It's almost your turn to help us pick your 2026 Board Leaders!Thank you to everyone who submitted a nomination and had a conversation with a member. Your encouragement is what helps us put some of the best leaders in Colorado waste diversion on our board. We have 10 candidates who are ready to meet you at the Annual Meeting and step up to lead Recycle Colorado over the next few years. Get to know who is running by reading their bios and watching their introduction videos linked below. If you have questions about the board election process, please feel free to contact David Fridland ([email protected]) or one of our other current board members. 2026 Board of Director Candidates Tay Dunklee | Adam Farmer | Erwin Galvan | Steve Gilmore | Evan Kruse | Julie Mach Board Candidate Introduction Videos
In her role as the Zero Waste and Circular Economy Manager for the City and County of Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency, Tay leads Denver’s efforts to reduce waste and develop a thriving circular economy through an ever-growing portfolio of policy, programs, incentives, and education efforts. Prior to her current role, Tay worked as a consultant for a recycling and sustainability focused consultancy and supported both public and private-sector clients advance recycling and achieve their circularity goals. Prior to consulting, she spent many years supporting the City and County of Denver’s waste diversion programs, including the expansion of curbside composting, compost circularity efforts, and other community-facing recycling programs. Outside of work, Tay enjoys thrifting, crafting, and spending as much time outside as possible, whether that’s in her own backyard, on one of Denver’s many bike paths, or while exploring Colorado’s spectacular backcountry. Adam Farmer is the Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of Driven Plastics, a Colorado-based company dedicated to transforming post-consumer and post-industrial polyethylene film into high-value asphalt additives. In addition, Driven Plastics manufactures a bio-based asphalt rejuvenator that provides a sustainable alternative to conventional petrochemical products. With a background in chemical and mechanical engineering and extensive operational leadership experience, Adam focuses on advancing sustainable manufacturing practices that reduce plastic waste, close the loop on materials, and support circular economy growth. His work centers on scaling innovative recycling technologies, building resilient local supply chains, and creating solutions that minimize environmental impact while delivering measurable community and economic benefit.
Erwin Galvan is a MRF Manager II at Waste Management, with 10 years of experience in the recycling line of business and 12 years of Transfer Station experience. On his current role Erwin is managing the 48th Ave. Commercial MRF in Denver (the past 5 years), as well as the Colorado Springs MRF (the past year and a half).
Steve Gilmore manages all aspects of developing partnerships with municipal partners, community relations, government affairs, public processes, and communications for Republic Services in Denver and Colorado Springs. Steve moved to Colorado from Washington State in April, where he collaborated with municipal partners in Alaska, Washington, and Oregon on developing solutions to their sustainability goals. Steve worked there for 10 years on behalf of the company, focusing primarily on the post-collection side of the business, including composting, recycling, and landfilling services. Steve has served on various boards and committees representing a variety of non-profit organizations and local government agencies. Steve has served on the legislative committees of the Washington Refuse and Recycling Association, the legislative Committee for the Washington State Recycling Association, the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee, participated in the Southeast Alaska Solid Waste Authority, and served on a variety of Solid Waste Advisory Committees all over the state of Washington that included both rural and urban communities. Prior to joining the company, he was the CEO of the Wilsonville Chamber of Commerce in Oregon and served in the non-profit sector representing businesses for over ten years. Steve has experience working with government entities on various issues and has been involved with public policy decisions for over 25 years. He graduated from Eastern Oregon University with a Bachelor of Science in History and a minor in Political Science. Steve enjoys spending time with his family, watching movies, attending the theater, and is a huge sports fan.
Evan is a communications strategist with a focus on documentary video production and experiential marketing that drives behavior change in the sustainability space. Since joining Recycle Colorado, he’s been an active contributor to the Colorado Compost Council and the C&D Council, while also advocating for practical, forward-thinking waste diversion policy at the state level. As a documentary producer, he’s developed a strong instinct for storytelling and built a reputation for solving tough outreach challenges through community based social marketing. Evan is seeking a seat on the board to help expand Recycle Colorado’s reach and deepen its impact across the state.
Julie Mach is the owner and founder of Elements Mountain Compost in Salida, CO and has been working on rural organic waste diversion since 2014. She is a Certified Compost Operations Manager as accredited by the U.S. Composting Council, she currently serves as the Treasurer on the Recycle Colorado Board of Directors and is the Regional Sustainability Contractor for Chaffee County, CO. Julie has worked in environmental conservation since 2009, previously serving as the Chief Conservation Officer for the Colorado Mountain Club. She holds a Bachelors of Science from Allegheny College and, when not working, can be found exploring the backcountry by bike or skis.
Emma Marino is a Sustainability and Water Conservation Specialist with the Town of Erie. She grew up near a nature center outside of Cincinnati, OH and her experiences there as a child set her on a path rooted in environmental education, outreach, and meaningful communication. Within her role in Erie, Emma engages the community by supporting staff and residents in their waste diversion and water conservation endeavors, connecting with folks at events, and processing many a rebate. With Recycle Colorado, Emma has helped plan Lobby Day, the Summit for Recycling and Awards Gala (which she co-hosted), and currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Norther Colorado Council. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics, Sustainability, and Society from Xavier University and a Masters of the Environment with a specialization in Urban Resilience and Sustainability from University of Colorado Boulder. When she's not at work, Emma will still find herself sorting through recycle bins, and enjoys teaching and practicing yoga, reading a thriller, and sipping coffee with her two cats. Beth Markham is the Environmental Sustainability Manager for the Town of Vail and implements programs and policies to achieve sustainability goals established in the town’s Strategic Plan. Focus areas include waste diversion, sustainable transportation and mobility, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, climate adaptation and resiliency, and sustainable business and tourism. Education and outreach are at the heart of her work. She entered her career in sustainability as an environmental educator for a solid waste management company on the East Coast before relocating to Colorado in 2007. Giving tours of landfills, transfer stations, waste to energy plants, material recovery facilities, and commercial compost facilities opened her eyes to the world of consumption and waste that exists and the importance of materials management and a circular economy. This experience ignited her passion for inspiring behavior change that leads to reduced consumption and increased diversion through recycling and composting. In her current role, Beth oversees all waste diversion efforts implemented by the Town of Vail, including recycling and compost programs (internal and community wide), Hard to Recycle events, policy development, implementation and compliance, implementation of zero waste requirements at special events, collaborating with local haulers, collecting and tracking of trash, recycling and compost data, organization of annual community clean up events, education, outreach, and community engagement. She represents Vail on the Materials Management Task Force for the Climate Action Collaborative of Eagle County, working on regional waste diversion solutions. She brings a unique lens of challenges and opportunities for materials management efforts at a local government level in the heart of the mountains that welcomes 3.7 million visitors annually. When not implementing sustainability programs for Town of Vail, Beth can be found dancing to live music, skiing, hiking, mountain biking, and exploring the Colorado mountains with her family.
Caroline Mitchell Caroline Mitchell has been a member of Colorado’s recycling and the Recycle Colorado community for over 20 years. She works as the Colorado Recycling and Circularity Lead at the consulting firm HDR.
Recycle Colorado connection
Katie Zarachowicz is the kind of person who cleans a hotel room before checking out—guided by a deeply ingrained principle of leaving things better than she found them. She brings this ethos to her professional role as the Sustainability Administrator for Denver Arts & Venues, the agency that manages the Denver Performing Arts Complex, Denver Coliseum, and Red Rocks Amphitheatre. In this position, she advocates for resource reduction, waste diversion, energy efficiency, and water conservation practices to ensure these treasured landmarks can be enjoyed for generations to come. |
Tay Dunklee
Adam Farmer
Erwin Galvan
Evan Kruse
Julie Mach
Emma Marino
Beth Markham
Katie Zarachowicz