Hi, we’re Core Matter.

We’re all about getting to the core of causes of food waste. In apples, the seed is stored in the core—the part of the apple that’s often thrown in the trash. There is great potential in the resources our society often discards.

 

OUR VISION

A world without food waste.

When we look at the core causes of climate change, food waste is responsible for 8% of our global emissions according to Project Drawdown. We envision a world where food waste is designed out of our systems—to reduce the impact of related emissions and increase the sustainability of our planet. 

OUR MISSION

We codesign effective communications to drive behavior change around composting and food waste.

OUR PROCESS

We use a human-centered design process. This is a collaborative process that is driven by human needs. We talk to community members about their lived experiences, and experts like scientists, psychologists, engineers, and designers contribute perspectives and research. 

OUR VALUES

Creativity and play
The best ideas come when we have space to think outside the box. 

Human-centered
We start projects by understanding people’s needs. 

Driven by the community/equity
The climate crisis is a social justice issue. We believe solutions should engage and include all citizens. 

Climate-focus
All of our projects start with where we can have the greatest impact on reducing GHG emissions.

 

Meet our team

Dana Hoffman

Policy Expert and Researcher

Dana is committed to climate action, and has 10 years of experience developing policies and plans for local jurisdictions to help change behavior and reduce their climate emissions.

She is well versed in complex technical and policy problems and developing solutions that can result in systemic changes. She brings her experience in research, local government policy, and urban planning to the team. She holds a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

Shannon McGill

Founder, Designer, and Strategist

Shannon has over 10 years of design experience working with Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, startups, and governments. As an interdisciplinary designer, she brings experience in areas like graphic design, digital design, and user-centered research and design, as well as years of environmental activism. Shannon loves how design thinking provides a clear process to imagine and create an equitable, sustainable world collaboratively.

She holds a BFA in Visual Communication and a BS in Community Health from the University of Kansas.

Connect on LinkedIn

Stephanie Welter Krause

Designer, Strategist and Project Manager

Stephanie has spent her design career unifying her passion for sustainability and strategic design, working with a range of corporate clients and non-profits. She holds a BFA in Communications Design from the Pratt Institute.

Join our team

Right now, we're looking for a volunteer strategic writer, grant writer, behavioral psychologist, finance manager and community partners to lend their skills to our team. If this is you, or you have other skills you want to lend, reach out—we’d love to hear from you.