When Rubicon® created the company’s annual George Washington Carver Award, we did so under the premise that at Rubicon, we not only encourage innovation and creative thinking in all of its forms, but we also challenge team members to set the bar, and their personal goals, high.
This focus on innovation and thinking “outside of the box” is core to how we approach environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies at our company.
This year, Rubicon is celebrating not just one award winner, but three! Over the past year, so much great work has been done by so many of Rubicon’s employees that one award just was not enough.
In addition to our annual George Washington Carver Award, we will be recognizing for the first time the Thomas Edison Award and the Clara Barton Award, which I’ll explain more about below.
The George Washington Carver Award
George Washington Carver (1864-1943) was an agricultural chemist, experimenter, and inventor whose development of new products derived from peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans helped revolutionize the agricultural economy of the South. For much of his career, Mr. Carver taught and conducted research at the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama.
We are thrilled to announce that the 2021 winner of the George Washington Carver Award is Jordan Pilsch.
Jordan joined Rubicon in 2012 and is a Director on the Key Accounts Team. She manages a number of notable accounts within the company, specializing in grocery outlets, having created grocery programs that focus on ending waste and diverting multiple streams of organic waste away from landfills. One of Jordan’s colleagues said of her: “There is no challenge too great for Jordan. She fosters cross-departmental collaboration and provides innovative solutions. Her perseverance and passion make her a trailblazer, not only at Rubicon, but within the waste industry as a whole.”
The Thomas Edison Award
Thomas Edison (1847-1931) was an American inventor and businessman who has been described as America’s greatest inventor. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures, including electric lights, the phonograph, and the fluoroscopy.
We are thrilled to announce that the very first winner of the Thomas Edison Award is Aman Malhotra.
Aman joined Rubicon in 2015 and is a Director of Product Development. Aman began his Rubicon tenure as an indispensable member of the company’s data science team, before he transitioned to product management, and has since overseen the development of much of the company’s product offerings, as well as all back-office automation efforts. One of Aman’s colleagues said of him: “Aman’s efforts over the past five years have formed the foundation of Rubicon’s success.”
The Clara Barton Award
Clara Barton (1821-1912) was an American nurse who founded the American Red Cross. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a teacher, and a patent clerk. Since nursing education was not then truly formalized and she did not attend nursing school, she taught herself the necessary skills and techniques.
We are thrilled to announce that the very first winner of the Clara Barton Award is Ya Daba Njie.
Ya Daba joined Rubicon in 2019 and is a Coordinator on the Marketing Team. Originally from the Gambia, Ya Daba moved to the United States at age 14 and joined the U.S. Army at 17. She graduated from high school as a salutatorian and a winner of the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship that offers a fully funded scholarship all the way to her Ph.D. One of Ya Daba’s colleagues said of her: “Ya Daba is an absolute joy to work with and [we are] so excited to congratulate her for this well-deserved award. She is the backbone of our team and an all-around amazing human!”
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Congratulations Jordan, Aman, and Ya Daba. On behalf of the entire team at Rubicon, it is an honor and a privilege to be working alongside you all in our mission to end waste.
Stacie Moore is Vice President of Human Resources and Women’s Affinity Group Leader at Rubicon. To stay ahead of Rubicon’s announcements of new partnerships and collaborations around the world, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, or contact us today.