Samantha Pickering

Since August 2023, Samantha has defended the health of Michigan’s residents and environment at the state Capitol. She shapes policy decisions on pollution and toxic substances in our communities, homes, drinking water, and air through a justice lens.

The Hamtramck resident’s current work is right in line with her career thus far. She spent nine years educating Detroit community members, businesses, and schools about waste reduction with Green Living Science and the Michigan Environmental Counci’s Zero Waste Detroit initiative. Then, as the director of education for Plastic Oceans International, she developed educational materials to support the understanding of the plastic pollution crisis. She continues this work today on a project-to-project basis.

Rounding out Samantha’s experiences are a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from the University of Michigan – Dearborn. She’s currently pursuing a master’s degree in public health from Wayne State University where she is also a National Science Foundation Research Traineeship fellow in the T-RUST urban sustainability program. 

When away from work, Samantha enjoys hiking and camping, spending time along the award winning Detroit Riverwalk, and being a member of the Detroit Rocks! Toastmasters club.

At home, Samantha loves attending (and teaching) yoga classes, watching true crime documentaries, reading, and listening to music. She does so with her cat, Pat—who looks and acts like Garfield—and with friends.