Our Team

Founding Members

As the original four pioneers of mission-driven, community-based nonprofit recycling and zero waste in the U.S., Eureka Recycling, Eco-Cycle, Ecology Center and Recycle Ann Arbor formed the Alliance of Mission-Based Recyclers in 2019.

AMBR reveals facts and myths about how recycling works, models innovative policies and practices, and influences the narrative and the dialogue by leveraging our collective operational experience, relationships, reputations and unique voice to drive systemic change.

Eco-Cycle innovates, implements, and advocates for local and global Zero Waste solutions to foster a more sustainable, regenerative, equitable and climate-resilient future.

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Ecology Center Logo

Founded in 1969, the Ecology Center is a nonprofit organization in Berkeley, California, that focuses on improving the health and the environmental impacts of urban residents.

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Eureka Recycling Logo

Eureka Recycling is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social enterprise based in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, with over 100 employees and $14 million per year in revenue.

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Recycle logo

Founded in 1977, Recycle Ann Arbor (RAA) is nationally recognized as a leader in providing community-based recycling services.

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Eco-Cycle innovates, implements, and advocates for local and global Zero Waste solutions to foster a more sustainable, regenerative, equitable, and climate-resilient future. Our niche is in leadership—demonstrating what’s possible for Zero Waste in terms of policy, infrastructure, programs, and culture change. We collaborate with every sector of the local community–residents, businesses, non-profits, schools, government—to develop and prove Zero Waste solutions in Boulder County. We then disseminate that model by establishing Zero Waste leadership in other communities, and providing them with the organizing and communications tools needed to replicate our Zero Waste success as quickly as possible. Eco-Cycle is one of the largest non-profit recyclers in the USA and was established in 1976 by everyday residents who passionately believed in conserving our natural resources, making Boulder one of the first 20 communities in the U.S. to offer curbside recycling. We continue to be driven by these same passions and innovative actions.

Founded in 1969, the Ecology Center is a nonprofit organization in Berkeley, California, that focuses on improving the health and the environmental impacts of urban residents. We address critical issues through a model of education, demonstration, replication, and advocacy. We envision a world where human activity nurtures the ecosystems that we all depend on — a world of sustainable cities; empowered, resilient communities; zero waste and zero toxics; equal access to healthy food; sustainable resource use; and a safe and stable climate.

Eureka Recycling is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social enterprise based in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, with over 100 employees and $14 million per year in revenue. Eureka Recycling’s mission is to demonstrate that waste is preventable, not inevitable. Operating as a Zero-Waste Laboratory, Eureka is working to bridge the gap between our vision for a Zero Waste future and the realities of today with tangible, real-world solutions. We’re modelling that systematically addressing the way we manage our resources offers solutions to the most pressing issues of our time, including addressing the climate crisis, building strong local economies, and supporting healthy equitable communities. With key recycling contracts servicing the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Eureka operates a collection fleet and 100,000 tons per year single stream MRF with a mission driven, triple-bottom-line focus that balances environmental, social and economic benefits. Examples include; living wages and paid time off for employees, city revenue sharing models, data transparency, composition studies, a focus on material quality and low residual rates, material marketing for highest and best use, education and technology. Our business units aim to advance the mission and demonstrate ways in which recycling can be an effective cornerstone of a truly regenerative economy that supports a shift towards source reduction and zero waste.

Founded in 1977, Recycle Ann Arbor (RAA) is nationally recognized as a leader in providing community-based recycling services. RAA started the nation’s fourth curbside recycling program in 1978, and RAA currently operates the state’s most comprehensive community drop-off station, a ReUse Center, curbside recycling program, Zero Waste special events programs, and a Construction and Demolition Material Recovery Yard. RAA provides living wage, union-represented jobs to over 45 FTE staff; has an annual operating budget of approximately $7.5 million; services a population of approximately 121,000 and 47,500 households; and has a geographic reach of approximately 100 square miles. RAA has been a contracting partner with the City of Ann Arbor for over 35 years. Additionally, Recycle Ann Arbor provides outreach and education services to all Ann Arbor residents and businesses who currently have curbside recycling or who want to further explore waste diversion solutions.

Our Steering Committee

Martin Bourque

Executive Director,
Ecology Center, Berkeley, CA
Martin Bourque

Martin Bourque

Executive Director,
Ecology Center, Berkeley, CA
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Martin Bourque is a renowned environmental expert who has led the Berkeley Ecology Center since 2000. Under Martin’s leadership, the Ecology Center operates the nation’s first and longest-running curbside recycling program and pioneers zero waste policy solutions at the local level, which have national and international implications. Martin has spearheaded innovative efforts such as the Berkeley Food Policy Council, the Berkeley Climate Action Coalition, California Alliance of Farmers’ Markets, Market Match (electronic food stamp access and incentives at farmers’ markets), and the nation’s first soda tax. Martin connects the local with the global, has advised on public policy at the local, state, and national levels, and is engaged with international partners fighting plastic pollution across the globe. Martin pioneered GPS tracking of scrap plastic exports and has been part of international policy processes such as the Basel Convention on Waste Trade and the Global Plastics Treaty. By linking local grassroots grit with highly competent program implementation and effective policy advocacy, Martin has led the Ecology Center to become a high-impact engine for change. Martin has been featured in numerous films and documentaries, including Bag It, The Story of Plastic, and the Netflix Series Broken: Recycling Sham, and is a trusted source for news agencies from the Los Angeles Times and the Sacramento Bee to the New York Times and The Guardian.

Alex Danovitch

Director of Strategy and Business Development,
Recycle Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI

Alex Danovitch

Director of Strategy and Business Development,
Recycle Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI
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Alex Danovitch brings a unique perspective to his work, derived from over 25 years of experience in zero waste and recycling social enterprise development, planning, implementation, and policy. He uses his financial acumen and boots-on-the-ground experience to provide real-world solutions that move towards innovative system change, resulting in over $30 million in zero-waste infrastructure investments from the projects he’s worked on. He is currently Director of Strategy and Business Development at Recycle Ann Arbor in Michigan, where he is leading the development of a 21-acre eco-park as a model of local circularity as well as supporting the organization’s business development and financial modeling for their MRF, municipal collections program, hard-to-recycle drop-off, and construction and demolition recovery yard. From 2001 to 2018, he worked at Eureka Recycling, the largest nonprofit recycler in North America, most recently as Vice President, and continues to serve on the board. As an independent consultant with Nothing Left to Waste, Alex has worked with numerous municipalities, nonprofits, and colleges on zero-waste planning, implementation, and research. He is a frequent presenter and has authored several reports and articles. Alex is a TRUE-certified Zero Waste Advisor certified by the US Green Building Council.

Mike Garfield

Director,
Ecology Center, Ann Arbor, MI
Mike Garfield

Mike Garfield

Director,
Ecology Center, Ann Arbor, MI
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Michael Garfield has worked for health, environment, and justice in Michigan for over 30 years, and has served as Executive Director of the Ecology Center since 1993. He’s been one of Michigan’s leading voices on environmental issues, and an architect of some of the state’s most ambitious municipal initiatives in land use, transit, and solid waste.

Under his leadership, the Ecology Center has grown from a primarily local organization focused on Washtenaw County into a regional innovation center with a national reputation. Over the past two decades, the Ecology Center spearheaded a statewide campaign that closed all of Michigan’s medical waste incinerators, established the Midwest’s largest locally funded land preservation program, created the country’s premier consumer product toxic testing service, and won the nation’s Top Community Recycler award. The Ecology Center has offices and facilities in Ann Arbor and Detroit, and is the parent organization of Recycle Ann Arbor.

Michael’s advocacy work specializes in environmental health, climate change, zero waste, and land use policy. He was one of the principal architects of Ann Arbor’s nationally regarded recycling program, leading campaigns that funded major public investments in the program’s infrastructure. Between 1999 and 2005, he led or co-led six successful ballot campaigns to preserve over 10,000 acres of land in southeast Michigan, including campaigns that created the Washtenaw County Natural Areas Program and the Ann Arbor Parks and Greenbelt Program. He was one of the leaders of the 2014 ballot campaign to expand transit service in Washtenaw County. He’s testified before congressional, state legislative, and local committees, and served on numerous nonprofit and public boards and commissions.

Lynn Hoffman

Strategic Advisor,
AMBR
Lynn Hoffman

Lynn Hoffman

Strategic Advisor,
AMBR
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Lynn Hoffman was previously the Co-President of Eureka Recycling, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social enterprise whose mission is to demonstrate that waste is preventable, not inevitable. Lynn joined Eureka in 2003 and has held various roles overseeing community engagement, advocacy, education, policy, and human resources. Considered a national expert in zero waste recycling systems and policies, particularly regarding climate and plastic pollution, Lynn works with other organizations, companies, and governments to advise, strategize, and implement authentic recycling, plastics reduction, and zero waste policy and program solutions. In 2020, Lynn was invited to Washington, D.C., to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the environment and climate change. Lynn has served on the boards of the Minnesota Composting Council and the Minnesota Environmental Fund. She, her husband, Andy, and her daughter, Wren, live in (and love) Minneapolis.

Miriam Holsinger

Co-President,
Eureka Recycling

Miriam Holsinger

Co-President,
Eureka Recycling
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Miriam Holsinger is Co-President at Eureka Recycling, a non-profit social enterprise in Minneapolis, working towards their zero waste mission through various initiatives, including innovative recycling collection and processing programs. She’s worked on recycling and waste reduction issues for over 20 years, the last 18 years at Eureka. In her tenure at Eureka Recycling, Miriam has played a key role in pioneering zero waste events in the Twin Cities, developed and implemented waste audit protocol, and developed reports and tools to advance public space and institutional recycling. She is a national expert on data strategies and analysis in recycling sorting facilities and is on the frontier of the application and opportunity of artificial intelligence in recycling. She has worked in multiple places along the packaging and product supply chain and has experience with various cooperative, social enterprise alternative values-based business models. Miriam currently sits on the board of Reuse Minnesota, a small non-profit focused on supporting and expanding reuse in Minnesota.

Marti Matsch

Deputy Director,
Eco-Cycle, Boulder, CO
Marti Matsch

Marti Matsch

Deputy Director,
Eco-Cycle, Boulder, CO
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Marti is the Deputy Director at Eco-Cycle, where she has worked for 30 years. Having been in leadership at this pioneering organization for many years, Marti has been part of creating many zero-waste “firsts” in the nation, from educational and outreach programs to operational systems and public policy. She is considered a national expert in creating words, images, and communications tools to change a community’s environmental behavior and to increase recycling and waste reduction participation. She has developed many communications materials used nationally and internationally to frame the zero waste movement and has more than 30 years of experience organizing community campaigns. She is a guidelines expert and works directly with the Boulder County Recycling Center leadership to establish the community’s recycling rules. She is also trained in mediation and Hakomi Therapy.

Bryan Ukena

Chief Executive Officer,
Recycle Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI
Bryan Ukena

Bryan Ukena

Chief Executive Officer,
Recycle Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI
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Bryan has 30 years of experience that spans a cross-section of public and private solid waste fields, including collections, transfer, processing, financing, and policy expertise. Before his appointment as CEO of RAA, Bryan served as Co-President of Eureka Recycling, the nation’s largest non-profit recycler located in Minnesota. Under his leadership, Eureka was awarded processing contracts for the two largest cities, Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Bryan was also involved in financing, design, construction, and commissioning of MRFs in Northwest and South Arkansas. He also directed Business Development for Eco-Cycle in Boulder, Colorado, the nation’s second-largest private non-profit recycler. Bryan is currently CEO at Recycle Ann Arbor, a 40-year-old, mission-driven, non-profit recycler who started one of the nation’s first curbside recycling collection programs and has been the city’s only recycling collector. Recycle Ann Arbor also owns and operates a 40,000 tons/year MRF, a ReUse Center, a Construction & Demolition recovery facility, and a comprehensive public Drop-Off Station that accepts 19 non-traditional and hard-to-recycle items.

Suzanne “Zan” Jones

Executive Director,
Eco-Cycle, Boulder, CO

Suzanne “Zan” Jones

Executive Director,
Eco-Cycle, Boulder, CO
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Suzanne “Zan” Jones has over 30 years of experience and expertise in environmental and climate policy in the non-profit and government sectors. Suzanne is in her ninth year as the executive director of the Boulder County non-profit Eco-Cycle, one of the nation’s oldest and largest non-profit recyclers dedicated to innovating, implementing, and advocating for waste reduction, recycling, composting, and other zero-waste solutions. Suzanne also recently finished eight years of public service on the Boulder City Council (2011-2019), the last four as Boulder’s Mayor. Previously, Suzanne worked for 16 years for The Wilderness Society, where she served as the Central Rockies Regional Director, leading coalition efforts to protect our nation’s public lands. Before moving back to Colorado, Suzanne worked in Washington, D.C., for the National Wildlife Federation and as congressional staff for the Fisheries & Wildlife Subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives. Suzanne has an M.S. in Resource Policy and Management from the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and a B.S. in Natural Resources from Cornell University.

Staff

Katie Drews

National Coordinator | Co-President,
AMBR | Eureka Recycling

Katie Drews

National Coordinator | Co-President,
AMBR | Eureka Recycling
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Katie Drews is the Co-President & CEO at Eureka Recycling, a pioneering social enterprise dedicated to demonstrating that waste is entirely preventable. Katie provides executive leadership in organizational strategy, communications, customer service, client contracts, and community engagement and education. Katie’s professional background spans higher education, corporate, and nonprofit sectors, with expertise in marketing and business strategy. She holds a BBA and an MBA from Hamline University in Saint Paul, MN.
In addition to her role at Eureka, Katie serves as the National Director for the Alliance of Mission-Based Recyclers (AMBR) and sits on the steering committee for Minnesota’s statewide Recycling Education Committee. Katie resides in Minnesota with her husband, Dustin, and their two teenage boys, Brendan and Rory.

Staff

Lucy Mullany

Director of Policy and Advocacy,
AMBR | Eureka Recycling

Lucy Mullany

Director of Policy and Advocacy,
AMBR | Eureka Recycling
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Lucy Mullany joined Eureka Recycling in 2022 as the Director of Policy & Advocacy. Before coming to Eureka, Lucy was a leading advocate for economic justice and financial security policy at the federal, state, and local levels. While at Heartland Alliance for Human Rights and Human Needs in Chicago, she led their Financial Empowerment policy unit and served as the Director of the statewide coalition Financial Inclusion for All Illinois. During her tenure, Lucy passed significant legislation, including the passage of the country’s first automatic retirement savings program for low-wage workers, reforms to the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program, and consumer protections against predatory financial loans and products. Lucy has also provided research and policy assistance to municipalities and counties in the Midwest in developing Universal Basic Income pilot programs and Universal Children’s Savings Account programs. She lives in Minneapolis, MN, with her husband, two kids, two cats, and a dog.

Staff

Thea Hassan

National Communications Manager,
AMBR

Thea Hassan

National Communications Manager,
AMBR
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Thea Hassan joined AMBR in 2021. With over a decade dedicated to environmental communications and marketing, Thea merges a passion for nature and the environment with an expertise in storytelling. With a B.S. in Biology and Chemistry and an M.A. in Environmental Journalism, Thea delves into the intricate tapestry of scientific and technical expertise, unraveling stories that inspire action. She’s based in Buffalo, NY, and working towards her certification as a Master Naturalist in New York State.