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As the administrative lead for Trevor's Environmental Studies Concentration, Michael Danenberg, Assistant Head of School for Teaching and Learning at Trevor, has previously had opportunities to brainstorm and collaborate with Laura. He sat down with her again to further explore her journey and the work she's doing to transform how we think about waste. Michael: What first sparked your interest in sustainability? Laura: When I graduated from college in 2005, sustainability wasn't yet a defined field, but you could say I was curious but I wasn't entirely sure what direction I wanted to take. I had the opportunity to work in advertising on a few clients with a sustainability-focus, but advertising wasn't really scratching the itch, That led me to join a sustainable-living volunteer program in New Zealand, where I spent months working on environmental projects and learning about different sustainability practices, a tactic to get me outdoors and build my resume. Composting was one of the experiences that stuck with me most; seeing food scraps transform into soil in a matter of days completely changed how I thought about waste. When I returned to New York, I realized I could no longer throw food scraps in the trash, and that shift in perspective really set the course for everything that followed. Michael: Was there a moment when you realized entrepreneurship might be the path for you? Laura: When I returned to New York, there was growing momentum toward residential composting throughout community gardens and farmers markets, but it seemed very little was happening on the commercial side. I became curious about how composting could work at a larger scale and building solutions of scale. Around that time, my brother connected me with a chef at his school who was passionate about composting because he had a garden. That introduction led to a lot of experimentation. The school began composting, and I started tagging along with their waste hauler to learn how commercial systems worked. At one point we filmed the truck on its midnight route and at the composting site. Michael: What led you to start Common Ground Compost, and how did that experience shape your work today? Laura: Common Ground Compost began as a consulting practice helping businesses design and implement composting programs. I also learned there was a gap in the commercial hauling space because commercial haulers were not interested in small restaurants. So we started collecting compost by bicycle to see if it was feasible. I loved the work, but over time I recognized that consulting alone wouldn't allow us to scale the impact, since each project was essentially a one-off solution. That realization eventually led to the creation of WA+TS. We provide tools that help organizations track and manage waste systems across multiple locations, making it easier for businesses to reduce waste and their environmental footprint at a meaningful scale. Alumni Profile Laura Rosenshine '01 Connecticut College '05 Cofounder & CEO, WA+TS (Waste Administration + Tracking Software) Laura Rosenshine '01 has built her career re-envisioning what most call waste. After spending months in a sustainable living program in New Zealand, where she first saw food scraps transform into soil, she began to explore composting and waste systems firsthand in New York City. Today, as cofounder and CEO of WA+TS (Waste Administration + Tracking Software), Laura helps organizations rethink how they manage waste: not as something to simply discard, but as a resource that can be measured, tracked, and used to drive meaningful environmental change. Her work combines systems thinking, entrepreneurship, and a belief that solving complex environmental challenges often begins by paying attention to what's happening on the ground. Laura studying in the Upper School common room, from the Trevor Yearbook. 66 / TREVOR MAGAZINE SUMMER 2025–26

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