SUSTAINABLE KLAMATH - Key Persons
Alissa Oliverson received her Master Recycler certification from Rogue Disposal & Recycling in the fall of 2019 and began working with Sustainable Klamath in the spring of 2020. She focuses on research, education, and activism relating to plastic pollution, waste management, recycling, and consumption. Alissa writes SWAC's Trash Talk column that appears in the Herald & News, and she was instrumental in designing the new Sustainable Klamath logo and website. She is currently learning how to compost at home, and in her spare time Alissa enjoys writing and performing poetry that often contains the themes of her environmental research.
A founder of Sustainable Klamath, Dwight Long has been a waste reduction activist since 1968. As a managing partner of Sunflower Recycling in Portland, Dwight played a key role in the group's evolution after their creation of the world's first curbside recycling program in 1972. He organized the effort to create a recycling program in San Juan County, New Mexico in 1990, resulting in the dedication of a new recycling facility two years later, and after moving to Klamath Falls, Dwight helped to create the Library Tax District. At the time of the 1999 vote, he chaired the PAC and Library Advisory Board.
Isabel Rodriguez was born and raised in Klamath Falls and she is very proud of this community. She joined Sustainable Klamath in 2017 after participating in a neighborhood clean-up and realizing there is much to be done in the Basin regarding recycling and sustainability. In addition to serving as Vice Chair for Sustainable Klamath, Isabel also serves as President of the Mills Neighborhood Association - a group of property/business owners and tenants working to provide information and assistance to improve the neighborhood. Isabel believes it is up to each one of us to do our part to make our community a safe, healthy, and sustainable place to live, and she is excited to see the bright future of the Klamath Basin.
Michael Fitzgerald has been a student and proponent of sustainable living practices since the 1960's. After moving to the Klamath Basin in 1981, he became a member of Sustainable Klamath and after many years of service he became a member of the Board. Michael has held his position as Chair of the Klamath Tool Library for three years, in addition to acting as the Circulation Manager since the Tool Library's opening on July 1, 2017.
Sarah Silverman has been a dedicated proponent of recycling and sustainability for decades, having lived in progressive communities in the San Francisco Bay area and along the California coast. She has participated in social and environmental justice initiatives such as Aftershock, a coalition of experts assisting displaced business owners after the 1997 Loma Prieta earthquake, which she helped launch and lead. After a 27-year career in the wine industry, which taught her valuable lessons on sustainability, soil and plant management, packaging, distribution and more, Sarah and her husband moved to Klamath Falls where she puts those lessons to good use as Chair of Sustainable Klamath and enjoys all the beauty the Basin has to offer.