Title: Resource Recovery & Recycling Manager
Company: City of Santa Monica
Location: Santa Monica, CA United States

Kim Braun has thrived throughout her professional journey. She started out by earning a master’s degree in public administration, and proceeded to join the State of New Jersey in a variety of capacities. First, Ms. Braun was a budget analyst, and then became the director of operations for improvement authority, where she worked on capital improvements. She also served for the State of New Jersey Sanitation Department for 15 years. While there, she worked for the solid waste division, and handled improvements for the state. When her husband’s career relocated them to California, she found that the City of Santa Monica was very progressive environmentally, which was in-line with her experiences and way of thinking. As the current Resource Recovery and Recycling Manager, she is responsible for all the sanitation services in Santa Monica.

As a woman in a predominately male-oriented field, Ms. Braun has had to work even harder than her male counterparts to prove herself and her knowledge. Through the challenges and obstacles she has faced, she has found that her greatest strength lies in her ability to adapt to change. She is also unafraid to take risks on technology that will improve her progress, and make necessary changes for the good of the environment. She even implemented a plan to divert 95% of the city’s trash by 2030, and would like to continue to similar work to ensure that she is remembered for moving the community onto the environmentally right track.

Ms. Braun truly enjoys the work that she has been able to accomplish in order to improve the environment. Looking to the future, she would like to continue to grow with the City of Santa Monica and its public works division. She sees herself working toward the positions of Public Works Director or City Manager. She can also see herself becoming a CEO in the private sector.

Ms. Braun’s commitment to bettering her city and the environment has not gone unrecognized. She has won Nationwide Awards from the Solid Waste Association of North America, as well as a Gold Award for Collection Operations and a Silver Award for Marketing and Outreach.

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