The聽Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), together with the National Stewardship Action Council聽(NSAC) and the聽Stewardship Action Foundation (SAF), announced that NSAC and SAF will convene their annual joint Board Retreat at SWANA鈥檚 RCon鈩� 2025. The retreat will highlight a decade of impact and expanding national leadership. RCon, held November 12-15, in Columbus, Ohio, is SWANA鈥檚 new premier conference experience, bringing together thousands of resource management professionals to advance innovation, safety, and sustainability.
鈥淪WANA is thrilled to welcome the Boards of NSAC and SAF to the first-ever RCon,鈥� said Amy Lestition Burke, MA, FASAE, CAE, CEO of SWANA. 鈥淥ur collaboration continues to grow as illustrated by our 2025 webinar series on household hazardous waste, a joint product-safety sign-on statement, and joint awareness efforts including national press to prevent fires. Together, we are protecting our workers and communities and strengthening responsible materials management.鈥�
Heidi聽Sanborn,聽Executive Director/CEO of NSAC and SAF has been named co-chair of SWANA鈥檚 Sustainable Materials Management Legislative and Advocacy Committee, serving alongside Danny Gallagher, Project Manager with the Hillsborough County, Florida Solid Waste Management Department. Additionally, she will present at RCon alongside Tristan Steichen of the National聽Lubricant Container Recycling Coalition聽and NSAC Advisor Kent Holm to present 鈥淓PR for HHW and Batteries: Reducing Risk, Increasing Funding, and Effectiveness.鈥�
鈥淗osting our Board Retreat at聽RCon聽reflects the growing collaboration between聽SWANA, NSAC, and SAF to advance a circular economy that protects workers, safeguards public health, and unlocks the economic and environmental value of waste as a resource,鈥� said聽Maia Corbitt, Vice President of NSAC鈥檚 Board聽and recipient of SWANA鈥檚 2025 Distinguished Individual Achievement Award.
鈥淭he Stewardship Action Foundation brings together community and state leaders from across the country who share a commitment to safer, more sustainable communities,鈥� said聽Eric Zetz, President of SAF鈥檚 Board of Directors. 鈥淩Con聽is the ideal setting for SAF and NSAC to strengthen partnerships with peers across the waste and recycling industry.鈥�
This September, Vita Quinn of SCS Engineers in Florida and Gary Cohen of Tennessee Waste to Jobs in Tennessee were聽elected聽to聽NSAC鈥檚 Board of Directors, underscoring the organizations鈥� expanding national impact. That reach continues to grow: this summer,聽Heath Nettles聽of North Carolina was appointed Deputy Director of NSAC and SAF, demonstrating how the nonprofits are expanding their nationwide presence and impact.
鈥淲e鈥檙e honored to welcome Vita Quinn and Gary Cohen to the NSAC Board,鈥� said Sanborn. 鈥淭hey bring decades of valuable expertise from the Southeastern US, building on board and staff leadership that now spans ten states. Their election, and adding advisors like Kent Holm from Omaha, reflects the growing momentum of our work and the increasing number of partners joining our national network.鈥�
2025 Board Leadership
National Stewardship Action Council 鈥� Board of Directors
- Maia Corbitt 鈥� Texans for Clean Water, Texas
- Constance Hornig 鈥� Constance R. Hornig, Esq. Law Offices, California (rotating off in 2025)
- Patty Garbarino 鈥� Marin Sanitary Service, California
- Patti Toews 鈥� California
- Gary Cohen 鈥� Tennessee Waste聽To聽Jobs, Tennessee
- Rubi (Rajbanshi) Soares 鈥斅燭errascope聽Consulting, California
- David聽Stitzhal聽鈥� Full Circle Environmental, Washington
- Vita Quinn 鈥� SCS Engineers, Florida
Stewardship Action Foundation 鈥� Board of Directors
- Eric聽Zetz聽鈥斅燰entura Regional Sanitation District, California
- Sonya Betker 鈥� SCS Engineers, Minnesota
- Ted Horton 鈥� Texas聽(rotating off in 2025)
- Shirlene Sitton 鈥斅燦ew Mexico Environment Department, New Mexico
- Chiman Lee 鈥� Corporate聽eWaste聽Solutions, California
- Gloria Skeet 鈥斅燘aahaali聽Chichiltah聽Regional Solid Waste & Collection Center (Navajo Nation), New Mexico
- Mya Keyzers 鈥� Washington Department of Ecology, Washington
- Amanda Cotton 鈥� Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Minnesota
- Courtney Scott 鈥� Zero Waste Sonoma, California
- Erin Rowland 鈥� City of Long Beach, California
“Hosting our annual joint Board Retreat at聽RCon聽reflects the momentum behind聽our decade of impactful聽work,鈥� said Sanborn. 鈥淲ith nearly 120 member organizations and a national network of 2,700 individuals聽and growing fast, NSAC and SAF are uniting communities, states, companies, and nonprofits to advance solutions聽and policies聽that protect workers, create jobs, safeguard public health, and build markets that聽advance achievement of聽a circular economy nationwide聽to benefit all Americans.鈥�