IFSCC’s May Election is right around the corner. We’re sharing responses from both incumbent and incoming board candidates interested in joining the Board of Directors via an online vote. The Illinois Food Scrap & Composting Coalition continues to create an environment in Illinois where great ideas can thrive. Thank you to the entire compost community past, present and future! Members, please keep an eye on your inboxes to cast your ballot. Any questions? Please email illinoiscomposts@gmail.com.
NEW CANDIDATE
Why would you like to serve on the IFSCC Board of Directors?
Liam Donnelly, CEO and Founder WasteNot Compost 
“As an organic waste management business owner, I would like to help expand participation in compost programs across the state anyway that I can. I have been a member of the IFSCC for many years and WasteNot, my company, has been a silver sponsor, and I want to get more involved with the organization. With over a decade of experience as a leader in the organics industry, I want to do more to support our industry’s efforts to promote educational programs, accessibility, and legislation to help make Illinois a leader in landfill diversion. I want every person and building in Illinois to have access to composting service and believe that figuring out innovative ways to divert our waste from landfills is one of the most important challenges for our generation of humanity. As a member of the Board of Directors of the IFSCC, I will be committed to advocating for our industry in every room I enter.”
What skills, experience, or perspective would you bring to the IFSCC Board of Directors? “I started WasteNot while I was 15 years old and growing the business has shaped my entire life. The perspective I will bring to the Board of Directors is one of a leader in the industry with a vision for the future that combines my passion for sustainability with my strong work ethic. I have been able to grow my operation from the bike I started on to our current scale through many levels of trial and error and believe the lessons I have learned along the way can be of value to the IFSCC.”
What issues do you care most about in the IFSCC organization? “I care most about legislation and market/business developments. As a business owner and leader in the industry, I care about knowing about all facets of the food scrap industry and efforts being led to expand and promote it in Illinois and beyond.”
INCUMBENT BOARD MEMBERS
What issues do you care most about in the IFSCC organization?
Laura Gale, Total Organics Recycling/St Louis Composting: “The issue I care most about in the IFSCC organization is education, as I feel continuing education about the benefits and necessity of composting will allow citizens to make informed decisions that are not only right for their homes or businesses but also benefit their local communities and the environment as a whole. I also believe that education to schools, businesses, and the larger community spreads knowledge that composting can benefit both the economy and the environment together. While people may want to do the right thing, it also needs to make sense for the bottom line, which is a piece of education that I think can be missed when presenting the benefits of composting and reducing food waste. How the information is presented is a huge factor in the response from the community and working with the IFSCC allows me to increase my skills in this area to help my local businesses succeed in diverting food waste from landfills.”
Why would you like to serve on the IFSCC Board of Directors?
Liz Kunkle, Go Green Winnetka: “I submitted a letter of interest to join the IFSCC Board of Directors in August of 2022 after becoming increasingly active in the organization as a member of the Communications and Education Committees and co-chair of the Policy Committee. I am now running for election among the entire IFSCC community. I am all about increasing awareness of the benefits of reducing food waste and composting all the time and there is no other Board of Directors I would rather be on.”
What skills, experience, or perspective would you/do you bring to the IFSCC Board of Directors?
Kila Harwick, Green Soils Management: “It has been and continues to be a great pleasure to serve on the Board of the IFSCC. Through my work at Green Soils Management, I am able to bring my experience from a commercial composting facility back to a dedicated group with the same mission of diverting as much organics as possible from ending up in our landfills. The collaboration to make our processes better is rewarding for both business and the greater Chicago-land community alike.”
Jen Nelson, Seven Generations Ahead | Education Committee Co-Chair, Illinois Food Scrap & Composting Coalition | Co-Facilitator, Wasted Food Action Alliance: “Serving on the IFSCC Board of Directors continues to be an honor. Having been a founding member of the IFSCC, I have had the pleasure of working through Illinois policy and infrastructure challenges to support compost processors, food scrap collection haulers, and institutions and households wanting to divert food scraps and organics from landfills. As we broaden our name and our mission, our priority needs to be building a market for finished compost and working to enact policy to support that market.”
Why do you like serving on the IFSCC Board of Directors?
Stephanie Katsaros, Founder + President of Bright Beat | Communications Committee Co-Chair of IFSCC | President of Chicago Sustainability Task Force | Co-Lead of Wasted Food Action Alliance: “Ever since meeting our rag-tag crew of composting champions at GreenTown 2012, I have felt fortunate to be a part of this community, and serve on the Board of Directors since its inception. The collaborative spirit of IFSCC is unlike any other industry-specific organization I know. All of you — board members, committee chairs and every engaged member — play a vital role in energizing and advancing the organics recycling x compost use x soil health efforts in Illinois, which ripple in our region and nationwide. Thanks for the opportunity to support YOU through my roles within IFSCC. I hope I can continue to serve you well.”
John Lardner, JPL Environmental Engineering/Patriot Acres LLC, US Composting Council Liaison “It is rewarding to serve on the IFSCC board as we collectively advance composting in Illinois. I became a board member to share perspectives learned from past compost infrastructure consulting work and from active participation in the Council, whereby IFSCC is now a state chapter. Looking forward, we need to learn from other chapters and continue advocating for compost facility development and marketing issues that are important to our members.”
Charlie Murphy, Midwest Compost LLC: “I have been on the Board almost since inception. I have owned and operated my own Landscape Waste/Food Scrap transfer stations for some 23 years. As well, I have been in the waste/recycling industry for almost 40 years. The combination of experience owning my own business and many years spent working for one of the industry’s largest companies allows me to share a different perspective than those who have never owned/operated a business in this space.”