Member Spotlight: Empowering ReMA’s Women Leaders

A conversation with CEOs Brandi Harleaux and Nidhi Turakhia, who have blazed a trail for women in the recycled materials industry.

Brandi Harleaux and Nidhi Turakhia have a lot in common. Both are second-generation Houston-based CEOs: Brandi at South Post Oak Recycling Center, a metal recycling company focused on ferrous and nonferrous materials, and Nidhi at Allied Alloys, a stainless steel and nickel alloy processing company. The similarities don’t stop there. They are both industry leaders who are driving innovation nationally and engaging locally in their communities.

They are also powerful advocates for women in the recycled materials industry. In 2019, they co-founded ReMA’s Women and Recycling Council, blazing a trail for emerging women leaders across the organization and the industry. They have both served in multiple leadership positions across ReMA at both the local and national levels.

At the start of Women’s History Month, Nidhi and Brandi sat down to discuss their roles as CEOs, their work within ReMA and the recycled materials industry, and their mission to elevate more women into leadership. The discussion showcased their passion and determination—and friendship.

Let’s talk about the Women and Recycling Council that you both co-founded. How did it come about?

Brandi: That journey started in 2013 as soon as I entered the industry. I remember being at a ReMA event and meeting a couple of other women who said, ‘Hey, you know what? We need to talk.’ That led to more organic meetups at conventions, where we would be like, ‘We should get together and share ideas.’

Around that time I was in Utah for a board meeting, and the president came up to me and said, ‘Brandi, we don't have enough women in our leadership pipeline for board positions.’ And I said, ‘Well, they're not invited in. I don't think anybody's tapping them on the shoulder.’ I told him that if he committed to it, I could help us get there. Fast forward a couple more years, and Nidhi and I are together in Charlotte for a board meeting, and folks kept saying, ‘You should launch this.’ So we did.

Do you feel like you’ve broken down some barriers?

Nidhi: I definitely think progress has been made. We were very intentional about pushing the visibility of women in leadership roles. Every session, every educational conference, we try to make sure there’s at least one woman speaker on stage. This translates into awareness—when you see a woman on the stage, it becomes easier to accept it as something that's going to continue to happen. There’s a support system too. Men come to our functions and show us support.

How are your efforts helping to bring more people into the recycled materials industry?

Nidhi: We work with the Workforce Development Committee on how to educate the next generation and get them involved in our industry. Our industry is very rare in the sense that every company has positions that range from HR to forklift drivers to operations managers. And if you want to stay in that executive or professional category, then you could be an accountant, or vice president of finance. I don't think a lot of industries offer that.

You are both involved in your communities. What has been most meaningful about this work?

Nidhi: Personally, co-founding and reinvigorating this Women and Recycling Council has given me a different outlook in terms of where I want to spend my time outside of my profession. So recently, I actually just joined the board of a nonprofit organization called Akshayapatra, and they are feeding half a million children a day in India. They target women, girls, who normally would not have had an education. They're using food as an attraction to get them back into school. It’s not only about propelling women in the recycling industry, it’s about propelling all women.

Brandi: There's an organization that we've worked with through ReMA called Jason Learning, and they have a program called Argonauts. It allows high school students to spend a few weeks during the summer focused on big STEM-based projects, and they visit different facilities so that they can increase their exposure and awareness. I've had the opportunity to speak and tour with them. It’s really neat to hear them say to me, ‘I've never seen anybody like you in this space.’ To me, this is huge.

I've also had the opportunity to serve on a couple of City of Houston boards where I represent small, midsize, minority and women-owned businesses. I use my voice to facilitate conversations with others. I firmly believe that having an impact in the communities in which we do business and serve is part of our fabric.

You are longtime friends. How do you support each other?

Brandi: I’m always learning from Nidhi. She had a lot of courage and decided that she was going to pursue an executive position within ReMA, and I was rooting for her. I supported her through that journey, not only directly but behind-the-scenes. While we are different and our paths in this industry are different - We share similarities and complementary strengths all while trying to support each other and create communities around us.

Nidhi: I love seeing Brandi’s journey and I love seeing her shine. She’s not only a friend, she’s a mentor. I look at what she does, and I think, how can I learn from her? Having the support system, especially locally, has been a blessing. There's a small group of women business owners in our industry, and we're all here in Houston or Texas, so once a quarter, we will have dinner. We just spent an evening at the rodeo! Seeing everyone come together is a full circle moment.