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Ron Gonen is co-founder and CEO of the Closed Loop Fund, which provides zero-interest loans to municipalities that invest in recycling infrastructure and private companies focused on waste reduction and recycling. Before Closed Loop Fund, Ron was the the deputy commissioner of sanitation in New York City with responsibility for recycling and sustainability. Before that he served as co-founder and CEO of RecycleBank. During his tenure, RecycleBank grew from an idea to a company that today is rewarding millions of people for their positive green actions across North America and the UK. RecycleBank has been recognized by a number of leading business and environmental organizations including the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer, the United Nations Environment Programme as a Champion of the Earth and the Wall Street Journal as one of the top 10 venture backed clean tech companies. Ron is a recipient of the University Medal of Excellence from Columbia University, which is awarded to annually to alumni under the age of 45 for outstanding achievement in scholarship, public service, and professional life. He received a BA in history from the UMass-Amherst where he graduated with departmental honors and was a Massachusetts Commonwealth Scholar, and an MBA from Columbia Business School, where he was a Eugene M. Lang Center for Entrepreneurship award winner. He is a Fellow of the second class of the Catto Fellowship of The Aspen Institute and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
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