Chris Brokate

I started my own cleaning business in 1990 and have been a green janitor for over 25 years. In 2013, my business was Green Certified by Sonoma County’s Green Business Program and that same year I was awarded Green Business of the Year from the Sebastopol Chamber of Commerce.
I am a member of the Sebastopol and Russian River Chambers of Commerce. I am also a member of the Sonoma County Green Business program and have been a previous member of GO LOCAL.
I have always cared about the rivers and ocean where I lived. In late 2014, I noticed the devastating effects of all the trash coming down the river after heavy rains and entering the estuary and going out into the ocean. As a result, I started my first beach cleanup event and started thinking about ways we could prevent and clean up the river more often. With the help of a couple of friends and with fiscal sponsorship through Russian Riverkeeper, I have started Clean River Alliance.
Since 2015, the volunteers of Clean River Alliance have helped remove over 300,000 pounds of trash from the Russian River Watershed. In 2016, we started partnering with local houseless folks through the Vets Connect program in Guerneville and of that total amount, these homeless volunteers have collected over 80,000 lbs.