Laurel Tomchick has established a number of award-winning business programs in her 20 years of working in the field of hazardous waste management and small business issues.  A program manager for the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, she designed and manages the EnviroStars environmental business certification program for the county, oversees the implementation of a five-county regional advisory panel for creating a state-wide business sustainable leadership program, and is chair of the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable’s Small Business Assistance work group.  Laurel holds a B.A. in sociology and environmental studies from Whitman College and has been a guest lecturer on sustainable business for the University of Washington’s M.B.A. program.  Her forte is creating non-threatening forums for dialogue among groups representing varied interests.  She enjoys hosting wine-tasting events, cross-country skiing, and supporting Crooked Trails in creating opportunities for more people to experience and heart- and mind-expanding interactions between cultures, communities, and individuals.  She has traveled with family to Thailand and Costa Rica and hopes to participate in a Crooked Trails program in the future.