passion for creating vibrant and resilient neighborhoods. Her work focuses on improving the quality of life for residents, promoting economic growth, and tackling unique challenges facing the University District. Nora believes in the power of hyper-local initiatives and community engagement to create positive change.

Connect with Nora Gerber and the University District Organization

• Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/universitydistrict
• Website → https://www.universitydistrict.org/

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Episode in a glance

- Who is Nora Gerber?
- What is the University District?
- A Love for Hyper-Local Initiatives
- Studying Public Affairs and Spanish
- An Interest in Community and Sustainability
- Joining the University District Organization
- The Can Fairy Program: A Unique Approach to Recycling
- Parks, Public Art, and Community Outreach

About Nora Gerber

Nora Gerber is a dedicated community leader and Executive Director of the University District Organization. Born and raised in Columbus, she has a deep passion for creating vibrant and resilient neighborhoods. Her work focuses on improving the quality of life for residents, promoting economic growth, and tackling unique challenges facing the University District. Nora believes in the power of hyper-local initiatives and community engagement to create positive change.

Connect with Nora Gerber and the University District Organization

• Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/universitydistrict
• Website → https://www.universitydistrict.org/

Send us a message!

Tyler discusses the challenges of working with different event organizers and the strategies he uses to maximize waste diversion rates. He also shares impressive statistics on the company's impact, its future plans, and the development of an app and other tools to empower other organizations to adopt zero-waste practices.

Episode in a glance

-Zero Waste Event Productions: Mission and Services
-The Magic of the Portable Conveyor Belt
-Achieving Zero Waste at Events
-The Event Organizer's Journey with Zero Waste Event Productions
-Zero Waste Event Productions Impact and Statistics
-Leading a Team and Managing Multiple Events
-Pivoting During the Pandemic: The Plastic Shop
-The Volunteer Experience
-A Simple Takeaway: Pick Up After Yourself
-The Future of Zero Waste Event Productions

About Tyler Bonner

Tyler Bonner is the founder and CEO of Zero Waste Event Productions, a company dedicated to promoting sustainability at outdoor events. His passion for the environment, cultivated through a degree in ecotourism adventure travel and his work with AmeriCorps, has led him to develop innovative solutions for waste management and community engagement.

Connect with Tyler Bonner & his work

Rural Action Website → http://ruralaction.org/

Zero Waste Event Productions → https://zerowastefest.com/

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/zerowaste_ep/

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/zerowasteeventproductions/

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Tyler Bonner, founder and CEO of Zero Waste Event Productions, shares his unconventional path to a career in sustainability. From exploring the woods of Athens, Ohio, to scuba diving in the Bahamas, Tyler's passion for the environment has taken him on a series of adventures. He describes his studies in ecotourism and conservation social sciences, highlighting the importance of hands-on learning and community engagement. Tyler also shares his experience with AmeriCorps, working with Rural Action to address environmental challenges in Southeast Ohio, including illegal dumping and a lack of waste management resources.

Episode in a glance

- Growing Up in Athens and Discovering Ecotourism
- Adventures in the Bahamas and the Pacific Northwest
- From Ecotourism to Conservation Social Sciences
- A Cross-Country Journey and a Return to Roots
- AmeriCorps and Rural Action: Tackling Environmental Challenges
- Community Engagement and Waste Management Solutions
- Addressing Poverty and Education in the Zero Waste Movement
- The Birth of Zero Waste Event Productions
- Getting Involved in Sustainability through AmeriCorps

About Tyler Bonner

Tyler Bonner is the founder and CEO of Zero Waste Event Productions, a company dedicated to promoting sustainability at outdoor events. His passion for the environment, cultivated through a degree in ecotourism adventure travel and his work with AmeriCorps, has led him to develop innovative solutions for waste management and community engagement.

Connect with Tyler Bonner & his work

Rural Action Website → http://ruralaction.org

Zero Waste Event Productions → https://zerowastefest.com

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/zerowaste_ep

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/zerowasteeventproductions

Send us a message!

Episode in a glance

- The Growers Program: Growing Food, Mind, and Soul
- Hydroponics and Botany: A Deeper Dive into Plants
- The Green Club: Student-Driven Sustainability
- Balancing Leadership and Advocacy
- The Wonder Bus: Expanding Learning Beyond the Classroom
- Embracing the Process, Not Just the Goal
- The Importance of Self-Care and Connecting with Nature

About Joya Elmore

Joya Elmore is a passionate educator and advocate for sustainability. She is the Director of Environment-based Learning at the Wellington School, where she works with students of all ages to develop a deep understanding of their environment and the importance of sustainable practices. She believes that hands-on learning, connecting with nature, and fostering a sense of responsibility are essential for empowering young minds to create a healthier and more sustainable future.

Connect with Joya Elmore

→ Wellington School Website: https://www.wellington.org
→ Wellington School Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wellingtonschool
→ See the sustainability program at Wellington
→ Read about the sustainability program at Wellington
→ Joya's Email: elmore@wellington.org

Send us a message!

Joya Elmore, Director of Environment-based Learning at the Wellington School, shares her inspiring journey into the world of sustainability education. Growing up in a family deeply rooted in environmental values and living in a geodesic dome, Joya developed a deep appreciation for nature and sustainable living from a young age. She recounts how her experiences as a teacher ignited her passion for connecting students to their food sources, understanding the environment, and developing a sense of stewardship.

Episode in a glance

- Growing Up in a Family of Hippies and Geodesic Domes
- From Bartender to Teacher
- The Magic of Environment-based Learning
- From Virginia to Alabama to Ohio
- Gardening and Sustainability Initiatives at Wellington
- Advocating for Sustainability & Wellbeing at Wellington
- Sustainability, Wellbeing, and Service Learning

About Joya Elmore

Joya Elmore is a passionate educator and advocate for sustainability. She is the Director of Environment-based Learning at the Wellington School, where she works with students of all ages to develop a deep understanding of their environment and the importance of sustainable practices. She believes that hands-on learning, connecting with nature, and fostering a sense of responsibility are essential for empowering young minds to create a healthier and more sustainable future.

Connect with Joya Elmore

→ See the sustainability program at Wellington
→ Read about the sustainability program at Wellington
→ Joya's Email: elmore@wellington.org

Send us a message!

Neil Drobny shares his experience building academic programs that empower students to make a real-world impact. He played a pivotal role in developing Ohio State University's sustainability major EEDS (Environment, Economy, Development and Sustainability). He also spearheaded the Bronco Challenge for Sustainable Impact at Western Michigan University, a competition that encourages students to develop innovative solutions to pressing environmental issues. Learn how these programs are shaping the future of sustainability and empowering students to become changemakers.

Episode in a glance 

• What is EEDS & its origins at OSU
• Explaining EEDS to Students
• Job Placement and Success Stories of EEDS Graduates
• Examples of EEDS Student Projects
• Neil's Reflections on the EEDS Program
• The Bronco Challenge for Sustainable Impact at Western Michigan University
• How the Bronco Challenge Works

About Neil Drobny

Neil Drobny is a passionate advocate for sustainability with a diverse background in business, academia, and environmental consulting. He is the program director of the Bronco Challenge for Sustainable Impact at Western Michigan University, a program that empowers student teams to develop innovative solutions to pressing environmental problems. Neil was a key contributor in the development of the EEDS (Environment, Economy, Development, and Sustainability) program at Ohio State University, which has become a leading sustainability-focused major. Neil has a long history of working with businesses and organizations to adopt more sustainable practices, bringing a deep understanding of both the practical and theoretical aspects of environmental issues. He is dedicated to fostering a new generation of sustainability leaders and inspiring change through hands-on learning and impactful programs.

Connect with Neil Drobny & The Bronco Challenge for Sustainable Impact

→ https://wmich.edu/sustainability/initiatives/broncochallenge

Send us a message!

Neil Drobny is the program director of the Bronco Challenge for Sustainable Impact at Western Michigan University. Neil's interest in sustainability began in his childhood, when he was a Boy Scout. He worked as a consultant at Battelle for many years, helping companies to implement sustainable practices. He joined the faculty at Ohio State University in 2004 to teach sustainability courses. He founded the Bronco Challenge for Sustainable Impact in 2022. The Bronco Challenge is a competition for students to develop innovative solutions to sustainability problems. Neil also talks about the importance of sustainability in business and the challenges of getting businesses to adopt more sustainable practices.

Episode in a glance

-Introducing Neil Drobny
-Neil's Early Influences: The Boy Scout Ethos
-Navy Experience and First Patent for A Toilet for the Antarctic
-Career at Battelle & Environmental Projects
-Sustainability in Business & the Rise of Corporate Social Responsibility
-Consulting Career with ERM & Working with Companies to Implement Sustainable Practices
-Starting ERM in the Midwest
-Developing Sustainability Curricula at Ohio State University
-The EEDS Program
-Common Misconceptions About Sustainability
-The Bronco Challenge for Sustainable Impact

About Neil Drobny

Neil Drobny is a passionate advocate for sustainability with a diverse background in business, academia, and environmental consulting. He is the program director of the Bronco Challenge for Sustainable Impact at Western Michigan University, a program that empowers student teams to develop innovative solutions to pressing environmental problems. Neil was a key contributor in the development of the EEDS (Environment, Economy, Development, and Sustainability) program at Ohio State University, which has become a leading sustainability-focused major. Neil has a long history of working with businesses and organizations to adopt more sustainable practices, bringing a deep understanding of both the practical and theoretical aspects of environmental issues. He is dedicated to fostering a new generation of sustainability leaders and inspiring change through hands-on learning and impactful programs.

Connect with Neil Drobny & The Bronco Challenge for Sustainable Impact

→ https://wmich.edu/sustainability/initiatives/broncochallenge

Send us a message!

Episode in a glance 

- Kalypso's Service Lines and Sustainability Initiatives
- The Birth of the Sustainability Group
- Energy Management and Sustainability Projects
- Motivations Behind Corporate Sustainability
- Internal Challenges and Building Support
- Key Milestones in Developing the Sustainability Group
- Rockwell Acquisition of Kalypso
- Balancing Client Work and Sustainability Efforts
- Measuring Sustainability Impact
- Future Vision for Sustainability in Corporations
- Connecting with Erin Shaffer & Kalypso

About Erin Shaffer

Erin Shaffer is a sustainability champion and management consultant at Kalypso, a Rockwell Automation business. With a background in finance and a passion for social impact, Erin has dedicated her career to integrating sustainability into both her personal and professional life. From her early work with Star House to her current role spearheading the development of a dedicated sustainability service line at Kalypso, Erin has consistently sought ways to blend her business acumen with a commitment to environmental responsibility. She believes in the power of collaborative action and is dedicated to helping businesses achieve their sustainability goals.

Connect with Erin Shaffer and her work at Kalypso

→ https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-halleran-shaffer/

→ https://kalypso.com/

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Episode in a glance

- Erin's Social Impact Work at Ohio State
- Star House and Its Work Programs
- From Social Impact to Sustainability
- What Does Management Consulting Really Mean?
- The Moment Erin's Team Realized They Could Have a Larger Impact
- Erin's Approach to Execution
- How Erin's Upbringing Shaped Her Passions
- Advice for Finding Agency and Pursuing Your Passions

About Erin Shaffer

Erin Shaffer is a sustainability champion and management consultant at Kalypso, a Rockwell Automation business. With a background in finance and a passion for social impact, Erin has dedicated her career to integrating sustainability into both her personal and professional life. From her early work with Star House to her current role spearheading the development of a dedicated sustainability service line at Kalypso, Erin has consistently sought ways to blend her business acumen with a commitment to environmental responsibility. She believes in the power of collaborative action and is dedicated to helping businesses achieve their sustainability goals.

Connect with Erin Shaffer and her work at Kalypso

→ https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-halleran-shaffer/

→ https://kalypso.com/

Send us a message!

Joe Campbell, senior lecturer at Ohio State University's School of Environment and Natural Resources and director of the Environmental Professionals Network, returns for a masterclass on social capital. He defines the concept, explaining how it refers to the value of relationships, and explores the three key types of social capital: bonding, bridging, and linking. He explains how nurturing strong family and friend networks, connecting with people from diverse backgrounds, and leveraging relationships with those in positions of power can all contribute to positive change.

He emphasizes the importance of recognizing and actively building upon all three types of social capital, providing practical tips and advice for nurturing relationships, fostering connections, and leveraging networks to create positive change.

Episode at a glance 

01:52 Understanding Social Capital
03:15 Types of Social Capital: Bonding, Bridging, and Linking
07:38 Networking and Building Relationships
08:11 Not sure if this should be edited out
14:00 Linking Social Capital in Action
19:07 How to Connect with Joe Campbell

About Joe Campbell

Joe Campbell is a senior lecturer at Ohio State University's School of Environment and Natural Resources. He is passionate about fostering community and collaboration in the field of sustainability. Joe is dedicated to creating spaces where people feel heard and valued, recognizing the importance of listening and understanding diverse perspectives. His work includes assembling interdisciplinary teams for research projects, teaching courses on leadership and community development, and directing the Environmental Professionals Network at Ohio State.

Connect with Joe Campbell and his work

→ https://epn.osu.edu/

→ https://125benefit.com/

→ https://www.youtube.com/@environmentalprofessionals1141

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