Our mission is recycling electronics and other materials to create local jobs for people with autism and other disAbilities. Turn your e‑waste into real, local jobs. Your recycling fees help us achieve over 90% self-sustainability and pay our workers real wages.
Our workforce delivers:
Jane comes to us with 22 years experience in the non-profit sector. Her greatest satisfaction comes from doing whatever she can to help/serve others. Jane enjoys watching sports; football, soccer, and auto racing are her favorites. Her biggest joy in life (both literally and figuratively) is her six year old Saint Bernard. Jane is also a proud fur-mom of four cats.
Zach was born in St. Louis, Missouri but spent the majority of his upbringing in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He enjoys the sciences and nature. Zach says it is a great honor to work at Blue Star Recyclers, helping to preserve the environment, and assist people with disabilities.
Raul joined the Blue Star Recyclers team in late November as the Plant Operations Manager for our new recycling operation in Buffalo Grove, IL. Raul brings 9 years of operational experience in the warehousing and logistics industry and is passionate about Blue Star’s Mission of Providing Opportunity for Meaningful Employment. In his previous roles as General Manager with previous other companies he cultivated a strong discipline of 5S and Lean Manufacturing. He was successful in developing operations improvements in safety, quality, productivity, and employee retention. Raul strongly believes that “success comes as a result of passionate individuals, a well-developed team, and a devoted leadership.” Focused on the strengths of his employees, he aims to provide the best coaching and mentoring tools to assist in their development and career growth to Define Success Every Shift and Every Day!
Clyde is a Colorado Renaissance man who holds a BA in ceramics and began his manufacturing career in a clay pottery company. He then transitioned to the electronics recycling industry where he managed recycling operations, material, production processes, and assisted in developing safety and health procedures for a national company. In the past eleven years he became National Operations Manager over six US locations and then VP of Operations.
His expertise in managing multiple facilities helps Blue Star as we expand our recycling footprint in Colorado and other regions. Clyde is excited to contribute to the Blue Star mission of creating jobs for people with autism and other disAbilities.
Craig started his career with ten years with the Army, spending six years as a small group leader and two as his company’s human resources manager. After the Army, Craig returned to Colorado where he joined EcoCycle as a warehouse technician. Blue Star works in partnership with EcoCycle in Boulder so we were able to see Craig’s work ethic and rapport with the Blue Star team. When our Boulder supervisor position opened, we knew Craig would be a great fit. He joined our team in July and he has already hit the ground running!
Tom wears many hats in our Denver facility. He assists walk-in customers, runs social media, and refurbishes computers for low-imcome families and other non-profits.
From the time Tom was five years old, he was taking apart radios and generally making a mess of electronics. Getting paid to do that exact thing now is mind-boggling to him. Tom has a BA in Theatre, Film, and Television Production and he administers social media for several organizations. He enjoys working at Blue Star Recyclers specifically because he has always wanted to put his talents towards a greater social cause.
Bill co-founded Blue Star Recyclers in 2009 after discovering people with Autism and other disabilities possess innate talent for tasks involved in the recycling and refurbishing of electronics. He is a tireless advocate for the workforce of people with disAbilities, enjoys traveling, and has a personal goal of playing a round of golf without cursing or throwing his driver.
Bill was named 2011 Colorado Recycler of the Year, Colorado Springs Small Business Person of the Year, ARC Employer of the Year, and was a finalist for the 2012 Colorado CEO of the Year and White House Champion of Change program. Blue Star Recyclers has received the 2014 Samaritan Award from the Colorado Ethics in Business Alliance, was named Colorado’s 2016 Social Venture of the Year, and Colorado Springs 2017 Social Impact Business of the Year.
With over 25 years in the finance and accounting industry, Janet joined Blue Star Recyclers in 2011 when we became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. In addition to working directly with our Board of Directors Finance Committee and CPA, Janet manages all of our accounting functions, financial reporting, HR and payroll, and annual coordination of our financial audit and 990 preparation. She also is responsible for implementing and maintaining our web-based database program that manages material flow, inventory control, and customer accounts. Janet says that, “By far the best part of my job is the daily interaction with all of the wonderful people that work at Blue Star. The hugs and the conversations can quickly turn a stressful day into a great one. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to work with the best people in the world.”
Five years ago Sam worked a few events at Blue Star but he decided joining the Marine Reserves looked easier. After his tour of duty and four years at Liberty Wire & Cable Sam returned to Blue Star to fill the much needed position Recycling Operations Director for Denver and Colorado Springs. His skill in management and systems operations helped us improve efficiency at both locations. After opening our fourth location, Sam was promoted to CEO to bring managerial oversight across all our operations. Sam credits the team and says, “The work ethic and productivity of our team of people with autism and other disabilities is amazing.”
We are pleased to announce Mr. Jonathan Sabar has joined Blue Star Recyclers as Plant Operations Manager of our Boulder Recycling Operations.
If his name sounds familiar his son Ian is Production Lead at our Denver Recycling Operations. Jonathan brings a wide range of experiences to Blue Star. After growing up in Denver, Jonathan spent eight years in the Navy (including 5 years on submarines), then came back to get his engineering degree from the Colorado School of Mines.
While he has worked in a few different fields (including software, healthcare product sales, and even owning and operating a fitness facility), Jonathan's passion has always revolved around helping others excel. Along with raising his own Autistic son, Ian, he has very memorable experiences helping to coach Special Olympics. He is thrilled to be joining Blue Star to continue helping people with disAbilities reach their potential.
Michael was born and raised in Denver and joined Blue Star in 2019. He likes working in the warehouse because it making him strong! He enjoys basketball, and his favorite teams are the Bulls and Nuggets. Michael has an enthusiastic ‘can do’ attitude.
Alejandro was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. He enjoys listening to rock and rap music and loves a good burrito. His main passion is animals and he tries to make it to the Denver Zoo every weekend to see the animals.
James is very organized and punctual. He was born Shawnee, Kansas and has lived in Colorado since 2014. James enjoys video games and Dungeons and Dragon, both of which he is very passionate about. James looks towards a career in Library Science.
Matthew recently moved to Denver from Boston. He has been working for Blue Star since 2018 and spends his day assisting customers and disassembling computers. When he is not at work he enjoys reading and solving puzzles. Matthew formerly worked as a Web Master for the Asperger Autism Network.
Shane came to Blue Star Recyclers in 2015 from Overland High School VERN program. Shane is a go-getter! He’ll get on any assigned task, literally running to whatever it is he’s assigned to. He processes laptops, data stores, and disassembles hard drives. He really loves celebrating team goals at the end of the workday.
Darius is a Denver native who always has a smile on his face. He is an avid gamer and likes to create YouTube presentations. Darius joined Blue Star after a 3-month internship through Goodwill. He is currently the tallest Recycling Tech at Blue Star!
David came to Blue Star Recyclers in 2019 from the Cherry Creek School District’s Transition Program. David was born in Lebanon but moved to the U.S. at a very young age. He likes Disney movies and basketball. His smile shows why we are happy to have him part of our team.
In 2015 Kian moved from a transitions program at Overland High School to working with the Blue Star Recyclers team. Kian brings a lot of fun to the team. He’s quick to joke and loves teasing his supervisors. He is also a dedicated task-master and works on recycling light bulbs, shredding hard drives, processing laptops, and assisting with the refurbishment program. Kian is a great asset for Blue Star.
Praphote is a Bangkok native and spent his youth in Thailand before arriving in Denver in the summer of 1989. His pastime consists of spending time with his family and also touring malls and restaurants with his friends. Praphote has entered our Denver team eager to learn and bond with his co-workers, both of which he has successfully done. His main drive in life is to develop a strong work ethic to maintain a job. With the ultimate goal of becoming home owner.
Ian has taken the skills he's learned at Blue Star Recyclers to volunteer with Santa's Little Hackers, a non-profit group that adapts toys for children with disabilities. He likes to dance, do crossfit training, and plays video games. His favorite thing to cook is buffalo wings.
Zach moved to Denver 3 months ago from California to be with his family. He LOVES animals and worked at a dog kennel for six years before joining our team at Blue Star Recyclers. Zach spends his free time listening to 90’s rock bands such as Stone Temple Pilots and Alice In Chains. He is also an avid film buff watching mostly action and thriller movies. Welcome aboard Zach!
Raymond comes to Blue Star Recyclers with experience at another electronics recycling facility and a passion for taking things apart — something he has been doing since he was 5 years old. Raymond’s sense of humor and strong work ethic adds a lot to the Blue Star team.
Hunter joined our recycling ranks as our newest Sorting and Recycling Tech. He previously spent eight weeks under our mentoring and skills training program where he developed his skills in tool utilization, proper use of personal protective equipment and effective disassembly technics. Hunter has shown true enjoinment throughout the whole process and was happy to learn that he would be an official part of the team. We are thankful for all our local supporters that made the hiring possible, thank you for choosing Blue Star Recyclers to help with the ethical recycling of your electronics.
Sam has had a very impressive start. On his first day he disassembled 14 Desktops, and 2 Laptops. He enjoys shredding hard drives and has started a small collection of small “nick-knacks”. Sam shows a great positive attitude and willingness not only to learn, but also to teach his impressive knowledge about CPUs.
He enjoys designing "futuristic" cars, redesigning Nerf toys and playing video games.
Annie joined Blue Star Recyclers in 2020 as our front counter representative and recycling technician at our Buffalo Grove, IL operations. Annie arrived at Blue Star with an impressive customer service skillset and a strong work ethic. She quickly moved on to more challenging tasks involving technical skills in the disassembly area where she again showed great talent.
Craig joined our team in 2020 as a Material Handler in our Buffalo Grove, IL location and has demonstrated a talent for organization. Our Sorting Station has never looked better, even with our increase in recycled volume. Craig started looking for new employment after the unfortunate closure of the mail sorting company he worked for 18+ years. He has been working well with his new co-workers and is happy “to be a part of a team that has all good people”.
Zach first applied for our disassembly team a year ago when he came to recycle his own electronics. Now we have the materials and Zach is wasting no time breaking them down. He enjoys working with all electronics, as well as reading and playing video games. He was also with the Boy Scouts and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. According to Zach, this is the first meaningful job he's had — and we're thrilled to have him on our team!
Nathan "The Giant" has been at the recycling center for three years; longer then most of his coworkers. He likes helping the Blue Star workers load and unload pallets from the trucks. Nathan's favorite foods are pizza and coffee.
Richie, aka "the Crusher", is responsible for our fluorescent bulb recycling program. As a part of his job, Richie recycles fluorescent and U-Tube bulbs by operating a machine that crushes the bulbs and safely captures the mercury. Richie started out as a high school transitions student and was the first individual on the CI team to be promoted as a Blue Star employee. At lunch, he acts as pit boss, facilitating the board games played by the recycling team.
Rusty takes apart desktop towers, and he especially enjoys taking apart anything he hasn't done before. He's always looking to challenge himself with something new.
Enjoys breaking down laptops and joking with his coworkers. He has a great attitude and is ready to help out wherever he can. Danny is a huge fan of CC hockey, CO Rockies fan, and all around sports nut. When he's not at Blue Star Danny can be found at virtually every CC hockey game or Rockies game, or playing video games with friends.
Andy Jones is the first hire of 2019 for Colorado Springs. He’s a native to Colorado Springs. In his spare time, Andy enjoys practicing computer aided drafting (for which he has a bachelor’s degree), writing progressive music compositions, and even does some computer programming. He would one day like to get into video game design. We’re privileged to have such a talented man on our team!
Adam has so many hidden talents we seem to discover a new one every week! Turns out that along with being an outstanding worker, Adam is an artist, singer, dancer, and even knows a few martial arts moves Chuck Norris would be jealous of! His primary responsibility at Blue Star Recyclers is sorting and staging electronics materials to make them ready for end of life processing. He also assists the logistics team in bringing in materials and keeps the warehouse organized and clean.
Tom is a longtime friend and volunteer at Blue Star Recyclers and his specialty is disassembling laptops. He is a hard worker and loves being of help. Tom is also a renaissance man — he plays the electric bass guitar and paints with acrylics and water color pencil. He enjoys playing poker and tennis, riding his bike, and watching sci-fi movies.
After volunteering at Blue Star Recyclers since 2012 at our front recycling counter, Leigh officially became a Blue Star employee and joined our disassembly team in May 2014. After almost five years with only one female member on that team, we are thrilled to have Leigh aboard! With an ever friendly nature, she is always ready to engage people and make them feel welcomed. Leigh likes hanging out with friends, playing video games and listening to music. She's an animal lover who would one day love to be a barrel racer!
Frankie started on our disassembly team before being promoted to Counter Sales Manager. For many, Frankie's smile represents their official welcome to Blue Star. Frankie's job entails greeting our walk-in customers, handling recycling transactions, and informing the public of our mission. During the Summer, Frankie also works for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Be sure to say hello to her when you go to a ballgame!
Mark "Tank" has been working with Blue Star for the past year and a half. Mark likes finding projects with big bolts on them. His favorite "color" is camouflage. Mark enjoys action movies and playing the board game "Sorry" during lunch.
Chris started at Blue Star as a high school transitions student, before being formally hired as a Blue Star Recyclers employee upon graduation. Chris is an amazing worker and is consistently one of our most productive employees. Although quiet in most respects, he is not shy about asking for his paycheck first thing in the morning on payday! When not working, Chris likes to relax and listen to Peruvian flute music.
Terra went to school at Frederick High School and lives in Boulder County. She loves all things animals, art and tech. She plans to sell her art on Etsy and intends to go to college for Computer Graphics Design and Marine Biology. She enjoys playing video games, drawing, and swimming with her mermaid tail.
Charles lives in Broomfield and is a proud Lakota Sioux. He recently traveled to South Dakota to meet his tribe. Charles graduated from Greeley West High School and enjoys playing drums and bass guitar during his free time.
Christian is a Colorado native. His new work at Blue Star will help support his family and build funds for college. Christian is a very kind soul and always quick to help without hesitation. He enjoys video games, good food, and watching YouTube.
Robert was born in Jacksonville, Florida and served in the Army for three years working as a helicopter repair tech before moving to Colorado. His skills and hobbies include carbon art, welding, blacksmithing, and gaming on all levels. As an avid player of Dungeons and Dragons, Robert is always looking for new challenges and friends to play with.
Scott was born and raised in Los Angeles and moved to Colorado with his family in 2012. Scott has been making abstract digital art since he was a kid. His love of art spurred him to earn a bachelors degree in art history from Humboldt State University. He is super proud of the work he does for Blue Star and we are extremely honored to have him be a part of our team!
Patrick is one of the most humble-minded of our crew at Blue Star. His consistent workout schedule means he excels at moving customers’ heavy CRT TVs. When not at Blue Star, Patrick enjoys playing Pokemon Go, and attending art and Spanish lessons. Muy Bueno! Patrick was born in Boulder and lives in Longmont. We are super happy to have him on our team!
Daniel graduated from Front Range Community College with the dream to go into animation and ultimately working for Disney. His hobbies include basketball, running, snowboarding, and drawing. Daniel’s character is built on honest hard working with an endless passion of learning. He hopes to develop new workplace skills by working at Blue Star Recyclers and get closer to his ultimate goal of working for Disney.
Stacey Burns is thrilled to be a native of Colorado, living in various regions of the state all of her life, but has spent a majority of her career in Colorado Springs. She has been a strong advocate for Social Impact Businesses, veterans’ transition programs, as well as healing through the arts. She started the Spotlight on Hope event to increase behavioral health awareness and was one of the creators of the Military Creative Expressions program in conjunction with the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. Stacey’s absolute favorite part of any opportunity is to develop mutually beneficial partnerships and to help people find their potential.
Stacey is a Cofounder and the Chief Impact Officer of the National Institute for Social Impact (NI4SI). The National Institute for Social Impact seeks to educate organizations on the power of the emerging Fourth Sector of the economy using entrepreneurial strategies to solve social issues in our community. Stacey is working to increase the understanding and measurement of Social Return on Investment (SROI) through NI4SI, a process she has been developing since 2009. Stacey is also the VP of Social Impact for Adam and Son Auto Repair, as well as a social entrepreneur coach through her own company, SDB Social Impact LLC. Stacey was chosen in 2015 to become a Beanstalk Foundation Leader and is Chair of the El Paso County Community Services Block Grant Advisory Board. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and English from CU-Boulder and a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology and Counselor Education from CU-Denver Health Sciences. Stacey loves reading, movies, and water skiing.
Rachel is President and Co-Owner of CFW Careers, a boutique executive search and talent advisory firm based in New York City. At CFW, she manages a team of talent consultants, co-leads strategy and operations of the firm, and plays an active role with clients in a consulting and account management capacity. As a part of her work at CFW, Rachel also co-founded a women’s leadership initiative called Changing the Conversation, with the mission of advancing women towards leadership and helping to achieve the ultimate goal of gender equality in the highest ranks of the corporate world.
Earlier in her career, Rachel worked as a personal and career counselor in the nonprofit sector. She has a B.A. from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) and an M.A. in Counseling from New York University.
Hunter Elspas is a senior in college attending the Metropolitan State University of Denver and is working towards finishing his degree in Advanced Manufacturing Sciences with a concentration in Industrial Design. Hunter has been working on campus as a Peer Mentor to provide support to other students for the last three years and after graduating wants to go into the design industry and work for a company that has an ecological and inclusive mindset.
Hunter wanted to be on the board for Blue Star Recyclers because he is also Autistic and was approached by a professor who is a supporter and researcher for Autism about the opportunity. Hunter thought it would be a great way to get into something he believes in; A company that is inclusive of neurological diversity and focuses on helping save the planet from global warming, toxic waste, and supporting those in need of technology. So he decided to apply and here we are!
As president of Alpine Waste & Recycling, John Griffith has built a company with consistently growing revenues and increasingly influential presence in the Denver area's waste and recycling industries. John founded Alpine in 1999 in his Washington Park bungalow as a one truck operation. Today Alpine employs over 200 employees with annual revenues in excess of $33 million.
John was a finalist for ColoradoBiz Magazine's CEO of the Year award in 2007 and 2008, and a finalist for Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year award for 2010 and 2012. Alpine received ColoradoBiz Magazine's "Top Company" Award in 2008, was named one of Colorado's Top Companies to Watch by ColoradoBiz for 2010, and was named as one of the Denver Business Journal's Fastest Growing Private Colorado Companies for 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, and 2010.
Originally from Uvalde Texas, John attended the University of Colorado in Boulder, where he received his degree in business. He has twin sons, one of whom was diagnosed with autism at age 2. John also serves on the board for Firefly Autism.
Our history with Mark goes back to 2016 when he served as the Environmental Sustainability Coordinator for the Town of Vail, where he worked on a variety of projects related to waste reduction, energy efficiency, and transportation. In 2019 he became Business Services Coordinator for the Northwest Colorado Workforce Area serving Eagle, Lake, and Summit Counties. In that position Mark works with businesses on understanding labor market issues and how to best attract and retain talent in rural Colorado.
Mark is a certified workforce development professional and received his M.B.A from West Virginia University, and a Graduate Certificate from CU Leeds School of Business in Corporate Social Responsibility. This unique background is a strong match with our mission of recycling electronics to create jobs for people with disAbilities.
Karen Kunstbeck received her Bachelor of Science from Concordia University Wisconsin in Business & Accounting. She currently is the Accounting Manager for Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc. (MEAU) based in Vernon Hills, IL. Here she over sees the day-to-day accounting activities and supports global branch offices and operations.
At MEAU, Karen has been a member of the philanthropy committee, VISION, for over 15 years, serving in various roles including Chairperson, Vice-Chair and currently Treasurer. She serves as project lead of Vision’s annual Disability Mentoring Day during National Disability Employment Awareness month. Karen is also actively engaged in the company’s local recycling drives, environmental conservation efforts at an outdoor educational center that supports youths with disabilities, and participates in practice interviews with students with Autism and development disabilities as they prepare for the workforce.
Garrett Mayberry joined the Boettcher Foundation in 2017 as Special Assistant to the CEO. He supports the foundation’s leadership, communications and grantmaking programs as special projects coordinator.
Prior to joining the Boettcher Foundation, Garrett worked as a fellow at El Pomar Foundation, where he hosted international visitors, launched an environmental stewardship program, and supported grants and communications. He also served as an intern with the grants and scholarship programs at the Boettcher Foundation.
Garrett attended the University of Colorado Boulder as a Boettcher Scholar, where he studied International Affairs and was a Presidents Leadership Class member and class advisor. He was an advisory board member of Beanstalk Foundation and member of Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation.
Adam is a Lecturer of Entrepreneurship at Metropolitan State University of Denver, where he teaches a variety of entrepreneurship related courses and works with MSU Denver's Center for Entrepreneurship. His research interests include access to capital for underserved businesses as well as social impact businesses. Prior to joining MSU Denver, Adam worked as Senior Entrepreneurship Officer and In-house Counsel at Colorado Lending Source, where Adam worked with over 125 small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs as the facilitator for their Ice House Entrepreneur Development program. This program helped his organization remain an integral part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem across the Front Range. Adam also co-founded Conscious Capitalism Colorado. CCC inspires, educates, and assists individuals and businesses to implement the pillars of Conscious Capitalism and thrive financially while elevating the quality of life for all stakeholders.
Todd is Vice President in Colliers Industrial Real Estate & Supply Chain Practice. Over his 25+ years in the industry, Todd has led global transportation, inventory management, network optimization, and automation & technology teams.
While at Walgreens, Todd worked on development of distribution facilities to employ people with significant cognitive disabilities. From this experience, Todd developed a personal passion for creating large scale employment opportunities for people with disabilities in the distribution industry. In 2017, Todd and his wife, Melody, founded Higher Purpose Gifts, a national gourmet gift set company that employs people with cognitive disabilities.