CDRA names new executive director

The Construction & Demolition Recycling Association (CDRA), headquartered in Chicago, has appointed Andrea “Andi” Johnson its new executive director.

Johnson previously served as CDRA’s director of operations and has more than 25 years of leadership experience across the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. She also has a deep, personal commitment to sustainable waste management and materials recovery, CDRA says.

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Johnson previously served as CEO of van der Linde Recycling and Container Rentals, Troy, Virginia, where she led the company’s mission to care for people, communities and the planet through innovative recovery and recycling efforts.

Under her leadership, the organization grew into a regional pioneer in diverting noncurbside materials from landfills—ranging from construction and demolition debris to hard-to-recycle items such as mattresses, polyvinyl chloride and fluorescent bulbs.

“Andi’s passion for recycling and waste recovery is unmatched, and her operational expertise is exactly what CDRA needs as we continue to grow and adapt to an evolving regulatory and environmental landscape,” says John Thomas, president of the CDRA board of directors and managing partner at Waste & Recycling Solutions in Berlin, New Jersey. “She understands this industry from every angle—operationally, legislatively and environmentally—and we are confident she will lead the association with both vision and heart.”

Johnson’s career includes extensive experience in administrative leadership, including 13 years in nonprofit roles with organizations such as the American Red Cross and Army Emergency Relief, followed by executive roles in global energy companies.

Since 2012, she has played a central role at van der Linde Recycling, where she progressed from sales manager to CEO over six years. Johnson holds a B.S. in business administration from the University of Maryland Global Campus and is a licensed Virginia Waste Facility Operator.

In her new role, she will guide the CDRA’s strategic initiatives, expand member services, strengthen advocacy and regulatory engagement and amplify the organization’s mission of promoting environmentally responsible construction and demolition recycling.

“For the past 30 years, the CDRA has helped to grow and unite the construction and demolition recycling industry,” Johnson says. “I am proud and honored to be selected as the next leader of this amazing association and will work diligently to continue its forward momentum.”

The CDRA promotes and defends the environmentally sound recovery and recycling of building materials, representing the C&D recycling industry to regulators and legislators, engaging in market development for recycled building materials and facilitating industry education and networking. Its members include recyclers and secondary processors, manufacturers, distributors, waste generators, contractors, engineering firms, equipment providers, insurance and financing firms and government agencies.