Who is Gary Liss?

Gary enjoys riding Cody, his partner's horse, at Knickerknob Stable in Loomis

Gary was born July 20, 1951 in Paterson, New Jersey to Lora and Saul Liss. Lora’s career as a civil rights attorney and Saul’s as an electrical engineer (who invented a TENS system for pain management) set a high bar for Gary and his older brother, Ron. Ron graduated from West Point and is now an emergency room physician.

After graduating with his Master’s degree in Public Administration from Rutgers University, Gary went on to become an international expert in municipal environmental issues, which he continues today at Gary Liss & Associates in Loomis, CA.

After receiving his engineering education, and with a focus on the creation of sustainable cities, in 1973, Gary became a Principal Engineer in the Newark, New Jersey Department of Engineering. There, he created the city’s first Office of Environmental Services and developed one of the country’s first major resource recovery programs.

Four years later, Gary was asked by the newly formed State of New Jersey Department of Energy to develop their solid waste master plan and facilitate implementation statewide. Again, Gary’s work set new standards and the successes that resulted in New Jersey cities becoming models for other cities nationally. While working statewide, Gary also became a Trustee of the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions, an organization that assists local governments in the development of their environmental programs.

Gary’s career led him to Washington, DC, where he served as Resource Recovery Director for the U.S. Conference of Mayors. In that role, he developed strategies for cities to create local jobs through expanded resource recovery programs. With funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce, he demonstrated the viability of such economic development activities and assisted cities in their own adoption of these strategies. While there, he participated in the drafting of legislation and advocated in Washington on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. With this experience, Gary became known for having a unique set of skills in translating federal and state policies to on the ground actions by local governments in the environmental arena.

While with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Gary met his life partner, Californian Patricia Miller, who led the municipal recycling program in Fresno, California. In 1981, he relocated to California and gained a new family. He became the Solid Waste Program Manager for the City of San Jose, where he developed nationally recognized, award-winning recycling programs, heralded in part for saving the city more than $77 million through environmental innovations.

Gary left his position in San Jose to become the voice of recycling for all Californians as the Executive Director of the California Resource Recovery Association. His job was to organize recycling interests statewide to assist in the development of progressive legislation and state and local programs that would advance California’s goals in waste management. In 1998, Gary initiated Gary Liss & Associates, as a sole proprietor. Serving mostly municipal clients, he has built a history of creatively finding solutions to problems and creating environmental programs that also have economic benefits. He is a leading advocate for Zero Waste and has helped draft more Zero Waste Plans than anyone else in America.

He is often the “go-to” person for national media on Zero Waste issues and has been included in articles in publications such as Time Magazine, the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. In December he became President of the new U.S. Zero Waste Business Council, that is working to develop a certification program like the LEED program of the U.S. Green Building Council.

Gary and Pat have lived in Loomis since 1992, where they enjoy gardening and bicycling, their rescued horses, dogs, cats and chickens, and participating in community activities. They appreciate the rural lifestyle their home offers to their grandchildren, who love visiting their grandparents in the country.