Board of Directors
Toward Zero Waste is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in North Carolina focused on helping individuals, families and communities move toward zero waste by minimizing waste of all kinds, one step at a time.
Kathleen Liebowitz joined the Toward Zero Waste team as it became a non-profit in January 2020 after volunteering for numerous organizations in the Triangle and working as the Volunteer Coordinator for the Step Up organization. She established the volunteer program with Toward Zero Waste as the first Volunteer Director for the organization by developing the Volunteer Handbook and the onboarding process. At the same time, she shared the role of Raleigh Community Director with Dawn Comfort. Both of these roles were a challenge to evolve due to the COVID shutdown. In spite of this challenge and with the help of the Toward Zero Waste team, Kathleen was able to expand the Toward Zero Waste volunteer base by 30 plus volunteers placing them in roles that best suited their interest and skills. With Kathleen’s help, the Raleigh community program also was able to advance during that time to include a quarterly litter sweep, and a compost drop off at North Hills Midtown Farmers’ Market.
In February of 2023, Kathleen stepped into the role of Executive Director where she plans to work with the North Carolina General Assembly to pass eco conscious legislation, as well as collaborate with other local non-profits and the Toward Zero Waste team to work together to continue Toward Zero Waste’s mission of promote waste conscious living in North Carolina.
In her spare time, she enjoys Pilates, reading, and spending time with her husband, two teenage children and her Wheaten Terrier, Dempsey.
Patty works at NC State University’s Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering Extension program. Patty turned a passion for the environment into her organization called Greenish Neighbor and has partnered with Toward Zero Waste since 2016 to help others take realistic steps in their journey to reduce waste. She enjoys sharing helpful information about how to be kinder to the planet and helps connect eco-friendly businesses and organizations with environmentally conscientious consumers through the NC Green Business Directory. She lives in Cary with her husband and has two sons in college.
Greg is a freelance graphic designer, specializing in providing affordable design services to nonprofits and small businesses. His passion lies in helping organizations create visual branding that reflects their identity and purpose. He grew up in Raleigh, NC, attended college at Appalachian State University, and currently lives in Cary, NC with his wife and two children.
Greg began volunteering with Toward Zero Waste way back in 2016, when Dargan Gilmore and Leigh Williams enlisted his help with creating a logo and website. Through his involvement with TZW, he has gained a deeper understanding of waste and its environmental impact and is constantly amazed at the kind of change a small, but dedicated and passionate group can achieve. With his background as a business owner and previous involvement on nonprofit boards, he is thrilled to bring his wealth of experience to Toward Zero Waste, and considers it a privilege to serve on the Board of such an incredible nonprofit.
Leigh Williams lives in Cary, NC with her husband, two teenage daughters and a Basenji named Millie. Leigh received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Clemson University in1996 and enjoyed several years exploring the western United States as a travel nurse. She later moved with her husband to Europe where they spent 6 years as expats in Switzerland, Italy and England.
Leigh started moving “toward zero waste” in September of 2015 after reading Bea Johnson’s book Zero Waste Home. Bea’s single jar of trash a year for a family of four didn’t seem possible for her own family, but Leigh knew she could do better and was inspired to try.
Wanting to share the journey, Leigh teamed up with Dargan Gilmore after meeting her on an international zero waste Facebook group. Together, they formed Toward Zero Waste, with a desire to educate and inspire others to move toward a zero waste lifestyle.
On January 1, 2019, she started her own version of a trash challenge to see how long it would take her family to fill up their 95 gallon curbside bin. They pulled their bin to the curb that year at the end of November!
Shriya is a sophomore at UNC Chapel Hill majoring in Environmental Science and Public Policy. She first started working at Toward Zero Waste for her Girl Scout Gold Award, where she made the Toward Zero Waste Kids Page. Since then she has helped with multiple projects including the Teens Talk Webinars and a youth grant. Shriya is passionate about helping the environment and is interested in pursuing a career in clean energy or environmental policy. Shriya is thrilled to be working with TZW as she believes the organization is making a positive impact on the environment and is proud to help in any way she can.
Samantha Carson has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Campbell University and a Master of Science in Translation from New York University. She has held various roles in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors and currently works at GitHub. Although she has always enjoyed being outdoors, it wasn’t until she read Braiding Sweetgrass by Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer and Burnout by Dr. Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski that she began to consider how individuals can impact climate change by caring for their own little parts of the world. She stumbled on Toward Zero Waste while searching for ways to care for hers and is thrilled to join the work.
