Melissa Gorrie
Director/Co-Founder
Melissa is an environmental lawyer who has worked with all levels of government to push for policy and law reform. She has volunteered with numerous social justice and environmental organizations over the last decade, which has provided her with a wealth of experience in non-profit governance. She has also been involved in various environmental campaigns. She co-founded Waste Free Edmonton as a way to counter the frustration and sadness she feels in seeing the vast amount of waste produced in her community. Melissa is extremely excited to work with citizens, government, and businesses to reduce the amount of waste produced in Edmonton!
Sean Stepchuk
Director/Co-Founder
Sean is a Co-founder and Director of Waste Free Edmonton. Sean is a lawyer, and real estate agent & investor. He is passionate about tackling unnecessary sources of waste and helping build the waste reduction community in Edmonton. Outside of work, he enjoys travelling with his family and learning about different cultures. He spends a lot of time involved with outdoor activities, including hiking, running, kayaking, biking, skiing and scuba diving. Sean also likes to relax, spending evenings at home with his wife, son, and cat, Floppers.
Emma Wales
Director
Emma is so happy to be a part of the wonderful Waste Free Edmonton team! Outside of WFE, she owns and operates ArtVentures— a local art education company with a core focus on sustainability. She loves working with and empowering youth, and hopes to inspire the next generation to move away from the disposable culture they have inherited. Through Waste Free Edmonton initiatives, Emma hopes to educate and inspire others to develop a more meaningful connection to their environment, and a more intentional relationship with their “stuff.”
Shawn Gray
Public Outreach Manager
Shawn is a rambunctious local activist, having spent most of his adult life working in local agricultural industries. He has a passion for gardening, composting and waste reduction. Driven by the deep seated passion for making the world a better place. Finding a home within Waste Free Edmonton’s volunteers is a perfect fit to meet like minded people. His suggestion for a troubled heart is to go hug a tree! Really give a good squeeze!
Lisa Kercher
Content Creator
As a lifelong learner, and settler on Treaty 6 territory, Lisa is interested in linking individual waste reduction actions to larger systems of environmental justice. Most of her personal work involves connecting with folks who don’t know where to start and giving them the tools and encouragement to start where they are. She is excited to volunteer with Waste Free YEG to help build a community and amplify BIPOC voices at the forefront of this fight.
Jenelle Gartner
Graphic Designer
In researching a potential business idea Jenelle was lead down a path that exposed her to the waste management industry. She had already been curious about consumption and the environmental effects waste has on our planet, especially after having three young daughters. It’s hard not to be concerned about what their future will look like if we don’t start taking care of our planet. In her curiosity of learning and exploring she came across WFE. She wanted to get involved in an organization outside of her industry (events and graphic design) to start learning and sharing about waste and the reduction of it. She’s looking forward to connecting with a community of like-minded individuals working towards a common cause.
Kate Spencer
Resident Repair Guru
Kate is the founder of Edmonton Repairathon, a local initiative with a mission to give clothing a new (repaired) life and keep it out of the waste stream. Kate has hosted numerous free repair events in the Edmonton area over the last six years, where volunteers help repair clothing. Kate loves to fix things and learn about fixing things. She has proudly been an Edmonton Master Composter Recycler since 2007, which has allowed her to share her expertise about waste reduction through composting and recycling. She’s a former conservation officer and has worked with environmental legislation at both the provincial and federal levels. Kate also loves animals and the outdoors with a keen interest in native plants.
Mary Glasper
Textile and Fashion Expert
Mary was born and raised in Edmonton, and is pursuing a PhD in Textile Science with the University of Leeds. Since 2011, Mary has worked across Canada’s textile supply chain in manufacturing, testing and research, and at a large apparel brand. With degrees in both Biology and Textiles, she is particularly keen on understanding how fibres/fabrics/chemistries impact the environment, with a focus on reducing impact through new material and manufacturing technologies. She’s excited to share her experiences and work together to tackle fashion and textile waste in Edmonton!
Lauren Degenstein
Textile and Fashion Expert
Lauren recently completed a Master of Science in Clothing and Textiles from the University of Alberta. Her research interests include sustainable behaviour related to clothing practices and addressing the environmental impacts of the fashion industry through circularity and systems change. She is thrilled to be part of the WFE team to work towards textile waste reduction in Edmonton.
