Katina Boutis

“A well rounded business leader, grounded in science, globally aware, commercially minded and pragmatic - Katina gets it. She is everything an organization could wish to find in a sustainability and corporate responsibility leader. Thoroughly qualified by education, experience, and results.. A gifted and highly influential storyteller. A benchmark communicator. And with a mindset of continuous improvement . . . Katina came to Away as the first ever sustainability leader - a key position for any company, especially one that manufacturers and distributes products with made with polymers. Away has since branched into other product lines, including textiles. Katina's expertise and leadership has been instrumental to Away's success. She is a pragmatic, determined team member who leads through influence and expertise. She establishes strong internal and external partnership - essential when involved, like Away, in a globally distributed, contracted workforce numbering in the thousands. Katina entered Away with nearly a blank slate - she quickly assessed the situation, laid out a strategic plan, gained buy-in throughout the organization, and made things happen. Quickly. She created Away's Code of Conduct, from scratch. She set aggressive, yet attainable, sustainability targets for the organization. She found new recycling partners, ensuring that Away products can be recycled everywhere they are sold. Her list of accomplishments in her first year at Away alone would be impressive for a sustainability leader's entire career. I'm incredibly lucky to know Katina and to work along side her.”

“I am delighted to write this letter in recognition of the hard work, dedication and professionalism demonstrated by Katina Boutis as the VP of Communications for the Sustainability Management Student Association at Columbia University. Katina and I enrolled in the M.S. in Sustainability Management program in the Fall of 2013 and she joined the student board one-year after. As her fellow board member, I have observed her remarkable ability to orchestrate profoundly open and meaningful conversation when working in teams and making complex decisions. I also have had the pleasure of working with her in an academic setting where she has displayed strong critical thinking and problem solving skills. Katina has proven that through hard work, drive, and team work, she can accomplish tasks in a courteous and timely manner. She is well equipped to grow from complex challenges we faced as student leaders and has been an inspiration to the faculty, students and the Columbia University community. Katina combines unique intellectual capabilities with strong motivation, a warm personality and excellent leadership skills. I have had the absolute pleasure of working with Katina and I recommend her for any endeavor she chooses to pursue. ”