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

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

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.

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.

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.

A graduate of The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Jason Lundgren has been involved in fisheries and natural resources for 17 years. Jason is an avid angler, and previously worked for the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group in Olympia, before moving on to a role with the Salmon Recovery Funding Board. Now the Executive Director of Cascade Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group, Jason is very excited to be involved in Waste Loop, finding solutions to reducing waste in the Upper Valley. Jason lives in Leavenworth with his wife, three kids and the family dog, George.

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.

Karen Francis-McWhite is a mom, gardener, sourdough baker, and writer dedicated to inclusive and sustainable rural community development. Educated in both creative writing and law, she has a keen interest in the stories we tell about ourselves and about each other, and the ways law is used - and sometimes abused - by powerful storytellers. She has lived in and been an advocate for Central Washington residents and communities for eight of the last twelve years.

David has been an avid recycler since childhood when one of his best summer jobs was working on the curbside recycling truck in the suburbs of Long Island, NY. Shortly after moving to Leavenworth in 2003 he and others formed Leavenworth Recycles and brought new and improved recycling options to our City for the first time. He's a hopeless nerd out about protecting the environment and loves it when people ask for advice about reducing their impact on the only planet in the universe known to support life.

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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.

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.

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BIO COMING SOON

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.

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.