Speakers and Presenters

Kathy Carver

Kathy was ExtraFood’s first employee, originally serving as Operations Manager, later moving into the role of Director of Food Partnerships and finally as Program Expansion Manager to grow ExtraFood’s programming into Sonoma County. ExtraFood was founded in 2013 and is a nonprofit whose mission is to prevent food waste and fight hunger in our communities. It operates in 3 counties: Marin, Sonoma, and San Francisco.

​Kathy has always been committed to healthy eating, cooking, fitness, nutrition, and overall wellness. She was a nurse for 10 years, a master gardener for 14 years and co-founded the Outdoor Education Center at Marin Primary and Middle School, a state-of-the-art multi-disciplinary outdoor education center and school garden program. Later she founded the nonprofit, Marin School Garden Network, to support the development of school gardens programs in Marin. She continues to spread awareness about food waste through education, advocacy, and community engagement.

Johnny Klein

​Johnny Klein was half of our “Recycling Improv” team at the first Waste Warriors session. He is a writer and energy healer. His plays have been produced by Theater for the New City, Dixon Place, The Flea and Bowery Poetry Club in New York City; Sacred Fools and The Coop in Los Angeles; and by Printer’s Devil, Freehold and On The Boards in Seattle, among others. His short films have screened at Barbes in Brooklyn, NY and The Echo Park Film Center in LA. Roger Corman optioned his neo-noir screenplay Mother of Pearl. Johnny is the Richard Hugo House “Power of Place” writing award winner for 1998 for his prose poem The Pinata, published in The Seattle Times. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and 3 cats.

Alex Mitchell

Alex is a Chartered Waste Manager (CIWM) and International Waste Manager (ISWA) with experience working across the EU, UK, Middle East, USA, China, and beyond. Alex specialises in designing and implementing practical, sustainable waste solutions, whether it’s shaping national strategies, leading feasibility studies, writing technical standards, or guiding infrastructure procurement. His work spans municipal, industrial, hazardous, and bio-waste, always tailored to local cultural and regulatory contexts.

​Alex has led work on source segregation guidelines in Saudi Arabia and Ras Al Khaimah, circular economy masterplans for NEOM and MiSK City, and he has directed core workstreams for a European Commission initiative supporting the Circular Economy Act, tackling policy and technical challenges related to landfilling, bottom ash recovery, bio-waste, and recycling infrastructure across the EU.

Kimberly Seigel

Kimberly bridges the gap between various practices and the innovative research happening across Perkins&Will’s global design studios. She also leads research efforts looking at the intersection of embodied carbon and health of building materials. She has spent nearly two decades working on the built environment’s most pressing sustainability challenges. Always a part of interdisciplinary teams, she derives joy from connecting the dots – between people, data and ideas. She holds a Master of Environmental Management degree from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and a B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Callie Shiang

Callie (she/her) is an educator with the SF Environment Department. She has experience in zero waste, climate resilience, wildlife conservation, and enjoys working with youth to inspire empathy for nature. She previously served as a California Climate Action Corps fellow and feels a deep commitment to public service. Her current obsession is bringing a reusable cup and straw for boba!