What area do you work in within the VPFA portfolio?
I work in the Solid Waste Program, which is part of the Environmental Services department within the Facilities Management side of Campus Planning and Facilities Management (CPFM).
What is your current position, and what are your job responsibilities?
I manage the Solid Waste Program operation, which provides garbage, recycling, and compost collection for the University of Oregon. I supervise three program representatives, one equipment operator, and twenty student employees. My job consists of ensuring that the staff within the program have the proper tools and equipment necessary to make sure that the university receives top-notch garbage and recycling collection and disposal on a daily basis. The program strives to divert as much material as possible from the landfill.
What has been your career path; how did you end up in your current position?
I grew up in Alabama and attended Auburn University for my undergraduate degree (Environmental Science) and master’s degree (Agriculture). As an undergraduate, I joined a student environmental organization focused on establishing a better recycling program for the university. Auburn University’s Facilities Management Department hired me to start the first campus-wide recycling program. I worked at Auburn for 10 years, expanding recycling efforts to residential halls, athletic venues, and sporting events. My master’s degree research focused on composting food waste and animal bedding to generate a local substrate for growing nursery plants. During my time at Auburn, I was able to network with college recycling professionals from across the country and quickly learned about the University of Oregon’s efforts. When the operations manager position opened up in 2015, I jumped at the opportunity and five years later, here I am!
What do you like about your current position?
I really enjoy the staff and students I get to work with at the university every day. We all work hard and enjoy the work we do. Having a good team makes this smelly, messy, dirty work fun and rewarding. It’s necessary work that often is overlooked. The work we do is challenging and overlaps with major issues that face our society today, such as consumption, homelessness, and pollution. I am able to provide input on waste collection needs for new and renovated buildings and our team is constantly working to become more efficient.
Please share some insight into what your job involves.
The Solid Waste Program was formed two years ago when CPFM management combined the Garbage Services and Zero Waste Programs together. Since this change, we have utilized the back-up garbage truck to more efficiently collect paper across campus.
About me:
I spend most of my time exploring the Pacific Northwest with my wife, Jocelyn, and our dog, Rocky. We love to surf, rock climb, raft, hike, and bike. We garden year round and spend a lot of time working on our house.
(May 2021)