The NC Composting Council:
The NCCC Board of Directors is made up of passionate volunteers. Please take a moment to learn about them and reach out if you have any questions. To learn more about the NCCC Board Member Roles and Responsibilities, please view this NCCC Board of Directors Roles & Responsibilities document.
Leadership
Executives: Muriel Williman | Robert Satterfield | Kate Sullivan
Executive Director: Kat Polk – Email
Committees
Access & Advisory: Chair Dr. Janel Ohletz
Outreach & Education: Chair Erika Fye
Marketing & Communications: Chair Kate Sullivan
Compost Operations Training Course: Chair Kate Sullivan, Co-Chairs Muriel Williman | Gary Gittere
Coastal Composting: Chair Matt Collogan, Co Chair Marie Davis
Muriel Williman, Board President Email | LinkedIn Muriel Williman has been a Solid Waste professional for 25 years, focusing on waste reduction and material management through recycling and composting practices and markets. She worked for 18 years in Orange County NC, leading the state with 64% waste reduction through comprehensive waste reduction programs and communications, especially composting: indoors and out, for events, in businesses, local government, and commercial collections. She has influenced local and regional programs, practices and policy to incorporate food waste reduction and composting strategies. She is now Senior Assistant Solid Waste Manager for the City of Durham, NC where she oversees the daily operation of the City’s Solid Waste Disposal and Recycling Center which holds a regional Transfer Station, Convenience Center, and Type 1 composting facility.
Kate Sullivan, Board Treasurer, Communications & Marketing Committee Chair
Email
Kate has been in the composting industry for 8 years. She has held roles in business development, where she was responsible for finding and securing new feedstocks, and compost sales, where she managed customer accounts and promoted compost use. In her current role at McGill, Kate is responsible for siting and developing new compost facilities. Kate is on the NC Composting Council’s Board of Directors and serves on the US Composting Council’s Chapter Advisory Committee. She recently earned her MBA from UNC Wilmington and lives in Clayton with her husband and two rescue hounds.
Robert Satterfield, Board Secretary
Email
Since starting with Atlas Organics in November of 2018 Robert Satterfield has moved from being a compost facility operator to a successful salesperson covering markets in both NC and FL. As an early member of the Durham team, Robert established a foundation of manufacturing knowledge including heavy equipment safety and maintenance, feedstock mixtures, temperature monitoring, and finished product processing. In 2019 Robert transferred this skillset into compost sales as he continued to develop brand awareness and usage across agriculture, professional landscape and home gardening sectors in the Triangle region. In addition to serving NC customers he also leads sales in the FL market working to support Atlas Organics’ Indian River County Facility in Vero Beach, FL.
Christine Wittmeier, Board Member
Email | LinkedIn
Christine Wittmeier works for the North Carolina Department of Quality’s state recycling office in the Division of Environmental Assistance and Customer Service (DEACS). Christine provides technical assistance, resources and grant funding to private businesses, local governments and non-profits for food rescue and compost infrastructure projects. Prior to joining the state, Christine was the environmental educator at a non-profit and then the Environmental Programs Supervisor at Henderson County Solid Waste. While at Henderson County, Christine implemented six school composting programs, backyard compost bin sale and secured funding for a small Type 3 compost facility at the Transfer Station. She has been a volunteer with the NCCC Education and Outreach Committee and is excited to become more involved with the Board. Christine enjoys hiking in WNC, live music, and gardening with native plants to build pollinator habitat.
Erika Fye, Board Member, Education & Outreach Committee Chair
Email | LinkedIn
Erika Fye works at the Southeast branch of Energy Foundation where she assists in grant-making and strategic communications to nonprofits focused on climate change and environmental justice work. She graduated from North Carolina State University in 2019 with a B.S. in Environmental Technology and Management and minors in Environmental Sciences and Environmental Toxicology. She has experience with both backyard and industrial composting from her personal efforts to reduce waste and involvement in EcoVillage while at NC State. During her time on the Composting Council, Erika has focused on educating individuals on how to correctly participate in zero-waste events and best practices for composting at home.
Matt Collogan, Board Member, Coastal Composting Committee Chair
Matt is a 2007 UNCW Environmental Studies graduate who became a certified Environmental Educator while working with NHC Parks & Gardens at Airlie Gardens, where he worked for nine years. Matt owns a small mixed produce farm in Hightsville where he actively composts and uses cover crops. As one of the founding members of the Coastal Composting Council in Wilmington and a graduate of the 2014 Compost Operations Training Course, Matt is a proponent of diverting organic materials away from the landfill and back tou the community for use in sustianable gardening. After stints at various organic produce farms and working in the nascent industrial hemp industry, Matt was hired in 2021 as the Consumer Horticulture agent for the NC Cooperative Extension Service based at the New Hanover County Arboretum. Also in 2021, Matt was elected to Supervisor of the New Hanover Soil and Water Conservation District. Matt joined the NCCC board in 2023.
We thank all the past members of the multiple iterations of this nonprofit organization for their commitments, ideas, and actions to make this a better state for composting! Founding Members of the North Carolina Composting Council Frank Franciosi, Rhonda Sherman, and Craig Coker. Past Board Members of the North Carolina Composting Council Gary Bilbro, Amy Brooks, Jim Davis, Frank Franciosi, Analis Fulghum, Gary Gittere, Bianca Howard, John Janes, Jim Lanier, Noah Marsh, Jorge Montezuma PE, Dr. Janel Louise Ohletz, Lyndell Pate, Kathryn (Kat) Pohlman, Glen Roberts, Shane Roberts, Brian Rosa, Margaret Ross, Mike Rowland, Adam Schwartz, Rhonda Sherman, Eric Wallace, Ed Wright Past Members of the Carolina Recycling Association – NC Organics Recycling Council (Prior to 2007) Frank Franciosi, Rhonda Sherman, Ron Alexander, Cindy Salter, and Tom Glendinning.
