Navigating Complexities in Racial and Social Equity
Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Jessica Levine, Diversity and Inclusion Manager, The Recycling Partnership | Sophia Hosain, Zero Waste Manager, Baltimore City Department of Public Works | Digna M. Rivera-Reyes, Sustainability Project Manager, City of Orlando | Priscila Pruna Boada, Sustainability Project Coordinator, City of Orlando | Moderator: Kevin Goolsby, Center for Sustainable Behavior & Impact Fellow, The Recycling Partnership
This session will cover:
How to ensure municipal recycling programs reach all of our residents, with diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) in mind.
Thoughtful approaches to materials recovery in areas experiencing food insecurity, unclean drinking water, unemployment, and other public health and safety challenges.
Lessons from a variety of communities working on community engagement through a DEIB lens.
Speaker Bios
Jessica Levine, Diversity and Inclusion Manager, The Recycling Partnership
Jessica Levine is the diversity and inclusion manager at The Recycling Partnership, where she leads the organization’s DE&I program. Prior to this role, she was the youngest person and the first person of color to join The Recycling Partnership on their strategic corporate engagement team, which supports efforts to build a coalition of partners to build circularity. In 2020, Levine founded The Recycling Partnership’s recycling inclusion fund, which supports recycling infrastructure equity, research and leadership development for BIPOC communities. Levine is a Greenbiz ’21 Emerging Leader and currently serves as the Northeast Recycling Council’s DE&I Committee Chair.
Jessica Levine
Sophia Hosain, Zero Waste Manager, Baltimore City Department of Public Works
Sophia Hosain is Baltimore's first zero waste manager. In this role, she is leading the newly created Office of Waste Diversion in the city's Department of Public Works. Previously, Hosain worked at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, where she led the Baltimore Composting for Community Project. Prior to that, she worked with the Baltimore Office of Sustainability on its Food Matters program, in partnership with NRDC. She is passionate about enriching and empowering communities through circular economies and sustainable food systems.
Sophia Hosain
Digna M. Rivera-Reyes, Sustainability Project Manager, City of Orlando
Digna Rivera-Reyes works as sustainability project manager for the Solid Waste Division of the city of Orlando, where she oversees residential and multifamily recycling projects as well as recycling outreach education initiatives. Her responsibilities include developing, implementing and managing recycling projects to research the effectiveness of various strategies that aim to improve the quality of recycling in Orlando. Before working for the city, Rivera-Reyes founded Agro Ambiente, Inc., a nonprofit composting facility, where she served as president for 13 years.
Digna Rivera-Reyes
Priscila Pruna Boada, Sustainability Project Coordinator, City of Orlando
Priscila Pruna Boada is the Sustainability Project Coordinator for the Solid Waste Division of the City of Orlando. As part of her duties, she educates residents about recycling and presents creative solutions to increase the scope of educational techniques for residents. This summer, she was part of a Climate Justice Fellowship, where she created a project proposal to address climate inequalities in low-income areas of Miami. She actively participates as a speaker at USF Sustain-a-Bull Week, where she shares insights about sustainable development goals.
Priscila Pruna Boada
Kevin Goolsby, Fellow, The Recycling Partnership
Kevin Goolsby is a fellow at The Recycling Partnership’s Center for Sustainable Behavior and Impact. In this role, he helps advance work and initiatives that minimize the intention-action gap within recycling. Goolsby interned at Franklin County’s Economic Development and Planning Department, where he assessed Franklin County’s small business environment and its challenges. He is also a recent graduate from The Ohio State University, earning a master’s in public administration and a bachelor’s in public management, policy and leadership.
Kevin Goolsby
Back to the full 2023 Detailed Schedule.