​Liz Chapman began her journey into waste and recycling systems when waste behaviors became the focus of her dissertation in 2008. She went from being a volunteer with the Colorado Division of Wildlife to currently serving as the Executive Director of Recycle Colorado. Her journey with compost can be traced back to her childhood when she and her grandparents turned scraps into soil for gardening in Arkansas. While she was working for the City of Aspen, she partnered with Pitkin County to double the amount of organic material diverted to compost over 2 years. After many years of working with disparate stakeholders, Dr. Chapman has honed her listening skills which allows her to help find the commonalities between perspectives to reach solutions for the challenges facing the Colorado compost industry. Recycle Colorado is a non-profit made up of members throughout the state, all of whom are approaching waste diversion, reduction, and recovery from different angles (regulatory, profit, environmental protection, social equity, etc.). She is honored that the Colorado Compost Council provides Recycle Colorado members with both the experience of our statewide network and the expertise of the nation by being a state chapter of the US Composting Council.  Both organizations share the mission to capture the value contained in the organic material discarded by Coloradans.