We are the Reuse Alliance

Our mission is to prevent resources from becoming waste by advocating for and supporting reuse practices that recirculate materials in our communities. Take a look at what we’ve accomplished over the years.

LEARN MORE
Woman leaning against door frame of large building

Vision

We envision a society that values raw materials and the energy and skill required to create our things, and an economy focused on reuse, where products are kept in circulation as long as possible through resale, repair, refurbishment, refill, remanufacture, rental, and upcycling, with recycling and composting as the final steps in a regenerative circular system.

Our Team

  • Image of woman with long red hair and bright smile with black blazer with a plain white background

    Celia Furber

    BOARD MEMBER

  • Women with closed mouth smile wearing red top with white flowers with grey walled background

    Dawna Mirante

    BOARD MEMBER

  • Woman with glasses with closed mouth smile in grey top with plain grey walls as background

    Emily Robinson

    TEXTILE COORDINATOR

  • Head shot of Jeremy Hogan

    Jeremy Hogan

    TREASURER

  • Woman with dark curly hair and bright smile with black and white striped top and colorful framed posters on wall in background

    Joanne Wang

    OUTREACH MANAGER

  • A light blue background with no visible objects or details.

    Liz Bortolotto

    BOARD MEMBER

  • Image of a woman with short brown hair in a navy blue collared shirt in front of shelves with folded colorful fabric.

    Phoebe Schenker

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

  • A plain light blue background.

    Nicole Tai

    CHAIR OF THE BOARD

  • Headshot of Sloane Pagal

    Sloane Pagal

    BOARD MEMBER

  • Image of woman with long red curly hair and silver glasses in a mauve collared shirt in front of shelves and wall hangings of textile projects and supplies

    Veronika Waylonis

    REUSE HUB MANAGER

  • Headshot of Steffen Kuehr

    Steffen Kuehr

    SECRETARY

  • Image of woman with short blonde hair and black turtle neck sweater with black glasses in front of posters

    Dawn Haagstad

    OPERATIONS & PROGRAMS

  • Image of woman with medium length blond hair with bright smile in front of grey wall with bright posters and bookshelf.

    Cambria Taylor

    DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR

Join Our Team!

We are always looking for passionate people to join our team. See below for current open positions.

Or find out more about volunteering HERE.

GENERAL REPAIR COORDINATOR

Our History

Reuse Alliance was born in New York City in 2001 out of a need to network and support each other as Reuse Practitioners engaged daily in the dance to find markets and users for material that our society discards. As an organization, we evolved from a local network in New York City to a national non-profit in 2005, organizing conferences and local chapters around the County. We were ahead of our time.

Since 2005, we have been increasing the visibility of reuse. We developed the Master Reuser Program, ReuseConex, the Bay Area Deconstruction Workgroup (BADWG), and spawned 11 State and Regional chapters that now independently serve their respective communities. Throughout our history, we have promoted reuse and its social, economic, and environmental benefits through advocacy, education, research, support, and collaboration that strengthens the reuse community. Read more of what we’ve done below.

  • We won the California Resource Recovery Association Pavitra Crimmel Reuse Award for our work on the Bay Area Deconstruction Workgroup.

  • We supported our local Sonoma Community and Region:

    • Co-hosted 2 fixit clinics in Sonoma County

    • Hosted a Reuse Roundtable for Sonoma County

    • Fiscally sponsored a local social service group that serves low-income home care workers and farmworkers, their families, and the families that they serve

    • Recirculated lumber, building materials, food, and textiles into our local community through our partners

    • Organized 2 CalGreen subcommittee meetings to develop reuse language for the California Green Building Code

  • In 2023 we:

    • Led a Deconstruction, Reuse, and C&D Workgroup for changes to CalGreen with complete recommendations due by August 2023

    • Led the Build Reuse Language Workgroup to develop definitions for deconstruction and reuse-related terminology, as well as develop policy-related positions for specific terms.

    • Brought on a new Executive Director to help rebuild the organization.

    • Began publishing Reuse News monthly to share stories, opportunities, and positive reuse news.

    • Increased the frequency and scope of the Reuse + Repair Fair and Reuse Roundtable programs.

    • Helped draft and pass the Sonoma County Construction Demolition & Deconstruction (CD&D) model ordinance and began working with ZWS to ensure broad adoption and training.

    • Written numerous letters of support and comments on national reuse legislation, funding, and definitions.

    • Hosted nine Repair Fairs, serving 920+ attendees, repairing 519 things, keeping 4,290 lbs out of the landfill and avoiding 38,729 kg CO2e.

    • Hosted 90 attendees at six Reuse Roundtables on various topics, including launching a new virtual Creative Reuse Center Roundtable.

    • Helped reconvene the Bay Area Deconstruction Workgroup (BADWG)

    • Published 12 issues of Reuse News.

    • Gave a dozen presentations and interviews on the benefits of reuse and tabled at a dozen events.

    • Helped run the first ever Reuse Bazaar with Recology and the City of Santa Rosa, helping to rehome 15,000 pounds of material within the community.

    • Launched the first annual Reuse Awareness Campaign reaching over 14,000 people with a positive message about the benefits of reuse.

And this is just the beginning. For more information on our plans for the future, read our Strategic Report and learn more about our Vision.

Board Advisors & Past Board Members

Elizabeth Sanchez: Student Services Coordinator at Pathways Charter School in Rohnert Park, CA

Jamie Facciola: Jamie is an award-winning entrepreneur, social change leader, and journalist focused on furniture reuse based in Oakland, CA. 

Kyle Wiens: CEO of iFixit, the free repair manual.

Harriet Taub: Executive Director of Materials for the Arts, creative reuse centers in N.Y.C.

Patty Breslin: Patty is Executive Director at San Leandro 2050, with expertise in reuse business and data consulting based in San Leandro, CA.

Stefanie Feldman: Strategic Account Manager with Waste Management.

MaryEllen Etienne: Director Emeritus