MEET OUR TEAM
STAFF MEMBERS
Ariahna has been involved with Natural Resource Management and Environmental Education for over 17 years. Growing up in the Okanogan Valley she has a love for Eastern Washington and a deep awareness of the unique natural resource management challenges it faces. Ariahna set roots in Leavenworth seven years ago while teaching Natural Resource Management at the Wenatchee Valley College. When acute challenges in recycling and waste diversion emerged in the Leavenworth Community in 2018, Ariahna gathered with a small passionate group of community members that had a desire to address the challenges head on. Waste Loop was in-turn created and it has been a joy for Ariahna to help the organization grow to meet the needs of the community.ariahna@wasteloop.org
Executive Director
Ariahna Jones
Amanda Close
Amanda is an avid outdoor enthusiast and educator. She has worked in the field of experiential education for more than fifteen years and has called Leavenworth home for seven. She has an educational background in both environmental science and education, and has worked in the fields of natural resources, outdoor education, and recreation here in the Wenatchee Valley, across the US, and abroad. Amanda is excited to be part of the Waste Loop team and the momentum towards sustainability and waste reduction she feels growing in the community. Outside of work Amanda enjoys rafting, learning, hiking, gardening, cooking meals for others, and crafting.contact@wasteloop.org
Education & Outreach Manager
Colin Sternagel
Graduating from Western Washington University as an outdoor recreation major, Colin found himself in Leavenworth and the surrounding natural areas often for work and play. Inspired by the natural world Colin looks to ecological systems for inspiration and teachings. Colin uses that creativity from the natural world for researching and practicing alternatives to modern systems and modalities on his and his wife's 8 acres. Leavenworth he believes took a major historic risk to make it what it is today and the both good and bad of that success has put it in a unique position to be a small town leader for future local to global problems.Recycling Center Manager
Growing up in Washington, Lizzie spent a lot of her childhood immersed in nature. With these experiences, she developed a strong love for the intrinsic value of the natural world. While studying Recreation at WWU, she had a “waste awakening” in Environmental 101 during her first quarter, and promptly decided to attend Huxley College of Environment for Environmental Studies as well. Her passion for a healthier planet with less waste led to her to Waste Loop. Lizzie is a true believer that there is no such thing as waste, just wasted opportunities concerning misplaced resources. Only collectively, through innovative thinking and proper action can we begin to close the loop.lizzie@wasteloop.org
Marketing Designer
Lizzie Bridges
Tim Davenport
Tim moved to Leavenworth from Bellingham in November of 2019. Tim is a resident of Coyote House at Tierra Village. He loves everything about the outdoors and enjoys hiking, mountain biking, and snowboarding. Tim is very friendly and outgoing. He loves meeting new people and being helpful. Tim is enjoying learning all he can about waste management and recycling with hope to share his interest and knowledge with community folks who come to the Recycle Center.Recycling Center Attendant
Luke Dixon
Luke first entered the green industry when he organized classmates around his west Texas University to bring recycling to campus. After completing a Nonprofit Administration degree, he has been working at the intersection of outdoor education, recreation, accessibility, and the creation of systems that help keep treasures out of the landfill.
Luke likes to spend much of his time skiing amongst old trees and climbing up long ridge lines. He also likes to tinker and has fumbled his way into becoming a novice at many of life’s DIY skills. Self-taught in many building practices, he sees the deep need for affordable materials and accessible education so people can feel empowered to repair their own goods. Luke set roots in Leavenworth in 2022 with the intent of investing in the community and making it his long-term home.luke@wasteloop.org
Reuse Innovation Center Co-Manager
Beryl Bils
Originally from Minnesota, Beryl Bils moved to Denton, Texas, for college, where she found her love for the outdoors through her job with UNT's outdoor pursuits program. After graduating with a degree in music, she converted her van and took off on a country wide road trip. Eventually, this landed her in Leavenworth. Through her ventures, Beryl has become passionate about the intersection of building and sustainability. She believes that it's pertinent that we sift through materials before they are thrown away, because reuse is the greenest choice we can make. Beryl hopes that through her work at the Reuse Innovation Center, we can create a more sustainable circular economy for the Wenatchee Valley community. In her free time, Beryl loves to workout, play roller derby, build, snowboard, mountain bike, and create.beryl@wasteloop.org
Reuse Innovation Center Co-Manager
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Emily Keenan is an outdoor enthusiast and mountain lady. She fell in love with the Wenatchee Valley almost 10 years ago and now she rarely leaves. She loves the people here and wants to see us all succeed in our goals and strengthen our community. She knows there are big opportunities for creative thinking around waste reduction and repurposing and she is so happy to be on the board at Waste Loop.Board Member
Emily Keenan
Jake Martinez
Jake grew up in Leavenworth and has spent most of his life immersed in the beauty of the surrounding mountains. He is a general lover of the outdoors and enjoys climbing, skiing, rafting, and mountain biking. His time spent traveling reminded him how special of a place Leavenworth is and the seemingly endless recreational opportunities this valley provides. He believes that the sustainable and collective management of recreation and tourism is necessary to ensure the enjoyment of these resources by current and future generations.Board Member
Annie Wicker
Annie has always been committed to supporting projects that promote sustainable tourism. Having spent seven years living abroad in a variety of different countries, she was always saddened by the lack of awareness by some communities on how waste effected their environment and so always chose activities with sustainability in mind. She has a passion for all things outdoors be it animal, plant or mineral and is dedicated to keeping it clean and available for all. Since moving to Leavenworth in 2014, she has seen first hand how tourism effects this small, caring community in a big way. She is excited to be a part of Waste Loop and help manage waste in the community with thoughtful and effective action.Board President
Mara Bohman
Mara has been creating garbage for 63 years and recycling since it was invented. As an elementary school teacher, she successfully helped to encourage her local school district to begin a recycling program. Mara and her husband, Brian, moved to the Leavenworth area in 2014 from the ‘coast’ where they now enjoy hiking, bike riding, gardening…pretty much anything outdoors. Captivated by our local rivers, she works to connect people and organizations to help tell the many stories of our area, with a more recent focus on the over-loved Icicle Creek. Her awareness of the potential for water conservation in the valley, brought her to the great work being done at Waste Loop, where she looks forward to helping to contribute to their story.Board Member
Anna O'Neill
Anna grew up in Leavenworth and has deep roots in this community. While traveling the world she was exposed to a variety of cultures and ecosystems and saw firsthand the impact humans can have on the natural world. From these experiences, she developed a passion for reducing waste and promoting sustainability. After moving back into the valley in 2015, she was proud to see all the positive changes in the community and wanted to get involved. Anna lends her knowledge of Accounting to Waste Loop along with her passion for a cleaner and healthier planet. She can most often be found outside looking for birds, surfing the river, or hiking in the mountains.Board Member
Bill Flagg
Bill moved from Boston to Leavenworth last December, and was planning on only staying for the ski season but the beauty of the Cascades drew him in. He has worked in the environmental field in a variety of capacities over the past 15 years, and is particularly passionate about waste reduction/circularity and sustainable transportation. Bill has been volunteering with Waste Loop to help launch a bicycle-powered glass recycling program in town, and is very excited to continue working with the team and the community to get this program off the ground and running! He likes to spend his free time biking, hiking, skiing and making music.Board Member
Gina Westrich
Gina moved to Leavenworth in the Fall of 2022. Before arriving, she scoured local community information and resources and learned about Waste Loop's efforts in community waste diversion. Struck by the audacious mission of this local organization, she volunteered at an event and has been volunteering ever since, using her experience as a High School science teacher to help write K-5 compost curriculum to supplement the local school’s trash sorting initiative.
Gina’s passion for the outdoors has naturally led to her commitment of waste reduction and sustainability practices. She is excited to be a part of a group of innovative and dedicated individuals willing to engage, educate, and unite community members around a shared interest of closing the loop on ‘waste.’Board Member
Brittany Thurlow
Throughout her career and in her personal life, Brittany has prioritized working in a reciprocal way with the beauty, teachings, intelligence, and love of our natural world. Brittany brings to the board her experience in working as an Outdoor Educator and Education Director, Owner/Founder of The Plant Ally, and Partner of Alpha Green, which is at the forefront of innovative solutions for Ag Tech. Through her work, Brittany dedicates herself to working harmoniously with nature, seeking to understand and problem-solve through creative solutions that mimic nature's innate wisdom. She believes wholeheartedly that our connection to nature is of utmost importance and is excited to share this passion through the vision and mission of Waste Loop.Board Member
Izzy Menna
Izzy is a member of the Cascade High School class of 2024 and President of the CHS Environmental Sustainability Club, the mission of which she believes in deeply. The "Sus" Club provides a platform for high school students to learn about and develop realistic and effective strategies to address issues affecting sustainable and healthy local and global natural environments. When not advocating for sustainability, you can usually find her skiing, biking, running in or writing about our mountains and life among them.Student Representative to the Board
INTERESTED IN JOINING THE WASTE LOOP TEAM?
Waste Loop is always looking for ways to connect people’s talents and passions to our waste reduction programs and efforts in the community.