Compost and Compassion: A Solution to the Complex Crises of Social and Environmental Injustice
Where do food waste and environmental justice intersect? At KC Can!
KC Can is an innovative enterprise committed to improving the social and environmental landscapes of Kansas City. Our mission is to advance a systematic infrastructure and method for organics management that can be applied and utilized across commercial and residential sectors. Our mission includes a commitment to environmental justice and facilitating equity for all members of our community through education, training, and equal access to environmental services and resources.
Learn about KC Can’s daily operations that divert commercial and residential food waste from the landfill to be composted; how landfilled food waste threatens our climate; what its impacts are on disadvantaged populations; and how our training program is equipping those with barriers to employment opportunities for living-wage jobs, mobility and leadership in the environmental industry.
Speakers: Kristan Chamberlain, Heather Nevarez and Adison Banks
Kristan Chamberlain is the Executive Director of KC Can. Her vision for an environmental and social enterprise began in 2016 when she met Joe Colaizzi, Executive Director of Shelter KC. Together, they sought to create a viable venture that would simultaneously add value to the Kansas City community and create living-wage jobs for those transitioning out of difficult circumstances. Kristan’s professional experience in strategic planning and marketing, coupled with a team of highly qualified and passionate professionals, has led to KC Can’s current success.
Heather Nevarez is the Director of Operations for KC Can. Her professional focus has been on communication strategies and social justice. Prior to joining the KC Can team, she practiced immigration law, advocating for clients in court and before Citizenship and Immigration Services. Heather has collaborated with executive teams in both for-profit and non-profit organizations to improve internal processes and enhance service delivery. She joined KC Can because of the organization’s commitment to social and environmental justice for all in our local community.
Adison Banks is the director of KC Can’s Green Core Training program, providing environmental literacy and work readiness training to people experiencing homelessness or other significant barriers to employment. Adison is a licensed attorney who focused on natural resource law before transitioning into the environmental non-profit world. Adison believes everyone has a responsibility to actively care for others and the environment.
