Jan 4 - Local Government Lobbyist Yvonne Hunter Bids Adieu to Waste

Long time League of Cities lobbyist and waste management policy expert Yvonne Hunter has announced that she is stepping out of the world of waste in order to focus her considerable talents and lobbying skills on efforts to expand health care coverage for kids. Yvonne has been hired as the Program Director for Communities for Healthy Kids (CHK) at the Institute for Local Government. CHK is an exciting new program funded by a $1.6 million, three year grant from the WellPoint Foundation. The purpose of CHK is to work with local agencies to identify and enroll kids who are eligible for no and low cost health insurance. Yvonne has been the primary advocate for local governments on solid waste and recycling issues for nearly two decades. She has been instrumental in the development and enactment of much of California's waste reduction and recycling policy framework.

Yvonne has been a tremendous ally to CAW and the environment on recycling funding and market development issues, and on the rare occasions over the past 18 years when our interests have not aligned, she has been a thoughtful and reasonable adversary. Her expertise and positive demeanor will be greatly missed by those of us that toil in the garbage wars. We congratulate Yvonne on this new challenge and wish her the best.