Born: I was born October 5, 1982, in Taft, Texas, and lived in Sinton, Texas.
Education: I earned an EMT Certification from San Jacinto College South in 2002. I also took business management classes through the University of Phoenix.
Family: I married my husband Andres in 2012, and we have three girls—Alexis (18), Catalina (10), and Gianna (5).
When and how did you enter the recycling industry? I had just graduated high school and was looking for a full-time job that provided health insurance also. My job at the time—which I had excelled at for almost three years—would not give me full-time hours, so I applied to a temp agency while I was putting myself through night school to become an EMT. The temp agency said it had a scale operator position at a metal recycling yard not far from where I lived. The employer was a good company—Commercial Metals Co.—and met what I was looking for, but I thought, “Metal recycling? A scale? What is that?” It had nothing to do with me wanting to become an EMT and save lives one day but everything to do with working for a great and well-rounded company in an industry I knew nothing about. I intended to work there while continuing to put myself through college, but the industry pulled me in thanks to a great manager and mentor to this day. CMC gave me a great platform within the industry to learn and grow from. I started in Houston in operations and relocated to CMC’s Tulsa/Catoosa, Oklahoma, yard and began my path in sales developing a team. From there, I went on to ELG Metals, where I broadened my recycling knowledge, and then joined WM’s recycling division. WM provided additional growth and knowledge in the paper, plastics, and electronics recycling side. I also was able to continue growing its metals volume with my relationships within the market area. Now, in my current role as Commercial Director for Sims Metal, I lead a team of talented buyers here in Houston.
What was it about the industry that prompted you to build a career in it? I was always amazed at all the different grades of metals—the value of each one, where it came from, and the fact that it was something not everyone understood or knew about that was so important to the world. I literally learned something new every day, and that has always kept my interest.
What have been your most rewarding professional achievements? I would say professionally, when I started 23 years ago, there weren’t many women in our industry. When you have great management that recognizes work ethic, talent, and innovative thinking—and supports those traits—it can make all the difference. My mother was a single mom, and I had to help my family growing up. That experience instilled many values in me that drove me to be very determined. So, when someone said I wasn’t qualified, I proved them otherwise. If they said something was impossible, I asked why? How do we make it possible? I started a sales team with no experience, other than a supportive manager who believed in my ability as well as me loving what I did. That allowed me to then teach and develop a successful team with no previous knowledge about our industry. I have won multiple awards and recognition throughout my career, including being featured in a magazine as a female leader professionally and within the community here in Houston. I’ve been on panels and participated in studies on how to improve pizza box recycling with local high school engineering students in partnership with paper mills and how to find more sustainable recyclable packaging for a large global food manufacturer. I feel great pride when I see the outcome of that on neighborhood store shelves now. I know I’ve contributed to making a small difference in this industry. My biggest achievement is that no matter where I have gone, my relationships and network within the recycling industry remain intact and continue to grow across the world. I believe all you have is your name, no matter where you go. I stand by that.
What are you passionate about? My family, community involvement, and my career. Many don’t know all the organizations I give my time to outside of work. Sims has also provided us with an additional opportunity to give back to our local community, so I am grateful for its support. I’m also a wife and the mother of three girls, so we stay busy all the time. I’m passionate about the team I work with. They are like family to me. Explaining the right way to recycle will always be something I continue to educate everyone on.
Tell us something about you that would surprise people. I’m actually an introvert. You wouldn’t think that if you’ve known me for a long time in this industry or personally, but I prefer to keep to myself. I have joined outside women’s networking organizations to put myself out there more and educate people about what we do in the recycling industry and the opportunities available. I’m always the only person in the recycling industry they have ever met, so I enjoy answering their questions. My confidence and outside network has grown being surrounded by not only corporate women, but also women who own their own businesses. We all can support and learn from one another.
If you could improve anything about yourself, what would it be? I feel that I need to learn how to take true breaks mentally. My mind just continues to spin. I try to detach from things, but it has always been hard. When it comes to our daughters, I see how it can affect them when I can’t stop working on vacations or time with them. I need to improve on being more present.
What do you like to do in your free time? Free time? What is that? I’m involved in certain organizations that help communities or bring more awareness to certain causes that are close to me. Aside from that, I love to travel and see new places. I was 19 before I traveled outside of Texas, so you can imagine I have a lot of places I still want to see. If I can fit in time with friends and family, that also makes me happy.
Have you held any volunteer leadership positions within GCR? If so, what motivated you to become a GCR leader? I just started serving as GCR’s Communications Chair, and this is my first GCR volunteer leadership position. I feel it’s important to be involved not only with your company but also within your industry. Relationships and networking have always been key for me, so this was a natural decision to be more involved in conversations and decisions to help us continue to move in the right direction.
What benefits have you received from your GCR involvement? I would say getting to know new people from different companies within GCR. There are many types of businesses that represent our members. We are all knowledgeable in our professional fields. We can all grow stronger together. I want to continue to grow the diversity within our industry. I’ve also enjoyed open conversations facing what we do and how that affects us as a whole in the recycling community. If you've never been to one of our meetings, I suggest you attend.
What are the major challenges facing your company and the overall recycling industry today? If you’ve been in this business long enough, you know the waves we have to ride with commodities. I’m never really surprised; I just say buckle up and let’s go! It’s about supply and demand, and no two days are ever the same. Operational costs, environmental compliance, transportation, and safety are also big factors that affect us all. There is the ongoing task of building a great team and work culture, which is critical if you want to develop and retain key people who develop a passion for our industry. Finally, the lack of public education about recycling is still a challenge, so I am excited to continue to be a part of the change.
