The individuals below represent the first e-Stewards Leadership Council which was established in 2010 and held its first meeting in February 2011. The Council was formed by a nomination and self-nomination process which resulted in a large pool of candidates. Members were then systematically chosen considering geography, company size, and the type of companies and organizations represented.
Members of the e-Stewards Leadership Council represent all e-Stewards stakeholders by providing recommendations to BAN in the areas of technical and business issues, policy expertise, marketing and at times and as appropriate, undertake promotional efforts and advocacy.The Leadership Council is an advisory body to BAN, responsible for advising and promoting the e-Stewards program. The Council is not responsible for the governance or fiduciary responsibilities of BAN.
The Council includes three subsidiary bodies: A Technical Committee, a Promotional Committee and a Membership Committee.
Members meet at least once per calendar year in a face-to-face meeting and by conference call three times a year and at other times as deemed necessary.
Any entity wishing to serve on the Leadership Council can formally communicate this to BAN at inform@ban.org, which will then communicate this to the Leadership Council Membership Committee.
2011 e-Stewards® Leadership Council
Recycler Representatives:
Joel Urano - President/CEO, Capstone Wireless
Joel is the founder and CEO of Capstone Wireless, a leading provider of e-waste management services focused on the cellular industry. Joel is an information technology executive who has worked in the cellular industry for over 10 years. Prior to founding Capstone Wireless, Joel worked at Software Spectrum where he created and ran their mobile services group in the North America and Europe. During his time at Software Spectrum, Joel grew the mobile services group to become one of the largest producing partners for our wireless carrier partners and consulted on wireless data projects for several Fortune 100 companies. Joel was in the Marine Corps Reserve for 8 years serving has his respective unit’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare Defense chief. Joel graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in Management Information Systems and represents e-recyclers on the Leadership Council.
“I am thrilled to be a part of the e-Stewards Leadership Council and look forward to working with our fellow e-Stewards members to make this program the most sought after standard of the electronics recycling industry.”
Mark Vander Kooy - Executive Vice President, Cloud Blue
Mark has over 20 years experience in the asset recovery and asset retirement services industry and currently leads the business development team at CloudBlue Technologies. He started his career in the remarketing division of a leading technology leasing firm before founding Asset Forwarding Corporation, a leading electronics recycler in Indianapolis in 2001. Mark serves as Vice President of the Indianapolis Recycling Coalition. He majored in Business and Political Science at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI and speaks regularly on data security, asset recovery and electronics recycling. Mark lives with his wife Vera, and their three children in Indianapolis. Marks hobbies include, watching his kids do about anything, sailing, and organic farming. He represents electronics recyclers on the Leadership Council.
“The Leadership Council gives all stakeholders an opportunity to provide insight and advice to insure the practicality, effectiveness and value of all the e-Stewards programs. I’m grateful to be a part of the process.”
Bob Akers - Deputy Director, Surplus Exchange
Bob has been a community activist in the Kansas City area of 20 years. He has taken on a number of causes; environmental, education, arts, urban sprawl and youth sports. After a 20 year corporate career, Bob left behind the suit and tie to join The Surplus Exchange. His first assignment at TSE was to launch their eWaste Program. The program doubled intake in under 5 years. More importantly, the program based its operations on responsible and sustainable e-recycling even before much of the industry began to shift to that direction. Bob is now the Deputy Director of The Surplus Exchange and represents electronics recyclers on the Leadership Council.
“Community and children are very important to me. I want to leave future generations with a safe healthy planet”
Mick Schum - President, WeRecycle!
Mick is the President and founder of WeRecycle! LLC, which he founded in January, 2003. Under his direction, WeRecycle! has built a reputation as an industry leader that emphasizes high standards for environmental stewardship and social responsibility.
He has been an expert panelist and speaker on a variety of industry topics, including responsible recycling, data security, and legislative programs. Mick has more than 20 years of experience in the environmental industry. Prior to WeRecycle!, he was an Environmental, Health, and Safety professional in the consulting and manufacturing fields. Mick graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a BS Degree in Environmental Engineering in 1991. He obtained his MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2001. Mick is also a licensed Professional Environmental Engineer in the State of Connecticut and is representing electronics recyclers on the Leadership Council.
“e-Stewards Certification is changing the world of electronics recycling with a strong, transparent standard and I am proud to support this critical effort.”
Enterprise Representatives:
Stephanie Rico - Vice President Environmental Affairs, Wells Fargo
Stephanie focuses on external engagement for Wells Fargo’s Environmental Affairs – responsibilities include communications, reporting, marketing and stakeholder engagement — and she oversees Wells Fargo’s greenhouse gas emissions accounting.
She’s been helping drive positive change, including supporting issues such as resource management, healthcare, education and the environment, for over 15 years. Prior to joining Wells Fargo she managed charitable giving initiatives for Mitsubishi Motors N.A., media relations for Harris Bank in Chicago, and day-to-day operations for particular California-based political campaigns.
Stephanie has a BA in Social Science, Interdisciplinary Studies from San Francisco State University and an MBA from DePaul University. She represents enterprises on the Leadership Council.
“The e-Stewards Enterprise program is simply about good risk management on three important fronts: environment, information security and reputation. It also simplifies our communications and reporting efforts by leaving no ambiguity about our intent, which is to ensure that none of our e-waste ends up in places where it does not belong, especially in the hands of children.”
Mike Moss - Director Environmental Affairs, Samsung
Mike is an environmental manager with Samsung and has been working on related issues for 10 years. In recent years, Mike worked within his company to develop the Samsung Recycling Direct (SRD) program into one of the industry’s leading e-waste recycling programs. The SRD program is built upon the principles of protection of people, environment and developing countries. Mike represents OEMs on the Leadership Council. He is a graduate in electrical engineering from Gonzaga University and carries an MBA.
“Samsung is committed to the principles of responsible recycling that include protection of workers, the environment and developing countries. The e-Stewards program acts as a third party validation that we are actually performing according to our high standards.”
Collector Representative:
Mo Azose - Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, PSC
Mo is Vice President of Environmental Health and Safety and Corporate Compliance at PSC. Mr. Azose has over 25 years of experience in the environmental field with a focus on hazardous waste management, contaminated site clean-up, and environmental liability management. PSC provides industrial, environmental, and transportations services to its customers across a national network of over 80 locations. It provides e-waste management through numerous Household Hazardous Waste contracts and for its many industrial and commercial clients and outsources the recycling to e-Stewards recyclers. Mo represents e-waste collectors on the Leadership Council. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Chemical Engineering.
“I am excited and honored to be working with the talented professionals on the Leadership Council. At PSC, Environmental Stewardship is one of our core values. Smart business decisions are made by evaluating the impact on the “triple bottom line”… “People – Profit – Planet”. Helping advance environmental sustainability initiatives is very rewarding.”
NGO Representative:
Kate Sinding - Senior Attorney, NRDC
Kate is a senior attorney and deputy director of the Natural Resource Defense Council’s (NRDC) New York urban program. NRDC is an early supporter of the e-Stewards program, recognizing it as a critical initiative to address the persistent problem of improper e-waste recycling. Kate’s work includes advancing recycling programs for used electronics and ensuring the proposed natural gas drilling in New York State is subject to the most stringent environmental and health protections. She also works on extending the producer responsibility model to packaging, as well as a variety of other land use and waste matters. Kate represents NGOs on the Leadership Council.
“The e-Stewards Initiative provides businesses and consumers with a first-of-its-kind certification process to identify the truly responsible electronics recyclers.”
Local Government Representatives:
Lisa Sepanski - Program Manager, King County, WA
Lisa has been with the King County, WA Solid Waste Division since 1989 and has worked on electronics recycling and product stewardship issues since 1996. In 2000, she started the Take it Back Network, a network of businesses and non-profit organizations that collect unwanted electronic products from the public for reuse or recycling. Lisa was involved in the development the WA electronic product recycling legislation that passed in 2006. The law, which requires electronics manufacturers to fund and implement a take-back program has resulted in the successful E-Cycle Washington program. Lisa is the co-chair of the Northwest Product Stewardship Council and a member of various subcommittees including: Electronics, Policy, Mercury-containing products, Pharmaceuticals, and Packaging. Prior to her employment with King County, Lisa worked for the City of Seattle on the creation of the multi-agency Local Hazardous Waste Management Program. Lisa has a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Health and a Masters in Public Administration and represents government agencies on the Leadership Council.
“King County is taking a leadership position by requiring that all of our agencies use e-Stewards recyclers to manage our unwanted electronic equipment. We hope that other cities and counties will around the country to do the same. “
Sego Jackson - Principal Planner, Snohomish County, WA
Sego is a Principal Planner with Snohomish County in Washington State. Sego has an extensive background in product stewardship and electronic product management. He represented local governments as one of 15 government negotiators in the National Electronic Product Stewardship Initiative and has been instrumental in developing local, state and national policies, pilots and programs related to electronics. He helped develop the local Take it Back Network for local governments and worked with national retailers on major electronics take-back pilot programs. Sego was instrumental in the drafting and passage of Washington State’s landmark producer responsibility bill for electronics (2006). He is a founding steering committee member of the Northwest Product Stewardship Council, chairs its Policy Subcommittee, and is a founding counselor of the U.S. Green Electronics Council. Sego is also a voting participant in the IEEE process to establish environmental standards for televisions and imaging devices and represents the government sector on the Leadership Council.
“For years local governments have been frustrated in their struggle to ensure responsible recycling of collected electronics. The e-Stewards programs provide local governments with a much-needed tool. I am grateful to be contributing to the continued development and success of the e-Stewards programs.”
Leadership Council
The individuals below represent the first e-Stewards Leadership Council which was established in 2010 and held its first meeting in February 2011. The Council was formed by a nomination and self-nomination process which resulted in a large pool of candidates. Members were then systematically chosen considering geography, company size, and the type of companies and organizations represented.
Members of the e-Stewards Leadership Council represent all e-Stewards stakeholders by providing recommendations to BAN in the areas of technical and business issues, policy expertise, marketing and at times and as appropriate, undertake promotional efforts and advocacy.The Leadership Council is an advisory body to BAN, responsible for advising and promoting the e-Stewards program. The Council is not responsible for the governance or fiduciary responsibilities of BAN.
The Council includes three subsidiary bodies: A Technical Committee, a Promotional Committee and a Membership Committee.
Members meet at least once per calendar year in a face-to-face meeting and by conference call three times a year and at other times as deemed necessary.
Any entity wishing to serve on the Leadership Council can formally communicate this to BAN at inform@ban.org, which will then communicate this to the Leadership Council Membership Committee.
2011 e-Stewards® Leadership Council
Recycler Representatives:
Joel Urano - President/CEO, Capstone Wireless
Joel is the founder and CEO of Capstone Wireless, a leading provider of e-waste management services focused on the cellular industry. Joel is an information technology executive who has worked in the cellular industry for over 10 years. Prior to founding Capstone Wireless, Joel worked at Software Spectrum where he created and ran their mobile services group in the North America and Europe. During his time at Software Spectrum, Joel grew the mobile services group to become one of the largest producing partners for our wireless carrier partners and consulted on wireless data projects for several Fortune 100 companies. Joel was in the Marine Corps Reserve for 8 years serving has his respective unit’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare Defense chief. Joel graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in Management Information Systems and represents e-recyclers on the Leadership Council.
“I am thrilled to be a part of the e-Stewards Leadership Council and look forward to working with our fellow e-Stewards members to make this program the most sought after standard of the electronics recycling industry.”
Mark Vander Kooy - Executive Vice President, Cloud Blue
Mark has over 20 years experience in the asset recovery and asset retirement services industry and currently leads the business development team at CloudBlue Technologies. He started his career in the remarketing division of a leading technology leasing firm before founding Asset Forwarding Corporation, a leading electronics recycler in Indianapolis in 2001. Mark serves as Vice President of the Indianapolis Recycling Coalition. He majored in Business and Political Science at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI and speaks regularly on data security, asset recovery and electronics recycling. Mark lives with his wife Vera, and their three children in Indianapolis. Marks hobbies include, watching his kids do about anything, sailing, and organic farming. He represents electronics recyclers on the Leadership Council.
“The Leadership Council gives all stakeholders an opportunity to provide insight and advice to insure the practicality, effectiveness and value of all the e-Stewards programs. I’m grateful to be a part of the process.”
Bob Akers - Deputy Director, Surplus Exchange
Bob has been a community activist in the Kansas City area of 20 years. He has taken on a number of causes; environmental, education, arts, urban sprawl and youth sports. After a 20 year corporate career, Bob left behind the suit and tie to join The Surplus Exchange. His first assignment at TSE was to launch their eWaste Program. The program doubled intake in under 5 years. More importantly, the program based its operations on responsible and sustainable e-recycling even before much of the industry began to shift to that direction. Bob is now the Deputy Director of The Surplus Exchange and represents electronics recyclers on the Leadership Council.
“Community and children are very important to me. I want to leave future generations with a safe healthy planet”
Mick Schum - President, WeRecycle!
Mick is the President and founder of WeRecycle! LLC, which he founded in January, 2003. Under his direction, WeRecycle! has built a reputation as an industry leader that emphasizes high standards for environmental stewardship and social responsibility.
He has been an expert panelist and speaker on a variety of industry topics, including responsible recycling, data security, and legislative programs. Mick has more than 20 years of experience in the environmental industry. Prior to WeRecycle!, he was an Environmental, Health, and Safety professional in the consulting and manufacturing fields. Mick graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a BS Degree in Environmental Engineering in 1991. He obtained his MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2001. Mick is also a licensed Professional Environmental Engineer in the State of Connecticut and is representing electronics recyclers on the Leadership Council.
“e-Stewards Certification is changing the world of electronics recycling with a strong, transparent standard and I am proud to support this critical effort.”
Enterprise Representatives:
Stephanie Rico - Vice President Environmental Affairs, Wells Fargo
Stephanie focuses on external engagement for Wells Fargo’s Environmental Affairs – responsibilities include communications, reporting, marketing and stakeholder engagement — and she oversees Wells Fargo’s greenhouse gas emissions accounting.
She’s been helping drive positive change, including supporting issues such as resource management, healthcare, education and the environment, for over 15 years. Prior to joining Wells Fargo she managed charitable giving initiatives for Mitsubishi Motors N.A., media relations for Harris Bank in Chicago, and day-to-day operations for particular California-based political campaigns.
Stephanie has a BA in Social Science, Interdisciplinary Studies from San Francisco State University and an MBA from DePaul University. She represents enterprises on the Leadership Council.
“The e-Stewards Enterprise program is simply about good risk management on three important fronts: environment, information security and reputation. It also simplifies our communications and reporting efforts by leaving no ambiguity about our intent, which is to ensure that none of our e-waste ends up in places where it does not belong, especially in the hands of children.”
Mike Moss - Director Environmental Affairs, Samsung
Mike is an environmental manager with Samsung and has been working on related issues for 10 years. In recent years, Mike worked within his company to develop the Samsung Recycling Direct (SRD) program into one of the industry’s leading e-waste recycling programs. The SRD program is built upon the principles of protection of people, environment and developing countries. Mike represents OEMs on the Leadership Council. He is a graduate in electrical engineering from Gonzaga University and carries an MBA.
“Samsung is committed to the principles of responsible recycling that include protection of workers, the environment and developing countries. The e-Stewards program acts as a third party validation that we are actually performing according to our high standards.”
Collector Representative:
Mo Azose - Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, PSC
Mo is Vice President of Environmental Health and Safety and Corporate Compliance at PSC. Mr. Azose has over 25 years of experience in the environmental field with a focus on hazardous waste management, contaminated site clean-up, and environmental liability management. PSC provides industrial, environmental, and transportations services to its customers across a national network of over 80 locations. It provides e-waste management through numerous Household Hazardous Waste contracts and for its many industrial and commercial clients and outsources the recycling to e-Stewards recyclers. Mo represents e-waste collectors on the Leadership Council. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Chemical Engineering.
“I am excited and honored to be working with the talented professionals on the Leadership Council. At PSC, Environmental Stewardship is one of our core values. Smart business decisions are made by evaluating the impact on the “triple bottom line”… “People – Profit – Planet”. Helping advance environmental sustainability initiatives is very rewarding.”
NGO Representative:
Kate Sinding - Senior Attorney, NRDC
Kate is a senior attorney and deputy director of the Natural Resource Defense Council’s (NRDC) New York urban program. NRDC is an early supporter of the e-Stewards program, recognizing it as a critical initiative to address the persistent problem of improper e-waste recycling. Kate’s work includes advancing recycling programs for used electronics and ensuring the proposed natural gas drilling in New York State is subject to the most stringent environmental and health protections. She also works on extending the producer responsibility model to packaging, as well as a variety of other land use and waste matters. Kate represents NGOs on the Leadership Council.
“The e-Stewards Initiative provides businesses and consumers with a first-of-its-kind certification process to identify the truly responsible electronics recyclers.”
Local Government Representatives:
Lisa Sepanski - Program Manager, King County, WA
Lisa has been with the King County, WA Solid Waste Division since 1989 and has worked on electronics recycling and product stewardship issues since 1996. In 2000, she started the Take it Back Network, a network of businesses and non-profit organizations that collect unwanted electronic products from the public for reuse or recycling. Lisa was involved in the development the WA electronic product recycling legislation that passed in 2006. The law, which requires electronics manufacturers to fund and implement a take-back program has resulted in the successful E-Cycle Washington program. Lisa is the co-chair of the Northwest Product Stewardship Council and a member of various subcommittees including: Electronics, Policy, Mercury-containing products, Pharmaceuticals, and Packaging. Prior to her employment with King County, Lisa worked for the City of Seattle on the creation of the multi-agency Local Hazardous Waste Management Program. Lisa has a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Health and a Masters in Public Administration and represents government agencies on the Leadership Council.
“King County is taking a leadership position by requiring that all of our agencies use e-Stewards recyclers to manage our unwanted electronic equipment. We hope that other cities and counties will around the country to do the same. “
Sego Jackson - Principal Planner, Snohomish County, WA
Sego is a Principal Planner with Snohomish County in Washington State. Sego has an extensive background in product stewardship and electronic product management. He represented local governments as one of 15 government negotiators in the National Electronic Product Stewardship Initiative and has been instrumental in developing local, state and national policies, pilots and programs related to electronics. He helped develop the local Take it Back Network for local governments and worked with national retailers on major electronics take-back pilot programs. Sego was instrumental in the drafting and passage of Washington State’s landmark producer responsibility bill for electronics (2006). He is a founding steering committee member of the Northwest Product Stewardship Council, chairs its Policy Subcommittee, and is a founding counselor of the U.S. Green Electronics Council. Sego is also a voting participant in the IEEE process to establish environmental standards for televisions and imaging devices and represents the government sector on the Leadership Council.
“For years local governments have been frustrated in their struggle to ensure responsible recycling of collected electronics. The e-Stewards programs provide local governments with a much-needed tool. I am grateful to be contributing to the continued development and success of the e-Stewards programs.”