SCWMF 2025 SPRING CONFERENCE & EXHIBIT

Nik Balachandran is an electrical engineer-turned-entrepreneur who found his passion to keep trash out of the environment after encountering it during open water swimming and hiking expeditions all around the world. He founded Zabble in 2016 to help organizations reach zero waste by championing a novel waste measurement process and software platform using AI to streamline operations and engage stakeholders. Nik is a TRUE Zero Waste Advisor, a former board member of the Northern California Recycling Association (NCRA) and actively participates in local beach cleanups and zero waste advocacy.

Mike Caprio, Director of Government Affairs - CA at Republic Services

In this role, he oversees legislative and regulatory activities throughout the state and provides advocacy on matters related to environmental services, climate initiatives, the circular economy and sustainability. Mike works closely with peers in the industry as well as several non-profit organizations that advocate on common issues. His operations background has provided an in-depth view of the challenges associated with implementation of policy decisions and how initiatives can be developed so that optimal outcomes are achieved.

Emily Coven, Circular Action Alliance

Emily Coven is an entrepreneur and innovator whose career has spanned both the tech and recycling industries. In her role as California Executive Director at Circular Action Alliance, Emily oversees all aspects of the SB 54 program, including supporting producers, collaborating with local governments, helping communities and haulers improve recycling services, engaging with interested parties, and building capability.

Prior to joining CAA, Emily was the founder and CEO of Recyclist, a mission-driven software company that helped municipalities and haulers implement California's landmark recycling and organics laws, including AB 341, AB 1826 and SB 1383. Recyclist also provided turnkey public education and outreach solutions to recycling programs across the country. Under Emily’s leadership, Recyclist scaled to serve nearly half of the municipalities in California before being acquired by Routeware. 

David Davis, CMA, President, MSW Consultants

David Davis – Mr. David Davis is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) with over 30 years of experience in the field of solid waste management. Mr. Davis’s expertise lies in working with municipal managers to maximize the value of the solid waste services provided to their ratepayers. He has held executive management positions in both the private and public sectors and has extensive experience in providing business advisory services to local government in the field of solid waste management.

As a chief financial executive for local hauling and landfill divisions of a national solid waste management company, Mr. Davis was responsible for financial reporting, budgeting, cost analysis, billing, and collections. He also managed the accounting and rate analysis sections of the City of Riverside’s Department of Public Utilities.

Mr. Davis has specific experience in: 1) analysis and design of customer rates for refuse collection, transfer, processing and disposal operations; 2) development and evaluation of competitive proposals for waste collection, recycling, and transfer service; 3) feasibility studies for waste processing, waste transfer, and landfill gas projects; 4) verification of the proper payment of solid waste fees; 5) management reviews of solid waste operations; 6) evaluation of alternative waste diversion programs; 7) solid waste program planning and funding; and, 8) evaluating internal management controls.

Jenna Dotson, Municipal Manager at Republic Services

Jenna Dotson is the Municipal Manager of North San Diego for Republic Services, responsible for partnerships with municipalities across North San Diego. Jenna played a key role in implementing SB1383 across the City of Carlsbad. In partnership with the city, she has developed multiple methodologies to achieve SB1383 compliance. Jenna is a Southern California native with a passion for Sustainability. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from California State University San Marcos.

Kevin Hahn is the Director of NA Sales for Routeware, and currently focuses on the private hauler solid waste market. With five years working at Routeware on enterprise municipal projects and revenue initiatives with some of the largest private haulers in the US Kevin's passion about fleet technology, compliance, and smart truck capabilities continues to rise daily. Kevin focuses on being a reliable and responsive partner to his clients by listening to their needs and recommending industry tested best of breed solutions. He is proud to have formed some amazing relationships in this industry where education and learning never stop.

Zoe Heller, Appointed Director of CalRecycle in May 2024
Director Heller served as CalRecycle’s first deputy director over the Division of the Circular Economy since May 2023. Prior to that, she helmed CalRecycle’s Division of Mixed Materials and Local Assistance. She previously served as CalRecycle’s deputy director over the Office of Policy.
Earlier in her career, Director Heller worked at the U.S. EPA’s Pacific Southwest Office for more than 10 years. She was manager for the Zero Waste section for three years and served as special assistant to the Regional Administrator from 2012 to 2013, and an environmental protection specialist in the Environmental Justice program from 2006 to 2012. From 2004 to 2006, Director Heller was a research and policy analyst at the Center for Neighborhood Technology in Chicago, Illinois.
Director Heller holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Policy from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, and a Master of Public Administration from Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois.

Felix Hottenstein, Sales Director at CP/MSS

Felix received his Masters Degree in Material Science Engineering from the Federal Polytechnical Institute in Zurich, Switzerland (ETHZ). For almost 27 years, Felix has been Sales Director for MSS Inc., the optical sorter division of the CP Group. Based in Nashville, TN, MSS designs and manufacturers optical sorting technology for metal scrap applications. The offered sensor technologies are NIR, Color, Induction and AI.

Avecita Jones, Senior Program Manager, Sustainable Materials Management, City of Carlsbad

Avecita Jones serves as the Senior Program Manager for the City of Carlsbad Environmental Sustainability Department. She holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and Educational Leadership from the University of Texas. Joining the city in 2015 as a Management Analyst, she spearheaded the solid waste program's evolution into the Sustainable Materials Management Division. Avecita played a critical role in crafting Carlsbad's first Sustainable Materials Management Plan in 2019, positioning the city as a leader in environmental stewardship and innovation. Avecita is passionate about implementing programs in the city that holistically benefit the local economy, environment, and San Diego region.

Tom Koutroulis, OC Waste & Recycling

Tom Koutroulis is the Director of OC Waste & Recycling, a department of the County of Orange. OC Waste & Recycling manages one of the nation’s premiere solid waste disposal systems serving Orange County’s residents and businesses. On behalf of 34 cities and over three million residents, the department operates a network of three active landfills, three compost facilities, four household hazardous waste collection centers and 21 closed sites.

Tom began his career in the solid waste industry in Orange County working in a family business. With over 30 years of experience in the industry, Tom has witnessed the ever-changing landscape for waste and recycling. Throughout Tom’s tenure in the industry, he has held various roles working on business improvement projects for safety, efficiency, customer service, technology implementation and provided key research and development in organics recycling.

Prior to being appointed Director in 2017, he served in a leadership role while working for Waste Management, Inc. as a Sr. Manager in Organics Project Development.

Philip Mainolfi, HF&H Consultants, LLC

Philip brings over 13 years of prior financial, accounting and process automation experience, as well as seven years of diverse experience in the solid waste industry.  While in the private sector, he spent three years managing solid waste contract compliance for 46 municipalities and government agencies, developing financial models, automating financial reporting processes, designing and developing management reporting tools, and managing external audits.  Mr. Mainolfi received invaluable insight into hauler/processor operations, zero waste planning, and public outreach.  Prior to entering the solid waste industry, Mr. Mainolfi spent four years as a business analyst at Brown Brothers Harriman where he focused on process automation, procedure development, and the implementation of a centralized data ecosystem.

Ashley Norseth, EcoNomics, Inc.

Ashley is a Director at EcoNomics, Inc. consulting, specializing in compliance with state-mandated solid waste and recycling programs. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and originally began her career with one of the nation’s largest waste haulers. With extensive knowledge of hauler operations, Ashley supports municipalities with SB 1383 hauler contract transitions and the development of city-wide education and outreach programs. Her responsibilities include managing a team of Recycling Coordinators, strategizing city-wide SB 1383 implementation plans for residential and commercial sectors, coordinating edible food recovery outreach, overseeing social media education efforts, handling EAR reporting and implementation recordkeeping, and ensuring hauler contract compliance. In her free time, Ashley enjoys spending time with her Golden Retriever puppy, Winston.

Nicholas Nuccio, LA Sanitation & Environment
Nicholas is an Environmental Engineering Associate on the LA Sanitation & Environment's Residential Organics and Recycling team, holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Southern California and is a registered Chemical Engineer in the State of California. He is responsible for managing the city's residential blue bin recycling program, overseeing grant programs, organizing special waste collection events, conducting waste characterization studies, and leading educational initiatives aimed at improving recycling rates. Notably, he led the development of the new waste sorting app for the City of Los Angeles' residential solid waste collection program.

Apurba Pradhan is a seasoned product and marketing leader with over two decades of success in building and scaling product, product marketing, and product operations teams. Specializing in software-enabled solutions for industrial markets, Apurba has a proven track record of helping both startups and public companies deliver sustainable, high-impact customer value.

At EverestLabs, Apurba is instrumental in shaping the strategic roadmap, driving product launches, and seamlessly aligning company goals with the demands of the recycling value chain and the critical circular economy. Before joining EverestLabs, Apurba held senior product leadership roles, managing P&L and overseeing key functions including product, marketing, engineering/development, and customer success. Apurba holds a Bachelor’s in Physics from Clark University, a Master’s in Engineering from the University of Rochester, and an MBA from the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley.

Heidi Sanborn, Founding Executive Director, National Stewardship Action Council

Heidi has been a leader in the solid waste industry for 34 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.

​Heidi began her career as a consultant working on mandated recycling goals, then became Policy Advisor to the Chair of the California Integrated Waste Management Board, now known as the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle).
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. CPSC gained international recognition as a thought leader and driver for producer responsibility programs.

​After eight years of success in California, Heidi formed the National Stewardship Action Council (NSAC).  She soon thereafter formed the Stewardship Action Foundation (SAF) 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) anywhere in the U.S. and at any level of government. 
​

Christopher Sheppard, Principal Engineer at Los Angeles County Public Works

​

​​

​

​

​

​

Ashlee Yee, JACE Branch Chief, CalRecycle
Ashlee Yee has worked with CalRecycle for over ten years.  Ashlee oversees the Jurisdiction and Agency Compliance and Enforcement Branch, which evaluates jurisdictions’ and agencies’ compliance of our state laws including SB 1383. Previously, Ashlee worked in the Local Assistance and Market Development Branch, where she focused on the implementation of state laws such as mandatory commercial recycling, mandatory commercial organics recycling, short-lived climate pollutants, and state agency recycling as well as the State Agency Buy Recycled Campaign.  Prior to that, Ashlee has worked as a CalRecycle representative for jurisdictions and state agencies in the Bay Area and in CalRecycle’s Jurisdiction Compliance Unit.  Ashlee is a graduate from UC Santa Cruz.

Eric Zetz, General Manager, Ventura Regional Sanitation District

Eric Zetz has been in the solid waste industry for several decades.  In 2009 Eric served as the Solid Waste Manager for the City of Clovis (CA) where he oversaw the City's municipal landfill. Then in 2019 Eric served as the Director of the Merced County Regional Waste Management Authority where he oversaw two regional landfills: Billy Wright landfill in Los Banos, CA; and the Highway-59 landfill in Merced, CA. In 2023 Eric became the Environmental Resources Division Manager for the City of Oxnard where he oversees the City's collection services, street sweeping, Material Recycling Facility operations, scale house, transfer station and many contractual partnerships. Then in 2025 Eric became the General Manager of the Ventura Regional Sanitation District, overseeing five landfills and sanitation district services. Eric has also served as the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) Central CA Chapter President; SWANA-CA Legislative Task Force Chair; and President of the Stewardship Action Foundation (SAF). Eric has a Bachelor's degree in Public Administration and a Master's degree in Business Administration from Fresno State. Eric also carries a CA Specific Manager of Landfill Operations (MOLO) certification from SWANA.