Mr. Tagore-Erwin’s project work encompasses all aspects of solid waste management and environmental consulting. Over the past 30 years, he has successfully provided hundreds of jurisdictions and public agencies throughout Southern and Northern California and the Western United States with solid waste procurement and management consulting services that encompass the following: development and implementation of Zero Waste plans; strategic sustainability planning and compliance assistance; financial planning, analysis, and rate reviews; service and rate surveys; and operations and performance reviews. His particular areas of expertise include designing strategic plans and negotiating solid waste Franchise Agreements that achieve legislative compliance with State ordinances and regulations such as AB 341, AB 1826, and SB 1383. These projects routinely involve working with and gaining feedback from diverse stakeholder groups to determine the feasibility of potential programs. As a certified meeting facilitator, Mr. Tagore-Erwin routinely conducts working sessions with municipalities and their franchised proposers, facilitates public workshops and community meetings with diverse community groups such as elected officials, haulers, facility operators, environmental groups, and the general public, and participates in Board of Supervisors and City Council hearings.

Prior to his work as a municipal management consultant, Mr. Tagore-Erwin was a Senior Consultant to the California Legislature, where he was instrumental in the development of many of California’s solid waste management laws, including AB 939, recycled content requirements, used oil recycling requirements, and labeling of rigid plastic containers. He has also served on several national panels on sustainability.

Mr. Tagore-Erwin has a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of Hawai’i, Mānoa.

Mr. Schultz has extensive solid waste management experience in both the public and private sectors.  He is particularly skilled in designing a variety of solid waste and sustainability plans and has served as project manager on a wide range of planning and program development projects for the management of solid waste, recycling, green waste, organic waste, and C&D debris. His areas of significant expertise include: developing strategies and implementation steps for Zero Waste and high diversion plans; assessing existing solid waste collection systems and programs; evaluating public outreach and education programs; developing and revising ordinances and policies; and engaging stakeholders and communities through workshops and outreach planning. Mr. Schultz is very knowledgeable of State regulations and skilled at assisting clients to achieve legislative compliance, particularly with regard to AB 1826 and SB 1383. In both his public sector and consulting roles, he has regularly presented before City Councils and Commissions. Mr. Schultz’s additional experience includes: assisting jurisdictions with procurement and negotiation of solid waste collection services; conducting solid waste operations and performance reviews; conducting rate modeling, reviews and restructuring; and performing data research and investigation.

Prior to joining R3, Mr. Schultz served as Manager of Operations and Environmental Services for the City of El Cerrito. He was a key partner in restructuring and modernizing El Cerrito’s municipal recycling collection operations and award-winning community recycling center.  As a Public Works Manager, Mr. Schultz managed the City’s maintenance operations, including a $5 million annual budget funded by multiple special revenue funds, 20+ operations and customer service personnel, and maintenance services for parks, fields, trees, sidewalks, storm drains, and street sweeping.

Mr. Schultz has a Master of Public Administration and Public Policy Development from Cal State East Bay and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science, with a Minor in Public Policy, from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Lead Construction and Demolition (C&D) Facility Evaluator through RCI (Recycling Certification Institute), a member of RCI’s C&D Technical Council, and a member of CRRA (California Resource Recovery Association) and NCRA (Northern California Recycling Association).

Mr. Schoen is an engineer with more than 30 years of solid waste operational and consulting experience, with primary expertise in the areas of solid waste operations, rate reviews, and financial analysis. He has managed recycling and landfill operations and reviewed the finances and operations of numerous municipal and private sector solid waste management operations, including divisions of Waste Management, Republic Services, Recology, Allied, and BFI. He has conducted financial analyses of long-term solid waste diversion and disposal alternatives, developed strategies for solid waste collection systems and Zero Waste plans, evaluated collection staffing and equipment requirements, and overseen visual and physical waste characterization studies.

Mr. Schoen has a profound understanding and significant experience in evaluating all aspects of solid waste collection systems, including every-other-week collection, co-collection systems, residential and commercial food waste collection programs, bulky item collection programs, and illegal dumping response programs. This operational understanding is vital to R3’s ability to critically evaluate a hauler’s operational assumptions and projections associated with implementing legislative requirements such as AB 1826, to identify and support recommended changes to those assumptions, and to form options for organics collection in compliance with legislation. Mr. Schoen also currently manages R3’s food-rescue research efforts throughout California and nationally.

Mr. Schoen has a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

As a Project Manager, Ms. Baxter has over 10 years of experience in a wide range of solid waste operational, planning, and financial projects with R3. She specializes in assisting local jurisdictions to negotiate and improve waste hauler collection contracts that incorporate best practices and legislative requirements. She has also created disaster debris management plans for various cities in California, and delivered a presentation at the 2018 CRRA conference on this subject. Other services Ms. Baxter provides include: evaluating clients’ solid waste services, program options, and needs; providing financial analysis services such as studying client jurisdiction rates and diversion incentive methods; supporting operations and performance reviews; evaluating billing and reporting systems; and conducting on-site route audits. She also routinely conducts comprehensive solid waste and recycling benchmarking and rate surveys.

Ms. Baxter has a Bachelor of Science in Organization, Management, and Leadership from the University of San Francisco and is a member of CRRA (California Resource Recovery Association) and NCRA (Northern California Recycling Association). She is diligently training to complete the 2019 Spartan Trifecta, which includes three separate obstacle courses of varying lengths, from 4 to 12 miles, that contain up to 30 obstacles per course.

With her strong background in research and technical writing, and her solid waste industry experience, Ms. Radford provides valuable support for solid waste management planning, program development, regulatory reporting, and solid waste implementation plans by analyzing data, coordinating field studies, conducting surveys, and writing comprehensive reports. Her diverse solid waste planning experience includes: Zero Waste planning; legislative compliance assistance; organics program analysis; municipal code analysis and revision; data and tonnage tracking and modeling; and strategic planning for landfill, organics, and recyclables processing capacity. Ms. Radford’s other areas of expertise include: negotiation and procurement assistance; operations, programs, and facility reviews; research and data compilation; operational and performance reviews of haulers; and financial planning, including rate modeling, rate studies, and rate reviews.

Ms. Radford has a Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Science in Conservation and Resource Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a Construction & Demolition Recycling Facility Evaluator through the RCI (Recycling Certification Institute) and a member of CRRA (California Resource Recovery Association) and NCRA (Northern California Recycling Association).

Mr. Calkins, a Marine Corps veteran, joined R3 after serving as Route Manager for Waste Management (WMI) in Stockton. His successful career managing private sector waste, organic, and recyclable collection systems for WMI and California Waste Solutions (CWS) in the Bay Area included the following responsibilities: training Route Managers; training and certifying sites in Onboard Computing Systems Dispatch (OCSD) systems; using Geographic Information System (GIS) software for rerouting and mapping routes; managing unionized drivers; and coordinating daily collection and operational needs with fleet maintenance services. As a Senior Project Analyst at R3, Mr. Calkins’ extensive Operations experience is extremely valuable to his work on all projects involving review and analysis of residential and commercial processing operations. He has contributed his talents to R3 engagements in these areas: Collections & Processing Operations Analysis & Review; Collection System Routing Technology; Hauler Performance Standards Reviews; Municipal Operations Reviews; Solid Waste Route Studies; Contract Compliance Audits; Detailed Rate Reviews; and Franchise Agreement Reviews and Recommendations.

Mr. Calkins has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from San Francisco State University. He is a Construction & Debris Recycling Facility Evaluator through the RCI (Recycling Certification Institute) and an active SWANA member who recently completed their Manager of Collection Systems certification process. Mr. Calkins’ and his fiancée’s Australian Shepherd, Mulder, just graduated from puppy training and is now ready to sit still at all of the area’s finest breweries and coffee shops.

Ms. Lessa is a Project Manager with years of experience helping our clients achieve legislative compliance with AB 341, AB 1826, and AB 939 and developing other Zero Waste strategies. She has particular expertise in developing organics programs – from the early stages of development to stakeholder engagement – inclusive of waste hauler and facility involvement, business waste audits, development of reporting mechanisms, and education and outreach to businesses and waste haulers. She uses her background in journalism and public relations to assist clients in engaging stakeholders for careful community planning, developing education and outreach programs, and creating other behavior change strategies. She is a strong writer and editor, and has revised Municipal Code, Collection Franchise Agreements, client reports, and City plans. Her work has included collaborating with municipalities to determine solid waste needs and potential services, developing RFPs and other procurement documents, analyzing waste hauler procurement proposals, and transitioning municipalities to new contracts.

Ms. Lessa has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Public Relations from CSU Chico and a Climate Protection Professional Career Certificate from Skyline Community College. She has also had formal training in Organic Waste Program Planning, Education and Outreach Development, and Disaster Debris Management Planning. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking meals learned from her travels around the world, practicing and teaching yoga, and watching sunsets on the beach in Santa Monica.

As a Senior Project Analyst at R3, Ms. Ginsburg has particular proficiency in solid waste data management and administration, as well as developing and evaluating programmatic alternatives, implementation, and ordinances concerning solid waste. As such, she has a wide range of skills and knowledge to offer through her project assistance in strategic solid waste planning and implementation for our clients. She also has experience with community outreach and customer service. Ms. Ginsburg has supported jurisdictions through the following initiatives: collaborated on the creation of a Zero Waste implementation plan; revised solid waste ordinances to stay up-to-date on legislative requirements; supported AB 1826 implementation; engaged in active contract management to monitor compliance and fulfillment of contractual requirements; analyzed self-haul tonnage reported through the DRS; researched facility reporting and assisted in program planning; and submitted an Electronic Annual Report and completed other solid waste compliance reports required by CA.

Ms. Ginsburg has a Bachelor of Science in Conservation and Resource Studies, with a Minor in City and Regional Planning, from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a Construction & Demolition Recycling Facility Evaluator through the RCI (Recycling Certification Institute) and a member of NCRA (Northern California Recycling Association). Ms. Ginsburg is an avid reader of historical fiction and SciFi, and has been a dedicated, determined organic gardener since high school. She recently took on the challenge of growing watermelons in the Bay Area — a feat generally considered unattainable — and proved the naysayers wrong by proudly harvesting several softball-sized specimens!

Mr. Muratsuchi comes to R3 from Hawaiʻi where he was the Executive Director of an environmental 501c(3) nonprofit focused on waste management and community beautification. He has a diverse comprehension of environmental management, with experience in waste management, community-based natural resource management, environmental remote sensing, restoration ecology and ecological restoration, stormwater management, and environmental engineering. He has designed and built small-scale biodigesters, performed litter studies and analyses, planned recycling and community outreach events, and assisted in multiple research projects focused on local and community-based natural resource management. He is solution-focused and well-versed in working with governmental, business, and community stakeholders and clients.

Mr. Muratsuchi has a Master of Science in Natural Resources and Environmental Management from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (Environmental Concentration) from The University of Michigan. His most recent published work is as chapter co-author in Detours: A Decolonial Guide to Hawaii. He enjoys gardening, baseball, and science fiction–and his barbecue is to die for!

Ms. Grimes joined R3 after working in the private sector in the solid waste collection field. As a sustainability professional, she demonstrates knowledge and passion for working with local recycling and waste reduction resources and promoting sustainable practices, product stewardship, and recycling programs. Her wide range of experience includes food waste reduction and recovery efforts, diversion reports, waste audits, legislative compliance, and working with haulers to develop recycling programs and campaigns. As a Project Analyst at R3, Ms. Grimes helps oversee contract compliance, municipal code compliance, legislative compliance, and stakeholder engagement for local government and State agencies. Additionally, she has experience developing community presentations, evaluating diversion efforts, conducting waste characterization studies and assessments, and observing customer participation efforts.

Ms. Grimes has a Bachelor of Science in Geography, with a Minor in Environmental Studies, from the University of Nevada, Reno. She is an avid backpacker who enjoys camping, fishing, and exploring the outdoors throughout the West Coast.