Meet the SWEEP Team
Rob Watson
Founder and President
Natasha Dyer
Acting Executive Director & Program Manager
Rob Watson – Founder and President
Rob Watson, LEED Fellow, is an international leader in market transformation in solid waste, green buildings and sustainable tourism. He is best known as the “Founding Father of LEED,” which he launched in 1993. Under Rob’s direction, LEED became the largest and fastest-growing international standard by which green buildings are measured. Author Thomas Friedman called Rob “one of the best environmental minds in America.” In 2019, Dartmouth Alumni Magazine recognized Mr. Watson as one of the “25 Most Influential Alumni” in the College’s 250-year history.
At the forefront of technical innovation in solid waste management, Watson is a Principal with Upland Road Developers, which develops waste separation and processing complexes called SMART (Sustainable Materials and Advanced Recovery Technology) Centers that can separate and transform 95% of the incoming waste stream into commercial products. As part of transforming the solid waste sector, in 2016 Mr. Watson launched the SWEEP—Solid Waste Environmental Excellence Performance–Standard, a comprehensive framework for triple bottom line performance of municipal solid waste programs.
Mr. Watson received his MBA from Columbia University in 2006, a MS in Energy and Resources from UC Berkeley in 1990 and his AB from Dartmouth College in 1984.
Natasha Dyer – Acting Executive Director
Natasha Dyer is a passionate and experienced leader in the field of sustainable materials management (SMM) and circular economy. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Urban Sustainability from Antioch University-Los Angeles and a certificate in Sustainable Global Food Systems from The University of Edinburgh. She is also a certified TRUE Advisor by the USGBC Georgia, which recognizes her knowledge and skills in implementing zero waste practices and policies.
As the Acting Executive Director of the SWEEP Standard, she oversees the development and implementation of a comprehensive framework that helps local governments decarbonize the solid waste industry by making their entire waste streams circular and their operations’ footprints carbon neutral. In addition, she is actively involved in her community as a volunteer educator on composting and a Community Cabinet Sustainability Lead for her County Commissioners. She has published a segment on sustainable food systems for the Atlanta Archdiocese’s Climate Action Plan, a roadmap for Catholic parishioners to respond to the Pope’s call for environmental action. She is driven by her vision of creating a more resilient and equitable society through SMM and circular economy.
Ms. Dyer received her MA in Urban Sustainability from Antioch University in 2015.
