We were recently recognized as a Great Place to Work-Certified™ company for our positive workplace culture and employee experience.
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Kish Rajan, CEO
Kish Rajan has a 20-year track record of success in government and the private sector. After graduating from UC Berkeley, he began his public sector career on Capitol Hill as an aide to Senator Barbara Boxer and then later to Phil Angelides, who became California State Treasurer.
Kish then built a 14-year career in the private sector as a business development executive in mobile telecommunications technology, managing vital business partnerships that created hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars of shareholder value. During this time, Kish earned a Juris Doctor degree, started a family, and served a term on the Walnut Creek City Council, becoming a Bay Area regional leader in economic development, transportation planning, and advancing technology in government.
In 2012, Kish was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to lead the newly formed Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz).
His directive from Governor Brown was to enhance California’s job creation effort by promoting statewide economic development, improving the business climate, and fostering greater international trade. During Kish’s tenure at GO-Biz, California grew substantially, becoming the world’s seventh-largest economy.
In 2015, Kish resumed KRPA to lead advocacy efforts to modernize and grow California’s economy.
In 2019, Kish became Chief Administrative Officer of Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery.
Gary Lazdowski, COO
Gary Lazdowski started with the company in 1969, working for MDRR’s formerly named company Mt. Diablo Paper Stock, in the recycling division. Gary later moved on to become a residential garbage collector. After graduating in 1972, from St. Mary’s College, with a degree in Business Economics, Gary was promoted to Office Supervisor.
As a supervisor, Gary assisted Silvio Garaventa Sr. in different aspects of collecting, managing and processing solid waste and recyclable materials. As the company expanded, Gary was instrumental in the reorganization of the solid waste and recycling collection companies for Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery.
As Chief Officer of Operations, Gary oversees all aspects of the day-to-day operations of the collection, processing, and removal of solid waste and recycling.
Gary has served on the Board of Directors of Rotary and The Chambers of Commerce in the cities of Pittsburg and Rio Vista. In addition to his participation in various Bay Area organizations and charities, Gary received the Businessman of the Year Award in Rio Vista in 2004.
In 2019, Gary became COO of Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery.
Patrick Dolim, CFO
Pat Dolim joined Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery in 2018 as Chief Financial Officer. His career has spanned many different industries over the years. While in school, Pat worked for his father’s wholesale distribution business in Hawaii, where he got his first exposure to a culture of working in a family-owned business.
Pat graduated with BA in Finance from the University of Hawaii and later received his MBA in Corporate Finance from Golden Gate University.
Pat relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, initially working at the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. in the corporate accounting department.
After a few years, Pat moved on to Golden Gate Disposal (now Recology), where he brought along his experience and penchant for continuous improvement. He was part of the finance team that moved the close from 60 days and cash-based to less than ten days and accrual-based. Eventually, Pat moved from the San Francisco Peninsula to Solano County to become Recology’s Northern California Regional Controller and Finance Rate Manager.
With distribution business in his roots, Pat moved on from Recology. Over the next 20 years, Pat worked in the wine business. He experienced Napa Valley and artisan winemaking at notable boutique wineries. Of course, during this time, Pat never missed the chance to integrate systems, establish business analytics, cost accounting, and timely financial reporting.
Pat is a firm believer that short and long-term strategic financial planning pays big dividends. He has a solid track record working across all business functional areas to improve a company’s accounting function, financial reporting, banking relationships, and, most importantly, the bottom line.
Pat is well-recognized by current and former employers, staff, and co-workers as “highly competent, knowledgeable, ethical, and easy-going.” Business partners and vendors go on to say, “Pat is always a pleasure to work with because of his calm demeanor while handling all types of issues, sometimes under the most difficult conditions.”
MDRR’s Board of Directors
Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery’s Board of Directors is comprised of members of the Garaventa family:
Silvio Garaventa Jr., Marie “Cookie” Adler, Louisa Binswanger, Joe Garaventa, and Linda Garaventa Colvis.
History of the Company
The Garaventa family, owners, and operators of Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery have family roots going back to the 1930s when Andrea Moresco operated the one-horse and buggy rubbish collection service for the country town of Concord. Over the years, Moresco’s son-in-law, Silvio Garaventa, Sr., and his daughter, Mary Moresco Garaventa, took the small town solid waste collection operation and built an enterprise that includes multiple municipal franchises dedicated to collection, recycling, and resource recovery.
Today, Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery serves over 250,000 residents and thousands of businesses throughout Contra Costa, Napa, and Solano Counties. Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery combines excellence in customer service with competitive rates, operating recycling and recovery programs designed to increase sustainability and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Mt. Diablo Recycling, in Pittsburg, California, contains the area’s largest state-of-the-art recycling processing center to keep all recyclable items out of the landfill, so as much material as possible to be recycled and reused.
Our company continues to grow and change to prepare our communities for the future. Consistent with our business values, we invest in programs and technology that maximize diversion and maintain customer convenience and service. Mt. Diablo Recycling is being transformed into the Mt. Diablo Resouce Recovery Park (MDRRP), a facility that will expand our recovery efforts, increasing the diversion of material from going to the landfill.
Our Values, Mission and Vision
Values:
- We believe exceptional customer service and safety will never be compromised.
- We maintain a high attention to detail and uncompromising commitment to quality in all we do.
- We maintain a clean, safe, and professional image in all aspects of our operations.
- We value our relationships with vendors, professionals, and others that make our business successful.
- We support and respect our employees by providing opportunities for success in their personal and professional lives.
- We recognize and reward the contributions our employees make to the success of our company.
- We believe teamwork is critical to our success.
