After reaching over 500 people through nine webinars which delved into diverse issues of waste in Philadelphia, the Philly Talks Trash team, a collaboration between Philly Neighborhood Networks Environment Action committee and the Plastic Reduction Taskforce of Weavers Way Co-op, is trying something new, a quarterly newsletter full of information concerning plastics and waste. We need to drastically cut our dependence on single use plastics and Philadelphians can play an important role in achieving that end. Our newsletters highlight the politics of waste from the local to the international level, list meetings and events happening locally, and provide zero-waste resources and ideas to cut our individual waste footprints, and feature guest writers for in-depth discussions.
Meet the Philly Talks Trash Team
Alisa Shargorodsky
Director
Alisa Shargorodsky
Director
Alisa Shargorodsky is a passionate visionary whose career is focused on designing smarter cities and preventing waste, making it disappear like magic—except with more community action, and less smoke. She’s worked with everyone from festival organizers to school districts and grocery stores, teaching them how to minimize waste without losing their cool. As the founder and Director of ECHO Systems, Alisa is dedicated to growing the local circular economy with ECHO’s partners who share the vision for a cleaner Philadelphia.
Hilary Baum
Hilary Baum, a cofounder of the Philly Talks Trash Quarterly and board member of Weavers Way, has participated in building healthy regional food systems as an advocate, educator and food producer. A leader of public awareness initiatives like Chefs for the Marcellus, she is committed to an economy based on sustainable business practices such as waste reduction.
Hilary Zankel
Hilary Zankel has an MS in urban design and social science from the London School of Economics and has been a dedicated advocate for Philly’s environment since 2019. She played a key role in lobbying for the plastic bag ban and curating a quarterly waste newsletter. When she’s not making the city greener, Hilary serves as the Grants Manager on the ECHO Systems board—and her baked goods could easily win a contest, proving her talents go beyond sustainability.
Karen Melton
Since retiring from a career in healthcare IT, Karen has focused on preserving the natural world and protecting its plants and animals from the climate crisis and associated pollution. She volunteers with a number of groups including Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Sierra Club, Weavers Way Plastic Reduction Task Force, Master Gardeners and Philadelphia Metro Wildlife Center.
Elaine Nguyen
Elaine has been supporting the Philly Talks Trash digital media, webinars, and newsletter production since 2021. She currently manages the design and scheduling of Mailchimp campaigns, tracks subscriber engagement, and manages webpages. She has a wealth of knowledge in creating digital campaigns such as Eventbrite event pages, Zoom meetings, websites, videos, livestreams, and learning new apps on the fly. She is passionate about sustainability, holistic wellness, and emerging technologies.