MEET THE TEAM
Compost Manufacturing
Alliance Leadership Team
Susan Thoman
Susan has over thirty years as a solutions strategist in the environmental and sustainability field, and served for 12 years on the Cedar Grove Composting leadership team in the Seattle area. Susan’s collaborative and business centered philosophy links compost manufacturers, product development teams, end users and municipalities together in effective engagement models that minimize contamination in feed stocks while expanding the diversion and capacity for viable compost feed stocks eligible for organics recycling.
Janet Thoman
Janet joined CMA as Compliance Director in 2019. After 14 years in private law practice, Janet joined CMA to combine her passion for civil justice and her commitment to real-world solutions to environmental challenges. She received her law degree from the University of Washington School of Law in 2006 and has been an active volunteer and organizer for many social and environmental causes. She is a member of the Washington State Bar Association and the National Lawyers Guild.
Kelvin Okamoto PhD
Kelvin is President of his own consulting firm, Green Bottom Line, that focuses on sustainable materials and packaging development, commercialization, testing and certification. He is also founder and CEO of Gen3Bio, a startup company focused on producing biobased chemicals and subsequent bioplastics from microalgae. For ASTM, Kelvin is the chair of the ASTM D20.96 subcommittee that deals with biodegradation and biobased standards for plastics and is Vice-Chair of Products for D20 Plastics, which oversees other subcommittees include D20.95 Plastics Recycling. Kelvin is also on the USDA Biopreferred Program Technical Advisory Council and is on the Board of Directors of the Indiana Recycling Coalition.
Alex Thomas
A Wisconsin native, Alex completed his undergraduate degrees in Biology and Waste Resources before working in Waste Management and Planning in Eastern Washington for the last three years. Most recently, Alex has become a Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point under the Soils and Waste Resources department. There, on top of his CMA work, he is researching the effects composting can have on infectious diseases like Chronic Wasting Disease and E. Coli. Alex is happy to have been a part of the CMA team this past year and is looking forward to continuing to move forward with the mission of effective compostables.
Kari Rolnick
Kari Rolnick is a Compliance Supervisor for CMA. She has a BS in Geological Sciences from the College of Charleston. Over the past 15 years, she has worked in a variety of environmental and scientific fields. She began her career as a laboratory technician for the WA State Department of Ecology, in their general chemistry department. She then transitioned to field sample preparation for the lab’s organic chemistry department. After working for Ecology, she began work for TechLaw, Inc. as their lead inorganic chemist/consultant. There, she performed various inorganic chemistry analyses as well as assisted metals and organics sections of the lab. After working for this environmental consulting company, Kari took a position as a Health Physicist for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. There, she monitored radiation exposure of workers, reported dose, maintained procedures, and assisted with program audits. Kari has lived in Washington for 15 years. She enjoys portrait photography, exercise (chasing three children), and camping & hiking all around our state.
Diana Lloyd-Jones
As CMA’s Client Services Coordinator, Diana combines her passion for sustainability with an unparalleled enthusiasm for collaboration. Before CMA, she ran the sustainability department for Sodexo’s food service operations at Gonzaga University, where she implemented the company’s national sustainability goals at the local and regional level. Her rigorous background in Corporate Social Responsibility has inspired her employment or other local, regional, and national businesses including Resource Synergy and Red Bull. With a drive to build sustainable societies and a deep passion for food, her long-term goal is to reinvent the standard food system to be healthy for the individual, the industry, and the environment.
