Month: April 2024

Program: Olivia Kirby, Recology, “Where Does It Go?” July 25, 2024

Olivia Kirby is the Waste Zero Supervisor for Recology King County, a waste hauler in the greater Seattle region. She was recently promoted to the Supervisor position, where she now oversees a team of Specialists who support the twelve cities that Recology services with waste reduction and diversion goals.

Before her recent transition, she worked as a part of the Waste Zero team that she currently manages as the Seattle Commercial Specialist. Her work aimed to fulfill the company’s mission to become Waste-Zero by offering educational opportunities and outreach materials so businesses could reduce contamination, increase diversion, and gain confidence in their journey to greater sustainability. 

In 2023, she completed 28 new compost starts and thirteen recycle starts for businesses around Seattle, diverting thousands of tons of waste away from the landfill. As well, she delivered 75 presentations to Seattle businesses and other cities served, reaching a broad number of communities and people to explain the importance of the work and its impact. 

She graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in Enviromental Science, which has equipped her with a strong passion to help the Earth and the communities in which we live.

Program: Elisa Law, “The First World Flight: Seattle’s Best Kept Aviation Secret,” April 4, 2024

Join the University Sunrise Rotary Club for a program featuring Elisa Law speaking about The First World Flight.

The program will be presented on Zoom only on Thursday morning with the line opening at 7:00 a.m.  The formal meeting including the program runs from 7:30-8:30 a.m.  No registration is required, and the program is free.

Click here to join the meeting Thursday morning.  The Zoom line will open shortly after 7:00 a.m.

Whether you’re an aviation enthusiast, Seattle history buff, or simply intrigued by tales of human perseverance and innovation, this presentation promises an inspiring and educational experience that will leave you with a newfound appreciation of the golden age of flight and our local aviation heritage. This year commemorates the 100th anniversary of man’s first around the world flight, a race against nations that began and ended for America here at Sand Point Field (now Magnuson Park and NOAA). Our speaker will guide you through the daring exploits of these Army Air Service aviators who embarked on this 175-day journey, defying the limits of early 20th-century technology and pushing the boundaries of human endurance. Through a blend of vivid storytelling and captivating visuals, we will revisit the challenges and triumphs faced by those intrepid individuals who dared to dream of circumnavigating the globe by air.

Our speaker is Elisa Law (MA Museology, University of Washington) is a Seattle-born and raised museologist and public historian. Before she was brought on board as Executive Director and Centennial Coordinator at Friends of Magnuson Park, she built an impressive resume, traveling Indian Country filming documentaries with Project 562, running development projects and becoming an honorary chief on a remote Samoan Island in the Peace Corps and studying the emergence of Buddhist temple museums in Japan. In addition to her current work with Friends, she manages book projects for HistoryLink, a museum renovation for Vashon Heritage Museum and writes grants for the historic Tokeland Hotel. And she is also the mother of a 1-year old.

The connective thread of her background in cultural heritage, education, and project management is a passion for storytelling. Don’t miss her thrilling rendition of the 1924 First World Flight!