Cast your vote for the CURC Board!

The College and University Recycling Coalition (CURC) Board of Directors consists of 12 members, each serving three-year terms. Each year, four seats are filled. As detailed in the organization’s by-laws, board vacancies are formally appointed by the outgoing board. This ballot is for an advisory vote of the general CURC membership. The results of this vote will be used by the current board as advice in determining the actual appointments to be made at the May 2, 2012 committee meeting. There are 13 nominees for six open seats on the 2012 ballot. In addition to the four regularly cycling positions, a fifth and sixth board seat is open because of an early resignation.

Below are the candidate statements. Members are also encouraged to email candidates directly with questions. CURC members will receive an email with the link to access the online ballot. If you are a member and do not receive an email by Monday, April 23, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Members have until the close of business on Monday, April 30, to vote.

Candidate Statements

Lisa Ahlstedt
Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College
Librarian
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"I have always been passionate about recycling and sustainability issues. Throughout my years working in a college library, I personally have taken the responsibility to collect, sort and deliver all recyclable material. Now that our organization is working to establish college-wide recycling, I'm even more enthusiastic about the opportunities this provides our students and staff to learn about and participate in these activities. Our surrounding communities are also slowly beginning to implement recycling activities, so I am anxious to learn all I can, network with others, and help to excite everyone about what we can do to increase recycling!"

Michael Burriello
University of Houston
Asst. Director, Central Operations
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"I believe my life experiences and abilities to organize the work, build a team, delegate and assign work, coordinate work and team members and bring projects to completion would be an asset to the organization."

William Del Vecchio
Georgetown University
Manager of Solid Waste Disposal and Recycling
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"I have 20 years of experience in solid waste disposal and recycling and hope that my expertise will benefit CURC. I would like to CURC become an organization that standardizes recycling on campus, and assists university staff in designing the best possible methods to accomplish goals. They are a myriad of ways that CURC can help universities because of our ability to get information from the best. If elected I will strive to open new lines of communication and assistance."

Eddie Elsberry

Berry College

Director of Sustainability
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"I am honored to submit my application for CURC BOD. I have been very active at Berry College in sustainability, which includes or recycling program. With the help of Administration Students and F/S, we have made Berry College one of the leaders in Green. We were named one of top green colleges in SE by Blue Ridge Outdoor Magazine and have been named to Princeton Review’s list of Greenest Colleges in U.S.”

R. Kaye Johnston
University of Missouri-Kansas City
Sustainability Coordinator
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"As a College and University Recycling Coalition board member and representative, I am interested in serving the Coalition as an avenue to share ideas, to exchange technical knowledge and best practices on recycling and waste reduction programs between institutions of higher learning. My goal is to work with other board members to provide leadership, insight and direction and to have an open door policy so that members free to contact CURC regarding specific issues they want the board to consider or clarify by aligning closely with the CURC Vision, Mission and Organizational Goals."

Lin King
University of California-Berkeley
Refuse and Recycling Manager
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"If elected, I would be honored to serve on the CURC Board of Directors. I was involved as a CURC board member over 10 years ago and I truly enjoyed meeting and working with the CURC Board on projects to advance resource recovery at college and university campuses. I have served on many boards and been in leadership positions. I have over 15 years of experience in the waste reduction and recycling field and earned numerous achievement awards. I am looking forward to helping the CURC Board pursue their future agenda."

Erica Mattison
Suffolk University
Campus Sustainability Coordinator
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"Throughout my life, I have advocated and worked with stakeholders to foster programs that encourage waste reduction and recycling. I am proud that, as Suffolk University's first Campus Sustainability Coordinator, I have worked with faculty, staff, students, and others to bring the University from a 5% recycling rate to over a 40% recycling rate. I want to help others feel empowered to expand and improve their recycling programs. By working together, we can have fun learning from each other's innovative ideas and we can produce inspiring results."

David Matushik
University of Delaware
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"I believe that I would be an asset to the CURC Board of Directors because I am passionate about recycling, reuse, and resource conservation. I have spent the past ten years working to advance recycling in Delaware and across the nation. I am a strong leader who believes that early education and continued reinforcement through the University system are the keys to recycling enculturation."

Josh Prigge
Hawaii Pacific University
Sustainability Coordinator
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"I have a Master's degree in Sustainable Development and have been working as HPU's sustainability coordinator for 1 1/2 years. I have experience writing sustainability reports and newsletters, coordinating volunteers, and managing and marketing sustainability and recycling initiatives."

Lisa Sanzenbacher
University of Illinois-Chicago
Laboratory Sustainability Analyst
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"Although never having served on a committee board before, I am confident in my abilities in leading the CURC. Having an M.S. in Environmental Management and Sustainability, I am passionate about the logistics of recycling and the subsequent economic and environmental benefits. I recently created a laboratory plastic recycling program at UIC in Chicago that is saving the university thousands of dollars per year."

Adam Schlachter
Eco-Minded, LLC
Managing Member
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"I am a passionate advocate for recycling and feel that Colleges and Universities have a significant opportunity to provide support to their broader communities, as well as their closed communities. In many cases, Universities go above and beyond local programs because they manage their resources differently. Ensuring that there is a strong network of advocates to work with and support this community is important to guarantee that recycling continues to act as a support base for sustainability efforts being undertaken throughout higher education. CURC is positioned to empower this leadership and being a part of that would be very exciting."

Dave Van Deventer
Clemson University
Solid Waste and Recycling Manager
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It is my hope that I can continue to serve and support other College and University Programs around the country through the Board of Directors of CURC. It is my desire to help with membership and program development as the experiences and knowledge I have in the past might afford me this opportunity. I would be grateful to continue to assist on the CURC Board.

Christine von Kolnitz Cooley
Medical University of South Carolina
Sustainability Manager
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"Hello collegiate recycling world. I have served as a CURC board member for three years. I helped with creating the new organization, served as Technical Committee Chair, managed webinars during season one, during season two I moderated and spoke on another webinar and I started the CURC FaceBook and Twitter accounts. In the last several months I have taken on the treasurer duties and opened CURC?s first checking and savings accounts. In order to provide continuity for such a new part of our financial operations, I would like to continue in that position. I am dedicated to helping this organization."