OUR STAFF
The Passionate Team
Chad Planner,
Executive Director
Chad joins The Hub after decades in the branding industry and serving as the head of Pop Design — the branding agency he founded — since 1999. At Pop, Chad led numerous campaigns to raise awareness, funds, and engagement for a variety of local nonprofits, including the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Hamilton County Resource, Beech Acres Parenting Center, Cincinnati State, the Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, and many more.
Chad earned his Professional Fundraising Certificate from the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University, where he also completed a Bachelor of Science in Visual Communication.
Away from the Hub, volunteers with the Loveland Sustainability Council, was a board member and Sustainability Coordinator for LIFE Food Pantry in Loveland, Ohio, and was a recent member of the City of Loveland Environmental Committee. Chad has also coached hundreds of young athletes in local soccer clubs, most recently serving as Goalkeeper Director for Cincy Elite FC.
He lives in Loveland, Ohio, with his wife Donna. Residents since 2000, they raised their two daughters there and enjoy staying active in the community along with hiking local parks, loving their rescued dogs, traveling, rooting for FC Cincinnati, and attending Ohio State football games.
Carrie Harms,
Operations Director
Carrie graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a BA in Interior Design. Through her job, she uses lots of samples of various materials for client presentations. Eventually those samples become discontinued. She took it upon herself to find people and groups who wanted the samples because she hated throwing them away. In 2008, a friend started ZeroLandfill Cincinnati, which provided a way for the interior design and architecture community to allow others to reuse the samples. The following year she joined the committee and by 2010, the program was handed off to her.
Over the years, ZeroLandfill Cincinnati has diverted 286,382 pounds of material from the landfill. The concept of throwing things away just because you are done with it is something Carrie has never understood and she sees it happen weekly in her neighborhood on trash day. She hopes that the Hub will provide a much needed place to make recycling and reuse accessible for everyone, so they will begin to think twice before throwing something away. Born in Cincinnati, Carrie now lives in Villa Hills, Kentucky with her husband and two sons.
Peter Binger Bejnar,
Electronics Manager & Universal Waste Manager
Peter has always been interested in the responsible and creative use and re-use of resources, and has fond childhood memories of driving across town to the recycling center on Saturday mornings with his dad. Peter studied economics at Wheaton College and Marketplace Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, B.C.
He moved to Cincinnati with his wife and daughter to join a community of friends in west Norwood who tend an urban garden and pay-as-you-can cafe combination. Through those experiences, he learned a lot about caring well for both land and people, and is still actively involved in his west Norwood community. He is excited to be a part of the Hub and its work to reimagine our relationship to stuff.
Michael Berens,
Facility Manager
Michael is the Hub’s Warehouse Manager. They have an extensive background and history working in the live entertainment business, having worked in the far flung corners of the globe. When covid hit in 2020 and shut down live entertainment—for the first time after a decade of constant travel and work—they were able to slow down and realize what was important. They decided to use their skills to try and make the world a better place, first through working with local parks before eventually finding their way to the Hub.
Susie Brown,
Finance & Membership Manager
Susie graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work where, through her internship, she was first introduced to the type of nonprofit organization that offered the community an alternative to a landfill and provided other services. After graduation, Susie moved back to Cincinnati and worked in various fields, but still maintained her enthusiasm for recycling, thrifting, and reuse.
Susie lives with her husband, daughter, and their dog in Finneytown, and they have been avid supporters of the Hub ever since a friend introduced it to them. Susie especially loves to see her daughter’s crafty use of materials that she finds at the Hub and is always looking forward to seeing the next completed project! Susie is very excited to join the team at the Hub and be a part of an organization that helps the community and provides the area with a one-stop resource for recycling and reuse.
Steph Bradford,
Hub Shop Manager
Steph Bradford comes to the Hub after twenty-something years in the high school science classroom. While teaching biology and other life sciences, she had the chance to travel with students to Costa Rica. On her first trip there, she had the chance to witness a sea turtle make her nest and lay her eggs. This ignited a passion for environmental awareness in her and her teaching was forever changed. She took many trips to the Osa Peninsula with her high school students showing them the wonders of the rainforest in hopes of igniting in them a passion to treat it with care.
After leaving the classroom, Steph earned a masters degree in Environmental Sustainability, Security and Resilience from Ohio University (despite earning undergrad & masters degrees from Miami University—OU’s arch rival!) and worked at a local zero waste store in Cincinnati while volunteering on the Board of Directors for the Hub. Her experience in retail led her to work as the Reuse Manger for the Hub Shop.
Steph lives on the westside of Cincinnati with her partner, Greg. They both love the Reds, their rescue dog Bernie, and are always looking for a new place to eat delicious pizza—send recs her way.
David Doepke,
Operations Support
David is very passionate about reducing waste, as well as recycling and reusing everything possible. He graduated from Denison University with a Geology degree and UC with an Electrical Engineering degree. After a career working as an Automation Engineer where he initiated office and warehouse recycling, he became a stay-at-home dad. As a parent volunteer at Sands Montessori, he coordinated school recycling, initiated Terracycling collection, and assisted with a food share program.
When his daughters moved on to Walnut Hills High School, his alma mater, so did David’s volunteer activities. He co-founded the Sustainability Program where he was responsible for the education about, promotion of, recruitment for, and servicing and overseeing of recycling and Terracycling in the public spaces of WHHS (gymnasiums, athletic fields, cafeteria, outdoor spaces, etc.). He supervised a food share in the cafeteria, and collected and delivered excess food to local food pantries/soup kitchens. David collected and delivered unclaimed items from the lost & found and end of year locker cleanout as donations to local agencies.
Even though his children graduated several years ago, he continued to recruit and coordinate student and parent volunteers for the Green Team for the Flying Pig/Queen Bee marathons, with the proceeds going to the WHHS Sustainability Club. David is a Master Gardener and enjoys hiking, skiing, and anything outdoors.
McKenzie Dunlap,
Research & Development Manager
McKenzie graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts, minors in Political Science and International Human Rights, and a Critical Visions Certificate. She worked on a bamboo farm in Washington state for two years and served two terms in AmeriCorps NCCC, traveling all over the country and working with various nonprofits. One of her favorite AmeriCorps projects was with Ecology Action, a nonprofit recycling drop-off center in Austin, Texas, which sparked her interest and provided invaluable knowledge about the behind-the-scenes work of sustainability and recycling.
McKenzie has also earned a Certificate of Permaculture Design from the Cincinnati Permaculture Institute. She has been a member of the Hub team since 2022 and currently leads our analysis of potential and current downstream partners.
Brittany Gray,
Outreach & Corporate Services Manager
Brittany joined the Hub in August 2022 and has become an integral part of the leadership team. She built and now oversees the Hub’s entire outreach program for community partners of all kinds, including schools, faith groups, nonprofits and businesses. Prior to joining the Hub, Brittany earned a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Northern Kentucky University and began a calling in nonprofit work. Her impressive career has included roles at Brighton Center, Alzheimer's Association, Redwood School & Rehabilitation Center, and Give Like a Mother.
A lifelong resident of NKY, Brittany loves spending time with her beloved dog, Lucky, enjoys reading, and spending time outside. She is in community with Cincinnati Friends Meeting (Quaker) and serves on their Stewardship of the Earth committee. Conservation and sustainability-minded since her teen years, Brittany feels grateful to work directly in the green sector alongside the Hub's incredible and innovative team.
Lily Greiser,
Volunteer Coordinator
Lily graduated from Ohio University in 2023, earning a bachelor of arts degree in Political Science as well as a minor in French and a certificate in War and Peace studies. Go bobcats! Lily is a natural communicator and an aspiring leader from the eastside of Cincinnati. Her passion for advocacy stretches across many social issues including; promoting sustainability, LGBTQ+ rights, racial injustice and mental health awareness.
Lily has a passion for performance and comedy and is relentlessly in pursuit of what she loves. She has always been interested in the nonprofit sector and proudly started her professional career at the Hub.
Bee Jones,
General Waste Stream & Plastics Coordinator
Bee is the Hub’s General and Plastic Waste Stream Coordinator, and part of the team that manages materials such as textiles, soft and rigid plastic, styrofoam, and more.
Growing up, Bee was always the “recycling hero” of their family, and that passion has perdured throughout their professional life. Bee has directly increased community access to recycling through the installation and management of collection programs in the local food service industry. Bee was also a member of the Sustainability Team while at REI — participating in waste-reduction & cleanup efforts, and championing advocacy work for Adventure Crew and Tri-State Trails.
Outside of work, Bee is a multidisciplinary artist and bicycle repair enthusiast, spending time creating art, cooking delicious vegan food, attending live concerts, hiking, thrifting, and reading. Bee often uses reclaimed materials for their art projects and has made a holistic commitment to sustainability. Bee is working towards a degree in Environmental Engineering and Sustainability at Cincinnati State Community and Technical College.
Hunter McQuitty,
Electronics & Universal Waste Coordinator
Hunter is the youngest of three siblings, growing up with two older sisters who played a big role in shaping his outlook on life. A proud graduate of the University of Cincinnati, he earned his bachelor's degree in Secondary Education with a minor in History in 2020. Beyond his academic and personal achievements, Hunter is deeply passionate about creative writing, finding joy in storytelling, and self-expression through the written word.
Junior Ortiz,
Mini Hub Manager
Junior (Juni), was born in Salisbury, NC, but came to Cincinnati while still a baby, so this is his only home really. When not working he likes to spend time with his family/friends, cruising on his longboard, thrifting, and whatever his hyperfixation lands on for the week. One craft that he has done and wants to do most is making jewelry from thrifted silverware.