Team
Samantha Saverin, J.D., Esq. | Founder & Project Director
Inspired by her lifelong commitment to protecting people & the planet and love for the state of Colorado, Samantha created Plastic-Free Colorado in 2024.
As an attorney with an honors degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder and Juris Doctorate in Environmental Law and Policy from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Samantha has worked with non-profits and government agencies on a variety of environmental issues including climate change, preserving the right to a healthy environment for future generations, and the rights of nature movement.
By establishing Plastic-Free Colorado, Samantha has dedicated her career as an environmental advocate to innovating solutions to plastic use and pollution that utilize creativity, collaboration, and strategic grassroots advocacy . Through Plastic-Free Colorado, Samantha hopes to guide Colorado towards a plastic-free future!
Outside of her advocacy work , Samantha loves to hike, ski, go to yoga, cook, travel, and visit local businesses, farmers markets, & restaurants
Dr. Michael Readey, Ph.D. | Board Member
Dr. Michael Readey has spent nearly 40 years in industry and academia. His industry experience ranges from working with large, multinational companies and to small environmental engineering businesses. Throughout his career, Dr. Readey led product commercialization efforts that included developing innovative materials technologies, transforming early-stage R&D initiatives into profitable new business ventures, all while navigating complex organizational, technical, and regulatory issues along the way. As a passionate environmentalist, he has devoted his career to developing engineered solutions that support carbon-free energy, cleaner air, and cleaner water for a rapidly growing world.
Since 2016, Dr. Readey has been a faculty member in the Engineering Management Program at the University of Colorado Boulder, where his goal is to help the next generation of leaders create and manage more socially and environmentally responsible businesses. By infusing principles of sustainability and circularity into his courses on finance, product development and entrepreneurship, he hopes to enable today’s students to achieve their vision of a more sustainable future.
Dr. Readey received his B.S. and M.S. in Ceramic Engineering from Ohio State University, his Ph.D. in Materials Science from Case Western Reserve University, and Business Management Certificates from Northwestern University, and Bradley University. Throughout his career he has contributed over 42 publications, edited two books, obtained 4 patents, and has given over 250 presentations around the world in the areas of materials and process technology, emissions catalyst systems, and corporate sustainability.
When he’s not in the classroom, Dr. Readey can be found tending his organic veggie garden and bicycling around the hills of Orcas Island, Washington where he now resides with his wife of more than 40 years.