Lynn Hoffman
Fiscal Sponsorship Program Manager
Prior to OAEC, Lynn spent 20 years with a non-profit social enterprise recycler and Zero Waste advocacy organization called Eureka Recycling in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. She wore a lot of hats over those two decades…. from teaching backyard and worm composting workshops, to directing policy and community engagement, to leading as Co-President.
A national expert in Zero Waste recycling systems and policies, Lynn has worked with organizations, companies, and governments to advise, strategize, and implement authentic recycling, plastics reduction, and Zero Waste policy and program solutions. In both 2020 and 2022, Lynn was invited to Washington, D.C., to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the Environment and Climate Change.
With the two largest recycling contracts in the state of MN servicing the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and 120 employees including a collection fleet and large sorting facility, her years in leadership at Eureka Recycling gave her an incredibly diverse range of organizational experience including strategic planning, contract negotiations, unions, all manner of HR issues, insurance, and conflict resolution… all within a social change mission-driven framework. Lynn was also a founding member and National Coordinator for AMBR – the Alliance of Mission-Based Recyclers, and has been very active in the global Break Free From Plastic movement.
On Staff Since: 2024 Email > Phone: x131
In Their Own Words
My work at OAEC:
The Fiscal Sponsorship Program at OAEC supports a diverse set of incredible community-led projects who are leading powerful interventions for social and environmental justice. How exciting to leverage OAEC’s wealth of experience as a trellis for these important projects to grow and thrive on! OAEC has provided fiscal sponsorship to a small number of closely allied projects for over 20 years. I’ve been brought on board to analyze what OAEC has long done for sponsored projects, research best practices in fiscal sponsor programs around the US, and to lead a great team of colleagues at OAEC in expanding what we can offer to closely allied projects with a much more robust program.
My background:
I was born, raised, and am now residing in beautiful Minneapolis, MN with my husband Andy, daughter Wren, and lots of family – made and chosen. Raised to hold a deep appreciation for community (including with the rest of the natural world) and the arts, I graduated with degrees in Environmental Studies/Geology and Dance. Early days post college I worked in the service industry and as a naturalist, and had the great opportunity to also be a gigging professional for a variety of modern dance companies in the vibrant dance scene in Minneapolis. (Now all of my dance performances are in our kitchen, or at a wedding with a great DJ!)
My interest in community-led environmental solutions eventually developed into my real vocation, and a 20 year dive into the world of Zero Waste at Eureka Recycling. Through many roles at Eureka I gained experience in issues of consumption, resource extraction, plastics, packaging design, materials management, environmental justice, the public policy that governs it all, and the community action that can change it!
When the time was right I had the great honor to pass the leadership torch at Eureka to two incredible leaders, and start a new chapter in my career at OAEC. I fell in love with Eureka for the same reasons I fell in love with OAEC…. it’s powerful to advocate for change from a place of real knowing, and I value getting my hands dirty (literally and figuratively) to live into the complexity of putting values into action.
My favorite resiliency resource:
Community. For any need, question, or search for creative solutions, a conversation with a neighbor or call to a friend never fails to reveal a new insight, approach, or idea to consider. I’m one who will ALWAYS ask for directions or opinions. And I love to throw a dance party in the alley with my many awesome neighbors.
What gives me hope:
The questions my daughter asks.
What I obsess about:
- Rocks ~ Collecting them, scrambling around on them, and appreciating the Big Stories they can tell us.
- Food ~ Growing, cooking, exploring, sharing, eating!
- Water ~ Being in it and on it and near it.
- ID-ing stuff ~ Plants, birds, animals, insects, mushrooms, rocks…I want to know who ARE you and what’s your whole deal?
- Travel ~ Where to next!?
