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I am the Executive Director for TerraCycle Foundation. We prevent, remove, and recycle ocean plastics through a variety of programs, including daily cleanup activities, workshops, educational outreach and recycling partnerships. I currently focus on projects in Thailand.
Originally from Vancouver, Canada, I have an entrepreneurial background. I have launched several startups in the service, retail, advertising, and tech industries.
I am great at helping people evaluate their vision and develop a practical action plan or steps to start working on. I won't do the work for them, but I will guide and mentor where I have experience, and introduce them to or teach them to find mentors in other areas outside my expertise.
I also excel at brainstorming solutions to challenging problems. I prefer receiving questions by text/email, which I can respond to in my downtime. Questions or problems should be laid out clearly with a succinct preamble, inspired by a clear goal in mind. If needed, I can then offer an online meeting if I feel that it will be more effective.
I can help with start-up challenges and business model evaluation. I am particularly good at solving operational problems like launching projects quickly, or turning failing projects around. I can share best practices on hiring, program development, operations setup and management. I can also guide users on marketing communications, website ranking, and fundraising.
While I don't provide funding, I can coach motivated individuals and help guide them to avoid common distractions and pitfalls based on my experiences.
My passion for the ocean has always led me to projects related to ocean appreciation and conservation. Growing up in Vancouver allowed me to develop an appreciation for beautiful forests and clean waterways. This eventually led me to be a diver, aquarist, and for some time, even a coral farm owner.
Unfortunately as time passed by, and I traveled around the world, I saw how plastics and pollution were damaging rivers and oceans everywhere I went. This led to me apply my business management skills to projects focused on sustainability. When I was invited to set up TerraCycle Foundation in Thailand and deal with the massive plastic pollution problem, it was a perfect fit.
I set up all of our operations and programs at the TerraCycle Foundation. Our teams collect, sort and recycle waste from Bangkok's canals daily. We also run a highly successful Canal Cleanup CSR event activity, which thousands of children and adults have participated in. Additionally, we have a Green School education program as well as other programs to help change behaviors, reduce waste, and increase recycling.
Funding is always a major challenge as collecting and recycling waste from waterways is not profitable. So, we have secured grants, developed sponsorships, upcycled products, and provided CSR events, workshops, consulting, and donorships to support our projects.
I am most proud of the fact that we have been successfully reducing waste in Bangkok's canals, and that we've reached and impacted thousands of households along the canals by improving their environment.
I'm also proud that we've educated thousands of schoolchildren to implement green school programs in their schools and communities, and that we have been a catalyst for many people and organizations to implement and expand their own sustainable initiatives.