Category: Virtual Recycling Update

Recycling Update 2022 – Program

PROGRAM – IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

Tommy Jackson is the Senior Area Supply Chain Manager, responsible for all procurement activities including equipment, supplies and services. As part of the Inclusion, Equity and Diversity group he wants to be a part of the gage and the vision that WM has of being a diverse and equitable company; one that treats everyone with fairness and embraces inclusion at all levels of the company. 

Veronica Pardo serves as the Regulatory Affairs Director for the Resource Recovery Coalition of California. Thanks to the growing complexity of the waste and recycling industry since the passage of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, Veronica has the pleasure of working on a diversity of issues ranging from waste diversion policies, air and water emissions, organics management, and renewable energy production. 

Calla Rose is Natural and Working Lands Climate Change Coordinator at California Natural Resources Agency and Strategic Advisor at Phoenix Rising Resources. A political economist, legislative strategist, organizer, and science communicator Calla Rose serves as a Climate Change Innovations Advisor to individuals and organizations dedicated to stabilizing Earth’s climate. Current projects include the California Carbon Project in conjunction with the People Food & Land Foundation, with lead support from the Jena King & Michael King Foundation and several other funders.  

Kelly Schoonmaker is a program manager at StopWaste (Alameda County Waste Management Authority) where she works on compost and mulch, carbon farming, SB 1383 procurement requirements, and manages the agency’s rangeland property in the Altamont Hills.  

Nick Harvey graduated from the College of Creative Studies at UC Santa Barbara with a degree in chemistry and biochemistry, then headed to the Bay Area to work at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a staff scientist while working on a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at UC Davis.  Shortly thereafter, Nick struck out on his own to pursue entrepreneurial ventures: BayAreaRedwood.com was founded serendipitously when Nick saw trees being thrown away while riding his bike. Nick leverages his background in chemistry and materials science in this current venture.

Zro is a child of the Pacific. They are a land steward, builder and problem-solver living in the Greater San Diego area on ancestral Kumeyaay [koom-ya-i) and Payómkawichum [pie-yome-kah-weech-oom] lands where they work on various projects to heal the soil, waterways and people. Zro serves as a Regional Coordinator for CACC’s “Community Composting for Green Spaces” program, which is funded by CalRecycle and California Climate Investments.

**BREAK 10:15-10:30**

Caroline Cotto is the Co-Founder/CEO, Renewal Mill and Board President of the Upcycled Food Association. Renewal Mill is a next generation ingredients company that’s reducing food waste by upcycling the byproducts of food manufacturing into high quality ingredients and products. The vision of both Renewal Mill and the Upcycled Food Association is to create a new circular economy of food that closes the loop in today’s current supply chain, keeps valuable nutrition from going to waste, and reduces our impact on the environment.  Caroline was included among Forbes magazine’s 30 under 30 honorees in the Food and Drink field for 2022.

Gena McKinley is the Strategic Initiatives Division Manager for the City of Austin, Texas’ Resource Recovery department, which leads implementation of the City of Austin’s Zero Waste Plan. She has spent over 15 years working in the solid waste industry. Her leadership, commitment, and advocacy for zero waste earned national recognition as she was chosen to be included in Waste360s 40 Under 40 list of rising stars in the industry.

Lawrence Grown studied architecture at the University of Cincinnati, with a focus on organic architecture. He founded the custom fabrication company Metro Lighting in 1993, along with his wife Christa, Later he founded West Berkeley Design Loop in 2012, Commotion West Berkeley in 2019, and Berkeley-Built Magazine in 2020, all organizations that focus on design, sustainability and community. 

Matt Zimbalist has been in the waste reduction and ecological building world for the past decade. Through his work as a builder, designer, and engineer, he has  created state of the art aquaponics systems, campus wide greywater installations, nutritive cycling systems, and implemented farm efficiency programs. He currently heads operations, marketing, product, and strategy for the waste reduction organization Re-Up Refills in Oakland. 

Tom Steele is passionate about finding the best next uses for often unusual items which otherwise are likely to be discarded as waste.  As Executive Director of Bio-Link Depot (Oakland), he supports educators at all levels and throughout the Bay Area with free scientific equipment and lab supplies to broaden access to hands-on STEM education for all.  In Tom’s other job, as Operations Director of Friends of SCRAP (Bayview, SF), he collaborates closely with staff and volunteers to develop a wider practice of Creative Reuse,  including sustainable hands-on Art engagements for underserved youth. 

Alexandrina Chavez currently serves as a Policy Associate with Californians Against Waste and as Secretary on the California Latinx Capitol Association Foundation Board. Her current work at CAW involves working on recycling and plastics legislation, including advocacy for  passage of the California Recycling and Plastic Pollution Act on the November 2022 Ballot.

CRRA: Laura McKaughan

**Lunch 12:05-1pm**

Sally Houghton is the Executive Director of the Plastic Recycling Corporation of California (PRCC), which seeks to increase PET recycling in California. She is no stranger to the plastic recycling industry and has worked for the California non-profit since 2007. In this role Sally coordinates a team that manages all aspects of the PET recycling system, including a strong supply chain, knowledge of the PET industry, logistics, quality control and legislative understanding. 

Justin Wilcock is the Director of General Operations at Marin Sanitary Service working with their collection operation.  Prior to Marin Sanitary he was the Community Relations Manager for Sonoma County Resource Recovery and before that spent 8 years in various roles at Waste Management of Alameda County.

Jules Bailey is Executive Vice President for Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative, and will be promoted to serve as President and CEO of the organization beginning in 2023.  As EVP, Jules is responsible for charting the future of Bottle Bill implementation and ensuring the deposit and redemption system remains convenient, relevant, and effective for Oregonians. He is also responsible for new initiatives, including the BottleDrop Refill program for refillable bottles, and projects and operations outside of Oregon, including California, Washington, and Canada.

Kevin Drew is the Senior Zero Waste Specialist for the City of San Francisco (City) with 35 years’ of diversified experience in the field.   Kevin is currently directing SF BottleBank, a mobile redemption drop-off pilot, using smartphone, electronic funds transfer and AI beverage container processing technologies to increase consumer participation and convenience. 

Marria Evbuoma is the Recycling Program Manager for the San Francisco Conservation Corps where she supports projects for E-waste, Tires, Used Oil, and beverage containers.  She is a board member of Plastic Free Future and Race to Zero Waste, where she formerly served as their Director of Communications.  Marria is a mother, writer, and serves on the Citizen Advisory Committee for SF Public Utilities Commission under the wastewater subcommittee. 

Caren McNamara founded Conscious Container as a Benefit Corporation to bring a refillable/reusable glass bottles back into the US, building infrastructure and economy of scale to reduce single-use packaging waste and climate impacts.  This economically viable business delivers beverage and food producers powerful reductions to the CO2 footprint and cost of packaging, while mitigating legislative and supply chain impacts. These systems exist around the world and we need to enable this infrastructure here in the United States… NOW!!

Felisia Castaneda will discuss NCRAs work on Diversity Equity and Inclusion and will reference the organization Holistic Underground that is working w NCRA on this topic.

**BREAK 3:00-3:15**

Jessica Irving Marschall, CPA, is President and CEO of The Green Mission Inc. a national scale appraisal firm helping to promote deconstruction and donation. Based in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Green Mission seeks to encourage the donation of building materials, appliances, fixtures, furnishings and other material and property recovered via deconstruction, by applying the proper use of existing federal and state tax policy. Jessica is a CPA of over twenty years and an IRS Qualified Appraiser, ensuring that proper valuation theory and strict adherence to the Internal Revenue Code are followed.

Ruth Abbe is a Zero Waste practitioner and serves on the Board of Directors of Resilience Birthright. She will be pinch-hitting for CEO Jessica Jane Robinson. Jessica is an actor, writer and passionate advocate for the environment. She created Resilience Birthright to inspire people to take action in the climate crisis and strive for Zero Waste.

Doug Kobold has been “talking trash” for just under 30 years. He is currently the Executive Director for the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC). Previously he spent over 18 years with Sacramento County developing and managing recycling programs while dabbling in legislation and regulation, nearly 3 years with Edgar & Associates providing solid waste consulting services throughout California, and over 5 years with Yolo County in landfill design and managing its operation. 

Andrew De Los Santos (he/him) is the Zero Waste Supervisor of Race to Zero Waste. He has over 5 years’ experience in zero waste operations and management. At Race to Zero Waste, he acts as the project lead for Zero Waste Pop-ups, waste audits and zero waste facilitation projects. He also assists with waste diversion data tracking, marketing, public relations, content development, and social media management in the Bay Area. Mr. De Los Santos holds a Master of Science in Sustainability from Arizona State University and is TRUE Zero Waste certified.

Nicole Kurian is a Policy Associate at Californians Against Waste, advocating for and managing CAW’s legislative priorities.  Before joining CAW, Nicole worked for members of the California State Senate. Nicole graduated in 2018 with her Bachelors of Science in Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning at the University of California, Davis, where as an undergraduate student, she directed waste diversion, composting, and sustainability programs as Director of the Campus Center for the Environment, in partnership with the university. 

Virtual Recycling Update Remo Tips

We are hosting Virtual Recycling Update in Remo – a visual top-down view, 2-D map comprised of interactive “rooms”.  The app uses video, audio and chat to allow people within the space to interact naturally in real-time, from anywhere in the world.

If you have any trouble accessing Remo, please try the tips below and then consider contacting NCRA’s Administrative Coordinator Juliana Gerber via  ncra@ncrarecycles.org.

Remo User Tips:

Creating A Profile
  • When you first sign in to Remo you will need to create a profile
  • Please sign in at least a few minutes before the event so you have time to create your profile
  • You can create your profile any time after your receive your invitation to Remo
  • Please enter your full name and organization so that others can see who you are
  • If you have already created a profile for a previous Remo event you won’t need to create a new one
But First… Your Setting and Appearance
  • Remo does not have virtual backgrounds. So, before “seating” yourself – turning on your microphone and camera, consider your setting. Is there anything in view you would prefer others not to see?
  • Also, are you fully dressed? Are your housemates aware of your virtual plans? On the internet there are many amusing videos of partially or fulled undressed meeting participants as well as oblivious housemates.
Sitting At A  Virtual Table
  • The Remo event is a virtual room full of virtual tables.  There are multiple  one-room “floors” in the virtual building
  • Use the tool bar at the bottom of the screen to turn on your camera and microphone
  • Change tables by double-clicking on an empty seat at another table
  • To have a private one-on-one conversation, move to a table with only two chairs
  • Change floors in the building by going to the “elevator” on the left-hand side of the screen and clicking on the floor number
  • You can find other guests at the event by searching for their name in the chat bar
  • You  can send a chat to 1) everyone in the event 2) everyone at your table  3) any individual attending the event
  • Hover your cursor over another guest’s avatar to see their name, share contact info, or send them a private message
  • You can invite someone at another table to join you at your table by hovering your cursor over that person’s avatar, right clicking, and selecting “Get Joe Recycler”

Watching a Presentation

  • While each speaker is presenting, you will see two windows – the speaker and their slide presentation.  To make either window bigger, click on the arrows in the upper right hand corner of the window. 
  • You can only see and hear the people on stage, but you can chat with anyone at the event
  • To ask the presenter a question, please use the Q&A bar, not the chat bar
  • Once the audience has submitted questions for the speaker, you can vote for your favorite question(s) in the Q&A bar.  The moderators will ask the speaker the 3 questions with the most votes.  You can vote for more than one question, but you can’t vote more than once for the same question.

Technical Guide / Trouble Shooting

  • Run this test before you enter Remo
  • If you do not pass the operating system test above, it may still work as long as your browser is supported
  • You have to use Chrome (recommended), Firefox, or Safari to have a successful event experience
  • Please use a computer or laptop. Tablets are not supported and mobile phones are not recommended
  • Make sure that you have only one browser window of Remo open
  • Make sure that you are only using one microphone / don’t have two devices with open mics on at once
  • If you get frozen,  or if you see a blank white screen, refresh / reload the page. If that doesn’t work, try exiting and then re-entering Remo.
  • If you are in Remo and have a technical question:
    • Look for a NCRA Volunteer avatar (NCRA logo) at a table
    • Click the “Need Help?” button at the lower left hand side of the screen
    • Or click the White Button with three lines in the upper left hand corner of the screen inside of the event
  • If you are having a challenge turning on your mic or your camera, you may need to adjust your Browser security settings:
    • For Chrome instructions, click here.
    • For Firefox instructions, click here  
    • For Safari instructions, click here
  • If you continue having trouble accessing Remo, please contact ncra@ncrarecycles.org or as a last resort call our Google line: 510 982-1841.

Additional information on Remo:

Event Guide For Guests  (pdf)          Troubleshooting Mic – Cam – Tips (pdf) User Guide (pdf)

NCRA would like to ensure that all of our participants can access the content during our event.

For those who need additional support accessing the audio content, digital transcription can be accessed through Web Captioner a simple web browser tool that can transcribe the audio directly from your computer speaker.

Note that Web Captioner only works in Google Chrome on Windows, Mac OS and Chrome OS. This is because Web Captioner relies on a technology called the Web Speech API that is only supported by Google Chrome at this time.

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Networking Moderators

Join 15 minutes before your session
Confirm you have speaker privileges (How?)
You will be on “stage” during a brief period at the beginning and end of the session.
Welcome people to networking
Introduce yourself and orient to the session
Invite people to switch tables when the timer goes off – or not
Tell them to change tables by double-clicking on an empty seat at another table

Then, just have fun and work with your co-host to deliver some shared messages:

      • If watching the video or the NCRA Players or not taking part in the session, please turn off camera and microphone
      • To have a private one-on-one conversation, move to a table with only two chairs – perhaps on the floors above
      • Change floors by going to the “elevator” on the left-hand side of the screen and clicking on the floor number
      • You can find other guests at the event by searching for their name in the chat bar
      • You  can send a chat to
        • Everyone in the event
        • Everyone at your table
        • Any individual attending the event
      • Hover your cursor over another guest’s avatar to see their name, share contact info, or send them a private message
      • You can invite someone to join you at your table by hovering your cursor over that person’s avatar, right clicking, and selecting “Get Joe Recycler”

If you are in Remo and have a technical question:

    • Look for a NCRA Volunteer avatar (NCRA logo) at a table
    • Click the “Need Help?” button at the lower left hand side of the screen
    • Or click the White Button with three lines in the upper left hand corner of the screen inside of the event

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VRU 2020 Sponsors

THANK YOU TO OUR 2020 RECYCLING UPDATE SPONSORS!

Sponsorship makes low-cost tickets and scholarships for Zero Waste Week events possible!

GOLD: City of Vallejo, StopWaste, Napa Recycling & Waste Services, City of Napa, San Francisco Department of the Environment, HF&H Consultants, R3 Consulting Group, RethinkWaste, Alameda County Industries, Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery, Toter, City of Fremont

SILVER: Zero Waste Sonoma, Zero Waste Marin, PSSI/Stanford Recycling, SCS Engineers, Marin Sanitary Service, Ecology Center

BRONZE: South San Francisco Scavenger, City of Livermore, RecycleMore, Recyclist, Resource Recovery Coalition of California, City of Sunnyvale, City of Stockton, Cascadia Consulting Group, RecycleSmart, CRRA

Generous support from our Sponsors provides scholarships and low-cost tickets to students and those that need financial assistance to attend. If you are interested in Sponsorship, please send us a note via the contact page!

LEVELS OF SPONSORSHIP:
Bronze – $500 = 1 ticket
Silver – $1000 = 2 tickets
Gold – $1500 = 4 tickets

BENEFITS OF SPONSORSHIP:

Ticket(s) to the event based on sponsorship level (as outlined above)

–*Special this year* Discounted registration for the National Zero Waste Conference ($55 discount per ticket)

–Your personalized logo on the NCRA website and program

–Sponsors will be formally thanked on stage

–Sponsor logos will be displayed on the screen during both breaks and lunch

–The larger the sponsorship the larger the logo is for placement

–Sponsorships support discounted tickets for job seekers as well as the students’ scholarships

VRU Speaker Showcase – Day 1

Order may be different than on the program page…

China’s National Sword’s Impact on the El Cerrito Recycling Center

Laurenteen Brazil
Waste Prevention Specialist, City of El Cerrito

Laurenteen has over 18 years of experience in the recycling industry. The Waste Prevention Specialist at the City of El Cerrito, she provides educational outreach to the community and works directly with businesses for legislative compliance. Over the course of her career she has served on both the NCRA and CRRA Boards. A certified ZWUSA Zero Waste Community Associate, she is an ardent proponent of Zero Waste goals and advocates for lifestyle behavior change. In her spare time, she volunteers to help green a K thru 8 school and her church. She enjoys outdoor activities and aspires continually to be impactful. […]

Are Compostable Products Being Composted?

Leslie Lukcas
Executive Director, Zero Waste Sonoma

Leslie has worked over 20 years in solid waste and resource management industry and, prior to this appointment, was the Director of Zero Waste at SCS Engineers a solid waste, recycling and organics management consulting firm for 13 years. She also had her own consulting company for 7 years.

She serves on the board of directors of the National Recycling Coalition and the Zero Waste International Alliance and is an advisor to Zero Waste USA and California Resource Recovery Association. She is the founder of numerous stakeholder groups including the (GIVE) Council, Compost Coalition of Sonoma County, Sonoma County Zero Waste Task Force and the Zero Waste North Bay Symposium. Leslie has spent her career designing and implementing comprehensive sustainability and Zero Waste programs for large institutions, public agencies, venues, and events throughout California and the nation. […]

Bringing Reuse Into Food Service Through Policy and Business Innovation

Miriam Gordon
Program Director, Upstream

As Policy Director with UPSTREAM, Miriam is a leading architect and incubator of local and state policies aimed at making the Throw Away culture a thing of the past. Previously, as the California Director of Clean Water Action, Miriam launched ReThink Disposable, a program that has demonstrated that reducing throw away products in food service saves food businesses money and improves customers’ dining experiences. Over the last 20 years, she has been a leading California advocate for policies aimed at reducing plastic pollution and has worked with local, state, and federal agencies implementing pollution prevention and water quality programs. […]

Fighting Plastic Pollution: California Legislative Efforts

Genevieve Abedon
Policy Associate, Clean Seas Lobbying Coalition / Ecoconsult

At Ecoconsult, Genevieve represents the Clean Seas Lobbying Coalition, a coalition of non-profit organizations dedicated to source reduction solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. She advocates on their behalf for statewide legislation in the California Legislature and Executive Branch, as well as various processes amongst regulatory agencies. Before joining Ecoconsult in 2017, Genevieve worked on statewide and local plastic pollution policies and campaigns for Californians Against Waste. In the past, she has worked as a Landfill Reduction Technician at various events and sailed across the North Atlantic Ocean studying microplastic pollution with The 5 Gyres Institute. […]

Debate: Collecting Low Value Plastics

Topic: California Communities Should No Longer Collect Plastic In Their Curbside Recycling Programs

Head Royce High School Debate Team and NCRA Mentors:

Pro:  Patty Moore, Rebecca Jewell
Con: Martin Bourque, Peter Slote

Recycling Rewards: Recycling Incentive Contest

Derek  Crutchfield  
Recycling Coordinator, City of Vallejo and Board Member, SWANA Gold Rush Chapter

Derek has been in the Solid Waste and Recycling field for approximately 25 years. His career began with an internship with the City of Napa, which eventually led to a part-time position with the City of Fairfield. In 2000 Derek graduated from Sonoma State University with a BA in Environmental  Studies. He eventually went to work for the City of Vallejo where he has been employed for the last 18 years. Derek is currently on the SWANA Gold Rush Chapter Board and the California Product Stewardship Council the Board. Derek is an outgoing and fun loving recycling enthusiast!! […]

Reducing and Rescuing Oakland’s Surplus Food

Wanda Redic
Senior Recycling Specialist, City of Oakland and Board Member, California Resource Recovery Association

Wanda began her career in solid waste and recycling in 1994 at the City of Berkeley developing and implementing an ISO 14000 Environmental Management System and commercial and residential food scraps collection service. In 2007 Wanda became a Recycling Specialist in Oakland. She has over 26 years of service in government recycling and organics programs. Wanda currently manages outreach programs, assists with managing franchise agreements, develops and implements programs for compliance with regional and state mandatory recycling and organics laws. Most recently Wanda has lead Oakland’s participation in SB 1383 rulemaking and its implementation including edible food recovery program development. […]

SB 1383 Model Tools Overview

Monaliza Noor 
Associate Analyst, HF&H Consultants

Monaliza Noor is an Associate Analyst at HF&H Consultants. She recently assisted with the development of CalRecycle’s SB 1383 implementation tools and case studies. To help jurisdictions plan for SB 1383, Ms. Noor has also helped develop a number of SB 1383-specific tools that identify requirements; delineate which entity (City, hauler, or a third-party) will do what; and, allow for cost-benefit analysis. In addition to her SB 1383 focused work, Ms. Noor also assists in hauler performance reviews, solid waste and recycling contract analysis, and procurement evaluations. Before joining HF&H Consultants in 2018, Ms. Noor worked for the City of Oakland’s environmental services division. In 2016, she earned a Master of Science degree in Environmental Management from the University of San Francisco.

VRU Speaker Showcase – Day 2

Update on Recycling, Circular Economy, and Embodied Carbon in LEED v4.1

Wes Sullens
LEED and Building Codes Technical Development Director, U.S. Green Building Council

Wes is responsible for the materials credits in LEED and directs organizational activities related to construction waste, product manufacturing, material transparency, circular economy, and embodied carbon. He has worked in the public, private and nonprofit sectors for 20 years on broad topics including energy efficiency, supply chain sustainability, and chemicals transparency. […]

What Stormwater and Zero Waste Have in Common

Peter Schultze-Allen
Senior Scientist, EOA, Inc.

Peter provides technical assistance to municipalities around the Bay Area, specializing in the development of policies and practices for: public and private green stormwater infrastructure, Zero Waste, zero litter, complete streets, sustainable landscaping, and urban forestry. His previous experience includes managing the environmental programs for the City of Emeryville and team member of Recology-San Francisco’s Fantastic Three program rollout. He is one of the four authors of the Ecology Center’s initial draft of Berkeley’s Single-Use Foodware and Litter Reduction Ordinance adopted in March 2019. […]

How Franchising Impairs Recovery of C&D

Brock Hill
President and Director of Operations, Premier Recycle Company 

Brock is President and Director of Operations for Premier Recycle Company. He started with the company in 2008 and has since led an 80% increase in facility material throughput. As well as serving on the board of Silicon Valley Construction Financial Management Association, Brock serves as the Legislative Committee Chairman and Board of Directors member for the Construction and Demolition Recycling Association. […]

John Moore
Law Office of John Douglas Moore

Although not a Zero Waste professional, John is a star in his own profession. He taught in law school when he was 23; won his first case while still in law school at age 24 and in the 39 following years achieved and has been recognized as much as anyone can as a lawyer, including service as a superior court judge. Last year he became one of a select few attorneys admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, which he will presently discuss. […]

Accelerating Trash Detection in the SF Bay Area using Advanced Technology

Dr. Anthony Hale
Program Director for Environment Informatics, San Francisco Estuary Institute  Aquatic Science Center

Tony has advanced the Institute’s communications practices, overseen the development of new data visualization technologies, and partnered with state and federal agencies to address complex data management challenges such as those presented by trash-related pollution. He leads a solid team of innovators who share a common mission to advance our collective knowledge of California’s most pressing environmental concerns. […]

Debate: Mixed Waste Processing

Debate Team, Head Royce High School, details pending

Wastepickers: Key Agents for Zero Waste Cities

Magdalena Donoso
Coordinator, GAIA – Latin America and the Caribbean

Magdalena has worked in communications and networking with several Chilean NGOs and in Television Trust for the Environment (UK), supporting educational and activism programs in forestry and biodiversity for 15 years. For the last ten years she has worked on waste issues with cities in Latin America, particularly defending the rights of recyclers and promoting zero waste. She is based in Concepción, Chile. […]

I Clean the Streets, Because I’m from the Streets: How to Use Environmentalism as a Vehicle to End Homelessness

Julia Lang
East Bay Director, Downtown Streets Team

Julia is a community builder striving to end homelessness. As a Director at Downtown Streets Team, she is developing transformational communities of unhoused folks who are improving themselves while beautifying their surroundings. Her work is centered on making sure that everyone has a seat at the table, with a sense of belonging, purpose, and place. […]

Transforming Wasted Food Recovery In A Small Rural County

Michael Bisch
Executive Director, Yolo Food Bank

Michael has an accomplished background in business management and nonprofit leadership. Following his undergraduate education in Business Administration, he launched a career in international finance. An entrepreneur for the past 20 years, Michael has been the owner for 10 years of Davis Commercial Properties, a commercial real estate brokerage firm. As president of the nonprofit Davis Downtown for four years, Michael acquired a deep knowledge of nonprofit management best practices. At this time of transformation for YFB, Michael’s unique qualifications enable him to guide the organization with a balance of innovation and stability, blending business acumen with a passion to serve. […]

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