Doug Whitehead will talk about the psychology used every day in Waste Management systems across North America. This includes everything from worker safety to influencing humans to not just recycle but recycle correctly! Nobody cares about waste until it's not managed.

Doug serves as the Solid Waste Director for Lee County, one of two fully integrated municipal solid waste operations in the eastern United States, having in-house waste-to-energy, single-stream recycling, full waste collection, composting, landfill, and construction/yard-waste recycling systems.  The system is consistently rated in the top five in recycling and sustainability in Florida, with the best–in–class return on investment for its citizens.  Doug directed the collection of over six million cubic yards of hurricane debris after Hurricane Ian, a $145 million project. Doug has served in the solid waste and recycling industry for twenty-seven years with Waste Management and Republic Services, where he managed landfills, waste collection, renewable energy, and recycling facilities across the eastern US and Puerto Rico. Doug is a United States Military Academy graduate who has served in Iraq, Germany, and the United States, including as a company commander in Baghdad and as an instructor at West Point.  Doug ended service as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve.  Doug is married to Meredith Whitehead, a former Army Intelligence officer. She is a Director of the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service. They have three adult children, living in Florida and Virginia.