Tara Pike is the founder and current manager of the UNLV Rebel Recycling program. She started the campus recycling center in 1995 after completing an undergraduate senior thesis about the feasibility of starting/improving the UNLV recycling program for her environmental studies/biology degree.

In 2009, she also became the sustainability coordinator for UNLV. She served on the 2006 and 2007 Clark County Recycling Advisory Committee that proposed the Enhanced Curbside Recycling Pilot program that has since led to improved curbside recycling for North Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Henderson, and Clark County. She is also the chairperson of the Southern Nevada Christmas Tree Recycling Committee and has been a member of the committee for 26 years. Additionally, Tara is a member of the Campus Race to Zero Waste board as the vice president and she is a board member for the Gilcrease Orchard.