Maggie Gainer, Zero Waste Humboldt Consultant
Zero Waste Humboldt’s (ZWH) Board of Directors is celebrating Earth Day 2022 with the recent hire of Layla Richardson as the organization’s Zero Waste Projects Manager/Administrative Coordinator. After a rigorous recruitment and selection process, ZWH Board President, Kelly Fortner, said the organization was pleased when Layla accepted the position. “Layla’s combination of commitment to the ZWH mission and her experience in nonprofit management are a great fit for ZWH,” she said.
Richardson will work with the ZWH Board to implement and fund its new strategic plan goals; a team of local and out-of-area Zero Waste (ZW) specialists will continue to work with Layla on a variety of Humboldt waste reduction projects. Among the team of ZW specialists is retired Board member and co-founder, Maggie Gainer. Gainer will continue her association with ZWH, as consultant to the Board and Zero Waste trainer for staff and community workshops. “Earlier this year, I worked with Layla on an SB 1383 food business outreach project for the City of Arcata. She impressed the team with how she organized our project work, and quickly learned the regulations of California food waste reduction laws,” Gainer said.
Richardson moved to Humboldt from San Jose, California to attend Humboldt State in 2017. She earned her B.A. degree in Child Development and, three years ago, settled into Fortuna with her husband, James, and family. Richardson said she is excited to get started on ZWH’s new grant-funded project to help Humboldt County schools bounce back from COVID with Zero Waste plans and full compliance with California’s SB1383 food waste reduction law.
Zero Waste Humboldt is a grassroots, nonprofit environmental organization that works closely with Humboldt businesses. It is dedicated to reducing the waste generated in Humboldt County with public education, training/technical assistance, and Zero Waste public policy through independent research on economic, social, and political issues affecting sustainable materials management. ZWH’s grassroots organizing and leadership development approach emphasizes the hierarchy of waste, with prevention as the first goal, reuse as the second, and recycling and composting as the third.