1. What are some ways your career has impacted your community?

As far as being a part of Keep Austin Clean, we help keep litter out of the environment and educate the community about recycling and conservation.

 

2. What do you as an individual think about our future in pollution?

Personally, I believe packaging like styrofoam is out of control.  A few years ago I was hiking the Barton Creek trail right after Christmas and found a disgusting amount of styrofoam from TV boxes.   I would like to see manufacturing companies use recyclable packaging.

 

With more education, I hope to see the pollution levels lower.  Regulating what manufacturing companies are allowed to pump into the environment would help, too.

 

I absolutely love to see projects like cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.   More initiatives like this should be formed.

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3. Do you believe that Austin does enough to try and keep the environment clean? Why?

Austin does a lot to combat litter, but we can never have too many groups and projects to help keep Austin clean.  The problem is funding these groups.  I can speak for Keep Austin Clean, due to funding, it is very difficult for us to make major impacts.  We do what we can and when we can.  Funding even small groups like us will go a long way to keep the environment clean.

 

I once got an email from someone upset with Keep Austin Clean because they thought we were diminishing Keep Austin Beautiful's cause.  My response was two fold:  1.  We can never have too many groups to keep the environment clean.  2.  KAB focuses on beautifying the city, which is GREAT, but KAC focuses strictly on the removal of litter and educating the community about recycling and conservation.

 

4. How does your greatest strength impact your work? 

My passion motivates me to keep moving forward with clean-up projects and education.

 

5. Can you tell me more about the day-to-day responsibilities of your role at your workplace?

As president of both Keep Austin Clean and Keep Cloudcroft Clean, I have several roles.  Among these are administrative duties, assisting in social media, fundraising, marketing, supply acquisitions, clean-up projects, and volunteer recruitment.

 

6. What inspired you to enter this job field?

My love for nature began at a very young age spawning from Cub Scouts and then into Boy Scouts.  My family camped quite often when I was a kid, and we always left the campsite cleaner than when we arrived.  Into my adult life, I kept camping and hiking, but I noticed more and more litter.  After a camping trip to one of my favorite campgrounds, I noticed a great deal of litter.