Speaker Biographies
Session I: Tires: An Overview of Incentives, Markets, and Trends
Calvin Young, Supervisor, Tire Incentives for Recycling & the Environment Unit, CalRecycle (Session I)
Calvin Young has an extensive background in grants, public and private lending, and economic development. For the past several years, Calvin has been involved in market development efforts for waste tires. He has been instrumental in various innovative grant offerings and in reducing the administrative burden for Grantees and CalRecycle. He is currently a Supervisor for several grant programs in the Tire Incentives for Recycling and the Environment (TIRE) Unit in FiRM.
Ed Boisson, Principal, Boisson Consulting (Session I)
Ed Boisson is the Principal of Boisson Consulting. He has over 25 years of experience working with private companies and government agencies across the U.S. to expand and strengthen the recycling industry. Ed has designed, implemented and evaluated numerous recycling programs and policies, and since 2006 much of his work has focused on scrap tire market development. As a consultant to CalRecycle, he managed the Tire-Derived Product Business Assistance Program contractor team, including overseeing technical assistance and outreach activities, and conducting annual market reports and technical studies. He also managed projects involving CalRecycle’s Electronic Waste Recycling Program and the new Facility Information Toolbox web site, as well as conducting scrap tire projects in New York and Ontario, Canada. In the mid-1990s Ed was Executive Director of the Northeast Recycling Council, a coalition of ten State environmental agencies, and in the early 1990s he was a staffer to the California Integrated Waste Management Board, now known as CalRecycle. Ed has a Bachelor’s Degree in Physics and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Resources Engineering.
Emily Wang, CalRecycle (Session I)
Emily Wang is an environmental scientist at the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) where she works on issues related to used oil and household hazardous waste. She has worked at the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) for nine years, where she has served as a technical advisor on the used oil and household hazardous waste programs, helped to write regulations for the paint product stewardship program, and compiled data and collection statistics statewide through the Form 303 and other annual reports. Emily attended the California Institute of Technology in Biology, obtaining her Bachelor of Science degree in biology.
Noel Davis, CalRecycle (Session I)
Noel Davis is a Grant Manager for the Tire-Derived Product (TDP) Grant and the Tire Incentive Program (TIP). Both the TDP Grant and TIP are competitive grants that provide reimbursement to public agencies and to tire processors, compounders, and manufacturers. The intent for both grants is to divert California waste tires from landfills and deter the unlawful disposal of stockpiling waste tires. With 24 years of state service, he joined the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) in February 2013 after transfering from the Department of Education as a Grant Manager for the Charter Schools Division. Prior to working for the Department of Education, from 2006 to 2009, Mr. Davis worked as a consultant for Northern California EMS, Inc. in Redding, CA administering the Hospital Bioterrorism Preparedness Grant. The grant provided a comprehensive approach towards regional planning for disasters and pandemics and included facilitating surge capacity equipment, stockpiling of medications, and identifying alternate care sites when local hospitals become overcome with surge capacity. Mr. Davis attended Sacramento City College and Sacramento State University.
Nathan Gauff, CalRecycle (Session I)
Nate Gauff is a graduate of the University of Washington. Mr. Gauff has worked for CalRecycle for over twenty-four years having spent the last twenty-one years focusing on tire recycling issues. His primary areas of responsibility have been: rubberized asphalt concrete (RAC), tire-derived fuel and tire recycling methods and processes. He has been instrumental in developing and implementing the Board’s RAC program strategies and activities. In addition to managing over twenty million dollars in RAC grants to local governments, he has managed RAC related contracts with local agencies, Caltrans, State universities and private contractors totaling over fourteen million dollars.
Session II: Postconsumer Garment Manufacturers
Nima Pauline, Founder, EcoCulture Manufacturing (Session II)
Nima Pauline, Founder of EcoCulture Manufacturing, was born with design in her blood, her grandmother designed hats for Bullocks & Wilshire in Hollywood during the 1940’s and then later house interiors. Her grandmother taught her about the value of well-made garments with the first criteria being a fine textile and the second, craftsmanship. Nima began her career in fashion at the age of 12 modeling for Nordstrom, and Esprit and then later fitness modeling. Nima studied fashion and architectural design at the Academy of Art in San Francisco and then received her degree in Business Administration and continued her studies in Organizational Leadership at Brandman University. Still 6 credits short because I had to earn money to pay student loans!
While going to design school she worked with San Francisco fashion and interior designers in bringing their collections to market. Nima has an extensive background in marketing and public relations while working for entrepreneurs and start-up companies in Silicon Valley, Santa Cruz, North Carolina, France, United Kingdom and Israel. My desire to start a sustainable garment manufacturing company began 8 years ago while working in the fashion industry. It is only now that the necessary elements have come together to achieve this dream.
Today, Eco Culture Manufacturing is an established corporation with offices at the Coachella Valley iHub located in Palm Springs, CA. Under the guidance of Joe Wallace, managing director of the iHub and the CEO of CVEP, ECM has developed patent pending technology, established an alliance with RMDZ to divert textiles from landfill, GO-Biz for workforce development, and CalRecycle for our low interest loans and grants. In addition, this year MBA students from University of Redlands produced their final thesis on ECM’s business model.
Lou Buty, President, American Textile & Supply (Session II)
Lou Buty is a past president of the industry association called SMART (Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles). He has been an active member of SMART since 1995. He has served on the board of directors for eight years. He helped institute the Strategic Planning Committee and chaired the Public Relations Committee.
After graduating from college in 1980, Lou worked for a national wiper supplier as a sales rep in the San Francisco area. In 1983 he became the Vice-President and Marketing Manager for another company in the grading, wiping and fiber conversion business.
In 1995 Lou acquired American Textile & Supply, Inc. in Richmond, CA, a clothing grader and wiper supplier since 1971. American Textile currently specializes in all materials that wipe, absorb, contain and protect. In 2005 he acquired Peerless Materials Company (formerly Peerless Wiping Cloth Co.) in Los Angeles, CA. Peerless was originally started in 1967. Lou is the President and CEO of both entities.
Lou has been involved in the reclaimed textile industry for over 35 years. He has been involved in almost every aspect of the industry and has instituted and promoted many programs, products and services throughout his 35 years. His experience, expertise and commitment to the industry has helped promote the goal of reducing, reclaiming and re-purposing textiles as a mainstream of the recycling movement.
Session III: Peer Share
Maureen Hart, Zone Administrator, North Coast RMDZ (Session III: Peer Share)
Maureen Hart has been working in Recycling, Energy, and the Community Based Economy since1980, first in Michigan and then in California. Presently she is working with Redwood Regional Economic Development Corporation on the Manufacturer’s Network Project, the winner of the very competitive PG&E Economic Vitality Grant (2013). She completed a Master Certificate in Sustainable Supply Chain Management at the University of San Francisco. Hart has worked for corporations, non-profits, government, small business, and now with them as a consultant. As a contractor/staff, she was interim Executive Director and Program Manager at the Redwood Coast Energy Authority (6 years). She is the Zone Administrator with the North Coast Recycling Market Development Zone/CalRecycle (2000 to present). She has worked with manufacturers on increasing their energy efficiency and using recycled materials in their production. Hart was General Manager and Corporate Manager of large recycling centers and collection programs in San Francisco, marketing over 120,000 tons/yr. of recyclables to domestic and export markets (now Recology) and 120 employees. She worked with towns in Northern California facilitating their transition plan from a logging based economy (Center for Environmental Economic Development) and successfully worked with a theater school expansion capital campaign, grant writing and business planning (Dell Arte). Hart managed an Appropriate Technology Center in East Lansing for 5 years that still exists today, 35 years later (now Michigan Energy Options).
Session IV: GO-Biz
Marshalle Graham (Session IV)
Marshalle Graham has just over 25 years of experience with CalRecycle. Marshalle serves on leadership teams for various statewide projects including school district diversion, local government environmental reporting systems, and business assistance for recycling manufacturers looking to site or expand operations in the state. Most recently, Marshalle serves on the education, outreach and implementation teams for new legislation, such as Mandatory Commercial Recycling (AB 341) and Mandatory Commercial Organics Recycling (AB 1826).
Bianca Sievers, Senior Business Development Specialist, Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (Session IV)
Bianca currently serves on the Business Investment Services unit at GO-Biz helping to support the creation of good jobs and business expansion in the state of California. She provides assistance in incentive identification, site selection, and workforce development. Previously, she worked for Governor Brown in the Office of Legislative Affairs within the legislative portfolios of business and consumer affairs, environment, and education. Bianca graduated from the UC Davis Graduate School of Management with a M.B.A., with a focus in business strategy and marketing.