Northwest 2025 Conference

Monica Ayers

Monica is a Policy Liaison with the Hazardous Waste Management Program where she advances chemical policy, legislation to reduce lead exposure, and product stewardship initiatives for extended producer responsibility. She holds a Master of public policy from Mills College in Oakland, California.

Monica has an extensive background both in public health and working in politics with a variety of stakeholders and elected officials across winning national, state, and local campaigns.

Her work for the King County Hazardous Waste Management Program involves passing policies to help mitigate the impacts of environmental and toxic exposures on all communities, particularly, low income, immigrant, refugee, and communities of color who are most burdened by environmental impacts and exposures. Monica is intentional about constantly centering environmental and racial justice in her policy and decision making and is responsible to help steward the Haz Waste Program’s effort to pass extended producer for all household hazardous waste in Washington State.

Alice Chapman

I began my career by applying my chemical engineering degree to multi-media environmental compliance responsibilities at a large Naval Shipyard. Then I joined the Haz Waste Program in King County where I have served a variety of roles finding solutions for our residents and small businesses. I love seeing the worst chemicals restricted from common products and the growth of product stewardship programs. Ask me about safer degreasers, EPA-certfied Safer Choice products and how we use data to lead a field team serving small businesses. 

Charles Wu

Charles Wu has worked for over 27 years King County Water and Land Resources Division and Public Health-Seattle & King County and is the Business Services Program Unit Manager in the Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County.  He has a passion for working with small immigrant, refugee and BIPOC owned businesses to teach them about safer alternatives and product replacement programs as some of his family members have owned SQG businesses.

Dave Nightingale

David Nightingale works for communities seeking to improve their level of household hazardous waste (HHW) service or increase their collection system performance through evaluations of existing operations, transitioning from collection events to permanent facilities, expanding or remodeling facilities, or otherwise improving the system efficiency and effectiveness.

His career has focused on the management of household hazardous waste (HHW) and conditionally exempt small quantity generator (CESQG) wastes since 1987. He has performed on-site visits and operator interviews at over 160 HHW and CESQG collection facilities in the U.S. and Canada. From initial strategic master planning for site development through final design reviews, he has provided value to communities at more than three dozen projects across the country.

He has extensive experience in both the private and public sector, working for two national engineering consulting firms (9 years), and a state environmental agency (10 years), before forming his own company, Special Waste Associates (SWA).

This breadth and depth of experience provides an exceptional basis for assisting clients in addressing their specific needs with a creative and comprehensive approach.  

Emmanuel Rivera

Emmanuel Rivera is a Health and Environmental Investigator for the Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County. 

He is the field coordinator for the Business Service team.

Emmanuel has been working for the HazWaste Program for over 25 years and has been involved with NAHMMA for 10 years.

Gordon Okumu

Gordon Okumu is an environmental and community development professional specializing in hazardous waste management, environmental justice, and equitable outreach. In his role as a Health & Environmental Investigator with the Hazardous Waste Management Program, he focuses on engaging underserved communities to promote safe hazardous waste disposal and ensure compliance with environmental policies. His targeted outreach initiatives—including stakeholder education and community-driven solutions—have resulted in a 75% reduction in hazardous waste disposal in key areas, advancing both environmental justice and racial equity.

In addition to his work in hazardous waste management, Gordon has a proven track record in community engagement, having supported over 200 individuals experiencing homelessness in through equity-focused outreach strategies in Seattle. He holds a Master's degree in Public Policy with a focus on Environmental Policy from Oregon State University, a Postgraduate Certificate in Tropical Forests Management from Yale School of the Environment, a Bachelor's degree in Global Studies with an emphasis on Environmental Diplomacy from the University of Oregon, and a Bachelor's degree in Communications with a specialization in Public Relations from the Multimedia University of Kenya.

Gordon is also the founder of Angels of Africa International, a nonprofit organization he has led in large-scale reforestation efforts, the establishment of a community medical clinic, and the implementation of economic empowerment programs in Western Kenya. His collaborative approach to community outreach has yielded successful outcomes, including enhanced food security, improved local livelihoods, and strengthened community resilience. These initiatives reflect his commitment to sustainability, social equity, and long-term environmental stewardship.

Heidi Sanborn

Heidi has been a leader in the solid waste industry for 35 years, working with industry, government, and the public to reduce waste, improve product design and recyclability, and implement cost-effective projects and policies which protect public health and the environment and support a circular economy.  Based in Sacramento, she has been a consultant, regulator and advocate focused purely on EPR since 2003.   Heidi was one of the original co-directors of the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC), a non-profit formed in 2007 to change the way waste management is funded in California. After eight years of success in California, Heidi formed the National Stewardship Action Council (NSAC).  She soon thereafter formed the Stewardship Action Foundation as a 501c3 to educate and support the work of NSAC which is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that will engage primarily in lobbying and advocacy work for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Product Stewardship, anywhere in the U.S. and at any level of government.

NSAC worked to pass Senate Bill 212 a first-in-the-nation bill that requires the producers of mediations and sharps to fund and operate a statewide take-back program in CA. In 2019, NSAC sponsored and passed two more bills, SB 726 (Caballero) to make Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) reuse easier to implement in California and AB 729 (Chu) on carpet recycling which included the first eco-modulated fee requirement in the U.S..   Heidi’s ability to educate and advocate legislators, as well as her innate skill at collaboration, negotiating, and strategy was integral in passing these bills.  NSAC is co-sponsoring two bills in California this year HHW EPR SB 501 by Sen. Ben Allen and EPR for Marine Flares SB 561 (Sen. Catherine Blakespear) which would be first in the nation.

Heidi teaches courses to professionals in the waste industry. She is an active member of industry associations and serves as an elected official on the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) Board of Directors on her personal time.  Her profile is on Linked -In.

Julianne Ubigau

Julianne Ubigau and Jasper are the co-founders of FieldLab, where playful rescue dogs are trained to sniff out solutions for the environment. Together, they assist scientists and local agencies locate hard-to-find ecological data by using the canine super-power of scent detection.

Julianne Ubigau began her career with environmental detection dogs in 2006 as a handler with the University of Washington's Conservation Canines. For the next decade, she and her canine cohort, Sampson, embarked on various projects throughout North America, locating genetic information on a wide range of wildlife species such as wolves, pocket mice and salamanders. In 2016, they collaborated with Seattle Public Utilities to pioneer the use of dogs to source-trace PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) in the Lower Duwamish Waterway. The project was a success, demonstrating that dogs can reliably detect PCB at a concentration as low of 100 parts per billion.

Today Julianne continues her research as the owner of FieldLab, working alongside her super-sniffer cohort named Jasper. Their current work includes wildlife monitoring projects and PCB detection. When not in the field, you can find Julianne and Jasper in the classroom, sharing their interest in science with students and the community. Diversified and highly experienced as a dog-handler team, Jasper and Julianne specialize in pilot studies that push the boundaries of traditional canine detection work and conservation research.

Katie Fellows

Dr. Katie Fellows is an environmental scientist on the Research Services Team for the Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County, where she focuses on finding safer alternatives to hazardous chemicals and products used by King County businesses and residents. Prior to joining the Haz Waste Program in 2019, Katie completed a doctorate at the University of Washington in Environmental and Occupational Health. Katie also has a MS in epidemiology from Harvard University.

Mark Johnston

Mark has been with the Department of State Fire Marshal for 22 years and currently serves as Assistant Chief Deputy responsible for the Regulatory Services Division of the department.

The division administers eight different regulatory programs some of which are LPG, fireworks, non-retail fueling, toy-like novelty lighters, Community
Right to Know, and SERC/LEPC programs.

During his time with OSFM Mark has served as Compliance Specialist in two different programs, Program coordinator, and Manager. He also served for 13 years on the department’s Incident Management Teams both as a Finance Section Chief, a Liaison, and Chair of the Finance Section Chief workgroup. He served ten years with the Oregon Fire Service Honor Guard team. He served four years as Vice President on the board of the National Association of SARA Title Three Program Officials (NASTTPO) and is currently serving as President on that board.

Matt Tracy

I’ve been with Metro since 2007, have worked as a SW Planner from 2007 to 2021, when I became the superintendent of Metro South Transfer Station. Much of the last ten years of my work has been focused on renewable fuels, SW industry operations, safety and efficiencies, and materials recovery.

Paul Sanford

Paul is passionate about environmental justice issues and protecting the health of people and wildlife from pesticide exposure. He has lived his entire life in the Portland area and came to Metro in 2004 through the AmeriCorps program. He was drawn to teaching people about using more sustainable gardening and cleaning methods through his environmental science and horticulture background, and his love of gardening.

Pete Schoonover

I am starting year 27 at Oregon State University I was recently promoted to Hazardous Waste Operations Manager, though I have been pretty much running the program for the last 20 years.   Prior to working for OSU, I worked as a Quality Assurance Lab Technician and developed the plant safety and waste management program.  Prior to that I served in the United State Maring Corps.

Rick Gilbert

Rick works for the Kitsap County Solid Waste Division. He tries, with varying levels of success, to bridge the gap between policy initiatives and operational realities.

To his knowledge, he has never been called a “change agent,” “luminary,” “thought leader,” “foremost expert,” or “trailblazer.” He doesn’t mind.

In his spare time, Rick likes to read, cook, write, walk, and listen to records and WFMU.

Scott Klag

Scott Klag is an independent policy analyst and advisor to the Product Stewardship Institute. He spent over thirty years with Metro Regional Government in Portland, Oregon working on solid waste and recycling policies and programs. His experience included the planning and construction of solid waste facilities (transfer stations and Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) facilities) and the development and implementation of regional solid waste management plans and programs. Scott has worked on successful passage of producer responsibility legislation for e-waste, paint, mattresses, paper and packing, and modernization of Oregon’s iconic Bottle Bill. He continues work on efforts pass EPR for HHW legislation. Scott was a founding member of the Product Steward Institute and co-chair for many years of the Northwest Product Stewardship Council (NWPSC). Since leaving Metro, he has continued his association with both PSI and the NWPSC. His role at PSI has been to serve as an honorary board member and to provide consulting services for the organization.

Taylor Loewen

Taylor Loewen is the Regional Director of operations for West Coast locations of Ridwell, Inc. She joined Ridwell back in 2020 launching their first expansion market outside of Seattle in Portland as employee #1 and scaled the operations to provide service to 25k Ridwell members in the Portland Metro Area and SW Washington. Ridwell now offers their convenient doorstep pickup service for items not accepted by traditional curbside recycling programs to over 110k+ members across 10 locations in the US, and partners with 200+ local and national businesses and nonprofits for responsible recycling and reuse.

Thatcher Montgomery

Thatcher Montgomery grew up in central Washington and has worked at the Department of Ecology since 2018, currently focused on small shops and raising awareness of safer alternatives. He dabbles in emergency response with Ecology’s Spills Program and his local search and rescue team. On his own time, he enjoys the contrasting hobbies of getting outside and playing video games.

Thomas Egleston

Thomas Egleston is the Policy and Program Development Manager for the Waste Prevention and Environmental Services Department at Oregon Metro. In this role, he oversees the work of the Policy and Program Development team which works to reduce the impacts of the Portland Metro region’s garbage and recycling systems through developing policies and programs, coordinating regionwide initiatives and advocating for legislation. Current efforts underway include but are not limited to extended producer responsibility advocacy and coordination, regional system facilities planning, food waste system development, and expanding reuse opportunities. Thomas also serves on the Association of Oregon Recyclers Board of Directors as the Legislative Chair.

Timothy Hall

Timothy Hall is a retired Sergeant Major and a dedicated public health professional currently serving as the Medical Countermeasures & Chempack Coordinator for the Oregon Health Authority Public Health Program. With a Bachelor of Applied Science in Emergency Medicine from UTSA, a Bachelor of Medical Technology, and a Master’s in Virology and Microbiology from OHSU-PSU, Timothy brings extensive expertise to his role. He supports Oregonians and Tribal partners with pharmaceuticals, PPE, durable medical equipment, and other resources to counter emergent health needs, acting as a vital conduit to federal partners. During Public Health ICS activations, Timothy serves the role of Logistics Section Chief.