Founder & CEO of Green Box Compost
Ben grew up in a family that interacted with soil intimately. They prided themselves on their large vegetable garden, and composted the scraps from their plates, turning them into nutrients for next year's garden. He knew this natural cycle from practice, and wondered if there wasn't a way to make it accessible to people with less time and space.
In 2017, after working at a green home builder and a sustainable seafood company, he discovered a composting company's van making its rounds. He resolved to learn more about the industry, with an eye to helping his hometown of Madison access this important service. In 2021, he founded Green Box.
When not composting, you might find him playing ultimate frisbee, creating ceramics, or reading a book.
Chief Marketing Officer
Esai joined the team in the spring of 2022 to assist with marketing and operations for Green Box. He graduated from Knox College in 2017 with a degree in Biology and Environmental Studies. While at Knox, he took part in a four person initiative to establish an official chapter of the Food Recovery Network on campus. This chapter, still operational, has diverted thousands of pounds of food from landfills, going instead to partner agencies for consumption.
Originally from Illinois, Esai has been in Madison since graduating in 2017 and enjoys the scenery the city has to offer. You might catch him taking some photos during a hike or out playing ultimate frisbee at the park. He hopes to preserve the nature in Madison and beyond as the movement grows.
Residential Collections
Sarah, a lifelong recycler, took the Master Recycler course partnered through Sustain Dane and the City of Madison in Spring of 2022. Through this course and becoming a member of Sustain Dane, Sarah learned more about sustainable living practices and began to rethink her own sustainability journey and career.
After fifteen years of working in health care, she decided to make a career pivot and joined Green Box as part of the collections team in early 2023. Sarah is excited to be a part of a team focused on sustainability and reducing landfill waste.
Sarah enjoys browsing the graphic novel shelves at the library, eating veggie tamales, and nature hikes with her family.
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Commercial Collections / Warehouse Operations
Allie Tobis grew up gardening with her family learning the value of healthy soils at an early age. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2020 with degrees in Political Science and Environmental Studies.
After graduating, Allie worked in partisan political research operations for two years and supported numerous congressional campaigns. Needing a change of pace, she chose to bring her focus to regenerative agriculture and sustainable food systems after learning the harms of big agriculture at UW.
She hopes to support regenerative agriculture and sustainable food systems to make Madison a more healthy and sustainable community.In her free time, Allie can be found lounging at a park with friends or a good book, cooking with goods purchased at a local farmer’s market, or going for a hike.
Farmers Market Rep / Warehouse Operations
A nature lover since childhood, Anne has always been curious about, and adored exploring, the outdoors. Eventually, she went on to study Geography at UW-Oshkosh where she obtained her Bachelors with emphases on Environmental Analysis and GIS.
After several years in the geospatial industry, she joined Green Box in the summer of 2022, engaging in community outreach by promoting the service at local farmers markets. She is proud to be a member of this team actively contributing to sustainability in Madison!
When she’s not sifting through compost, she enjoys being creative/doing crafty projects, taking care of the DCHS shelter pups, and giving in to the many demands of her cat, Gus.
Farmers Market Representative
Amanda joined the Green Box team in the spring of 2023 after learning about the landfill crisis and the important role composting has in not only reducing waste but reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to composting, she is also passionate about reducing individual plastic use and the relationship between plastics and ocean health.
Amanda recently received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Voice Performance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she published a vocal repertoire guide entitled, “Selecting Solo Literature for the Developing Classical Singer: A Pedagogical Repertoire Guide for Teachers of Voice.”
When she is not working for Green Box, Amanda works as an Adjunct Professor of Voice at Carroll University and Beloit College. She is also a freelance soprano and has most recently performed with the educational outreach company, Opera for the Young. Additionally, she volunteers with 350 Wisconsin, a nonprofit organization that works to make transformational progress toward environmental justice and solving the climate crisis.
Amanda’s passion for the earth led her to publish her first collection of poems entitled, “Phoenix: Depicting Death and Rebirth through Seasonal Poems of an Everchanging Landscape.” This collection depicts the beauty of impermanence through poems of autumn, winter, spring, and summer, all inspired by images of the everchanging natural world taken in and around Madison, WI.
Warehouse Operations Manager
After getting the pitch from Ben, his high school classmate and the founder of Greenbox, Avery joined in the fall of 2023 as the Operations Manager to streamline the warehouse and help pave the way for continued company growth. Avery draws on experiences from a degree in Agronomy from UW-Madison, operational management at a native seed and plant nursery, and his passion for process improvement.
As a lifelong Madisonian and nature enthusiast, Avery is excited to be a part of a company that provides a service that betters the community and the environment. When not wielding power tools at the warehouse, you can find Avery playing ultimate frisbee, listening to music with his cat Franklin, picking native wildflowers, or exploring one of Wisconsin’s state parks.
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Compost Testing & Compliance Tech
Kali grew up playing with dirt, and eating a bit of it too. Loving both the outdoors and food, fascinated by how they interwove in the garden, Kali learned the importance of small-scale organic gardening for sustenance from her parents. If you ever ask her for a favorite season, she’ll say tomato season.
Missing the connection to both food and the land when she started college, Kali quickly began working for, and eventually directing, the student run composting program at Kalamazoo College. Graduating in 2021 with a major in chemistry and minor in environmental science, Kali worked in a state lab testing environmental samples for low level radiation until starting at Green Box in the winter of 2023.
In her free time Kali enjoys doing stained glass and other crafts, cooking, and playing fetch with her wildly energetic dog, Tuna.