Local Leadership

Carl Scherbaum, District Manager

Carl Scherbaum, District Manager of Waste Management of San Diego, has been working in the transportation industry for most of his life, starting with his family owned trucking company. He has served in a variety of roles at Waste Management in his more than 25 years with the company.

As one of his many goals as District Manager, Carl is determined to provide the safest, most efficient fleet in the industry, not just for environmental services companies but also for all transportation-related companies. Under his management, Waste Management of San Diego's fleet has passed the California Highway Patrol "BIT" Inspection with 100% compliance for 20 years in a row. Prior to becoming District Manager, Carl served as the Group Fleet Director, where he was in charge of fleets spanning three western states and more than 1,300 pieces of equipment. Most recently, he was the Market Area Fleet Manager. In this role, Carl led one of the shops under his supervision to win "Top Shop" honors and the President's Award as the Top Shop in the Nation, as compared to 450 other hauling divisions company-wide.

In his current role as District Manager, he has enjoyed his involvement with the local community and is serving on the board of Directors for the East County Boys and Girls Club and San Diego County Disposal Association.

Les Hart, Community and Municipal Relations Manager

Les Hart has held many positions with Waste Management during the past 20 years, including Market Area Retention Manager, Field Representative, Municipal Liaison, Commercial Route Supervisor, Recycle Route Supervisor, Recycling Manager, Site Manager and Major Account Representative. Currently, as the Community and Municipal Relations Manager, Les manages municipal franchise contracts and relations for this District.

Les has been involved in many community service organizations over the years. He is currently a past chair of the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce, and is the past chair of the Legislative Action Committee and past co-chair of the Leadership East County Steering Committee. Les is also twice past president of Stoney’s Kids and Board Member Emeritus for the Olaf Wieghorst Museum Foundation. He is the past chair of the Advisory Board for the El Cajon Downtown Redevelopment Corp. Les has served as president of the El Cajon Chamber of Commerce, treasurer for CASA and sat on the County of San Diego Alcohol and Drug Advisory Board. He has also been involved with the Mother Goose Parade, the Holiday Bowl Parade, the Lakeside Western Days Parade, the Magnolia Festival, the Santee Business Expo, the East County Business Expo and the La Mesa Oktoberfest. He was recognized as the El Cajon Citizen of the Year for 1999.

Les has been an East County resident for over 20 years and currently lives in Lakeside with his wife, Rowena, and three of their children. Les can be reached via e-mail at lhart@wm.com.

  Phil Smith, Compliance Manager

  What started out as a summer job back in 1972 while taking a break   from attending classes at San Diego State University, turned into a   lifelong career for Phil Smith at Waste Management. He is the   Compliance Manager at WM of San Diego and has more than 35   years of environmental, safety and regulatory experience in all   aspects of the waste industry. His daily interaction with the District Manager, the route managers, the drivers and maintenance personnel helps assure that the daily requirements necessary to ensure safety, reliability and overall compliance are met.

  Charissa McAfee, Manager of Customer Experience

  Charissa McAfee joined Waste Management in 2006 in the newly   created position of Manager of Customer Experience for the San   Diego/Orange County Market Area. In this role, she works to ensure   that employees are engaged in providing exceptional service to the   company’s customers. She also manages Waste Management’s   Service Machine program, which consists of processes and standards that help the company’s local operations deliver a high level of service to its customers. In addition, Charissa performs community and municipal relations activities for the company in San Diego County.

Previously, she was the Executive Director of MADD San Diego County. She is an active volunteer and has served on numerous boards, including the North Coastal Prevention Coalition and the San Diego County Alcohol and Drug Advisory Board.

Charissa is a graduate of Covenant College at Lookout Mountain, Georgia, with a degree in sociology, and holds an MBA from California State University San Marcos. Charissa can be reached via email at cmcafee@wm.com.