WSRA Board & Staff
Meet the dedicated professionals guiding WSRA’s mission to advance recycling and sustainability in Washington
Executive Officers
Michelle Mulrony, President
Washington State Department of Ecology
Michelle Mulrony is the Central Region Grants and Planning Specialist with the Washington Department of Ecology in the Solid Waste Division. Her duties include supporting local governments with technical support and guidance with their Solid & Hazardous Waste Management Plans as well as managing the Solid Waste Grants they receive ensuring local governments get the funding support they need. Previous to this position Michelle was the Recycling Coordinator in the Solid Waste Department with Klickitat County, Washington for 4 years after moving to Washington from Colorado. In Colorado Michelle worked in the Outdoor Recreation field while obtaining her Bachelor of Science in Outdoor Recreation Management from Northern Arizona University. Her passion for the outdoors led her to the field of Solid Waste and she enjoys outreach and education especially within waste reduction and recycling. Outside of work, Michelle enjoys spending time with her husband and kids on their hobby farm, kayaking on the local rivers, fishing, and camping.
Rick Vahl, Past President & Assistant Secretary
LeMay, Inc./Waste Connections
Rick Vahl has worked alongside great teams at Waste Connections since 2012. His experience started in Alaska but then opportunities in California took him back to the “lower 48”. With a variety of Hauling and Transfer Station experience he was able to join the management team of LeMay, Pierce County Refuse in 2019. Working as a team to provide the safest and most customer focused services possible is what drives him to continuously improve. While balancing his career, he spends time with his lovely wife Melody and their 2 daughters Emerald (8) and Eden (5). Born and raised in Portland, OR makes the PNW feel like home where one of their family mottos comes to life – “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear”.
Karen Hultgren, Vice President
Pierce County Planning & Public Works
Karen is a Solid Waste Recycling Analyst for Pierce County Solid Waste. She has worked in the recycling industry since 2009 on residential, municipal and school-based recycling, waste reduction and composting programs in both Colorado and Washington and has worked for Pierce County since 2016. Karen holds a Bachelor of Arts from American University and an M.B.A. from the University of Colorado Boulder – Leeds School of Business. She lives in Tacoma with her husband, daughter and two rescue dogs. Originally from New Mexico, Karen is continuously amazed by the verdancy of the PNW and is often found outside on adventures with her family enjoying the spectacular combination of mountains and water. In the past few years Karen has also developed a bit of an obsession with spotting orcas in the waters around Tacoma.
Ming-Ming Tung, Secretary
CareMakers Collective
Ming-Ming Tung-Edelman, PharmD, is a social entrepreneur and circular-economy leader who founded two Seattle nonprofits: Refugee Artisan Initiative and CareMakers Collective. Goal is to advance economic independence and leadership for refugee and immigrant women.
At RAI, she built a nationally recognized social enterprise that produced more than 160,000 upcycled goods, diverted over 100,000 pounds of materials from landfills, and generated more than $1.5 million in artisan income. Her sustainability leadership earned her the 2024 WSRA Recycler of the year Award, the 2025 Puget Sound Business Journal Environmental & Sustainability Award, and the 2023 King County Green Globe Award for Waste Prevention. She also champions textile producer responsibility, equitable recycling policy, and green-job pathways, helping build a more inclusive circular economy.
Joel Kohlstedt, Treasurer
Waste Management
Joel is a Partnership Manager of Waste Reduction and Innovation for WM. He manages recycling programs and studies with King, Snohomish, and Spokane counties in Washington State focused on increasing recycling and decreasing contamination through innovative programs and projects. He is passionate about conducting research and creating data-driven campaigns, producing out-of-the-box strategies to engage residents, and optimizing program performance. Joel has worked in the recycling industry for over ten years, supporting cities throughout the Puget Sound and Oregon in increasing recycling through business and multifamily outreach, community presentations, and local recycling campaigns. Joel is a graduate of the University of Washington with a major in Environmental Studies. He combines his passion for education and sustainability by creating educational programming that will ultimately help to reduce our environmental impact. Joel enjoys the outdoors, mountain biking, snowboarding, and camping.
Kristen Hancock, Asst. Secretary
Lautenbach Recycling
Kristen Hancock is the Materials Manager at Lautenbach Recycling, where she oversees material inventory and end market relationships across multiple facilities in Northwest Washington. Grounded in transparency and quality, she connects the flow of materials from arrival to destination, partnering across departments to keep everything aligned.
Prior to joining Lautenbach, Kristen spent 18 years in the transportation industry, developing a strong foundation in inventory management and customer service. Her approach continues to be shaped through close collaboration with company ownership, drawing on more than 30 years of industry leadership.
Kristen has led initiatives in software implementation, end market development, and quality and compliance programs. She values open communication, collaboration, and forward movement – always looking for the next improvement or a step ahead of yesterday.
A lifelong Skagit Valley resident, Kristen enjoys entertaining, trying new recipes, and summer days on the Yakima River with her husband and son. She’s always up for a little adventure – especially if it involves family and friends and ends with good food and just enough sarcasm to keep things interesting.
Board Members
Interested in joining our Board of Directors? Submit a nomination below
Erin Hislop
Resource Synergy
Erin has been a “woman of waste” in Washington State for over two decades and has tackled solid waste work in the private sector for 15 years and in the public sector for 7 years at first a local prominent City and then a large influential County. Her expertise is in tackling solid waste in partnership with communities through outreach to schools, businesses, multifamily properties, and alongside resident champions. She has also navigated teams on new policy development that will transform our State’s waste systems. She approaches all her work with equity and inclusion in the forefront and has worked to advance equity policies in vendor procurement, community compensation, and budgeting. In her free time, Erin loves being outdoors with her husband and dog, reading, and overland camping in remote areas.
Haley Haines
Hannah Vinyard
Hannah is a Waste Reduction and Recycling Program Analyst in the Kitsap County Solid Waste Division. She develops and implements waste reduction and recycling campaigns and programs. One of her favorite programs she developed is the free community repair events. In addition, she leads communications and outreach strategies for the Division.
She has worked in the solid waste and recycling industry since 2021. Her first introduction into the industry was working at a transfer station in Santa Barbara while attending the University of California, Santa Barbara. Once graduating with her Bachelors in Environmental Studies and Geography, she moved to Washington to work as a solid waste compliance and enforcement officer for a local health jurisdiction. Realizing her true passion is outreach and education, she shifted gears and worked for the Department of Ecology as a community engagement and environmental educational specialist in the Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction program. Missing the opportunity to work directly with a local community, Hannah joined the Kitsap County Solid Waste Division in 2024, where she continues to help residents
Outside of work, Hannah enjoys practicing yoga, reading fantasy novels, watching archeology documentaries, and trying out new recipes.
Colleen Minion
Tukwila, WA
Colleen is a Solid Waste Analyst with the City of Tukwila and has had over 20 years of experience within the field of solid waste. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in both Environmental Science and Geography from the University of Mary Washington and a Master of Public Administration degree from The Evergreen State College.
Her years working for Kitsap County and Thurston County focused on recycling, waste reduction, and composting education and outreach to residents and youth. Her years with the City of Federal Way and City of Tukwila have provided her with experience working directly with haulers (WM and Recology), managing grant projects, and organizing events focused on recycling collection, repair, food waste reduction, green cleaning, and much more. She is a current member of King County’s Metropolitan Solid Waste Advisory Committee and looks forward to partnering with other municipalities, haulers, and other organizations focused on the future of recycling and waste reduction in Washington.
Alissa Campbell
Recology
As Government & Community Relations Manager, Alissa collaborates with Recology King County’s franchise cities to advance regional waste diversion through effective outreach, municipal engagement, and community partnerships. In addition to the WSRA, she also serves on the board of the Washington Organic Recycling Council (WORC), and in 2025 was appointed to Washington State’s Recycling Reform Act Advisory Council to represent Material Recovery Facilities. She previously served on Seattle Public Utilities’ Solid Waste Advisory Committee and currently serves on King County’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee.
Alissa joined Recology King County’s Waste Zero team in 2021 and was previously the Waste Zero Manager, leading strategies for waste reduction and material recovery across residential, commercial, and multi-family properties. She brings more than a decade of professional and community experience in the waste industry, ranging back to campus diversion work while earning her B.A. at Gonzaga University, and participating in litter cleanups while growing up in her hometown of Renton, Washington.
Sammy Salgado
Sammy is a manager of the education and outreach team at Waste Connections (WC) of Washington, located in Vancouver, WA. With over a decade of experience in sustainability education, he now specializes in solid waste. He earned his Master of Science in Climate Science and Solutions from Northern Arizona University. He’s worked for nonprofits such as Take Back the Tap and the Grand Canyon Trust. He has also worked in government with the City of Flagstaff’s Sustainability Section.
Working on various projects related to climate action planning, grassroots campaigning against single use plastics, bikeshare programing, and youth climate education. These projects have led him to be passionate about creating meaningful recycling and organics education in Clark County. At WC, Sammy started as a cart tagger, inspecting, collecting data, and educating customers on contamination. He then moved on to organizing educational tabling events within the community and with local government partners. He now oversees all educational projects at WC spreading recycling, organics, and yard debris messaging over all sectors, including residential, commercial, multifamily, and local schools.
Sammy’s work with WC has given him insight into how recycling, organics, waste reduction, and sustainable practices directly impact public spaces, community health, and long-term environmental resilience. In his free time, he manages a kickball league that currently boasts over 300 players. He not only loves to play kickball, but he tries to play pickleball and sand volleyball too!
Staff
Mike Oechsner, MBA, CAE, CMP
Executive Director
Join our Board of Directors
Passionate about sustainability and leadership? Join us in shaping the future of recycling in Washington.
WSRA is seeking candidates to join our Board of Directors—Nominate yourself or someone else to help guide our mission and drive meaningful change in Washington’s recycling industry. As a board member, you will help set the direction for the association’s work, foster collaboration, and make a lasting impact. Board candidates must be WSRA members in good standing and commit 4-5 hours per month to board activities.
Potential nominees are encouraged to reach out to Mike Oechsner at recycle@wsra.net or connect with any of our current board members for questions or more information.