Staff
Staff listed in order in which they joined BK ROT.
VICTOR
Operations Manager
Victor was BK ROT’s first biker beginning in 2013. Hailing from Mexico, he learned his composting, farming and carpentry skills at Bushwick Campus Farm while in high school. He is a skilled carpenter (he makes our compost sifters and other as-needed farm and compost equipment) and is interested in ecological conservation and animal care as a long-term career path. Victor has trained with the US Composting Council. At BK ROT, Victor manages the site and equipment, leads daily compost operations, and trains new workers.
DEVON
Drop Off Manager
Devon joined BK ROT in 2019 as a Drop Off Manager after completing an internship at East New York Farms. He came through a recommendation from former BK ROT Membership Coordinator Iyeshima. Devon is from Guyana and loves introducing visitors to the ripe passion fruit growing at the Know Waste Lands community garden.
SHAQ
Operations Specialist
Shaq joined BK ROT in 2019 as the Operations Assistant after completing high school at Bushwick Campus Academy, a long-time partner of BK ROT in recruitment. Since joining BK ROT, Shaq has grown in leadership. He currently manages the final stages of BK ROT's compost, including sifting, managing storage, and compost distribution. Shaq also supports with programming, BK ROT workshops and the Youth Leaders program. Shaq is also from Guyana. Shaq is studying at CUNY and loves calculus.
NICK
Operations Assistant
Nick joined BK ROT in 2020 as the Operations Assistant. Born and raised in New York City, Nick has built up his experience composting and farming gin the City. Most recently, Nick farmed and composted at Harlem Grown. Previously, he composted with Earth Matters and farmed with Project Eats. Nick is one of the main Biker-Composter at BK ROT, hauling organic waste from our commercial and residential clients
ISAAC
Microhauler
Isaac joined BK ROT in fall 2020 as a microhauler and hails from Bushwick, Brooklyn. Isaac enjoys music of all years, biking, and skateboarding and can be found riding through the streets of Bushwick with his speaker.
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STACY
Microhauler and Drop Off Manager
Stacy joined BK ROT as a youth leader in 2021, and now leads community drop off hours in Bushwick at Aberdeen Street Community Garden and Good Life Garden, as well as microhauling in Bed-Stuy.
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ANGIE
Drop Off Manager
Angie joined BK ROT as a youth leader in 2021, and now leads community drop off hours in Bushwick at Aberdeen Street Community Garden and Good Life Garden.
NORA
Co-Director
Nora Tjossem has been composting in Brooklyn since 2015, when they joined Q Gardens in Flatbush as a weekend volunteer. After working for three years in the Education department at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), they joined Greenlight Bookstore as a bookseller and events host. Nora entered BK ROT as the Operations Coordinator in June 2021 before stepping into the role of Interim Co-Director. Nora holds a BA in English from Stanford University. When not at the gardens, they can be found voice acting, riding their bike, and greeting the neighborhood cats.
DIOR
Co-Director
Dior St. Hillaire is a Hip Hop MC and worker-owner at GreenFeen OrganiX. She supports the team with composting, customer acquisition, project management, coalition building and policy analysis. She is passionate about Environmental Justice in the South Bronx and globally, which brings her to BK Rot enthusiastically to add a unique approach to reimagining New York City's waste management system, while supporting the organization to influence local policy, build capacity for local organics processing, and employ creative marketing techniques. As the current chair of the Bronx SWAB, Dior hopes to help residents of New York City establish a more sustainable relationship with the materials management industry, with the hope of eliminating the idea of waste. It is through arts and activism that we can truly reimagine and engage circular systems that benefit the world and future generations to come.
ASH
Microhauler-Composter
Ash joined BK ROT as a microhauler in 2021, and has been hauling food scraps in Bed-Stuy and processing the material at Greene Acres Community Garden.
SHANNI
Operations Coordinator
Shanni joined BK ROT in 2022 as the operations coordinator, handling all commercial and residential accounts, communications, and microhauler routes, as well as general site operations.
KARINA
Social Media Specialist
Karina joined BK ROT as a youth leader in 2022, and stayed on to curate BK ROT's social media and continue her advocacy work.
Board of Directors
DAN
Board Treasurer
Dan is a founding member of Know Waste Lands Community Wildlife Garden in 2014, and has been volunteering with BK ROT since then. He helped move BK ROT into that space in 2015, has been working primarily with the systems and facilities needs of BK ROT. Dan is a scientific instrument maker at The Rockefeller University. He teaches scientists how to design and build the instruments they need to be successful in their research. He has also taught carpentry, pottery, blacksmithing, and physics. His current work is mostly in partnership with The Kavli Neural Systems Institute, researching fundamental and applied neuroscience. He is the third generation of his family to study physics and apply it to teaching others how to tackle problems in various fields. He believes that all people are born scientists, and that BK ROT’s science and outreach mission is a wonderful way to support people feeling comfortable in their knowledge.
KIM
Board Member
Kim joined the board in February 2021, after working with BK ROT to host youth leaders and offsite weekly food scrap processing through the truly exceptional year of 2020. In her day job she leads the NYC Urban Food Systems team at NYS Dept. of Agriculture & Markets, where she and her team fund community-led food sovereignty work across the 5 Boroughs and support small scale food businesses, farms and gardens feeding under-resourced communities across the State.
A community gardener for over a decade, Kim completed the DSNY Master Composter certificate in 2019 and has since coordinated the compost operation at Greene Acres in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Kim has an MPA from Cornell University and teaches at Farm School NYC. She is working tirelessly to root out systemic racism from our food system and believes in the power of the people who steward our soils as we fight climate change and build a more just and equitable world.
GENEA
Board Member
Genea is a Brooklyn native, whose Afro-Caribbean ancestry has shaped their deep commitment to environmental and social justice. Genea is an urban planner who has worked with youth and communities of color towards food justice, climate resiliency, and health equity through community organizing, participatory planning, and popular education. Genea is passionate about the intersections of climate justice, land sovereignty, and cooperative economics. Genea holds a Bachelor's in Environmental Studies and Biology from Wellesley College and a Master's in City Planning from MIT.
GUY
Board Secretary
Guy came to BK ROT in Oct 2014 as a PhD Candidate, Science and Technology Studies Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute focusing on composting in NYC for his dissertation. During his research he clocked many volunteer hours with us turning compost and becoming an authentic part of the team every Sunday. In 2016 he was active on our Advisory Board and represented BK ROT at USCC Conference in LA in 2017. Guy is currently a sustainability lecturer in the department of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. He teaches classes in environmental sociology, science and technology studies, and gender studies. His dissertation, "Building Utopia with Tomorrow's Trash: Formal and Informal Infrastructures for Organics Recycling in New York City," examined community and municipal compost in New York City. He is a host on the Hudson Mohawk Magazine, a news and talk show hosted by the Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, NY.
PRIYA
Board Chair
Priya Mulgaonkar works at the intersection of policy, planning, and organizing to advocate for environmental and climate justice solutions that center frontline communities. She is currently a Senior Policy and Field Manager at the Green New Deal Network, where she supports policy research and capacity building for state and federal climate advocacy campaigns. She previously worked at Hester Street, managing projects for community-partnered planning, design, research & communications, as well as at the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance, where she led research, advocacy, & organizing for multiple campaigns for climate justice & community resiliency. She earned a Masters in Urban Planning from Hunter College and a B.A. from NYU. She has served on the Board of BK Rot since 2018.