Environmental Policy and Environmental Sociology, Wageningen University and Research Centre, the Netherlands.
Environmental and Social Sciences; dissertation on solid waste management in middle income countries with the title” Value Added, Modes of Sustainable Recycling in the Modernisation of Waste Management Systems. 2011
1992
MPA
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Masters in Public Administration: Environmental management, micro‑ and resource economics; public finance; economic approaches to modernisation and westernisation; negotiations and conflict resolution, women and leadership
Deep Democracy (the Lewis Method), a global facilitation technique.
Levels I, II III and IV Diploma, in training for serving as a Deep Democracy coach through the PDP programme.
1998-1999
Fulbright Scholar, Hungary and Bulgaria.
Modernisation/privatisationofmunicipalpublicservices, Mentor to the Student Eco-club at the American University in Bulgaria.
1997-1998
University of Florida Office of International Programs, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
WorldWideWomeninDevelopment Gender Fellowship:
10-month intensive training in gender analysis, environmental governance, and urban services, 8‑month practicum in Honduras analysing gender influences on management, decision-making, and public service payment rates in Choluteca and Nacaome, Honduras.
1990
Antioch Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Keene, NH USA
EnvironmentalandResourceeconomicsCoursepaper: economics of alternatives for waste paper processing.
2010 to Present : CEO and Project Developer, Springloop Cooperatie U.A
Cooperating with The Collaborative Working Group on Solid Waste Management in Low- and Middle-income Countries (the CWG), Noë Waste Measurement Consultants (NWMC); Papusza, and the Belgrade-based Democratic Transitions Initiative.
2017: Currently preparing a global cooperative research project on recycling metrics and performance indicators, seeking to create a common system of measurement for post-industrial recycling municipal recycling, packaging recycling, EPR, informal recycling, and re-use.
2016: Integrated Sustainable Waste Management in the Shufat Camp in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Methodologist and team coach.
2016: Multi-author research and publication: “From Collision to Collaboration, Integrating informal recyclers and re-‐use operators in Europe: A review.” Waste Management & Research 2016, Vol. 34(9) 820–839. Winner of the Editor’s Choice Recognition for the Special Issue.
2015: Valuing Informal Integration, Experiences of Inclusive Recycling in North Africa and the Middle East. Book in French and English, prepared with practitioners and local experts, and based on two phases of analysis of the interactions between solid waste system modernisation and informal integration in the nine members of SWEEP-Net, the solid waste association of the MENA region. German International Co-operation (GIZ), June 2015, www.GIZ.de. Winner of the 2016 ISWA (International Solid Waste Association) Publications Prize.
2015: Waste Picking in Municipal Solid Waste Management Systems in Central Java: Orientation and Recommendations. Research report for the Danish International Development Agency, DANIDA, and its private sector partners in Central Java (Springloop Cooperatie under sub-contract to UNESCO-IHE, the Netherlands). October 2015.
2014-2016: Sourcing of organic waste from households and markets for the upscaling of the Safi Sana Ghana biogas digestor in Ashaiman municipality. Technical and measurement support to the Ghana subsidiary of the Dutch biogas production company Safi Sana.
2015: FAIRE: Federating and Allying Independent Recyclers in Europe. Initiative to bring together informal recyclers in the new EU and in pre-accession countries in the Balkans and Eurasia, and to create channels for communication and dialogue with the producer responsibility organisations and formal solid waste systems in these countries. Self-financed with DTI and NWMC, the first meeting in conjunction with the International Solid Waste Association Global Congress in Antwerp, Second meeting in preparation for Novi Sad, Serbia, September 2016
2014-16: Programme developer and project leader, MarColombia: Building a Gold Standard for Benchmarking Inclusive Recycling. Financed by the Dutch Enterprise Agency through WASTE, NMPO/NWMC, and CEMPRE Colombia. This platform has just been accepted by the Colombian Ministry of Housing as the National Standard, in co-ordination with the implementation of Decreto 596 of 2016.
2014-15: Methodology and strategy specialist: Integration of the Informal Sector in Tunis, Tunisia. Contracted through RWA (www.rwagroup.net) to German International Cooperation (GIZ) to support a 2-year project integrating informal recyclers.
2014: Author, chapter on Extended Producer Responsibility in middle-income countries and the importance of informal recyclers. Update to the OECD Guidance Document on Extended Producer Responsibility, expected publication 2015.
2013-2014: Lead author, Policy Document on Organising the Informal Sector. International Trade Union Confederation, Brussels.
2010-2012: Solid Waste Planner and Special Consultant, Tompkins County Solid Waste Division, Ithaca, New York, USA. Re-hired to update solid waste plan written by Recourse Systems in 1992.
1999-2014 Senior Consultant, Team Leader, WASTE, Advisers in Urban Environment and Development
2013-2014: Seed Project Manager: Engaging Waste Pickers and Informal Recyclers in Europe. 12-country consultation with capital city waste pickers and informal recyclers.
2011-2014: Project Leader, Waste Management sub-component: Municipal Reconstruction in Haiti: works to restore the solid waste function in four cities in the Les Palmes region in Haiti. Buit the first controlled regional disposal facility in Haiti, as well as organising the first user-pays collection in the city of Léogâne.
2012: Lead Consultant: Recycling Guidelines for Botswana Municipalities. Participatory consulting project working with policymakers and stakeholders to select a global approach to valorisation, a recycling framework, and to re-organise relationships between the local and national authorities and the recycling value chain.
2012-2013 Product Stewardship and Informal Recycling (PSIR). Leader, Thematic Forum with Informal Sector Organisations and Consumer Products Companies. Berlin, November 2013, Financed by GIZ, German International Co-operation.
2012 Chief of Mission: Formulation of a three-year project for consolidating the waste management and recycling system in Sikasso, Mali. Client: Belgian Technical Co-operation.
2011: Programme Manager, solid waste component, “Municipal Reconstruction in Haiti” subcontracted to the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNGI). Reconstructing solid waste and recycling systems in four cities in the Les Palmes region of SouthWestern Haiti.
2010-2011: Technical Consultant and Mentor, Tompkins County Solid Waste Department, Ithaca, New York. Invited by the Solid Waste Manager to support the staff in revising the solid waste plan written by Recourse Systems in 1990-1992, to enable the County to achieve 85% diversion from disposal in 2030, from an achieved level of 60% diversion in 2010
2010 (Revision and publication), based on main project in 2006-2007: Project Manager: Economic Aspects of the Informal Sector in Solid Waste Management. Multi-city study of the global informal sector with six partners in Cairo, Cluj-Napoca, Lima, Lusaka, Metro Manila, and Pune (India), using process flow/materials balance approach as the basis for scenario modelling. Included both socio-economic and environmental impact analysis.
2009-2012. Technical consultant and advisor, TransWaste: Formalisation of informal sector activities in collection and transboundary shipment of wastes in and to Central and Eastern Europe. Subcontractor to BOKU, together with Green Partners, Romania
2009-2011: Project Leader: “Fair Waste Practices” the first project in Europe to focus on sustainable modernisation of waste management via the route of inclusive recycling and professionalisation of informal waste pickers. Client: Dutch MATRA programme.
2009-2010: UN-Habitat Solid Waste Management in the World’s Cities. Principle author, editor, and project manager for production of the Third Report on Water and Sanitation in the World’s Cities. Winner of the 2010 ISWA (International Solid Waste Association) Publications Prize.
2009-2010: Project Manager, Technical Consultant, “Developing a User Pays Framework for the North Province of the Maldives.” With Green Partners, Romania, designed, developed, and field tested the first participatory tariff-setting system, based on an excel choice model for communities.
2009-2010: Consultant and publication chief author-Editor: Nairobi City Composting . Project analysed cases of private sector valorisation of organic wastes in Eastern and Southern Africa, and concluded that private interest works better than public benefit as a motivation for organic waste valorisation. Countries Kenya, Malawi. Client: the Dutch Embassy in Kenya and the Agricultural Economics Institute of Wageningen University.
2007: Technical Consultant, Master Composting Programmes, Hambantota and Kalmunai, Sri Lanka, and Topoli, Bulgaria. Designed master composter programmes, produced and delivered trainings, participated in monitoring and analysis.
2007: Project Manager, Trainer, Trainings in Recycling. International Finance Corporation, Recycling Linkages Programme, Private Enterprise Programme, SouthEastern Europe (PEP SE), in Bosnia, Albania, Serbia, Macedonia.
2007: Project Manager, Technical Assistance to Roma Collectors in Relation to Training, Capacity Building, and Micro-Finance, International Finance Corporation, Recycling Linkages Programme, Private Enterprise Programme, SouthEastern Europe (PEP SE), Assessment for Bosnia, Albania, Serbia, Macedonia, with a focus on South Serbia. International Finance Corporation, Recycling Linkages Programme, Private Enterprise Programme, SouthEastern Europe (PEP SE), in Bosnia, Albania, Serbia, Macedonia.
2007-2010. Programme Manager, Public Private Partnerships in Integrated Sustainable Waste Management (PPP-ISWM) Programme in partnership with UNDP PPPSD (Johannesburg) focused on capacity building and medium-sized grants for solid waste projects in twelve countries. Programme runs until 2011.
2007-2010: Project Manager, Trainer, Consultant VNG International, the Hague, the Netherlands. Worked for three different parts of the Association of Dutch Municipalities to develop and deliver materials for training Dutch and South partners in twin cities projects on solid waste and community participation.
2006-2007: Project Manager and Chair: Sustainable Livelihoods in Solid Waste: Workshop on the Global Informal Sector for the Collaborative Working Group on Solid Waste in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (the CWG). Workshop hosted by WASTE and held in Gouda, the Netherlands.
2005-2007: Post Tsunami reconstruction in Sri Lanka. Re-built household waste systems through a Master Composter approach.
2005-2007: Developing a Model for Sustainable Water and Waste Management for rural areas in Bulgaria: Project Manager; solid waste technical assistance provider and trainer; task manager and responsible for capacity building on strategic planning; manager of subcontract with IRC.
2004-2007: Sustainable Development Agreements. Phase 2 project on sustainable management of WEEE (waste from electronic and electric equipment): providing technical, process, and strategic guidance to multi-stakeholder processes in parallel in the Netherlands and Costa Rica; facilitating exchange of technical and institutional information; supervising 5 project staff including two interns
2003—2007 Senior Consultant, Integrated Sustainable Waste Management and Recycling of WEEE. Twinning project between the Netherlands and Costa Rica.
2001-2005: UNIDO-Dar es Salaam Recycling Processing Centre designing and implementing this market and technical intervention in support of the MSE (micro and small enterprise) and CBO (community-based organisation) franchisees and recyclers.
2001-2004: Urban Waste Expertise Programme Deputy/Acting Manager, managing decentralised global programme with 30% turnover in the Netherlands, and 70% turnover with global partners;
2001-2003: KaR Municipal Capacity Building (with ERM-UK) research on and application of strategic planning techniques in cities in Central America, India, Africa.
1999-2007 Bulgaria and CEE portfolio, , recruiting and assembling local teams, registering a Bulgarian joint venture foundation, managing one PHARE, three EcoLinks projects, and one MATRS on solid waste management, micro-privatisation, recycling market strengthening, municipal waste planning and good governance, household self-provisioning, Master Composter, and the like.
1999-2001: Feasibility of Private Sector Participation in Waste Disposal and Franchising in Nairobi, UNEP-IETC funded consultancy to medium-sized private waste collector seeking to expand operations in Nairobi.
1979-1999: Employment, Freelance Contracts, Research
1998-2002
American University in Bulgaria. Blagoevgrad. Adjunct professor, Environmental Studies and Sustainable Development;
Coordinate environmental activities and decision-making processes, mentor students and the eco-club, develop and give courses and independent studies, develop and implement projects with Bulgarian municipalities
1998-1999
FulbrightScholar. Study of modernisation and privatisation of municipal public services in two countries in economic transition. Languages of work: Hungarian, Bulgarian and English.
1997-1998
Gender Fellow. 8 week training as gender specialist at University of Florida Gainesville, followed by 8-month placement at USAID in Honduras.
1992-1998
FreelanceSelf-employedConsultant, North America and Europe. Developed projects; negotiated with clients; managed contracts, employees and subcontractors. Languages of work: English, Spanish, Dutch, Finnish.
1997-98
Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID), Cambridge, Massachusetts. RegionalconsultantforUNEPSolidWasteSourceBook. Responsible for European information and technical analysis on waste management best practices. Languages of work: English, Dutch, French, German, Spanish.
1994-1997
WASTE, Gouda, The Netherlands. Freelance Researcher, Author, Editor
Completed freelance consulting and writing assignments in waste management, gender analysis; recycling; micro‑enterprises and public services; and international waste policy. Languages of work: Dutch, English, Spanish, French.
1992-1994
Centre for Energy Conservation and Environment Delft, The Netherlands. WasteManagement and Environmental Consultant. Local, regional and national government consultation in sustainable waste management, economics, and recycling. Project leader for preparatory phases of the Real Wealth Congress, a forum for local sustainable development and environmental economics. Languages of work: Dutch, English, French.
1984-1992
Recourse Systems, Inc. Concord, Massachusetts, USA. Founder,PresidentandCEO . Founded and managed woman-owned local government focused consulting micro‑enterprise. Completed more than 25 waste management, recycling, and public participation projects, ranging up to US $250,000 in size.
1983-1984
City of Newark New Jersey USA. RecyclingCo-ordinator. Planned, budgeted. implemented and managed recycling and composting projects as local government staff.
1982-1983
Recycling Enterprises Oxford, MA USA. GlassMarketingRepresentativeandCommunityLiaison. Purchased glass from local governments and NGOs; provided technical assistance in source separation of glass, paper, metals, and in financing of recycling programs.
1979-1982
Educational Planning Institute, REEP Project, Dutchess County, New York, USA. OperationsManager,SiteSupervisor,Marketingmanager. For Project REEP, a multi‑site NGO recycling operation. Operated and managed community recycling centre. Designed and implemented community contact strategy. Materials handled: glass; ONP (old newsprint); OCC (old corrugated containers); ferrous and non‑ferrous metals; re‑usables; tires.
