As soon as officials decided to create the position of executive director of Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy, Trista Martinson began lobbying people to apply.

“I worked hard to recruit people,” said Martinson, chair of the Ramsey County Board. “I kept saying, ‘This job is my dream job. We have to find the right person.’ I kept saying that over and over and calling people and saying, ‘You should apply for this job. It is my dream job, and here’s why.’ I said that enough to where someone said to me, ‘It’s your dream job. You should apply.’ I hadn’t even considered that.”

Martinson took that advice, she said, and submitted an application “at the last moment.”

On Thursday, officials in Ramsey and Washington counties announced that Martinson, 49, of St. Paul, will step down from her elected position and lead the partnership through which the counties manage waste. She will start in early August.

Martinson, who has represented District 3 in Ramsey County since 2019 and has served as board chair since 2022, said applying and interviewing for the position she helped create was nerve-wracking.

“I was nervous because I was so passionate about the position and the job and because I really, truly wanted the best person to lead this organization,” she said. “Its potential is, literally, endless.”

National search

Officials conducted a national search for the position. Twenty-seven people applied and four finalists were interviewed.

Martinson, who recused herself from the search process, was chosen for her “strategic vision, unwavering commitment to public service and collaborative spirit,” said R&E Board Chairman Fran Miron, who also is vice chair of the Washington County Board. “She is an exceptional choice as our first executive director. She was such a quality candidate, and her passion for the mission, vision and work that we are doing at the center is second to none.”

The team charged with making the hiring decision included Miron; Ramsey County Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt; Michael Reed, a division manager for Ramsey County Public Health who oversees the department’s recycling and energy division; Dave Brummel, director of Washington Public Health and Environment; Rae Eden Frank, a deputy director of Ramsey County Public Health; and Kelli Hall, the R&E human resources manager.

The fact that Martinson was on the Ramsey County Board was “a detriment in many ways,” Reinhardt said. “She had to really shine — and she did.”

“She was absolutely the best candidate for this job with her vision of where (R&E) is now and where it will be in the future,” Reinhardt said. “We need someone like Trista who is really strong in the environmental field and who has the executive skills to pull everyone together.”

Martinson “rose to the top” during the interview process because she “demonstrated a strong passion and commitment for the environment and climate resiliency, a strong ability to lead people, programs and operations, and a demonstrated ability to work with local units of government,” said “She brought a unique viewpoint and skillset, working as a county commissioner,” he said. “She also has established relationships in the community, including working closely with nonprofits.”

Martinson’s salary has yet to be approved; the hiring range for the position was $154,500-$191,000. The compensation is paid for out of the R&E Center’s facility budget, not out of Ramsey or Washington County budgets, Reed said.

Ramsey and Washington counties have worked collaboratively since the 1980s to manage waste. In 2016, the counties jointly purchased the center in Newport.

Recycling & Energy is governed by a joint powers nine-member R&E Board, which is comprised of commissioners from both counties. The organization serves more than 800,000 residents and 70,000 businesses.

‘This is what I want to be doing’

While on the Ramsey County Board, Martinson has worked to make climate resiliency a countywide strategic priority, she said. She also has been an advocate for environmental and climate justice.

She’s particularly proud of the work she has done with her colleagues and R&E staff to support the rollout of a new food scraps pickup program, which will soon be the largest residential co-collection food scrap recycling program in the state. It will divert up to 20 percent of waste in Ramsey and Washington counties, she said.

Martinson, along with other commissioners, has been a vocal advocate for investing in a composting facility in Louisville Township in Scott County to process the food scraps and other organic material into clean energy.

“This is the work that energizes me and inspires me,” said Martinson, adding that her longtime mentor and “environmental guru” was Reinhardt, an environmental and waste-to-energy advocate. “This is what I want to be doing.”

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Growing up in Little Falls, Minn., Martinson loved spending time outdoors, she said. “My parents were always outside looking for me, and they usually found me hidden in a raspberry patch or up a tree.”

One of her first jobs in high school was working for the Mississippi River Headwaters doing water testing and plant and soil recordings, she said. “Keeping the environment clean and readily available has always been important to me,” she said.

Prior to joining the Ramsey County Board, Martinson served in a variety of leadership, advocacy and lobbying roles including positions at the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans, Minnesota Humanities Center and Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. She also served, for a combined 16 years, in the U.S Navy, U.S Marine Corps Reserve and Minnesota National Guard. She completed her last five years of military service as a company commander.

Martinson is the founder of the Women Veterans Initiative, a nonprofit organization that advocates to build equity in services to develop innovative programs to address the needs of women Veterans. She also has served as a Ramsey County Veterans Court Advocate.

She has taken classes at the University of St. Thomas and will graduate this summer with a degree in communications and public policy from Metro State University in St. Paul.

Martinson has five sons: Taavo, Hunter, Kaelen, Soren and Aren. She lives in the Como neighborhood and enjoys gardening and spending time outdoors.

Special election

Martinson will formally resign from the county board before she starts her new position on Aug. 1.

A special election will be held either this fall or winter to fill her seat; her term expires at the end of 2026.

“I feel good about where Ramsey County is and all the work I’ve done there for the last five years,” she said. “We have such a strong leadership team. Not everyone can say that about their county, but we do. There are going to be some great candidates that step forward, I have no doubt.”

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