Hayden van Andel
Sustainable Material Management Coordinator, Town of Breckenridge

Hayden van Andel serves as the Sustainable Material Management Coordinator for the Town of Breckenridge, Colorado, where he leads recycling programs, regulatory compliance, and community sustainability partnerships. A lifelong Breckenridge resident, he brings a uniquely grounded perspective to municipal environmental policy, integrating long-range planning, contract management, and data-driven strategy to advance the community's sustainability goals.

Chris Armeni
Director of Service Provider Data Verification

John Armstrong
CEO and General Manager He/Him

John Armstrong is the General Manager of Clean Valley Recycling (CVR) and Interim Administrator of SEECRA, two nonprofit recycling organizations covering the Eastern Plains and Southeast Colorado currently undergoing a full operational and legal merger. He is also Co-Founder and CEO of ONAlytics, an advanced compliance automation platform built for the EPR era.
CVR is one of only four processors statewide to have submitted an EPR proposal — and John is navigating that regulatory shift from the front lines, as both an operator and a technologist. He brings a direct, candid perspective and a practitioner's skepticism toward solutions designed for urban markets that don't translate to rural realities.

Jimena Baldino
Waste Diversion and Recycling Sustainability Programs Administrator, City of Aspen

Jimena is the Waste Diversion and Recycling Sustainability Programs Administrator for the City of Aspen’s Climate Action Office within the Environmental Health and Sustainability Department. She oversees Aspen’s waste diversion initiatives, including recycling, composting, special events, hazardous waste programs, and operations at the Rio Grande Recycle Center. Her work also includes policy development and compliance, as well as community outreach and education focused on climate action and waste reduction.

Amber Barbella
Founder & CEO, Diversion Designers

Amber Barbella is the founder and CEO of Diversion Designers, one of Colorado's leading zero-waste event management and consulting firms. With a background in environmental studies and art, she has built her career at the intersection of creative systems thinking and waste management concepts in practice by conducting waste characterization studies, leading Reuse Denver, contributing to New York City's Citywide Waste Characterization Study, and guiding more than a dozen municipalities through zero-waste planning. Amber has trained hundreds of seasonal staff and educated thousands of community members on waste diversion, translating complex sustainability concepts into practical programs that produce measurable results.

What drives Amber is a deep commitment to resource reallocation in the belief that waste is not a problem to be managed but an opportunity to redirect valuable materials back into communities. Every system she designs, from festival sort stations to municipal programs, is built around making the right choice the easy choice for the people using it. Her work spans event management, municipal consulting, restaurant advising, and grant writing, giving her a rare, end-to-end perspective on how zero-waste programs get designed, funded, and actually implemented on the ground.

Don Bates
Owner/President at Osprey Initiative, LLC

Don Bates is the owner/founder of Osprey Initiative, LLC and the inventor of the Litter Gitter. A graduate of Millsaps College, he has over 25 years of experience in the environmental consulting business. Born in Hammond, Louisiana, he grew up in the swamps around Manchac, Louisiana. He has spent most of his life in and around waterways and has a passion for maintaining and improving our natural resources. He feels that the best legacy he can leave to future generations is access to wild places unmarred by human impacts.

Jamie Blanchard-Poling
Chief Queen Officer, Compost Queen PBC

Jamie Blanchard-Poling is the founder and owner of Compost Queen PBC, a woman-owned composting company rooted in her lifelong commitment to environmental stewardship. Known affectionately in her community as The Queen, Jamie has grown Compost Queen from a grassroots startup into a regionally recognized enterprise, complete with a fleet of service vehicles, a team of dedicated employees, strong partnerships with local farms, and a steadily expanding customer base across Northern Colorado. Her work addresses the urgent issue of organic waste and its role in climate change, while offering a tangible, community-driven alternative to landfill disposal. Her journey exemplifies how mission-driven entrepreneurship can spark meaningful change—and she continues to inspire others to take part in building a healthier, more regenerative planet.

Sampson Brozek
District Manager, Sustainability, WM

Sampson Brozek is the District Manager of Sustainability Operations at the Denver Arapahoe Disposal Site (DADS) in East Aurora. Sampson assists with management of aggregate recycling, and general recycling, but his primary role at DADS is overseeing organics processing and compost manufacturing.

Ryan Call
Policy and Campaigns Specialist, Eco-Cycle

Ryan J. Call is the Policy and Campaigns Specialist for Eco-Cycle. He earned an M.S. in Environmental Policy and Management from the University of Denver, where he focused on sustainable materials management and circular economics. Since 2021, Ryan has worked with partners on numerous Zero Waste projects at the municipal and state levels. He lives in Laporte with his wife, dog, and two cats.

Kimberley Duarte
Board Member, Circular Supply Chain Network

Kimberley Duarte is a new energy engineer and product development leader who brings her experience in advanced materials, new product introduction, and circular supply chain strategy to products and systems that are commercially novel and operationally uncharted.

She has built supplier ecosystems and commercial infrastructure for first-of-kind cleantech and circular economy products, learning firsthand how upstream design decisions shape downstream outcomes. She serves on the board of the Circular Supply Chain Network and speaks on the operational principles that move circular economy work from ambition to execution.

Kelly Duran
Chief Communications Officer, Interchange 360

As Chief Communications Officer at Interchange 360, Kelly leads education and outreach for EPR programs focused on petroleum and automotive products across the U.S.

She’s worked across travel, non-profit, large-scale events, and sports marketing—building campaigns, managing high-profile brands, and making sure messages actually land.

Today, she brings that experience to an industry most people never think about: lubricant and petroleum product recycling. She works at the intersection of policy and operations, helping producers, regulators, and communities understand how these systems work in the real world.

She takes pride in cutting through complexity and turning technical information into something people can actually understand and use."

Susan Fecko
Principal, Black Dog Studio Brand Communications
Communications Advisor, Retrocycle

Susan Fecko is a strategic communications and PR professional with more than 25 years of experience helping mission-driven brands build visibility, earn trust, and change behavior. She is the principal of Black Dog Studio Brand Communications, a Boulder-based boutique PR firm serving natural products, wellness, and sustainability-focused companies. Current and recent clients include Herbs, Etc., GoodSAM Foods, and RL Labs.

Susan serves as a communications advisor to Retrocycle, a Colorado nonprofit building a statewide borrow-and-return network for reusable to-go cups, currently piloting in Breckenridge. Her work at the intersection of behavior change, consumer psychology, and brand storytelling gives her a practical lens on what it actually takes to make new habits stick — and what marketing alone can't fix.

A founding member of the Women in Naturals Network, Susan serves on the Women in CPG committee for Naturally Colorado and is a member of Women in Nutraceuticals. She has served on the board of the Network of Executive Women and is a longtime mentor to women building careers in business. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Shelly Fuller
CHMM Director of Operations, Interchange 360

Shelly Fuller is Director of Operations at Interchange 360, where she turns recycling policy into practical, on-the-ground programs. With 17 years in household hazardous waste (HHW), including 13 years at Boulder County, she brings a deep understanding of what it takes to make programs work. Shelly is leading the launch of Colorado's petroleum and automotive container recycling program, partnering with collection sites, transporters, processors, and state agencies to build accessible, scalable solutions. She also serves as Vice Chair of NAHMMA's Rocky Mountain Chapter and on NAHMMA's Executive Committee for the Board of Directors, and is known for her collaborative approach and sense of humor.

Angie Gilbert
Assistant Director Zero Waste Program, CU Environmental Center
Resource Conservation Advisory Board- Chair

Angie is a seasoned zero waste professional with over 16 years of experience creating and managing best-in-class sustainability programs for television broadcasts, professional/collegiate sporting events, concerts and multi-day festivals. Since 2010, she has developed remote programs for sustainable practices in television production at ESPN, Inc. In the Fall of 2015, she joined the Environmental Center at CU Boulder, where she now collaborates on campus waste operations, zero waste events, and the Ralphie's Green Stampede sports sustainability program. Zero waste operational and engagement maven, training and outreach expert, and procurement specialist.

Becky Goyton
Circular Economy Specialist, Denver's Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency

Becky Goyton brings 20 years of experience in project management and environmental education to the Zero Waste & Circular Economy team within Denver’s Office of Climate Action. She works on policy and program development to minimize waste and pollution and build an economy that benefits all of Denver’s communities through sharing, repairing, reusing, and recycling. Becky has previously worked in various government entities, including San Francisco’s Department of the Environment and Denver’s Solid Waste Management Division.

Kevin Hellestad
Manager of Service Provider Data Analytics

Graduating from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Economics, Kevin has been working in data from consumer goods to insurtech before arriving in recycling. Having been at CAA for 1 year managing Service Provider data from the state of Oregon, he is more than happy to provide an exceptional level of service & data integrity to Colorado Service Providers working within the state's EPR Laws.

Kathleen Hynes
Outreach & Technical Assistance Specialist, Colorado Circular Communities (C3)

Kathleen is an Outreach & Technical Assistance Specialist with the Colorado Circular Communities (C3) program, where she works alongside local governments and organizations to reimagine the idea of waste and build resilient local economies across Colorado. She approaches this work with a keen understanding of how systems and the people inside them connect, and a deep curiosity about what communities need and how to best support them. Prior to C3, she spent ten years in enterprise software, where she led strategy, business development, and consulting for the consumer packaged goods and manufacturing industries. Across both careers, storytelling has been central to her practice.

Kristina Iodice
Marketing and Communications Specialist, Colorado Circular Communities

Kristina joined the Colorado Circular Communities (C3) team in early 2025, bringing her communication and marketing skills to support circularity efforts and the entities pursuing innovation and improvements. Prior to joining C3, she spent more than a decade leading and supporting county government communication efforts. Earlier in her professional life, she worked in journalism as a reporter and editor for several award-winning publications, specializing in narrative journalism and spearheading social media efforts.

Rachel Irons
CEO, Nude Foods Market

Rachel has been working in the food industry since she was 16 and has spent the past decade helping communities on the front range and beyond reimagine the ways they interact with our food systems, with a goal to rebuild the system from the inside out.

Logan Johnson
Sustainability Specialist, City of Louisville

Logan Johnson is the Sustainability Specialist for the City of Louisville, where he supports residents and city staff in climate action planning and a wide range of sustainability initiatives. With nearly 10 years of experience across multiple sectors of sustainability, he combines hands-on field expertise with formal education to deliver practical, holistic solutions. He is passionate about connecting communities to resources, fostering collaboration, and developing innovative, accessible approaches to sustainability challenges.

His work spans waste diversion, energy efficiency, and nature-based solutions, helping Louisville residents advance their climate goals while strengthening community resilience. Logan values teamwork, clear communication, and building strong relationships across departments and with community stakeholders.

Outside of work, Logan enjoys spending time outdoors, recreational tree climbing, cycling, and serving on the executive board of the Colorado Tree Coalition.

Kelly Kandra Hughes, PhD
Teaching Professor, University of Colorado
Eco-Leader, Eco-Cycle

Kelly Kandra Hughes earned her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. After realizing she was unhappy with her professional and personal pursuits, Kelly made radical life changes, including giving away, donating, recycling, and trashing 95% of her belongings. Although she has zero expectations that anyone else should subscribe to her ideas of minimalism, she is always happy to assist others on their personal growth journeys, especially when those journeys can benefit the environment. She is particularly interested in how positive psychology (i.e., the study of human flourishing) can provide insights into why we have so much waste and what we can do about it.

Some of Kelly’s interdisciplinary psychology and conservation presentations include The Psychology of Stuff: Why We Have So Much and What We Can Do About It, The Psychology of Fast Fashion: Buyer Beware, and The Psychology of Gifting. Her writings on minimalism have appeared on websites such as No Sidebar, Tracking Happiness, UpJourney, and The University of Surrey Centre for Environment and Sustainability. She is currently a full-time teaching professor in the Psychology and Neuroscience Department at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and an Eco-Leader for Eco-Cycle in Boulder. She lives in Lafayette, CO, with her husband.

Noah Kaplan
Director of Composting and Sustainability, Compost Colorado

Noah Kaplan is the Director of Composting and Sustainability for Compost Colorado. He is responsible for business development, and ensuring the proper systems and support across the team - organics collection, compost processing, sales, and customer service. Noah has a background in education and organizational leadership. He couldn't be prouder of the work that we do and the people we do it with.

Meredith Katz
Co-Founder & CEO, Retrocycle

Meredith "MK" Katz is the Co-Founder of Retrocycle, a Colorado-based nonprofit building The Colorado Cup - a reusable cup network replacing single-use waste. Her goal is to make reuse easy, enjoyable, and designed for real-world adoption.

Melissa Kirr
Senior Director of Sustainability, Walking Mountains
Board Member, Recycle Colorado

Melissa Kirr has spent the past 20 years working in the non-profit sector, specifically the environmental and sustainability realms. As Senior Director of Sustainability at Walking Mountains Science Center in Avon, CO, she works at a local, regional, and global level on various sustainability initiatives that include Energy, Climate Action, Sustainable Business Training and Certification, Waste Diversion and Zero Waste programs, and IDEAL Sustainable Destinations. Melissa passion lies within the realm of Materials Management & Circularity. She is currently the President of the Board for Recycle Colorado. She served on the CDPHE’s Pollution Prevention Advisory Board (‘20-’24) and Assistance Committee (‘16-’20) and Cloud City Conservation Center’s board. She holds degrees in Forest Resource Management from Pennsylvania State University and the University of Montana. Melissa lives in Leadville, CO with her husband and two daughters.

Stacy Lambright
Energy & Sustainability Manager, Adams 12 Five Star Schools

By day, I’m a sustainability superhero—minus the cape, but definitely armed with spreadsheets and diversion stats. As a district Energy and Sustainability Manager, I turn classrooms into eco-friendly powerhouses, battling waste and slashing utility bills like a green ninja. From boosting recycling efforts to sneaking heat pumps into schools, I help schools shrink their carbon footprint and grow greener habits. Whether it's being inspired by student eco-clubs or optimizing HVAC systems, I blend science, strategy, and a splash of creativity to make sustainability second nature. It’s part education, part innovation—all for a brighter, cleaner future.

Daniel Lantz, DBA
Senior Manager, Data and System Optimization

After working as a consultant to CAA for about two years, Dan joined CAA just over one year ago. Prior to joining CAA, he worked extensively in the development and implementation of EPR programs in multiple provinces in Canada. His experience also includes more than six years in direct MRF operations and more than three years as COO of Green by Nature, the organization responsible for delivering all post-collection services in British Columbia when the province moved to 100% EPR in 2013. He completed his doctorate in 2020 where his thesis examined the impact of EPR programs on plastic packaging design.

Isabel Lisle
Sustainability Program Manager, Cloud City Conservation Center (C4)

Isabel Lisle, Sustainability Program Manager at the Cloud City Conservation Center in Leadville, Colorado, is passionate about designing and implementing systems level changes that reduce human impact on the environment. She works as Zero Waste director for the Leadville Race Series throughout the summer - diverting 76% of waste away from the landfill in 2025 through composting, recycling, and upstream mitigation efforts. She also co-leads the implementation of the Lake County Climate Action plan, including strategies around: wildfire resilience, waste reduction, water conservation, energy efficiency, and transportation improvements.

Brian Loma, B.S.
Hazardous Materials and Waste Diversion Advocate, GreenLatinos Colorado

Brian Loma is the Hazardous Materials and Waste Diversion Advocate for GreenLatinos Colorado. A dedicated advocate for environmental responsibility, Brian played a key role in bringing the Waste No More Denver (a citizen driven ballot measure) to voters in 2022. He owns Cut the Plastic EMS and is an active member of Recycle Colorado & Good Business Colorado Association (GBCA), where he serves on various policy committees and on the GBCA board of directors. He also serves in the Environmental Justice seat for the Colorado Extended Producer Responsibility Advisory Board. Brian transitioned from a career with Aflac in 2011 to focus on sustainability, earning a Bachelors of Science from Metropolitan State University in 2015. His expertise in Sustainable Infrastructure and Practices has taken him around the world, including participation in COP23 from the remote islands of Fiji.

Eric Lucas
Deputy Town Manager, Windsor CO

Eric is the current Deputy Town Manager for Windsor Colorado. With 23 years of municipal government experience in 4 states, he has led the Town’s efforts around hauler licensing and solid waste over the last 2+ years. He holds a masters in Parks & Recreation Management from East Carolina University and a bachelor’s in business from Robert Morris University.

Marissa Major
Waste Reduction Consultant, CET

Marissa Major is a Waste Reduction Consultant with CET, a non-profit organization that helps people and businesses turn climate action from daunting into doable. A generalist at heart, she brings expertise in waste reduction strategies, operational planning, community outreach, and cross-department coordination to more than 50 recycling and composting projects across Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Colorado. Her background is in municipal and state government supporting program implementation, funding initiatives, and infrastructure development for Colorado communities. Today, her work centers on providing technical guidance and creative problem solving to help businesses and institutions meaningfully reduce waste and turn sustainability goals into measurable results.

Ryan McDonough
Owner of Azure Furniture

Ryan is the owner of Azure Furniture Co., a Denver-based custom woodworking, furniture, and millwork studio. After acquiring the business in 2020, he has carried forward the company's legacy of transforming beetle-kill pine, salvaged from Colorado's forests, into furniture and interiors across the region.

Azure's next chapter turns to EAB Ash, regionally harvested from trees lost to the Emerald Ash Borer. With an estimated 30% of Colorado's urban tree canopy made up of ash trees, and projections suggesting a 20–40% loss over the next decade, Ryan sees both an urgent ecological crisis and call to intervene.

The most powerful and sustainable products don't just reduce waste; they carry a story and deepen our connection to the natural world. By embracing and overcoming the unique challenges working with these species requires, Ryan & Azure Furniture offer clients a way to create a little good from a devastating situation.

Stu McFarland
Board Member, High Plains Conservation District

Stu McFarland grew up in Denver with very little exposure to agriculture. After graduating from Colorado State University with degrees in Range and Wildlife Ecology, he worked 15 years for state and federal agencies, primarily the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Stu, with his wife Susan, and 8-year-old daughter Addy, now operates Susan’s family farm near Arriba, CO on I-70, halfway between Denver and the Kansas line. The 5,800 acre operation is an equal mix of dryland crops and native prairie managed with an emphasis on soil health principles.

Stu also serves on the board of High Plains Conservation District (HPCD), one of 74 such entities in Colorado tasked with representing private landowner interests in state and federal conservation activities, and advocating for agricultural innovation. In HPCD’s geographic area, compost extract is a novel approach to crop nutrient management and soil health improvements. To overcome some of the technical and financial barriers to early adoption, HPCD has partnered with Core Bio Ag, Colorado Dept of Agriculture, and Mad Agriculture to mount a compost extractor on a trailer. This includes additional hardware and plumbing to create a universal and mobile setup available for ag producers to rent while getting familiar with compost products and applications.

Lucia Meir
Bilingual Program Coordinator, High Country Conservation Center

Lucia Meir, M.Ed., is a bilingual educator, transformational coach, and community outreach leader passionate about empowering individuals and strengthening communities through education, sustainability, and holistic well-being. With academic backgrounds in Philology, Early Childhood Education, and a master’s degree in E-Learning, Lucia combines traditional education with holistic practices such as coaching, Reiki, and Bioneuroemoción to support personal and collective growth.

Lucia is the founder of Lucia Meir Villa, a transformational space inspired by the healing connection between people and nature. Through her work, she encourages emotional well-being, balance, and purposeful living.

Currently, Lucia serves as the Bilingual Program Coordinator at High Country Conservation Center (HC3), where she helps connect Spanish-speaking families in Summit County with climate action, sustainability, recycling, and energy-efficiency programs. Her outreach efforts focus on building trust, increasing accessibility, and creating culturally relevant educational opportunities through workshops, social media, community partnerships, and grassroots engagement.

Lucia is deeply committed to creating bridges across languages and cultures, helping communities feel informed, included, and empowered to participate in environmental solutions. She believes that meaningful change happens when people feel connected to one another, to their communities, and to the future they are helping build together.

Rutger Myers
Director of Compost and Carbon Farming

Rutger Myers is Director of Compost and Carbon Farming at Eco-Cycle in Boulder, Colorado. He is a former farmer and current Colorado Composting Council (COCC) member. Rutger specializes in regenerative agriculture, soil ecology, community education, and compost production.

Bridger Neimeyer
Upcycled Skis

Bridger Neimeyer is a mechanical engineer and founder of Upcycled Skis, a Colorado-based venture transforming retired skis, snowboards, and e-waste into architectural lighting and functional art. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 2018 and has worked on large-scale infrastructure projects, bringing a systems-oriented approach to design, materials, and problem-solving.

Bridger’s connection to the outdoors is central to his work. He spent several years as a ski instructor and has volunteered with ski patrol, the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, and the Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, contributing to trail building and mountain stewardship across the state.

Through Upcycled Skis, Bridger combines engineering, fabrication, and sustainability to address the challenge of composite waste. His work focuses on creating circular systems that preserve material value and extend product life, rather than relying on traditional recycling. By integrating reclaimed materials—including components from e-waste—he demonstrates how multiple waste streams can be transformed into durable, high-value products.

Bridger’s broader goal is to develop scalable pathways that allow individuals, communities, and industry partners to participate in circular reuse, helping shift the conversation from waste management to waste prevention.

Nick & Tigger Park
Nojo Farm Manager + Microbe Shepherd

The sprouts of Nojo Farm began to take root three years ago, in the somewhat ironic care of partners, Nick and Tigger Park; two people who could barely discern a hoe from a hole in the ground. Nick, a former chef and restaurant developer with decades of food-service history, and Tigger, also with a background in restaurants and business as a general contractor, former solar tech company founder, and software engineer, are now the chief cooks, bottle washers, ditch diggers, and microbe shepherds at Nojo Farm.

Nojo began with a vision of commensality: the possibly overambitious plan to shape a tired, windswept, 5-acre agricultural homestead into an incubator space for research, innovation, and the promotion of pragmatic reinvention of our food systems and practices.

The labor and time required to renovate the original, 1901 Sears & Roebuck catalog farmhouse into a commercial kitchen, classroom, and educator lodging was expected; three years into the journey, it has become clear that the realization of this dream would not only be wholly incomplete without the full restoration of surrounding flora, fauna, and soil, but also necessitates full immersion; weaving the lives of everyone involved into that circular, regenerative ecosystem.

Dempsey Perno
Department Lead for Eco-Cycle's CHaRM and Hauling Operations

Dempsey has spent a decade working across the recycling industry, gaining experience in everything from community outreach and education to hands-on facility operations. Now in her fifth year with Eco-Cycle, Dempsey leads two of the organization’s key community services and enterprise operations: the Zero Waste hauling fleet and the residential/commercial drop-off center, which diverts over five million pounds of material across 30 different streams each year.

Brian Robinson
Manager of Sustainability, Recycling, and Salvage, Goodwill of Colorado

Brian Robinson has been with Goodwill of Colorado for over eight years, bringing a broad range of operational experience across recycling, e‑commerce, and transportation. Throughout his tenure, he has worked in management roles supporting mission‑driven operations that maximize material recovery and operational efficiency.

For the past three years, Brian has focused specifically on recycling, salvage, and sustainability, helping advance efforts to divert materials from landfills while supporting Goodwill’s mission and community impact. His background provides a hands‑on perspective on the challenges and opportunities within large‑scale recycling and salvage operations, with an emphasis on practical, scalable solutions.

Clinton Sander
Marketing Manager, A1 Organics

As Marketing Manager at A1 Organics, Clinton is committed to advancing regenerative practices, sustainability, and community engagement. He develops strategic marketing initiatives that emphasize the environmental benefits of compost, composting and the circularity of organics recycling. Passionate about soil health and its impact on food quality and human well-being, Clinton advocates for compost application as a regenerative solution. He also serves on the Colorado Producer Responsibility Advisory Board, the Board of Directors for Recycle Colorado, and co-chairs the Market Development Committee for the US Composting Council, driving industry-wide innovation and policy development.

Anna Shea
Executive Director, Lucky Bikes

Anna is a bicycle enthusiast, with a particular love for keeping old bikes running like new. She works as the Executive Director of Lucky Bikes, a community shop focused on bicycle education and recycling. She has worked in the bicycle industry for more than 10 years, and is always looking to help old bikes meet new friends.

Dug Steen
Executive Director, The Toy, Game, and Puzzle Library

Dug has been an avid tabletop game player (and designer) for decades. His love of play and his eagerness to share his game collection with others are what drove him to start (with his wife, Sara) the Toy, Game, and Puzzle Library originally. Now that it’s going, however, he finds that it’s the fun people and the happy kids that draw him back week after week.

Adrienne Tafilowski
Executive Director, Mile High Workshop

Adrienne Tafilowski is the Executive Director of Mile High Workshop, a Denver-based employment social enterprise working at the intersection of workforce development, manufacturing, and Colorado’s growing circular economy.

With a background spanning nonprofit leadership, manufacturing, social work, and mental health support, Adrienne is passionate about building businesses that create both economic and social value. Prior to stepping into executive leadership, she served on the organization’s Board of Directors and also worked in manufacturing leadership at L&R Pallet, helping develop workplace cultures centered on employee care and opportunity for individuals facing barriers to employment.

Under her leadership, Mile High Workshop has expanded its work in textile diversion and reuse through the organization’s (Re)New Sew Shop, partnering with businesses and brands to repurpose discarded banners and surplus textiles into functional sewn products while creating paid job training opportunities for individuals navigating barriers to employment.

Adrienne cares deeply about local manufacturing, environmental stewardship, and building systems that restore both people and resources. A fourth-generation Coloradan, she enjoys cheering for Colorado sports teams, cooking, golfing, and being outdoors with her husband Ryan and their adventurous kids.

Meghan Teegarden
Sustainability Program Manager, Jeffco Public Schools

Meghan Teegarden is the Sustainability Program Manager for Jeffco Public Schools, where she manages energy, water, and waste initiatives across 166 schools and buildings. A champion for eco-friendly operations, Meghan successfully spearheaded the implementation of Jeffco’s district-wide sustainability policy and spends her days hunting down resource waste and drafting a roadmap for a greener future.

When it comes to tackling waste, Meghan is all about collaboration and community action. She is currently teaming up with the Colorado Circular Communities STEPS program to design a tailored waste circularity plan for the entire school district. By joining forces with local municipalities and Eco-Cycle, Meghan is bringing hands-on recycling, composting, and waste-reduction education to the schools, empowering the next generation of climate leaders to think outside the trash.

Robbie Tepperberg
Compost Operations Manager, Auraria Campus,
Vice Co-chair of the Colorado Composting Council

Robbie Tepperberg is the Compost Operations Manager for the Auraria Campus, leading compost diversion efforts across a 150-acre campus shared by Metropolitan State University, the University of Colorado Denver, and the Community College of Denver.

Robbie's passion for composting took root in the Northeast, where he taught middle school science at Camp Treetops/North Country School and helped reduce food waste through a custom-built in-vessel composter. After relocating to Colorado, he joined Scraps, a local compost hauler, deepening his expertise in the compost industry.

In fall 2023, Robbie joined the Auraria Campus to help launch an on-site composting facility featuring an in-vessel digester and custom-built electric tricycles for organics collection. He is driven by a commitment to raising awareness of composting's benefits, educating others, and building scalable, replicable models for institutional on-site processing.

Nina Waysdorf
Waste Diversion and Outreach Manager, City and County of Denver Solid Waste
Recycle Colorado Board Member

Nina Waysdorf is the Waste Diversion and Outreach Manager for the City and County of Denver’s Solid Waste Division. Nina oversees the division’s diversion programs and education and outreach initiatives, focusing on increasing participation in Denver’s diversion programs and supporting the City’s operational and sustainability goals. She integrates a background in communications with sustainability planning and management, and holds a Masters of the Environment from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Nina serves on the Boards of Directors for Recycle Colorado and the Colorado Circular Communities (C3) Enterprise.

Rob Writz
Director of Operations, Circular Action Alliance Colorado
Recycle Colorado Board Member

Rob Writz is the Director of Operations at Circular Action Alliance (CAA) Colorado, where he leads the implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility initiatives for paper and packaging, driving innovation in sustainable materials management across the state.

A pioneer in climate tech and the circular economy, Rob was a founding team member at AMP Robotics, where he played a key role in integrating artificial intelligence and robotics into recycling operations across North America and Europe.

With over 25 years of experience spanning software, sustainable materials management, and emerging technologies, Rob has been at the forefront of developing scalable solutions for greenhouse gas reduction, smart cities, and circular economy systems. His expertise includes hardware and software innovation, strategic partnerships, and operations management.

A published author and active nonprofit board member, Rob is dedicated to advancing recycling infrastructure, policy development, and sustainability-driven technology to create lasting environmental impact.

Christine Yeager
CY | Founder, Principal Consultant DB

Christine Yeager is a strategic project leader and sustainability expert with over 15 years of experience in the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) industry. At Coca-Cola, she spent more than a decade leading complex, cross-functional initiatives in sustainability strategy, program management, business planning, and technology implementation. Her work set enterprise-wide direction for packaging innovation and circular economy goals. Christine is known for turning shifting regulations into practical business advantage. She prioritizes designing sustainable programs that reduce risk, optimize cost, and deliver measurable environmental outcomes. She also hosts the Change Cycle podcast, interviewing leaders across business, policy, and activism about how real change happens and what it takes to build an economy powered by circularity and equity.