KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Keynote Speaker
Tuesday, February 3, 10:00 a.m.
Ballroom A1
Chris Dyer is a celebrated keynote speaker for the past 15 years, specializing in workplace culture as a driver of recruitment and retention. As a CEO, his leadership led his companies to be recognized as best workplaces and to feature on Inc Magazine’s fastest-growing companies list five times.
Chris’s expertise and strategies will help our industry attract and keep the best employees to manage current trends of shortages in front line manufacturing employees. His keynote will offer actionable, real-world advice for every level of your organization. Chris will guide leaders and operators by helping you to identify and maximize the “moments that matter,” turning everyday interactions into opportunities for high-impact team development. You’ll walk away with practical strategies for improving team motivation across your composting operations. Don’t miss this chance to gain a competitive edge by learning how to foster a high-performance culture that will sustain your success for years to come.
Closing Keynote Speaker
Wednesday, February 4, 3:45 p.m.
Ballroom A1
Zoe Heller was appointed Director of CalRecycle in May 2024, leading California’s move to a circular economy that cuts waste at the source and keeps organics and other materials in productive use. Since joining CalRecycle in 2017, she has played a central role in implementing California’s statewide organics recycling and food recovery program (SB 1383), first serving as Policy Director during regulation development before leading the Materials Management and Local Assistance Division to support local program rollout. Heller also served as CalRecycle’s first Deputy Director of the Division of Circular Economy to help advance infrastructure for large-scale composting.
Before CalRecycle, Heller spent more than a decade at the U.S. EPA’s Pacific Southwest Office managing zero waste and environmental justice programs after starting her career as a research and policy analyst at the Center for Neighborhood Technology in Chicago.
Heller holds a B.A. in environmental policy from Eckerd College and an M.P.A. from Roosevelt University. Her work reflects a lifelong commitment to collaboration, sustainability, and a waste-free future where composting strengthens soils, climate resilience, and communities.
