About — WATS

WATS is a woman-owned SaaS product bringing business waste management operations into the 21st Century

Waste is what brought us together, and a desire for better, more efficient, and transparent digital tools is what motivated us to build WATS. We’re zero waste experts and data people, and our goal is to deliver a waste operations platform that makes it easier for businesses to recycle more, divert materials from end-of-line landfills and incinerators, and reduce their impacts on our social and natural ecosystems.

The Team

Laura Rosenshine (she/her)

Co-Founder + COO

Laura founded Common Ground Compost LLC (CGC) after a few years working in the commercial waste sector, including working with a Norwegian-based technology company piloting in-vessel organics processing in NYC. In 2017, Laura co-founded Foodprint Group which was focused on bringing standardization and industry best practices to the waste management programs of multi-location hospitality and food businesses. In 2021, Laura returned to CGC to focus on building a WATS. Laura is a TRUE Zero Waste Advisor.

Meredith Danberg-Ficarelli (she/her)

Co-Founder + CEO

Meredith built services and operations as Exec Director of Common Ground Compost LLC from 2017-2022. She sits on the US Composting Council board of directors and was a founding member of the New York City Microhaulers and Processors Trade Association. She believes that materials literacy and upstream/downstream supply chain transparency are foundational building blocks to the circular economy. Meredith is a TRUE Zero Waste Advisor.

Blake Soley (he/him)

Principal Software Engineer

Blake hails from the rainy west coast of Canada, where he has been building scalable, data-driven applications for almost 25 years. A startup veteran, he has been leading software development and directing engineering teams since 2009. Blake counts recycling as one of his hobbies and is passionate about building teams and creating software that will have a positive impact.

William Klimpert (he/him)

Data and Systems Director

William is the Data and Systems Director at WATS, and former Director of Analytics at Common Ground Compost. As an avid nature enthusiast with a background in plant biophysics, he seeks to use data and technology to increase the accessibility of sustainability initiatives. Since 2019, William has been working with CGC to develop tools and reports that improve workflows and bring audit, composting, and diversion statistics to life. William is a TRUE Zero Waste Advisor.

Emily is a full-stack engineer with a background in e-commerce and business development. Her experience working at Amazon sparked her interest in software and cultivated a mindset of data-driven decision making. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Emily is both an outdoor and compost enthusiast. She is thrilled to build tools at WATS that drive positive environmental behaviors.

Sherri’s bio coming soon!

Amir’s bio coming soon!

Advisory Board

Bill Murphy

Managing Director, Cresting Wave

Bill Murphy is a Managing Partner at Cresting Wave, curating innovative technologies for the enterprise technology community. Bill previously was the CTO at Blackstone from 2011-2020 and founding CTO at Capital IQ before that.

Mike Marmo

Founder and CEO, Curbside Technologies

Mike Marmo is a thought leader and entrepreneur in the tech-enabled commercial waste industry. His 15 years of experience is a cross-section of New York City’s entire industry, from hauling vehicles to brokerage and physical infrastructure.

Marie Kloor

Vice President of Ops & Dev, Health Hospitality Partners

Marie Kloor is an entrepreneur with a background in sales, operations, fundraising and team building. Marie co-founded Hydra Studios, a venture-backed wellness services company acquired by Health Hospitality Partners.

Catalina Daniels

Venture Partner + Startup Coach

Catalina Daniels bio coming soon!