Rich Flammer
Principal
Rich began working in the composting industry more than three decades ago, managing municipal leaf composting facilities for a Rockland County, New York-based company. Beginning as a site technician, taking windrow temperature readings and throwing lime on leachate and anaerobic leaves, he advanced to project manager and had a dozen sites under his management in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
It was this hands-on experience that formed the basis of his composting expertise, and led to him being transferred to the Midwest, and then San Diego, California, to manage high-volume compost facilities and conduct remediation work on sites with operational, capacity and odor issues.
Working on and managing composting facilities led to his consulting business and formation of Hidden Resources, which has expanded into a highly skilled and knowledgeable team of professional technicians with experience in multidisciplinary resource conservation and management, project development, education, vermicomposting, engineering, marketing, data analysis, source reduction, decentralized/community-scale composting, and sustainable landscaping and farming.
A specialist in public relations and education, Rich does frequent outreach work, writes instructional manuals, promotional materials, editorial pieces, and gives lectures and workshops on a regular basis. He has designed three permanent home composting exhibits, appeared in two instructional videos, and written numerous guides, including a Master Composter’s manual, toxic-free gardening booklet, Healthy Foods, Healthy Soils toolkit, and food handling and donation primers.
An active supporter of Zero Waste, he is a founding board member of Zero Waste San Diego. He is also a founding board member of COOL2012 (a national initiative to divert all Compostable Organic Out of Landfills by 2012) and a member of the ACP (Association of Compost Producers), the California State Chapter of the US Composting Council. Rich focuses much of his work on source reduction and composting food residuals as well as policy and direct programs designed to facilitate the symbiotic relationship between organic resource management and agriculture.
When he's not working, which isn't often, Rich enjoys sailing, playing pinball, reading, writing, cooking, biking, gardening and brewing beer.
Tyla Montgomery Soylu, PE
Project Engineer
Tyla is an environmental engineer who is experienced in providing program management and technical support for major, large-scale infrastructure projects, with a focus on sustainability. She is licensed civil engineer in both California and Nevada.
When not engineering, Tyla focuses on increasing community sustainability through policy development and projects that incorporate the highest and best use of natural resources into green building, water conservation, low-impact development, and sustainable agricultural practices.
She successfully organized stakeholders, advocated for, and achieved amendments that opened up opportunities for small scale, decentralized composting through both CalRecycle statewide composting facility regulations as well as City of San Diego’s community garden ordinance.
A volunteer for Engineers without Borders, Tyla has worked on infrastructure development projects in India, and dedicates much of her time to local non-profits furthering community-scale composting and sustainable food systems.
She enjoys gardening, weight lifting, hiking and cooking in her free time.
Rhonda Sherman
Consultant/Vermicomposting Specialist
Rhonda is a world-renowned vermicomposting expert who has given more than 1,000 presentations on the subject and written more than 65 articles extolling the virtues of worms, resource management and sustainability. Listen to her thoughts on composting on Paula Poundstone’s latest podcast.
She has recently completed a book on large-scale vermicomposting, the first of its kind. An extension specialist in the Department of Horticultural Science at NC State University, she is also a consultant and vermicomposting advisor on the Hidden Resources team.
Rhonda has conducted workshops on composting and vermicomposting in Guyana, the Dominican Republic, Argentina, and throughout the United States. She also organizes the world’s first and only annual conference on large‐scale commercial vermicomposting, with attendees coming in from South and Central America, Europe, Africa, Australia, Asia, the Caribbean, India, Israel, South Pacific, and throughout the world, including lots of participants from the US, Canada and Mexico.
Rhonda developed and manages the two‐acre Compost Learning Lab (CL2) at NC State, which features 26 types of composting and vermicomposting bins and areas for hands‐on training activities.
Rhonda co-edited the only scientific book on vermicomposting: Vermiculture Technology: Earthworms, Organic Wastes, & Environmental Management, and has recently published her own: The Worm Farmer's Handbook: Mid- to Large-Scale Vermicomposting for Farms, Businesses, Municipalities, Schools, and Institutions.
In her free time, Rhonda enjoys serving as an Extension Master Gardener Volunteer, and loves to travel, hike, work out, and read.
Wayne Williams, Ph.D.
Plant Pathologist/International Development Specialist
Wayne has more than 40 years of experience in management of sustainable agriculture and environmental science and research projects, including international development in sixteen countries in Central Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.
He has developed biodiversity conservation programs in numerous locations and ecosystems, including the tropics, subtropics, and temperate regions, through field work in Tajikistan, Krygystan, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, as well as in the US.
Wayne received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Davis in Plant Pathology, and has consulted for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), US Department Agriculture, US EPA, US Forest and National Park Services, California Air Resources Board, Department of Fish and Wildlife and Energy Commission, and NRDC, among many others. He has written more than 200 technical publications and reports on a wide variety of botanical, agricultural and environmental subjects.
When he's not consulting or traveling, Wayne likes to write, garden, and play piano.
Pamela Roth-Heater
Consultant
Pamela is a business operations and accounting professional who has worked in the composting industry for more than seven years while living in the Pacific Northwest. During this time, she enjoyed helping clients in the U.S. and international markets with composting installations in the private, government and military sectors.
Her experience includes sales, customer service, marketing and education, website development, compliance, proposals, case studies, grant writing and administration. She has a BS in Business Administration Management, Finance from San Jose State University.
Having recently moved to San Diego, Pamela is happy to be a part of the Hidden Resources team to continue to promote sustainability and environmental stewardship.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, gardening, dancing, genealogy and hiking.
Ellyn Hae
Consultant
With a degree in Environmental Sciences from UC Berkeley, Ellyn has more than 30 years of experience in the development and implementation of waste reduction strategies for municipal and commercial entities.
She has conducted waste audits and implemented more than 200 comprehensive diversion programs for locations such as LAX, Moscone Center, US Postal Service, San Diego Zoo and her favorite…the largest broccoli processing plant in the world.
Ellyn has also consulted for more than 20 governmental agencies to implement sustainable policies and programs. Highlights range from managing the City of LA's recycling effort from the Northridge earthquake, which diverted nearly two million tons of debris and created a mixed debris C&D industry, to acquisition of a $1.5 million grant for San Diego City Schools to develop a hydrogen refueling station.
Seeing education as a continual requirement to implement change, Ellyn plays Dr. Zoolittle for the San Diego Zoo, and performs bubble shows to introduce science in a playful manner.
She lives off the grid in Mexico, growing food and teaching locals about soil management using vermicast.
Yuko Kanazawa
Office Manager
Yuko brings a diverse experience to the team, having worked in the fields of education, NGOs, telecommunications and hospitality in the US as well as in Japan and Brazil.
Highly organized, task-oriented, and dynamic, she is an exceptionally proficient bookkeeper and has served as treasurer and currently presides over an educational non-profit organization with 16 board members and a substantial budget.
Fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and English, Yuko enjoys extensive international travel with her family, going to museums, cooking, volunteering, doing Pilates, painting and crafting.
