2021 Destination Zero Waste
Each year, the California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA) organizes one of the most comprehensive and informative conferences dedicated to recycling and sustainable materials management in California and beyond. CRRA is well known for its training and educational offerings since the early 1970s. The Annual Conference and Tradeshow attracts over 600 individuals annually and showcases an estimated 30 sessions each year with over 100 industry experts as presenters.
RACHEL MACHI WAGONER
DIRECTOR OF CALRECYCLE
Rachel Machi Wagoner comes to CalRecycle with a lifelong passion for environmental protection and more than 20 years of experience building a cleaner, healthier future for California.
In addition to advising Governor Newsom on environmental issues during her two years as his Deputy Legislative Secretary, Director Machi Wagoner spent two decades in the legislature working on Environmental Health issues -- ten years of that as the Chief Environmental Consultant to the State Senate’s Committee on Environmental Quality. She has a commitment to increasing recycling and remanufacturing to grow a circular economy within our state.
OPENING DAY PLENARY SPEAKER:
LUCA LOCATELLI
For more than 10 years his main research has been to explore and document the most promising solutions to confront the climate crisis of the 21st century. The aim of his work is to open a discussion about our attitudes on the environment.
Luca is a National Geographic Magazine photographer and frequent contributor to international media such as The New York Times Magazine, TIME, The New Yorker, Bloomberg, Geo Germany, among others.
Luca’s works have been featured in various venues including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum-NYC, Shanghai Center of Photography, Somerset House-London. His work has been awarded with the World Press Photo 2018,2020, The LOBA 2020, WPO 2018,2020,2021 and others.
JARED BLUMENFELD
CALIFORNIA SECRETARY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Jared Blumenfeld is California’s Secretary for Environmental Protection. Appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom in January, he is one of America’s most innovative environmental leaders, with more than 25 years of environmental policy and management experience at the local, national and international levels. From 2009 to 2016, he served under former President Barack Obama as Regional Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the Pacific Southwest region. From 2001 to 2009, he was Director of San Francisco’s Department of Environment, where he worked with then Mayor Newsom to make San Francisco “the most sustainable city in the nation.” Prior to government service, Jared led international campaigns for nongovernmental organizations, including the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the Natural Resource Defense Council. A graduate of the Cambridge College of Arts and Technology, he holds law degrees from the University of London and the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Prior to joining the Newsom administration, Jared founded a private consulting firm to advise clean-tech companies on strategic planning and market development. He also hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, a 2,650-mile route that stretches from Mexico to Canada, and started an award-winning podcast on environmental topics, called Podship Earth, which he continues to host.
PLENARY SPEAKER:
APRIL M. JEAN, MSW
Principal Consultant, Racial Justice Advocates, LLC
April Michelle Jean is a racial justice trainer, consultant, community organizer, and systems change strategist whose 18-year career has focused on illuminating the impacts of race and racism on systems, institutions, organizations, communities, and individuals; with a specific focus on mitigating disparate outcomes for individuals who identify as Black/African American.
In her training and consulting, she examines the impact of race in systemic outcomes to promote liberation and justice for historically marginalized and disenfranchised communities. Her specific niche is in training organizational leaders on Cultural Competency/Responsiveness, Equity, Racial Justice, and Systems Thinking Approaches.
Ms. Jean is also the owner of Pure Jeanius Consulting; and co-founder of Racial Justice Advocates, a newly formed women-led consulting effort focused on reimagining a comprehensive systems approach to improve outcomes for communities of color in the Sacramento region and beyond.
PLENARY SPEAKER: KEN HOUSTON
Executive Director of the Beautification Council
SME Subject Matter Expert on Illegal Dumping, Graffiti Vandalism, & Homeless Encampments for the Alameda County Illegal Dumping Taskforce
The Beautification Council (TBC) is committed to restoring quality of life in communities adversely affected by illegal dumping, graffiti vandalism, and related blight in underserved communities. Founded in 2014, our nonprofit developed a job-readiness program for justice-involved individuals, utilizing our best practices and processes. Our successful project, “Operation Covid-19 Mitigation” (OC19M) funded by the CARES Act, enlisted individuals from this population to learn job readiness skills, including the micro-cleaning process, which mitigated the spread of Covid-19 during the height of the pandemic. This program was adopted by the Alameda County Department of Probation and the City of Oakland’s Public Works to continue assisting the hard-to-employ to transition to jobs, while at the same time addressing the most pernicious health and safety issues related to homeless encampments and illegal dumping. Our micro-cleaning and sanitization job skills training transcends simple cleaning; it transforms individuals, and participants from our program have obtained jobs in the construction and related industries.
PLENARY SPEAKER: HEIDI SANBORN
Chair, Statewide Commission on Recycling Markets and Curbside Recycling
Heidi has been a leader in the industry for over 30 years working as a consultant, regulator at CalRecycle, and advocate for producer responsibility and a circular economy as the founding director of the California Product Stewardship Council and the National Stewardship Action Council.
In May 2020, Heidi was appointed by the California Environmental Protection Agency to the Statewide Commission on Recycling Markets and Curbside Recycling and was elected Chair by the 17 Commissioners at the first meeting June 24, 2020.
Heidi has led the Commission to be arguably the most effective in all of State Government. The Commission is voluntary and receives no compensation, yet it has spent well over 2,500 hours of time in over 75 meetings resulting in 30 recommended policies and a 100-page report in a year. Six of the policies were introduced as bills and two were added to the Governor’s May 2021 budget revision.
