John Skinner

Q1. What is your title and company/entity?
Executive Director and CEO of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA)

Q2. What is your role in the daily business of your company/entity?
SWANA is a not-for-profit professional association with the mission of promoting environmentally sound and economically sound management of solid waste in North America. I am responsible for the overall management of the programs of the association, including training and education, applied research, conferences and symposia, equipment exhibitions, on-line education, regulatory and legislative advocacy, membership development, marketing and programs supporting our 46 Chapters and 7 Technical Divisions.

Q3. What is the main challenge you face in your business/entity?
Delivering high quality, relevant information and programs to our 8,000 members at an affordable price.

Q4. How has this changed in recent years, if at all?
There has been a significant shift from conferences and classroom training and education to on-line delivery of material. This has been accompanied by a significant increase in on-line networking and information sharing.

Q5. What is your objective for your work over the next two years?
To stay a t the cutting edge of developments in the field and to be the “go-to” , real time source of solid waste information and education in North America.

Q6. Are you coming to Florence and what are your expectations from the Congress?
Yes I will be at the ISWA Congress in Florence in 2012. There is so much to be learned from solid waste professionals from other parts of the world. We will be looking for new ideas, concepts, technologies and management approaches that we can bring back and apply in North America. I have attended many ISWA Congresses over the past and have never been disappointed. It has always been worth my while.