CREF Honors Key Contributors at COMPOST2025 Closing Plenary

	Top row left to right: Britt Faucette, The Lee Family Bottom row left to right: Frank Franciosi, Ginny Black

As part of the festivities concluding the USCC’s annual conference in Phoenix, CREF awarded four contributors who have been vital to the success of the organization and its programs over the years:

• Britt Faucette: Britt served on CREF’s board of trustees from 2013-2024, including several years as secretary. He assisted CREF on many research projects and continues to support the Foundation as an advisor. Outside of CREF, Britt is VP of Research & Development, Regulatory, & Technical Services for MKB Company, and has authored more than 20 peer-reviewed scientific publications on organic materials used in erosion and sediment control and stormwater management.
• The Lee Family: Ben Lee and his wife, Kimberly, have been generous donors of CREF’s university scholarship program through the years, typically funding one of the two scholarships awarded each year. You can learn more about the impact of the university scholarship program here; applications are currently being accepted through April 14, 2025.
• Frank Franciosi: As Frank prepares to retire from the US Composting Council, his lasting legacy on the Council was celebrated during the closing plenary. However, Frank has been equally influential to CREF, and served as its executive director in concurrence with his USCC role for eight years. Many of CREF’s most important programs came about during Frank’s leadership, including the Compost Operations Training Course, and he helped to hire and mentor CREF’s current – and first full-time – executive director, Diane Hazard.
• Ginny Black: Ginny has been a change-maker in the composting industry for more than 30 years and, among her many accomplishments, has been one of the most important ongoing contributors to CREF. Ginny served on CREF’s board of trustees for nearly 20 years, including 10 years as board chair. During this time, she helped lead CREF from a state of dormancy to a phase of renewed success with several impactful programs. Ginny also served on the USCC’s board of directors for 15 years and was recognized in 2016 with the Hi Kellogg Award for outstanding service to the composting industry.

Even with the conference now past, the CREF team wants to extend our sincere gratitude to those mentioned above, who have generously contributed their time, passion and funding to further the Foundation’s mission.