Lauralee Alben
Founder, Alben Design LLC and the Sea Change Design Consortium
Through Alben Design LLC and the Sea Change Design Consortium, Lauralee consults with organizations in designing strategic transformations that foster integrity, innovation, and sustainability. Regarded as a thought leader, Lauralee coaches leaders, conducts workshops, and gives keynotes for corporations, professional conferences, and academia including the Women's Forum for the Economy and Society in France, TED, Intel, SUN, Stanford, and Carnegie Mellon.
A pioneer of the Creative Economy, Lauralee Alben has advised many of the world's most innovative companies using the Sea Change Design Process. Her clients include Apple Computer, where she helped define personalized computing; Procter & Gamble, where she led a culture change within a research and development group that shifted inertia into a sustainable innovation capability; and Intel, where she devised a global marketing strategy for the Itanium Solutions Alliance. Lauralee has also consulted on global issues, from inspiring ocean conservation for the Monterey Bay Aquarium to searching for new ways to protect human rights in Uzbekistan.
Lauralee received the first prestigious Muriel Cooper Prize from the Design Management Institute for being a pioneer in the digital environment and is one of I.D. Magazine's I.D. Forty: "one of the most influential people in design." Lauralee's articles have appeared in many business, design and computer publications.The Design Management Journal has published several, including "Navigating a Sea Change " and the inspiring series of design stories called, "At the heart of interaction design". She is currently working on a book called "Designing Lives Worth Living". Lauralee received her BFA from RISD; her master's equivalent from the Kunstgewerbeschule in Basel, Switzerland; and is an alumna of the Prince of Wales's Business & the Environment Programme.
Session(s):
Opening Plenary: "Sea Change Moments: Prosperity to the Profound"
Sea Change Moments: In Your Life, Your Brand, the World
Mona Amodeo, PhD
Founder & President, idgroup
Mona’s passion in life is helping people succeed. Those who know her best describe her as a passionate coach, facilitator, strategist and creative thinker. She is the founder and president of idgroup, a consulting and creative firm based in Pensacola, Florida and the creator of Branding From the Core® and co-creator of the Systemic Sustainability Framework. The idgroup client list includes international corporations to start-up entrepreneurial ventures and everything in-between. All share the common characteristic of being great organizations with strong leaders who share our values of integrity, respect, and a basic belief in the possibility of doing well by doing good.
In addition to her work with idgroup, she is a founding partner of Music as Message. Launched in 2008, the company creates original music and characters to deliver entertaining and educational messages to children about the environment, health and safety. The latest character, Eco the Butterfly and his Think Ecologically message was chosen as the 2008 Public Service Campaign for the 4th District (Florida and the Caribbean) Advertising Federation.
Mona’s work with idgroup focuses on whole-system change, sustainability and branding. She is an active researcher, speaker and writer. She frequently presents at national and international conferences on the topics of culture change as it relates to sustainability and her innovative approach to branding. Mona has conducted extensive research on sustainability pioneer Interface, Inc and other sustainability leaders. The research is published as chapters in Practicing Organization Development, 3rd. Ed. (Jossey-Bass), Creating Sustainable Work Systems, 2nd Ed. (Routledge) and referenced in Beyond Good Company (Googins, Mirvis and Rochlin) and Organization Theory, 2nd Ed. (Hatch and Cunliffe). She and the idgroup have received many regional and national awards for their creative and video work.
Mona holds a PhD in Organization Development and Change and a Masters Degree in Communication Arts. Prior to founding idgroup, she taught broadcast journalism and was a member of the International Documentary Team at the University of West Florida. Mona lives with her husband Ken, and dog Barney in Gulf Breeze, Florida and spends as much time as possible sitting on the banks of Fighting-town Creek in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia.
Session(s):
Appreciative Inquiry: Getting Back to our Best Selves
Tod Arbogast
Director of Environmental Sustainability, Dell Computers
Tod Arbogast is the Director of Sustainable Business at Dell, the direct-sales computer company. In this position Arbogast is responsible for overseeing Dell's sustainability team and programs, managing the balance of Dell's growth strategy with the goal of minimizing the company's impact on natural and human resources. He works with stakeholders that help Dell develop sustainable growth strategies, guides Dell's product recovery and recycling programs, and identifies issues that affect Dell's future growth.
Prior to joining Dell in 2000, Arbogast was Senior Director and part of the founding team of eMachines, Inc., a desktop and notebook PC vendor, where he managed the warranty and non-warranty support components of the company's service delivery division.She and the idgroup have received many regional and national awards for their creative and video work.
Mona holds a PhD in Organization Development and Change and a Masters Degree in Communication Arts. Prior to founding idgroup, she taught broadcast journalism and was a member of the International Documentary Team at the University of West Florida.
Session(s):
Defining Carbon Leadership
Dialogue Session: Product and Supply Chain GHG Footprinting: Inevitable Evolution or Resource Distraction?
Nick Aster
Founder, Triple Pundit
Nick Aster is the founder of TriplePundit.com, one of the world's most read websites on responsible business. He is a New Media Architect specializing in using online technology to advance conversations on sustainability. He recently worked for Mother Jones magazine to help reinvent the magazine via technology.
He has also worked with companies like Nike, SAP, Gawker Media, Offermatica, and many others on internal and external strategies for communication. With a great deal of interest in environmental matters he worked for many years on TreeHugger.com, the most popular environmental website in the world.
Nick holds an MBA in sustainable management from the Presidio School of Management and graduated with a BA in History from Washington University in St. Louis.
Session(s):
The Promises and Perils of Behavioral Targeting Online
Aaron Ayer
PE, Vice President of Marketing, Hycrete Management
Aaron has close to 20 years of managerial experience, with a focus on small high-growth and technology firms. Prior to Hycrete, Aaron worked with StrionAir, a Carlyle Group funded firm developing air purification solutions for green building applications. Before that, he founded an investment firm, purchasing Schaefer Interstate, a small company manufacturing decorative aluminum products for the construction industry, tripling revenues in 3 years time. Prior to Schaefer, he served in marketing and sales roles with YAFO Networks and Corvis Corporation, startup technology firms backed by Kleiner-Perkins and New Enterprise Associates, among others. He also held manufacturing and engineering roles with Corning, Incorporated. Aaron began his career as a US Naval officer aboard the nuclear powered submarines USS Gurnard and Woodrow Wilson. Aaron holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Missouri at Rolla, and a professional engineering license.
Session(s):
Getting the Mix Right: Balancing Green Messaging with Traditional Value Propositions
Mitch Baranowski
Principal and Co-Founder, BBMG
A seasoned writer, producer and strategic communications consultant, Mitch Baranowski co-founded BBMG with longtime friend Raphael Bemporad in January 2003 to help clients reach and inspire the conscious consumer. He has overall responsibility for the branding firm’s creative direction and its New York and San Francisco operations.
Mitch has helped dozens of start-ups develop brands, spearheaded multinational consumer campaigns, directed viral marketing programs and advised numerous Fortune 500 companies on how best to package their values-driven initiatives. His experience spans many industries including aerospace, arts/entertainment, engineering, environmental, financial services, healthcare and technology.
“In today’s increasingly cluttered and hyper-connected marketplace, it’s important to recognize that companies no longer own their brands. They are co-owned by the consumer,” he says. “The best brands will stay true to their values but invite consumers to participate in new and unprecedented ways.”
Recently Mitch has led branding strategies for ABN AMRO, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Brooklyn Public Library, Ceres, National Academy of Engineering, Plenty Magazine and Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Prior to launching BBMG, Mitch served as managing director of public affairs for Burson-Marsteller, where his clients included Orbitz and American Airlines. He also served as vice president of corporate affairs in the New York office of Edelman Public Relations Worldwide, where his clients included Bombardier Aerospace, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care and Juno Online Services.
Earlier in his career, Mitch was a director of corporate communications for AMR Corp./American Airlines, where he managed a broad range of strategic activities, including internal communications, marketing public relations and crisis communications. Fluent in French, Mitch has worked on assignments in more than a dozen countries. He got his start in communications working as a stringer for Texas State Radio Network and as a reporter for KUT-FM, Austin’s National Public Radio affiliate. He received his MA in Radio-TV-Film and Bachelor of Journalism with honors from the University of Texas at Austin.
Session(s):
Research Roundtable: Brown Bag Lunch
Mike Barry
Head of Sustainable Business, Marks & Spencer
Mike Barry is Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at the UK retailer Marks & Spencer where he was part of the small team that developed the company's groundbreaking Plan A; a 100 point, 5 year plan to address a wide range of environmental and social issues. He helps provide the vision and the energy to affect change and ensure a leading but efficient approach to sustainability across the company.
Barry deals with issues as diverse as sustainable fish sourcing, chemicals in products, labor standards in factories, animal welfare, food miles, privacy and data protection, genetic modification, fair trade, wood sourcing, community investment, cotton sourcing and climate change. His working life is broadly divided into three parts. Listening to and prioritizing stakeholder expectations of Marks & Spencer, integrating them into corporate strategy and working with shops, business units and suppliers to deliver more sustainable products and wider business activity.
Session(s):
Marks and Spencer's Consumer Education & Empowerment Strategy
Brooks Beard
Litigation Counsel, Morrison Foerster
Brooks Beard has a trial and appellate litigation practice focusing on complex commercial matters. He represents clients in state and federal court, as well as before state and federal administrative agencies, in connection with matters involving false or deceptive advertising, patent infringement, trade secrets, CERCLA/Superfund, California’s Proposition 65, and constitutional conflict preemption. His clients have come from a wide gamut of industries, including mining, consumer products, Internet, technology, pharmaceuticals, financial, consumer retail, food products, and restaurants.
In addition, Mr. Beard sits on the Steering Committee for Morrison & Foerster’s Cleantech Practice Group. In this rapidly evolving area, he is currently providing counseling and litigation advice on issues surrounding false or deceptive advertising allegations relating to environmental or “green” claims made by companies in connection with consumer products and services. He is also involved with patent infringement matters relating to Cleantech companies and subject matter. In addition to the Cleantech Practice Group, Mr. Beard is part of Morrison & Foerster’s Trial Practice Group, IP Litigation Practice Group, and e-Discovery Task Force. Mr. Beard has also been active in Morrison & Foerster’s pro bono program, having successfully represented inmates in prisoner civil rights actions; a single, non-resident mother in a retaliatory lawsuit brought by a former employer; and a middle school student in a school expulsion proceeding.
Mr. Beard is also active in the San Francisco community. In October 2007, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed Mr. Beard to serve as a commissioner on the San Francisco Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Board. He was sworn in as a commissioner in January 2008.
Mr. Beard was born in Long Beach, California, in 1968. He received his B.A. from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1991, his J.D., cum laude, from Vermont Law School in 1995, and his LL.M., with distinction, from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1996. While in Vermont, he served as a judicial intern to Justice John A. Dooley of the Vermont Supreme Court. He is a member of the California and District of Columbia bars, and is admitted to practice before the Northern, Eastern, and Central Districts of California; the Eighth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuit U.S. Courts of Appeals; and the Supreme Court of the United States.
Session(s):
SPONSORED SESSION: Navigating The Greenwashing Minefield: A Legal Perspective
Marilyn Black, PhD
Founder, GREENGUARD Environmental Institute
Dr. Marilyn Black is a leading expert with more than 18 years experience in characterizing indoor air pollutants and their sources. She has directed numerous research studies involving indoor air pollution and human health effects, mold growth in buildings, and the impact of indoor furnishings on indoor pollutant levels.
Dr. Black wrote the state of Washington indoor air quality standards for new construction, established the emissions test protocols for carpet and flooring products, and established the GREENGUARD Program for the selection of environmentally preferred, low emitting products.
Dr. Black holds Ph. D., M.S., and B.S. degrees in chemistry and environmental health. She has presented numerous training seminars in indoor air quality at EnvironDesign, NEOCON, and AIA’s National Convention.
Session(s):
Eco-Labeling – Who Do You Trust?
Eve Blossom
Lulan Artisans
Eve Blossom is the Founder and CEO of Lulan™ Artisans, designers and producers of sustainable textiles that elegantly merge original contemporary designs with centuries-old weaving techniques. She works in partnership with more than 650 weavers, spinners, dyers and finishers - most of them women - in small workshops in Cambodia, India, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
Having worked and lived in Vietnam in the 1990s where she traveled extensively throughout the region, Blossom renovated historic French villas and trained young architects on CAD for various infrastructure projects. Now based in Charleston, South Carolina, Blossom has been recognized as an Aspen Institute Fellow for her leadership in the state.
Blossom seeks to empower these artisans through an economic engine and celebrate their spirit, talents and traditions - giving them a strong voice for their future. Lulan Artisans integrates Blossom's design sensibilities with her yearning to create social change and the company is charting new territory as a for-profit social venture. Lulan works closely with these individuals, paying sustainable wages, creating economic stability, growing local economies and assisting in other social benefits - such as education, housing, healthcare - as well as opening up new markets for their products.
Frequent lecturer on design and social change, trained-architect Eve Blossom is not only committed to environmentally responsible design, she is also intent on changing business methodologies to create economic options for artisans whether in Southeast Asia or in the U.S. She received her Masters in Architecture from Tulane University and has undertaken graduate studies in Business Administration.
Session(s):
Eco-Fabulous!
William Brent
Head of Cleantech Practice, Weber Shandwick
William Brent, a vice president in Weber Shandwick's Seattle office, spent more than 15 years in China as an entrepreneur and business reporter, before joining the firm. Upon returning to the United States in 2003, he co-founded two non-profits, and in 2005 joined Weber Shandwick, a leading international PR and IR firm, where he started the firm's Cleantech practice.
Brent has worked with a range of companies, such as: Carbonetworks, Energy Free Home Foundation, EnviroTower, Finavera Renewables, Horizon Fuel Cell, Hycrete, PetroAlgae, REC, Premier Power and SkyFuel. And has a continued interest in working with people and companies that develop technologies and business models that challenge the way we consume.
Session(s):
Getting the Mix Right: Balancing Green Messaging with Traditional Value Propositions
Susan Burns
Co-Founder & Managing Director, Global Footprint Network
Susan Burns leads the overall strategic direction of Global Footprint Network and oversees communications, partnership, project development and finance. Prior to launching GFN, she founded the pioneering sustainability consulting firm Natural Strategies. She has over 18 years of experience working with more than 50 corporations and other organizations on a variety of sustainability-related issues including: product design, consensus building, management systems, business strategy, forest policy and stakeholder communications.
Burns is also an expert in the application of The Natural Step framework for sustainability and led the development of the screening methodology for Portfolio 21, the US’s first mutual fund dedicated to environmental sustainability. She has spoken widely on the subject of sustainability, corporate responsibility and strategic environmental management, having been a keynote or featured speaker at over 100 national and international events. Burns holds a B.S. in Environmental Engineering.
Session(s):
Futureproof Your Business: Understanding Business Strategy in the Face of Ecological Limits
Rob Cameron
CEO, Fairtrade Labelling Organizations
Robert Cameron is the Chief Executive Officer of the Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) which is based in Bonn, Germany. FLO is the umbrella organization that unites national Fairtrade initiatives in 21 countries and producer networks representing Fairtrade Certified Producer Organizations in Central and Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Rob Cameron was CEO and then executive chairman of the international communications company, Flag Communications, in Cambridge, UK. As the driving force behind the company, he led it from a 3 person start-up to a multi-million pound business. In 1998, under Rob’s leadership, Flag branched out into corporate responsibility and sustainable development communications. Within a few years Flag had become a market leader in this area with multinational clients around the world, including continental Europe and North America.
Rob holds strong views about the nature of business and work, and instilled strong values and sense of purpose and mission into Flag. Britain's Business in the Community recognised this by voting Flag a finalist in their UK Small Company of the Year in 2002 and 2003. Flag was bought by Computershare in 2004 and Rob has remained a director of the company since then, expanding their work in the US and directing major CSR accounts.
Rob has served on the boards of a range of not-for-profit organizations, most significantly AccountAbility, a leading sustainable development think tank and standard setter, where he has advised on growth, organizational development and international expansion.
Session(s):
Unchaining Value: Growth in Fairtrade and the Corresponding Opportunity for Business & Society
Dialogue Session: The Future of Ethical Sourcing
Tim Carey
PepsiCo Americas Beverages
Tim Carey is the Director for Sustainability and Technology at PepsiCo Americas Beverages based in Chicago and is responsible for developing PepsiCo Chicago’s sustainability vision and strategy and ensuring that the businesses continuously improve. Tim’s teams are also responsible for resource conservation programs and constructing new manufacturing facilities including the two largest LEED Gold certified food and beverage plants in the world. Tim is the former Vice-Chair of USGBC’s Colorado Chapter and has developed and implemented sustainability initiatives and programs for more than 20 years at Hewlett Packard and Warren Buffet’s building materials company before coming to PepsiCo.
Session(s):
Water: The Next Eco Innovation Opportunity
Erin Carlson
Director, Yahoo! for Good, Yahoo!
As Director of Yahoo! for Good, the company’s Social Responsibility department, Carlson is responsible for leading Yahoo!’s environmental strategy and corporate social responsibility programs. Her primary focus is inspiring Yahoo!’s audience of over 500 million people to be more green in their daily lives through use of Yahoo! products. She helped guide the development of a new Yahoo! Green site to encourage people to take eco-friendly actions and has driven the creation of Yahoo! Earth Day sites since 2005. She also spearheaded Yahoo!’s worldwide initiative to become carbon neutral and rallied grassroots efforts by launching a Green Team of hundreds of employees across the globe.
Prior to joining Yahoo!, Carlson worked at Nike Inc. in Apparel Sustainability and at Business for Social Responsibility as Environment Program Manager. She began her career at the environmental engineering consulting firm Tetra Tech EM Inc. She holds a BA in Human Biology/Environmental Management from Stanford University and an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley.
Session(s):
Speaking The Right Language
Jeff Clapp
Founder & CEO, Bells From Everest
In five years we have taken an environmental recycling Idea from conception to completion. It started as a crazy lark to turn trash from Mount Everest into treasure and create inspirational works of art from the top of the world. We have done very well and have had our products distributed by Walt Disney World, Neiman Marcus, LL Bean, Fred Segal, The American Museum of Natural History, and our own direct sales.
A byproduct of the production process of my work was starting to accumulate on our shop floor when imagination took over. We were able to develop a product which utilized that byproduct to produce a product with greater marketing appeal than our original products.
I have been a featured artist at Mountainfilm 2005, LL Bean 2007, Disney World 2007,2008, and have been invited to appear on April 22 for Earth Day at Disney, Bradford Washburn Mountain Museum for the American Alpine Club, and I was a finalist in the 2008 National Geographic Toga Award with our fellow finalists being Patagonia and The North Face.
Session(s):
Maximizing Profits by Imaginative Use of Materials
Peter Cleary
Director of Communications, Vestergaard Frandsen, for Life Straw
Peter Cleary is the Communications and Public Relations Director for Vestergaard Frandsen, a Swiss-based international company specializing in complex emergency response and disease control products including LifeStraw® water purifiers and PermaNet® bed nets.
The company operates under a unique Humanitarian Entrepreneurship business model, whose “profit for a purpose” approach has turned humanitarian responsibility into its core business. Mr. Cleary regularly speaks to public and private groups about the company and its products, including the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University.
Prior to joining Vestergaard Frandsen Mr. Cleary worked at advertising and public relations firms, nonprofit organizations, and as a Press Secretary for a Member of Congress in Washington, DC.
He earned a degree in political science and communications from Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York.
Session(s):
Water: The Next Eco Innovation Opportunity
Seetha Coleman-Kammula
Founder, Simply Sustain
Seetha, one of the founding partners of Simply Sustain LLC, has over 25 years of experience first at Royal Dutch Shell, and later at Basell, a Shell BASF Joint Venture. At Basell she was Senior VP Strategic Marketing, Innovation & Asset Management and a member of the Board of Directors of Indelpro (Mexico). At Shell she was Strategy Director (Houston), Director of Technology (Belgium)- both for Epoxy Resins, and Research Scientist (Amsterdam). She received a BS degree from Osmania University, India, a PhD degree in Organic Chemistry from Auburn University, and did post-doctorate research at Princeton University where she was also an Instructor. Seetha currently sits on the Sustainability advisory board of DOW Chemical Company and has been actively engaged leading an end to end value chain collaboration geared toward geared towards conserving energy and materials.
Session(s):
Dialogue Session: Opportunities and Conditions for Successful Multi-stakeholder Collaboration
Chris Coulter
Globescan
Chris Coulter is an experienced advisor to a wide range of companies on strategic issues management, corporate social responsibility, reputation management, and sustainable development. He works with public affairs and communications professionals in international companies, multilaterals, and NGOs to help them manage their reputations, identify emerging issues, plan strategically, and develop successful initiatives and communications.
A specialist in international relations, Mr. Coulter holds a M.A. in International Affairs, B.A. in International Development, and B.Sc. in Psychology. His interests include news, politics, global issues. And he is fluent in English, French, conversational Ukrainian.
Session(s):
Sustainable Futures 09: Understanding the Opportunities to Build Durable Brand Value from Sustainability
John Creson
Partner/Executive Creative Director, Addis Creson
“Logos, taglines, and packaging are part of what a brand is but are not the complete definition. A brand is a collection of perceptions in the mind of your audience. A brand is built not only through effective communication or appealing artifacts. A brand is built through the total experience that it offers.” – John Creson
Addis Creson partner and executive creative director, John Creson, is motivated by the notion that positive change is within reach of individuals, companies, and communities. He is deeply committed to doing work that matters—and can improve how we live. John constantly challenges himself and the team to push the boundaries of logic and imagination, and to create ideas that will add meaningful value to companies and their stakeholders.
Gaining valuable experience at Addison and Landor, John was responsible for the creation of high-profile branding programs for major companies like Visa International, Chevron, PG&E, Monsanto, Avery Dennison, Dominos, and the American Automobile Association. His creative contributions have been recognized with numerous awards, from Clio honors to inclusion in the permanent collection of the The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design.
John’s always thought-provoking creative insights have been featured in Brandweek, Brandchannel, How magazine, and numerous other industry publications. He has also spoken on the Changing Vernacular of Green at the Fancy Food Show as well as speaking as a panelist for The Designers Accord at the Sustainable Brands Conference. An active member of AIGA, John served on the committee for the organization’s Gain Business and Design conference and Compostmodern.
John’s work for Addis Creson, which has instilled the firm with its distinct creative vision, includes identity and branding programs for clients like Intel, GE Healthcare, Better Place, Caesars Palace Qua Bath & Spa, Ballys Systems, Blue Shield, 24 Hour Fitness, and Johnson & Johnson. He has also been instrumental in shaping the firm’s current vision and focus on four distinct areas: healthy lifestyle, social change, future tense, and sense of place.
A native of the Bay Area, John earned his BFA at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. He is a dedicated supporter of the Sierra Club and co-leads the Environmental Education program at his children’s school, connecting kids of all ages who share a common desire to make the world a better place. He lives in Orinda with his wife and three children.
Session(s):
Dialogue Session: Redefining the American Dream
Steve Croth
Co-Founder & Partner, The Better World
Steve is a co-founder and partner at Better The World – currently acting as chief marketing officer. He is known by most as a strategic and creative thinker that develops ideas that are “out of the box” and challenge the status quo.
Steve landed where he is today by designing and launching the “perfect” company - a company with innovation, purpose and passion at its’ core. Over the past 18 months, Steve has been immersed in the world of digital innovation and social media – developing a competency for the landscape and the tools that marketers can use to help get their message out, develop brand ambassadors and drive sales.
When he isn’t engaged online, Steve spends his free time between travel, staying active and playing with his two young children.
Session(s):
Social Media Marketing for “Do Good” Brands
Andrius Dapkus
Director of Innovation & Renovation, Nestle Waters North America
Andrius Dapkus is a “hybrid” marketing, sales and R&D executive with 20 years experience with top CPG companies. Currently Director of Innovation and Renovation at Nestlé Waters North America, Andrius is involved with sustainability initiatives across the range of Nestlé Waters regional spring water brands and Nestlé Pure Life.
Session(s):
Toward Closing the Loop in the Bottled Beverage Industry
Jed Davis
Director of Sustainability, Cabot Creamery Cooperative
Coming Soon!
Session(s):
Strengthening Your Brand with Context-Based Sustainability
Miguel de Anquin
Chief Operation Oficer, Premier Power
As Vice President, Miguel has achieved exciting company success in growing sales and profits. An accomplished corporate strategist and marketer, his vision and expertise in business performance have driven notable enterprise growth in the solar energy sector. His strategic approach to building a business is reflected in his work as Director of Marketing for Nordic Information System and Next Information System. He was a Technology advisor for General Electric, IBM and developed the data security auditing system for Bank of America. Miguel has increased Premier Power's profitability through brand revitalization that included major shifts in brand strategy, operations, marketing communications, and sales tactics. Miguel has an MBA from UC Davis and a BS in Computer Science from the Universidad de Belgrano.
Session(s):
Getting the Mix Right: Balancing Green Messaging with Traditional Value Propositions
Andrew Dent, PhD
Vice President, Library & Materials Research, Material ConneXion
Dr. Andrew Dent plays a key role in the expansion of Material ConneXion’s technical knowledge base. His primary function is to direct research into innovative products and processes for the global materials consultancy. His research directs the implementation of consulting projects and the selection of the more than 50-60 new materials juried into Material ConneXion’s Materials Library monthly. He oversees Material ConneXion’s libraries in New York, Milan, Cologne, Daegu, and Bangkok as well as an online database of over 4,500 materials.
Dr. Dent received his Ph.D. in materials science from the University of Cambridge in England. Prior to joining Material ConneXion, Dr. Dent held a number of research positions both in industry and academia. At Rolls Royce PLC, Dr. Dent specialized in turbine blades for the present generation of jet engines. He has completed postdoctoral research at Cambridge University and at the Center for Thermal Spray Research, SUNY, Stony Brook, NY. Other research projects, during this period, included work for the US Navy, DARPA, NASA, and the British Ministry of Defense.
Since joining Material Connexion, Dr. Dent has helped hundreds of clients—from Whirlpool and Adidas to BMW and Proctor & Gamble—create better, more sustainable products. From customized sustainable roadmaps to sustainable material trend reports, his expertise in sustainable materials has played an important part in creating a new generation of more sustainable products.
Session(s):
Transparency & Green Materials: Key Building Blocks for Tomorrow's Brand Leaders
Mark Dixon
Founder, yert.com
After surviving childhood at a young age, Mark attended Stanford University and somehow graduated in 1997. He followed his dreams into the Internet bubble and worked for two start-up companies in Silicon Valley, including Akimbo Systems, where he managed the deployment of nearly 10,000 programs for its Internet video service.
A citizen of the world, he has visited 26 countries and lived on three giant continents, including a year in Tokyo, Japan. Mark has also dedicated his life to the performing arts, entertaining audiences onstage through choral and solo vocal and acting performances in a variety of genres, including jazz, comedy, gospel, opera, improv and musical theater, and classical religious music.
As evidence for global warming and resource depletion moved into prominent view on an international scale, Mark decided to refocus his life on helping America work with the world community to address these issues, by launching YERT in Summer 2007. Mark is also one of 1000 climate messengers chosen and trained by Al Gore to give presentations about the climate crisis that we face today.
Session(s):
Insights in to New Consumer Segments: Mom's, Millenials & Communities of Faith
Mark Dwight
Founder, Rickshaw Bag
Mark Dwight, founder and CEO of Rickshaw Bagworks and former CEO of Timbuk2 Designs, is a Bay Area native, with 20 years experience in high-technology and consumer marketing, product development, and manufacturing operations.
Before joining Timbuk2, Dwight worked at Cisco Systems, holding various positions in manufacturing and marketing. Additionally, Dwight was the co-founder of Astro Studios, a San Francisco-based product design consultancy, and Director of Product Development for Kensington, a leading brand of consumer PC accessory products. Earlier in his career, Dwight worked for KLA/Tencor, Stratus Networks (previously Digital Microwave), and several high-technology start-ups. Dwight has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering (82) and an MBA (89), both from Stanford University.
Session(s):
Form, Function and Footprint: Strategies for Designing a More Sustainable Business
Janet Eden-Harris
Vice President, Marketing, Web Intelligence Division,
J.D. Power and Associates
Janet is a marketing and social media authority who is frequently tapped to provide insights into mining market intelligence from the online world. As a vice president for J.D. Power and Associates, Janet is responsible for building out the company’s social media research practice and developing innovative ways to help customers understand their consumers.
She was formerly the CEO of Umbria, a social media marketing intelligence firm that was acquired by J.D. Power and Associates in 2008, becoming its Web Intelligence division. She has spent her career in marketing, running large marketing organizations in both research and high tech. She joined Umbria from Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), a multinational information services company, where she served as executive vice president and chief marketing officer. Prior to working for IRI, she was CMO of global supply chain vendor i2 Technologies.
Session(s):
Top 10 Online Sustainable Brands Stories and the Tools That Got Them There
John Edson
President & CEO, Lunar Design
As a seasoned product developer with a background in both analytical and creative thinking, John Edson's primary role is to build new programs for clients with the right innovation processes led by the right creative team to make a real difference for clients. His experience includes managing the birth of successful products for Philips, Motorola, InFocus, and several startups. Products developed under Edson's management have been honored with accolades from the ID Magazine Design Annual, the Chicago Athenaeum Good Design Award, iF Hannover, PC Magazine's Editor's Choice Award, and IDSA's Industrial Design Excellence Award.
Edson ensures that Lunar's environment is one where a culture of creativity thrives by supporting its diverse, international staff with educational opportunities and the freedom to experiment with new ideas on company time.
Developing the contribution of design creativity and innovation process in the service of business, society and the environment, Edson explores the impact of design creativity through the weekly podcast, Icon-o-Cast, that he hosts with guest speakers ranging from Business Week's Bruce Nussbaum to author and cognitive scientist Don Norman. Edson is also a regular speaker, having lectured at Wharton School, given a keynote at Intertech's Flexible Display Technologies conference, and participated in a talk for the Business Marketing Association of Northern California.
An occasional lecturer at Stanford, Edson teaches courses in product design and creativity. John holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and a master's degree in product design from Stanford University. Prior to joining Lunar, he served as a product designer for Ignition in Dallas, TX and as a freelance designer. On his own time, John can often be found at the helm of a sailboat on San Francisco Bay or pedaling up King's Mountain Road.
Session(s):
Strategy by Design: Incorporating Design Thinking into Your Business
Frank Erickson
Director Worldwide S/H/E/Q Operations, S.C. Johnson
Frank is currently employed by SC Johnson, as Director Worldwide S/H/E/Q Operations and is located at SC Johnson's Headquarters in Racine, WI. He is responsible for planning, directing and monitoring the development, administration and implementation of safety, industrial hygiene, quality and environmental affairs policies, procedures and programs for all worldwide operations. He was the Project Manager for the Landfill Gas/Turbine green energy project and he leads SC Johnson’s participation in EPA’s Climate Leaders Program. Frank leads SC Johnson’s work on GHG and Energy reduction.
Frank has a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Michigan Technological University. He has worked as a Chemical Engineer in the environmental field for 35 years. Frank is a licensed PE in the state of Wisconsin and is also a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager.
* Contributing author to “Environmental Aspects of Silver Halide Processing”, Society of Photographic Scientists and Engineers Handbook, 2nd Ed. 1997
* With C.R. Brunner & D.R. Dean, “Site Remediation by Incineration/Thermal Treatment”, Presented at the International Conference on Incineration of Hazardous, Radioactive, & Mixed Wastes, May 1988.
* With C. R. Brunner and D. R. Dean. “Overview of Mobile Incineration.” Presented at the Engineering Foundation Conference on Hazardous Waste Management Technologies. August 1988.
Session(s):
SPONSORED SESSION: Growing "Greener" Products: Leading with Raw Material Selection & Transparency
Transparency & Green Materials: Key Building Blocks for Tomorrow's Brand Leaders
James Ewell
Director of Consulting, MBDC
As Director of Consulting, James is responsible for working with companies to demonstrate the practicable value of implementing cradle-to-cradle design principles within industry. MBDC’s consulting services range from assisting companies to create and implement long-term sustainability platforms, utilize alternative product design criteria, material selection guidance, supply-chain integration, research on sector or issue-specific topics for implementing sustainable strategies, and conducting workshops to educate companies about the cradle to cradle design framework. James also assisted in the launch of the non-profit organization, the GreenBlue Institute, where he managed the eDesign Competition for the electronics industry and represented GreenBlue in the creation of a pending standard from NSF International – NSF 336 “Standard for the Assessment of Sustainable Commercial Furnishing Fabrics”.
During his tenure with MBDC, James has worked with many clients to implement cradle-to-cradle design into their strategic planning and product design processes. Some of his clients include Herman Miller Inc., Seventh Generation, Shaw Industries, Victor Innovatex, WVU-Marcee Project, Volvo, Ford Motor Co. He has also worked with numerous clients to certify their products under the Cradle to CradleSM Certification program.
James and his family moved to Charlottesville, Virginia to attend graduate school at the University of Virginia (MA 1996) prior to joining McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry in 1998.
Session(s):
Toward Closing the Loop in the Bottled Beverage Industry
Robert Fabricant
Vice President of Creative, Frog Design
Robert Fabricant is Vice President of Creative at frog design, where he leads multidisciplinary design teams for clients such as BBC, Comcast, GE, MTV, Nextel, and Nissan. He has developed user experiences for numerous digital platforms, including handheld devices, in-car information systems, medical devices, retail environments, networked applications, and desktop software.
Robert is a leader of frog’s healthcare expert group, a cross-disciplinary global team that works collectively to share best practices and build frog’s healthcare capabilities. An expert in design for social innovation, Robert recently led Project Masiluleke, an initiative that harnesses the power of mobile technology to combat the world’s worst HIV and AIDS epidemic in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.
Prior to frog, Robert led the research and development team at Organic where he worked on wireless applications for key clients such as Federated, Lucent Technologies, and the Museum of the Moving Image. Additional experience includes positions at radicalmedia, Microsoft Research, and Edwin Schlossberg Inc.
Robert is an adjunct professor at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts where he teaches a foundation course in Interaction Design. In 2009, he joined the faculty of the School of Visual Arts in New York and is a faculty member of the Pop!Tech Social Innovation Fellowship Program. A regular speaker at conferences and events, Robert recently gavea keynote speech at the 2009 IxDA Interaction Conference. He is a frequent contributor to a wide variety of publications, including I.D. Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired.
Session(s):
Persuasive Design: A Case Study and Dialogue on Issues & Opportunities
Jeremy Faludi
Professor, Stanford Design School
Jeremy Faludi (LEED AP) is a sustainable design strategist and researcher. He teaches green design at Stanford University and designs modular green building systems at Project FROG. He has worked for Rocky Mountain Institute, The Biomimicry Institute, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, among others. He has also taught green design at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. A bicycle he helped design has appeared in the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, and he was a finalist in the 2007 California Cleantech Open competition. He was a juror for Dell's ReGeneration green computing competition.
In addition to his design work, he writes for Worldchanging.com and is one of the many authors of Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century. He also contributed to the books Packaging Sustainability by Wendy Jedlicka and Eco-labels: Concerns and Experiences by Asha B. Joshi. He has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle, BoingBoing, Treehugger, C|Net, Sustainable Industries Journal, Package Design Magazine, GreenBiz, Australian Broadcast Corporation radio, IT Conversations, and the Secretariat of the Commonwealth of Nations' newsletter Commonwealth Today.
Session(s):
LCA on a Budget
Cynthia Figge
Cofounder, EKOS International and EkoHub
Cynthia Figge’s expertise is in new venture development and sustainability as an executive for major North American companies for over 20 years. She is Partner and Cofounder of EKOS International, one of the leading management consulting firms in integrating sustainability and business strategy and innovation. Cynthia serves as President and Cofounder of the start-up EkoHub, a website that aggregates and organizes data and knowledge on the social, environmental and governance performance of over 5,000 companies, and uses this information to provide ratings to the marketplace. Cynthia is also CEO and Cofounder of Arrowsmith Technologies Corporation, a seed-stage, Seattle based biotechnology company.
Cynthia received her bachelor's degree in Economics from Lawrence University, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Prior to founding EKOS in 1996, Cynthia was Vice President of New Services Development at McCaw Cellular/ LIN Broadcasting (now AT&T) pioneering new services for voice and data.
Session(s):
Increasingly Equipped Stakeholders Push Environmental and Social Governance to Main Street
Jez Frampton
Global CEO, Interbrand
Jez Frampton is the Group Chief Executive at Interbrand. He leads the Interbrand network, shaping strategy and growth for its 36 worldwide offices and enhancing its brand value generating services to a prestigious roster of clients.
While at Interbrand Jez was named the global head of Interbrand in early 2006, Jez had previously been the CEO of Interbrand’s practice in the United Kingdom. In his ten years with Interbrand, Jez has worked alongside clients to create and manage brands.
Frequently invited to comment on the importance of brands as business assets, Jez has authored several articles on the subject including the recent, “Wall Street’s Angst is Now Main Street’s” and “The Red Thread: The True Power of Well-Managed Brands.”Jez is a member of the Marketing Society, the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the Market Research Society, the Design Business Association and the Institute of Directors. He is also a non-executive director of Ocado.com.
Prior to Interbrand Jez worked in both the United States and UK for the notable agencies Saatchi & Saatchi and DMB&B.
Previous clients: AT&T, Budweiser, British Airways, the BBC, KPMG, Toyota, IBM, McDonald's, Orange, P&G, Diageo, Carlsberg-Tetley, Barclays Bank, Nestle, McLaren Automotive, The Wrigley Company.
Session(s):
Opening Plenary: Brands in a New Age of Responsibility
Shawn Frayne
President, Humdinger Wind Energy and Haddock Invention
Shawn is the inventor of the core wind generator technology on which Humdinger is founded. Previous to his involvement with Humdinger, Shawn successfully matured several technologies, in the fields of self-inflating packaging and water disinfection, from concepts into developed products in pre-production. He established a strong intellectual property base surrounding those technologies and in early 2006 sold substantial rights to a Fortune 500 company. Some of Shawn’s work has been profiled in Popular Mechanics, Forbes.com, and NPR.
Additionally, he continues to be part of on-going effort established five years ago at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop low-cost technologies by which entrepreneurs in Haiti can transform agricultural wastes into saleable cooking fuel.
Shawn is the sole inventor or co-inventor on a number of US and international patent filings. He has his Bachelor of Science in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Session(s):
Breakthrough Design Ideas Borrowed From Developing World Solutions
Gil Friend
CEO, Natural Logic
Gil Friend is founder, president & CEO of Natural Logic Inc, a sustainability consultancy helping companies build economic advantage through exceptional environmental performance. Clients have included Agilent Technologies, General Mills, Gilead Sciences, Granite Construction, Green Mountain Energy, Hewlett Packard, Nike, Odwalla, Pacific Gas & Electric, Sun Microsystems, and many others.
A systems ecologist and business strategist with 35 years experience in business, communications and environmental innovation, Friend combines broad business experience with unique content experience spanning strategy, systems ecology, economic development, management cybernetics, and public policy. Tomorrow Magazine called him one of the country’s leading environmental management consultants - a real expert who combines theoretical sophistication with hands-on, in-the-trenches know-how.
Friend lectures widely on business strategy and environmental policy, and writes "The New Bottom Line," a monthly column on business strategy; contributes to Sustainable Life Media.com, GreenBiz.com, and WorldChanging.com; and a forthcoming book: Risk, Fiduciary Responsibility and the Laws of Nature.
Session(s):
What Gets Measured, Gets Done: Driving Sustainability Home
Alain Gauthier
Director, Core Leadership Development
Alain Gauthier’s current focus as a consultant, facilitator, educator, coach, and researcher is on partnership and executive team development as a prerequisite for cultivating deep and lasting change in and across organizations. A graduate from H.E.C. (Paris) and an M.B.A. from Stanford University, he has served over the past 42 years a large variety of client organizations in Europe, Japan and North America.
He first worked as a senior associate of McKinsey & Company in Europe, then as a partner of a Paris-based consulting firm, and is currently Executive Director of Core Leadership Development in Oakland, CA. Over the years, he has broadened his experience from strategic management and organizational design to leadership, partnership, team and network development. Prior to his move from France to California in early 1986, he was general manager of an international publishing firm, while developing and teaching business policy courses, and conducting research on leadership and cultural change at the Lyons School of Management.
Alain has adapted and prefaced in French three of Peter Senge's‚ ”Fifth Discipline‚” books, and is a co-author of "Leadership is Global" and "Action Inquiry: The Secret of Timely and Transforming Leadership". He is an Executive Circle Member of the Global Leadership Network, a co-founder and active member of the Society for Organizational Learning (SoL) in the United States and France. Alain has designed and taught courses at John F. Kennedy University for their Organizational Leadership Program, and is a visiting professor for the International MBA Program at the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris. He devotes more than half of his time to work outside the United States.
Session(s):
Best Leadership Practices in Cross-sector Partnering
Jay Coen Gilbert
Founder, B Corp
Jay Coen Gilbert co-founded and sold AND 1, a 250M basketball footwear and apparel company based outside Philadelphia. He led AND 1's product and marketing for 13 years and was AND 1's Chief Executive Officer during its period of most rapid growth. He is also co-founder of B Lab, a nonprofit organization that envisions a new sector of the economy, harnessing the power of private enterprise to create public benefit.
This sector is comprised of a new type of entity - the B corporation. Unlike traditional businesses, it institutionalizes stakeholder interests and meets comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance standards. The mission of B Lab is to support B corporations and this emerging sector. In May, the San Francisco Chronicle featured him, the B corporation movement, and local B corporations Give Something Back and Numi Organic Tea.
He is co-chairman of Investors' Circle, an organization dedicated to the acceleration of patient capital markets for a sustainable future
This sector is comprised of a new type of entity - the B corporation. Unlike traditional businesses, it institutionalizes stakeholder interests and meets comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance standards. The mission of B Lab is to support B corporations and this emerging sector. In May, the San Francisco Chronicle featured him, the B corporation movement, and local B corporations Give Something Back and Numi Organic Tea.
He is co-chairman of Investors' Circle, an organization dedicated to the acceleration of patient capital markets for a sustainable future. Since 1992, Investors' Circle's core activity has been the Investors' Circle Network, a national network of angel investors, venture capital funds, foundations, and others that has facilitated the flow of over 111 million into 182 companies and venture funds addressing social and environmental challenges.
He is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and a Board member of the Philadelphia chapters of KIPP, a national public charter middle school. He is also a Board member of City Year, a leading Americorps youth service program, and Monteverde Friends, U.S. He grew up in New York City before graduating from Stanford University with a degree in East Asian Studies. Prior to AND 1, he worked for McKinsey & Co and several organizations in New York City's public and non-profit sectors.
Session(s):
A Brief History & Some Quick Takes on the Future of the American Corporation
Preserving Brand Equity when Acquiring a Sustainable Business
Keith Gillard
Principal, BASF Venture Capital America Inc.
Mr. Gillard is Principal of BASF Venture Capital America, based in Silicon Valley, California. Mr. Gillard has twenty years’ experience as an investor and entrepreneur, with the past eight years focused on cleantech and advanced materials. Since joining BASF in March 2006, he has led investments into SDCmaterials Inc., Pangaea Ventures II Ltd., Luca Technologies LLC, Ultracell Corporation, ARCH Venture Fund VII, Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. and Sciona, Inc.
From 2001-2006, Mr. Gillard was with Mitsubishi Corporation and responsible for technology-related investment and business development activities in Canada, with a specific focus on cleantech. Mr. Gillard was the only non-Japanese member of the Mitsubishi Corporation Fuel Cell Business Development Office in Tokyo, and was instrumental in establishing Japanese markets and partners for several Canadian and American cleantech companies.
Prior to joining Mitsubishi, Mr. Gillard began his career in investment banking, structuring mergers and acquisitions as well as manufacturing technology joint ventures into China. In the late ‘90’s, he had a five-year spell as an entrepreneur in IT, establishing three companies in succession and taking them from business plan through financing to completion of product and exit.
Mr. Gillard currently sits on the boards of ARCH Venture Fund VII, Chrysalix Energy Limited Partnerships I and II, Pangaea Ventures II Ltd., Sciona Inc., SDCmaterials Inc. and Ultracell Corporation, and is a board observer for Arcadia Biosciences Inc. He also sits on the Advisory Board of the National Venture Capital Association Corporate Venture Group, and is the co-author of “Inside the Minds: Energy Venture Capital Best Practices”, published in 2008 by Aspatore Books. Mr. Gillard is a founding member of the Californian Consortium on Green Chemistry and the Synthetic Biology Industry Association.
Session(s):
Dialogue Session: Invention and Creative Destruction –Varying Paths to Innovation Success
Julie Gilhart
SVP, Fashion Director, Barney's New York
As fashion director of the most forward-thinking big store in the city, Julie Gilhart is responsible for feeding customers a constant diet of the new and lust-worthy. She does this by trekking to designers' studios and then championing those she thinks have the proper balance of real design skill and luxury. She's promoted Alber Elbaz (now a star at Lanvin after a rocky few years), Proenza Schouler, Olivier Theyskens, Goyard, and Project Alabama, to name a few. And with Barneys expanding across the country, Gilhart's effect is going national.
Session(s):
Eco-Fabulous!
Steve Glenn
CEO, Living Homes
Steve Glenn is an entrepreneur committed to social change both through for- and non-profit organizations. He is currently the founder and CEO of LivingHomes, LLC, www.livinghomes.us, a developer and builder of modern, prefabricated homes, designed by world-class architects that feature healthy/green materials and energy systems and an affordable to moderate price point. The company's first product, designed by Ray Kappe, is in development for a site in Santa Monica, California.
For the past several years, Glenn has been working with the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation as a volunteer on a variety of projects. Most recently he helped to organize an initiative with the American Heart Association to address childhood health and nutrition. The project was announced in April, 2005. Between 2002-2004, Glenn worked full-time with the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) and managed the development of a 330 million program in Mozambique which will provide care and treatment to over 350,000 HIV+ individuals over the next five years.
Glenn is founder and former Chairman and CEO of PeopleLink, the leading provider of enterprise ecommunity solutions. Under Glenn's leadership, PeopleLink developed a multi-million dollar a year business providing software and services to clients including Oracle, GE, MTV, Paramount, Reuters and CBS. In addition, PeopleLink raised over 35 million in investment from firms including AT&T, GE, Harbourvest, Hicks Muse and Goldman Sachs.
Glenn began his technology career while still in college, when he co-founded Clearview Software, the developer of Claris SmartForm Designer and SmartForm Assistant. Clearview was sold to Apple Computer where Glenn later served as a marketing specialist.
He holds a bachelor's degree with honors in Organizational Behavior, from Brown University, and received a scholarship for the Career Discovery Program in Urban Planning at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, a State Farm Exceptional Student Fellowship Award for graduate study and a one year Fellowship in Public Affairs with the Coro Foundation. Glenn was a co-founder and serves on the board of the Kaia Parker Dance Fund and the Hope Street Group. He is a member of the board of directors of LA Works and is a Trustee for Alternative Housing for the Aging.
Session(s):
Market Sector Innovation Snapshot: The Built Environment
Ron Gonen
Co-Founder, RecycleBank
As a Senior Consultant at Deloitte Consulting, Ron Gonen focused on developing CRM and strategic account management programs for clients such as Bank of America, Bank of Montreal, Bank One, GE, and DIRECTV. He received an MBA from Columbia Business School where he was a Eugene M. Lang Center for Entrepreneurship award winner and received a BA in History and Economics from the University of Massachusetts where he graduated cum laude and was awarded Massachusetts Commonwealth Scholar honors.
Social policy and economic impact have always been two driving forces for Gonen. Even before he could drive, he was a founding member of the National Conference for High School Students Against Hunger and Homelessness and created the first recycling program at his high school.
Years later, as a Senior Consultant at Deloitte Consulting, Ron was a co-recipient of Deloitte's National Impact Award in 2002 for developing a business unit that provides pro bono consulting services to non-profit and charitable organizations.
A sharp brain with a soft heart, he has always felt strongly about examining the true cost of business, and what can be accomplished by creating better and more efficient systems.
Which — after two degrees and several consulting management positions —led him to dinner with an old friend and a single question: Why shouldn't people be rewarded for recycling? This was the challenge that spurred Gonen to create an entirely new species of green: incentive-based recycling. Soon, he was in the world of mechanical garbage truck arms, chip scanners and wireless data servers. Seeing his idea through meant developing the best technology, finding the right people to help and getting a bit lucky.
In 2004, after raising 50m in capital, RecycleBank became a breakthrough reality and huge coup in waste management that has already won accolades across industries. RecycleBank now has over a hundred thousand participating households. As the program rolls out nationally, it will become millions.
Gonen received an MBA from Columbia Business School where he was a Eugene M. Lang Center for Entrepreneurship award winner and received a BA in History and Economics from the University of Massachusetts where he graduated cum laude and was awarded Massachusetts Commonwealth Scholar honors.
At Deloitte Consulting, and previously at AndersonConsulting/Accenture, he developed CRM and strategic account management programs for clients such as Bank of America, Bank of Montreal, Bank One, GE Capital, Cable & Wireless and DIRECTV.
In Ron's recycling bin, you'd find an astounding stack of newspapers. Plus some beer bottles, having previously been poured into a cold glass with salt around the rim and a little lemon. Maybe.
Session(s):
Inspired by Trash
Robert Gotto
Senior Sourcing Director, Medical Sourcing, Procurement & Supply, Kaiser Permanente
As Senior Sourcing Director, Robert works closely with Kaiser Permanente's chiefs of surgery to develop national "formularies" for surgical products and equipment. Robert also manages Kaiser Permanente's Strategic Supplier Development program which engages Kaiser Permanente's top medical suppliers and the California contracting team to drive incremental value from supplier relationships. He also leads the Environmentally Preferable Purchasing program, which focuses on reducing toxins in the products Kaiser Permanente purchases, reducing the creation of waste, and reducing the natural resources and energy Kaiser Permanente consumes.
Robert has expertise within a broad range of industries including health care, hi-tech, financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications, and aerospace. Prior to joining Kaiser Permanente, Robert served as Senior Manager at Bearing Point and was responsible for building their procurement practice on the West Coast. In this position, Robert worked with major U.S. and European companies to build out their strategic sourcing, supply chain capabilities, and supporting systems and processes.
Robert also worked with Honeywell in various engineering and supply chain roles including designing a "Kanban" production model for a heat-extraction unit factory, managing an electronics assembly area, designing the factory lay-out and supply model for a new business, and managing the transition from design to manufacturing for new units for the Eurofighter aircraft.
Robert has an MA in Engineering and a Postgraduate Certificate in Manufacturing Engineering from Cambridge University, England.
Session(s):
Building a Sustainable Supply Chain at Kaiser Permanente
Meredith Grant
Environmental Marketing Manager, Neenah Paper, Inc.
Meredith Grant is Environmental Marketing Manager for Neenah Paper, a leading premium paper manufacturer that is setting industry standards in the areas of environmental stewardship and corporate responsibility. As a passionate “green” advocate, Grant plays a key role in the development of the company’s sustainability strategy and initiatives as it pertains to sourcing of raw materials, third-party certification, chain of custody, renewable resources and carbon reduction and accounting.
Grant travels across the country addressing Fortune 1000 companies, graphic designers, printers and paper merchants about sustainability and sustainable paper products. Prior to joining Neenah Paper, Grant served as marketing manager for an air filtration company focused on the engineering of gas-phase air pollution control technologies. She earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from Florida State University.
Session(s):
Dialogue Session: Product and Supply Chain GHG Footprinting: Inevitable Evolution or Resource Distraction?
Maisie Greenawalt
Vice President, Bon Appetit Management Company
Maisie Greenawalt has never had a non-hospitality related job. She got her first restaurant job at 14 as a salad girl, attended the Cornell School of Hotel Administration and has since worked for the Taco Bell Corporation, World Wrapps, and Bon Appétit Management Company as well as running her own hospitality training company. As Vice President overseeing communications, culinary development and marketing, Maisie's job includes shepherding the strategic initiative she was instrumental in creating - for Bon Appétit to be known as the most socially responsible company in the food service industry. She also handles all internal and external communications for Bon Appétit including public relations. Some of the issues Maisie has helped Bon Appétit tackle include local purchasing, the overuse of antibiotics, sustainable seafood, cage-free eggs, the connection between food and climate change and, most recently, farm workers' rights.
Session(s):
Winning Partnerships That Generate Business Benefit
Olaf Groth, PhD
Senior Practitioner,
GBN Global Business Network, a member of the Monitor Group
Olaf is a Senior Practitioner at Global Business Network (GBN), a business unit of leading global strategy consulting firm Monitor Group. He is also an international, entrepreneurial venture development executive who focuses on cleantech/energy, aerospace and automobile and ICT/telecommunications domains and has led a variety of for-profit and non-profit projects with partners and governments globally. As such, Olaf has held executive and advisory positions for corporate, business, market and operations development, government affairs, strategy, strategic finance and business integration with Qualcomm, Boeing, Vodafone and AirTouch Communications.
Olaf serves on the Boards of Directors of CleanTech Bay and CDS International, as well as on the Board of International Advisers of the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS). He is a past chairman of the German American Chamber of Commerce West (GACC) and a past trustee of the World Affairs Council of Northern California and the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS). Olaf is a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy (PCIP), the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Academy of International Business (AIB), Talent Ideas & Enterprise (TiE) and the German American Business Association (GABA). He is an alumnus of the Transatlantic Forum for young leaders of BMW's Quandt Foundation and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
Olaf obtained an M.A.L.D. and a Ph.D. in International Business Relations, Technology Management and Political Economy at the Fletcher School of Tufts
Olaf obtained an M.A.L.D. and a Ph.D. in International Business Relations, Technology Management and Political Economy at the Fletcher School of Tufts University. Prior to this he completed a B.A. in International Relations and an M.A.I.P.S. in International Policy Studies with a business and economics focus from MIIS. He has also completed advanced training in corporate and venture finance at UC Berkeley, interest-based negotiation at Harvard Law School, trade economics at Georgetown University and strategic leadership at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL).
Session(s):
Envisioning a Future for Sustainable Brands: A Scenario Workshop
Kevin Hagen
Manager of CSR, REI
Kevin Hagen is Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Recreational Equipment Inc (REI) where his responsibilities include the development and implementation of the co-op’s strategy for sustainable business and corporate philanthropy.
Founded in Seattle in 1938, REI is a national retail cooperative providing quality outdoor gear and clothing and is the nation’s largest consumer co-op with over 1.4B in sales and over 3.7 million active members. The co-op’s core purpose is to inspire, educate and outfit for a lifetime of outdoor adventure and stewardship. For REI, a mission to get people outdoors carries with it an obligation to operate a responsible business, reducing environmental and social consequences while seeking business solutions that contribute positively to the health of the environment and the well being of their communities.
Kevin joined REI in 2005. Immediately preceding he was principal of Shuksan Energy Consulting, a leading corporate advisor on renewable energy strategy. Over a 25 year career he has held leadership roles in Product Development, Marketing & Sales and Business Strategy with various size businesses from the Fortune 500 to successful entrepreneurial efforts in the US and Europe.
Kevin serves on several national boards and panels associated with sustainable business development including the Net Impact advisory board and the Retail Industry Leaders Sustainability working group. He is also a member of the faculty academy at the Bainbridge Graduate Institute’s MBA in Sustainable business.
Kevin and his wife Patty live in the Green Lake area of Seattle and not surprisingly they are outdoor enthusiasts. He enjoying backcountry skiing, hiking, mountaineering and camping.
Kevin holds an interdisciplinary BS in Engineering and Management from Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY and an MBA in Sustainable Business from the Bainbridge Graduate Institute.
Session(s):
Dialogue Session: Product and Supply Chain GHG Footprinting: Inevitable Evolution or Resource Distraction?
Mike Hannigan
President, Give Something Back
Mike Hannigan is Co-Founder and President of Give Something Back, Inc, California’s largest independently owned, business-to-business office supply company. Started in 1991 and based on the "Newman’s Own" business model, Give Something Back sells office supplies, furniture, printing, janitorial/sanitation and break-room supplies to its thousands of business customers, and donates the profits to non-profit organizations selected in a voting process involving its customers and employees.
Give Something Back is a founding B Corporation, an Alameda County Certified Green Business, and a former "SBA Small Business of the Year" winner in Northern California, named by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Give Something Back has won numerous awards for corporate responsibility including the George Magazine/Newman’s Own "Most Generous Company in America" award and the "Corporate Grantmaker of the Year Award" from Northern California Grantmakers.
Give Something Back is a founding B Corporation, an Alameda County Certified Green Business, and a former "SBA Small Business of the Year" winner in Northern California, named by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Give Something Back has won numerous awards for corporate responsibility including the George Magazine/Newman’s Own "Most Generous Company in America" award and the "Corporate Grantmaker of the Year Award" from Northern California Grantmakers.
Session(s):
Dialogue Session: To B or Not to B – The How's and Whys of Formalizing Your Sustainable Business Values
Nate Hanson
EarthEra Lead, NextEra Energy Resources
Nathan Hanson leads the EarthEra™ initiative at NextEra™ Energy Resources (formerly FPL Energy). In this role, he oversees all marketing, sales and business development of this innovative program. Nate has held various positions during his 11 year tenure at NextEra Energy Resources. In addition to management of EarthEra, Nate's responsibilities include emissions trading, renewable sales and marketing, wholesale load procurement and supply and quantitative analysis. Previously, Nate managed NextEra Energy Resources' Northeast Asset Portfolio and was responsible for Structured Transactions.
Prior to joining NextEra Energy Resources, Nate worked for Intercontinental Energy Group, an independent energy and industrial facility developer, and General Electric Company in their Industrial Power Systems Division. Nate received a Bachelor of Science degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and his M.B.A. from Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Session(s):
Changing the Game: The EarthEraTM Initiative
Jim Hartzfeld
Managing Director, InterfaceRAISE
As Managing Director of InterfaceRAISE, Jim mobilizes executives and equips their companies to define and cultivate business growth opportunities based on sustainability as a core business model. Through InterfaceRAISE's advisory services, Jim is sharing his experience gained through guiding Interface on its own technical and cultural transformation as well as his work with organizations such as the US Green Building Council, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and the President's Council on Sustainable Development. At InterfaceRAISE, Jim has advised Fortune 500 companies on their own sustainability initiatives in sectors as diverse as aviation, food and beverage, architecture, and textiles. Jim has also served as a strategic advisor to Wal-Mart.
Jim's enthusiasm and conviction make him a sought-after mentor and speaker throughout the world. His expertise extends to such topics as the sustainability business case, corporate culture change, environmental impact of buildings, LEED certification, the U.S. Green Building Council, selling sustainability to stakeholders and more. He has been quoted in numerous publications, including the Wall Street Journal and Fortune Magazine, and co-authored Interface's globally recognized Sustainability Report with Paul Hawken and others.
Formerly with Conoco Oil Company and DuPont, Jim holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Missouri and an MBA from the Goizueta Business School of Emory University. He currently resides with his wife and two children in Marietta, Georgia.
InterfaceRAISE is a division of Interface Inc., a publicly owned Fortune 1000 global leader in the manufacture of environmentally responsible floor coverings.
Session(s):
Appreciative Inquiry: Getting Back to our Best Selves
Amy Hebard
Earthsense
A 25-year marketing and market research professional, Amy brings a client-side perspective to her new applied marketing company, Earthsense, co-founded in 2007 with her business partner Wendy Cobrda. As Chief Research Officer for Earthsense, Amy is responsible for the recently launched Eco-Insights survey of 60,000 US adults, that provides consumer insights into the relationship between attitudes and behaviors toward the environment, and the drivers and barriers that underlie them. Actionability, is her company's watchword and passion, linking tactical marketing tools to the research, to put the insight on the ground. Prior to forming Earthsense, Amy honed her marketing skills for 17 years at AT&T, the last several of which as Head of their Consumer Market Research Division; she has been the principal of two other successful entrepreneurial ventures as well. She is certified at the Expert Level by the Market Research Association, and has a BA from Ithaca College (philosophy) and a PhD from Columbia University (psychology).
Session(s):
Research Roundtable: Brown Bag Lunch
Cheryl Heller
Founder, Heller Communication Design
Cheryl Heller is CEO of Heller Communication Design in New York City. Cheryl has had successful careers in design, advertising and branding, and draws on this unique, integrated perspective to help clients embed corporate responsibility into their cultures, and engage their internal and customer stakeholders in it. She was recently nominated for the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Communication Design. Her deep, diverse experience working with corporations has included the launch of three new divisions for Reebok, and major repositioning efforts for Kodak Professional, Bayer Corporation, The Girl Scouts of America, Cemex, Ford Motor Company, Seagrams, Engelhard Corporation and Sappi. She led the launch of a new global network for Discovery Networks International.
In addition to her work for large corporations, Heller works with a group of leading non-profits, including WWF, Audubon New York, International Development Enterprises (IDE, a leading international organization dedicated to poverty elimination), The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education, Wildlife Trust and SafeHorizon. She is helping to launch a new NGO called D-Rev: Design for the other 90%, and serves as its Chief Strategy Officer. She helped curate an exhibit for the Cooper Hewitt Museum, part of the Smithsonian Institution, with the same name.
Cheryl sits on the boards of the PopTech conference, which explores the social impact of technology and the future, and The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education.
Session(s):
Brand New World: Using your Brand to Create your Future
Hazel Henderson
Futurist & Economics Iconoclast, Author,
Building a Win Win World and Ethical Markets:
Growing the Green Economy
Hazel Henderson is an evolutionary economist, syndicated columnist and consultant on sustainable development. She has written many books including Beyond Globalization, Building a Win-Win World, Paradigms in Progress, Creating Alternative Futures, The Politics of the Solar Age and Redefining Wealth and Progress. She is a Fellow of the World Business Academy and she co-edited the Report of the Global Commission to Fund the United Nations.
Henderson is also a member of the board of the Calvert Social Investment Fund - and co-creator of the Calvert-Henderson Quality of Life Indicators. First released in 2000, this report is the first comprehensive assessment of the quality of life in communities in the United States, covering a variety of social, economic and environmental factors - such as education, employment, health, income and public safety. Henderson also serves on the boards of Worldwatch Institute (1975-2001), Cousteau Society, The New Economics Foundation (UK) - and WETV (Canada).
Henderson is also a member of the board of the Calvert Social Investment Fund - and co-creator of the Calvert-Henderson Quality of Life Indicators. First released in 2000, this report is the first comprehensive assessment of the quality of life in communities in the United States, covering a variety of social, economic and environmental factors - such as education, employment, health, income and public safety. Henderson also serves on the boards of Worldwatch Institute (1975-2001), Cousteau Society, The New Economics Foundation (UK) - and WETV (Canada).
Session(s):
The Economy at a Crossroads: Navigating to Success in an Uncertain Environment
Paul Herman
CEO & Founder, HIP Investor, Inc.
The world's 140 trillion in investments are under-performing until all currencies (e.g. rupee, real, rand, euro, yen, dollar) generate both Human Impact + Profit (HIP) simultaneously. Paul founded HIP Investor to spread and implement this vision of a world that is socially, environmentally and financially sustainable. HIP Investor serves corporations and CEOs, entrepreneurs, and individual and institutional investors to realize their potential to be HIP.
Previously, Paul was Director of Strategy for eBay founder Pierre Omidyar's Network to help shape the future of its for-profit and non-profit investments and portfolio impact. Paul's achievements as Chief Development Officer of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public included leading the global team to grow revenue from 12 million to nearly 20 million in two years, and expanding the North America Fellowship program, now numbering 60 systems-changing social entrepreneurs, known as Fellows (one-third of whom are in the San Francisco Bay Area).
Born and raised in Chicago, Paul has become a "citizen of the world" by living and working in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Paul is a passionate entrepreneur and has led, managed and grown innovative ideas and organizations from scratch. Paul co-founded and sold a financial-services company for teens, kids and parents, reaching 30,000 customers, 55 business partners, and enabling a living platform for financial literacy and privacy protection.
Paul also has advised Fortune 500 companies world-wide with McKinsey & Company and CSC Index; founded the New York Chapter of Coalition for Quality Children's Media which teaches youth media literacy; serves on the Board of Advisors for Design That Matters, a product-design firm to help low-income citizens globally,and is an Advisor to a global network of HIP-focused professionals and students (www.NetImpact.org).
Paul graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and now lives in San Francisco, with his wife Gayle, a travel/food writer (www.GayleKeck.com) and branding/marketing expert.
Session(s):
The Market Value of Sustainability - For Brands, Consumers, and Investors
Carol Holding
President & CEO, Holding Associates
Ms. Holding's 16-year-old brand strategy firm has focused on the integration of brands and CSR since 2001. In order to offer clients an evaluation tool for measuring their progress, she has developed a way to measure the impact of CSR on brands by merging 20 years of brand and SRI data. She is Chair of the HBS Club of NYC Social Enterprise Summit and a member of the International Women's Forum. Prior to founding Holding Associates, Ms. Holding served as an executive in communications firms McCann Erickson and Siegel + Gale and developed new consumer products as a VP at Citibank. She holds a BA in Economics from Smith College and an MBA from Harvard.
Session(s):
The Market Value of Sustainability - For Brands, Consumers, and Investors
Mike Hollywood
Director of New Media, Cone Inc.
Mike Hollywood joined Cone in 2008 as the Director of New Media. With many years of client-side, dot-com, and interactive marketing agency work, Mike brings a strong strategic vision, a proactive project management style, and a detailed knowledge of the new media landscape.
In his role, Mike works across disciplines to understand each client's needs, identifying opportunities and recommending appropriate strategies and tactics in the areas of emerging media and technology. He plays a leadership role in identifying key execution partners and manages these relationships to ensure deliverability of each solution.
Prior to joining Cone, Mike worked at Valassis 1-to-1 Solutions where he provided strategic direction and oversaw execution of award-winning offline, online, mobile and viral marketing programs for a broad range of specialty retail, casual dining, and pharmaceutical clients. He developed and oversaw social marketing strategies for IKEA and Liberty Tax Service. Mike also managed viral marketing programs and microsite development for Uno Chicago Grill and Hastings Entertainment and directed online media and search marketing programs for King Pharmaceutical and TransWorld Entertainment.
Prior to Valassis, Mike managed business-to-business customer relationship marketing and e-commerce marketing at Monster.com. In this role, Mike engineered the growth of the B2B CRM program through triggered communications and marketing automation, seeing incremental revenue increases of at least 40 percent each quarter. Mike also held various additional roles in marketing, sales and service while at Monster, the nation's leading online career management brand.
The lure of a dot-com career drew Mike away from his previous endeavors, which included cardiovascular research at Boston University's School of Medicine and organometallic chemistry.
Mike graduated from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA, with a B.S. in Biochemistry. A two-time Ironman finisher and president of the Boston Triathlon Team, Mike is an avid swimmer, cyclist and runner.
Session(s):
New Media for Sustainability
Zem Joaquin
Founder, Editor-in-Chief, ecofabulous
Zem Joaquin, Green Design and Strategy Consultant, is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of ecofabulous.com, a website dedicated to finding the best of the best when it comes to sexy, sustainable, stuff. Zem also applied her eco-chic talents to Condie Nast's House & Garden magazine as the former Eco Editor and currently to Domino Magazine as Contributing Eco-Editor. She also hosts a monthly guest show on the most popular Bay Area morning radio show, KFOG 104.5.
Zem regularly contributes to various print and online publications, and she is frequently introduced and quoted as an industry thought leader and green design authority. A certified green building professional and long-time fashionista, Zem consults on eco-design projects for individuals and corporations. Her approach, mission and vision are inspirational and captivating as she is frequently engaged by leading corporations such as PG&E, Williams Sonoma Home, Pottery Barn, Visa and Whole Foods to lead mid level & senior management teams through tailored green strategy presentations and educational seminars.
When Zem is not writing for her website, preparing her next monthly contribution to a magazine, or helping a company "go green," she is committed to raising awareness about the environment through her positions on the Board of Directors Global Green USA, Healthy Child, Healthy World, and Teens for Safe Cosmetics. She has lived and worked in Milan, Paris and London and finally settled down in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two young children.
Session(s):
Eco-Fabulous!
Mike John-Baptiste
CEO, Peerset
In his current position as CEO of Peerset, JB is responsible for evolving the Company's product set, expanding the marketplace for customers and partners and seeking additional investment capital for future growth.
During the first five years of his career JB worked at two investment banks, CIBC Wood Gundy in his native hometown of Toronto, and San Francisco-based Robertson Stephens. During his four years at Robertson Stephens he assisted dozens of entrepreneurs in obtaining venture capital from leading firms around the United States. He also contributed to successful public offerings with digital pioneers such as Excite(merged with @Home) and Sportsline USA (sold to CBS). In 1999 he left the work of i-banking landing at SPINS, a market research and data company, exclusively focused on natural products where he was the first management-level eBusiness hire. In this last 10 years he has held executive business development positions at several start-ups and eBusiness units of large companies, including First Data Corporation.
Before joining Peerset, JB held the position of Senior Vice President at JumpTV(TSX:JTV), a publicly traded company which operates the largest global live and on-demand video publishing network and the second largest company selling publishing platforms to US-based and International sports brands such as Duke University and the NHL. He managed a large team which was responsible for sports content acquisition, distribution alliances, client relationship management and technology sales.
JB is a resident of San Francisco and lives there with his wife Alicia John-Baptiste. He is a graduate of Harvard University with a degree in Economics. In his "spare time" he serves as a board member for downtown Oakland-based Lighthouse Community Charter School (www.lighthousecharter.org) and plays not nearly enough tennis and manages and plays for an adult co-ed soccer team.
Session(s):
The Promises and Perils of Behavioral Targeting Online
Alili Jokela
Sr. VP & Sr. Partner, General Manager, Fleishman-Hillard, Intnat'l Communications Co-Chair, FH Sustainability Practice Group
Aili Jokela has 20 years of experience helping companies manage their corporate reputation and responsibility initiatives, and she has more than five years of experience in the fields of environmental sustainability and energy efficiency. Ms. Jokela is general manager of Fleishman-Hillard’s office in Portland, Oregon, and she serves as global co-chair for the firm’s growing Sustainability Practice Group.
FH Sustainability provides communications consulting and marketing services to Fleishman-Hillard’s clients to help them respond to sustainable market trends, policy developments and climate change initiatives.
As co-chair of FH Sustainability, Ms. Jokela helps companies and organizations of all sizes to address a variety of sustainable needs ranging from green product and service marketing to corporate climate response. Her technical expertise in the areas of strategic energy management and energy efficiency has been honed in the Northwest’s industrial manufacturing sector where she worked for four years with food processing companies and pulp and paper mills to help them reduce operating costs, increase productivity and lessen environmental impact.
Past appointments include serving as co-chair of Fleishman-Hillard’s Social Impact Practice Group which specializes in cause branding, corporate philanthropy and behavior change campaigns. Ms. Jokela’s social marketing background includes national anti-obesity and youth fitness programs, community-based anti-tobacco initiatives and the National Youth Anti-drug Media Campaign, the largest social marketing campaign ever sponsored by the federal government. In addition, she has worked for a variety of corporate foundations and non-profit organizations to address important topics including cancer prevention, digital learning, AIDS awareness and youth empowerment.
Prior to her move to Portland, Ms. Jokela worked for Fleishman-Hillard in Washington, D.C. for eight years and served for four years as general manager for the firm’s offices in Austin and San Antonio, Texas. Prior to that, she worked in the advertising industry.
Session(s):
Research Roundtable: Brown Bag Lunch
Jim Jubelirer
Harris Interactive
Jim is an experienced consultant, researcher, and trainer specializing in two distinct, but related domains: customer satisfaction and sustainability.
Jim’s environmental awareness began in 1976 as an undergraduate at University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC), where he studied the intersection of spiritual movements and social change. After receiving his MBA from the Johnson School of Management at Cornell, he worked for Digital Equipment Corporation and ran executive education programs for GE. For the past 16 years, at Burke, Inc. and Harris Interactive, he has designed and implemented programs that bring “the voice of the customer” into organizations that are facing complex competitive challenges. His clients are drawn from a wide variety of industries and have included GE, Harley-Davidson, Fidelity Investments, Freddie Mac, Royal Caribbean Cruises and Hewlett-Packard. Many of the projects he leads are global; he has worked with managers from over 40 countries. He is a recognized expert in the field of customer loyalty and retention.
Jim’s sustainability work has been through a donor-advised philanthropic fund focused on the environment and education. He is an active member of Environmental Grantmakers Association (EGA), and has served on the Sustainable Consumption and Production Working Group, a group that developed funding strategies that lessened the environmental impact of consumer purchases. He is also one of the inaugural members of North Carolina Sustainable Business Council and judge and presenter for 2007 and 2008 Sustainable Business Awards Conference. He has been a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Sustainable Enterprise at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Jim’s current passion is educating people on the moral and economic imperatives of responding to climate change – “We have a very short period time to wake up and change our behavior before significant and irreversible harm is done to the earth that supports us.” To accomplish that, he is exploring values-based research to understand individual and organizational behavior.
Session(s):
Research Roundtable: Brown Bag Lunch
Jurriaan Kamp
Founder, Ode Magazine
Jurriaan Kamp founded Ode Magazine in The Netherlands in 1995 with his wife, Helene de Puy. The magazine continues to thrive there and in 2007, Ode Magazine's U.S. offices opened in the Bay Area.
Ode's mission is to publish stories about the people and ideas that are making a difference. The magazine for intelligent optimists, Ode reports on positive news in the areas of health, science, spirit, life, energy and business. Odemagazine.com is a vibrant community that connects readers from around the globe.
Before founding Ode, Kamp was an editor, correspondent in South Asia and Chief Economics Editor at the Dutch daily newspaper NRC Handelsblad. He is the author of Small Change: How Fifty Dollars Changes the World and Because People Matter. Ode Magazine in the Netherlands recently published its 100th issue. He lives in Mill Valley, California with his partner and spouse Helene de Puy and their four children.
Ms. Jokela holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colo., and initiated her master’s degree in professional writing at the University of New Mexico.
Session(s):
Dialogue Session: Channeling Optimism to Business Benefit
Rebekah Kaufman
Partner - Litigation Department, Morrison & Foerster
Rebekah Kaufman is a partner in the Litigation Department of Morrison & Foerster’s San Francisco office. Ms. Kaufman focuses her practice on complex civil litigation, with an emphasis on the defense of consumer class actions and claims against financial institutions. She also represents clients in investigations and actions brought by government officials and state Attorneys General, as well as litigation of complex commercial disputes between companies. Her clients span various industries, including financial institutions, electronics manufacturers, and other consumer product manufacturers.
Ms. Kaufman is a member of the firm’s Consumer Class Action Litigation and Financial Services Litigation Groups. She is an editor of Morrison & Foerster’s quarterly Financial Services Report. She is also a co-author of FDA Approval of Trademarks for Pharmaceutical Drugs, in McCarthy on Trademarks.
Before joining Morrison & Foerster, Ms. Kaufman served as a law clerk to the Honorable William B. Shubb, of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.
Ms. Kaufman received her J.D. in 1999 from the Ohio State College of Law, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Ohio State Law Journal and was elected to the Order of the Coif.
Session(s):
SPONSORED SESSION: Navigating The Greenwashing Minefield: A Legal Perspective
Dacher Keltner
Research Director, GGSC's Executive Editor of Greater Good Magazine, The Greater Good Science Center, University of Berkeley
Dacher Keltner, Professor of Psychology, is a social psychologist who focuses on the prosocial emotions, such as love, sympathy and gratitude, and processes such as teasing and flirtation that enhance bonds. He has conducted empirical studies in three areas of inquiry. A first looks at the determinant and effects of power, hierarchy and social class. A second is concerned with the morality of everyday life, and how we negotiate moral truths in teasing, gossip, and other reputational matters. A third and primary focus in on the biological and evolutionary basis of the benevolent affects, including compassion, awe, love, gratitude, and laughter and modesty. Professor Keltner is Co-Director of The Greater Good Science Center.
Session(s):
The Evolutionary Benefits of Altruism
Dialogue Session: Channeling Optimism to Business Benefit
Tony Kingsbury
Executive-in-Residence, Center for Responsible Business, Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley
Tony joined the Center in September 2007 on secondment from The Dow Chemical Company to help launch a new interdisciplinary program at UC Berkeley on sustainable products and innovations. He also teaches sustainability in the MBA and executive education programs at the Haas School. Prior to joining Haas, Tony worked out of Dow’s headquarters in Michigan where he lead a group responsible for plastics sustainability activities and industry affairs globally. He served as the key link between the 20+ billion plastics half of Dow and the corporate reputation and sustainability efforts. He has worked with value chains in markets ranging from packaging to toys, building products to footwear and consumer electronics to medical devices.
Tony is a recognized expert in global sustainability, environmentally preferred purchasing, plastics and chemical environmental issues and public policy. He is known for using his wide ranging knowledge of the whole supply chain from raw material extraction, to manufacturing, to final use and disposal, to distill complex messages into understandable language.
During his twenty-four year career with Dow, Tony has worked in a variety of roles, including plastics production engineer in Southern California, technical service & product development engineer covering packaging, electronics, medical, toys and consumer goods markets, product marketing manager for consumer electronics, and plastics sustainability, issues & industry affairs manager covering the world. He represented Dow and held leadership positions on numerous organizations such as: American Chemistry Council’s Plastics Division, Environment & Plastics Industry Council of Canada, Ocean Futures Society & The Ocean Conservancy, Wal-Mart’s Packaging Sustainable Value Network, and the Sustainable Packaging Council.
Tony received his bachelor degree in Chemical Engineering from Oregon State University.
Session(s):
Leveraging Sustainable Packaging In a Growing Recession
Mike Kraft
Sr. Business Manager - Environmental Sustainability, Clorox
Mike Kraft co-led the development of The Clorox Company’s current Environmental Sustainability Strategy and, in his current role as Senior Manager – Environmental Sustainability, works to drive this strategy across Clorox’s business units and functions. He has previously worked in a broad variety of roles at Clorox, Naturize BioSciences LLC, and 24 Hour Fitness USA. Before entering the private sector, Kraft served eleven years in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Harrier pilot and aviation safety analyst. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and received an MBA from Old Dominion University.
Session(s):
Clorox: Learning From the Field Since SB'08
Leilani Latimer
Director of Sustainability at Sabre Holdings, Sabre Holdings
Leilani Latimer leads Global Sustainability Initiatives for Sabre Holdings, the world's leading travel marketing and distribution provider. In this role she is responsible for orchestrating the development and direction of all of the company's Environmental initiatives in collaboration with business leaders across the corporation; Sabre Travel Network, Sabre Airline Solutions and Travelocity. Her range of duties extends from delineating the company's efforts in the areas of products and services to developing a platform for industry advocacy and corporate stewardship.
Leilani Latimer is an innovative marketing professional with expertise in global marketing and business strategies. In fact, in her previous role she led worldwide marketing planning for Sabre Travel Network, where her efforts were key to building a global marketing organization. She has also held positions in Product Marketing, managing the cruise product line, including budget development, communication campaigns and revenue plan. In this position she led the launch of new products, as well as implementation of enhancements to existing solutions, all addressing the dynamic and evolving needs of the marketplace.
Prior to joining Sabre, Latimer led the Foreign Office of Marketing and Sponsorships for Diadora, SPA, an Italian Sportswear Company. She is fluent in Italian, proficient in French and holds both US and EEC citizenship. She earned an Executive Certificate in Management for International Professionals at University of California, Riverside and a dual Bachelor's degree in Literature and Political Science from the University of California, San Diego. Latimer now works in San Francisco, California where she has resided since 2000.
Session(s):
Your Culture as Brand: Green from the Inside Out
Lara Lee
Principal, Jump Associates
Lara Lee manages client relationships and is a member of the senior management team for Jump Associates, a consulting firm that helps companies create new ways to grow. Together with her teammates, she works with visionary business leaders to build new businesses, define new products and services and create cultures of innovation.
Lara is an experienced new business explorer, helping clients discover and actualize new growth opportunities in often abstract realms by leveraging deep consumer insight, clarifying strategic threats and opportunities, and building agile organizations. She is a frequent speaker at marketing and innovation forums, and she is one of a handful of people worldwide ever recognized by BusinessWeek as a Master of Innovation. In addition to managing multiple client projects, Lara coaches and consults directly with senior innovation leaders within client organizations. Having led growth efforts at Harley-Davidson as Vice President, Enthusiast Services, she understands the specific organizational challenges that growth officers face and has developed a variety of techniques for helping business leaders to create hotbeds of innovation, growth and change that make significant impacts within often traditional cultures and industries. Lara has deep experience in designing business models, building organizations and developing cultures of innovation that support growth leaders in successfully launching new ventures.
At Harley-Davidson, Lara specialized in starting new businesses and leading growth initiatives in both international and domestic markets to help the company grow beyond its core. She has particular expertise in creating the conditions for new businesses, products and services to succeed in uncharted territory. Her efforts as a change agent and innovation champion extended over 14 years at the company, where she designed and built a rider training business, Rider’s Edge, that has created more than 100,000 new riders over the past eight years; led concept development, property acquisition, building design, business structure and organization development for the groundbreaking Harley-Davidson Museum; established a services business incubator; championed web-based community building; and worked to restructure and reposition the Harley-Davidson business in Europe and the Asia-Pacific markets, providing a foundation for tremendous growth. Lara was also instrumental in Harley’s successful efforts to cultivate female and younger riders.
Lara has worked and traveled extensively around the world, including at Otis Elevator Co., ARCO Chemical and Ernst & Whinney Consultants. She holds dual master’s degrees in business administration and international affairs from the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Chinese language from Brown University.
In her free time, Lara enjoys riding, both motorcycles and horses. She learned to ride a motorcycle in Singapore 20 years ago, and immediately set out to tour the perimeter of Malaysia. In her third year riding horses, she has not yet attempted an Asian tour, but give it time. Lara loves to invent new dishes for friends and family, from basic comfort food to gourmet feasts.
Session(s):
Uncovering New Business Opportunities by Meeting People Where They Are
Mark Lee
CEO, SustainAbility
Mark Lee joined SustainAbility as a Director of the US business in 2004 to help grow the organization’s profile in North America and was appointed CEO in late 2005. He is responsible for creating a culture and providing the resources required for SustainAbility’s team to achieve its ambitious change agenda. He works directly with key clients and partners, especially in the area of strategy development where he has shaped approaches for a wide range of global companies in a variety of industries.
Lee is responsible for SustainAbility’s thought leadership and represents the organization in a wide variety of sustainable development fora. Mark has served on multiple boards and committees within the sustainability and development fields for organizations including: Canadian Business for Social Responsibility; The Global Reporting Initiative; AccountAbility; The Canadian Council for International Cooperation, and; The Applied Research Centre in Human Security at Coventry University Roundtable on Sustainable Enterprise. He regularly contributes articles and inputs informed by SustainAbility’s consulting and research work to media. He was named by Ethisphere Magazine as one of the Most Influential People in Business Ethics for 2007.
Session(s):
Welcome and Intro
Unchaining Value: Growth in Fairtrade and the Corresponding Opportunity for Business & Society
The Economy at a Crossroads: Navigating to Success in an Uncertain Environment
Teaque Lenahan
Associate Partner, gravitytank
Teaque helps client teams integrate brand and design to solve their business challenges. He has worked on brand, strategy, and operational innovations for a variety of B2B and B2C companies, including Dell, Pepsi, McDonald's, Energizer, Samsung, JP Morgan, Cargill, GE, and Abbott Labs.
He currently leads gravitytank's business development and marketing efforts, building new avenues for growth and developing the firm's story. Teaque has an MBA in marketing and strategy from the Kellogg School of Management at NOrthwestern University and a BA in Literatre from Middlebury College.
Session(s):
Rethinking the Consumption Compulsion
Joshua Levine
Advisor, The Levine Social Investment Group,
UBS Financial Services, Inc.
Joshua Levine is excited to be a part of UBS Financial Services and heads up The Levine Social Investment Group. As a Financial Advisor, Joshua works with individual investors, small businesses, and nonprofits to address their short- and long-term financial needs. In addition to providing financial planning and a comprehensive package of financial services, Joshua has a core strength in Socially Responsible Investing. Joshua prides himself in establishing a consultative relationship with his clients to preserve their wealth and develop a properly diversified portfolio. He then strives to empower his clients to make investment decisions that are in line with their personal ethics.
Joshua holds the professional designation of Accredited Investment FiduciaryTM (AIF®). Designees of the AIF® work with institutions to understand and articulate the legal and regulatory environment surrounding fiduciaries, develop and implement an effective investment management process applying the principles of Modern Portfolio Theory, document all due diligence, and above all, treat their clients with the utmost prudence and care.
Joshua Levine received his Bachelor’s of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles. Upon graduation, he moved to New York City and joined the leveraged finance division of Scotia Capital, Inc. Joshua then moved on from his Associate role to receive his Master’s degree in Environmental Science and Management from the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
In addition to his professional activities, Joshua is actively involved in environmental and social organizations in the San Francisco Bay community. He currently sits on the Board of Directors for: Urban Releaf, a youth-based organization whose goals are beautification and tree planting in low- to moderate income communities; and Audubon Canyon Ranch, an environmental conservation and education-based organization in Marin County.
Session(s):
The Market Value of Sustainability - For Brands, Consumers, and Investors
Paul Ligon
Senior Director - Upstream, Waste Management
After a distinguished academic and consulting career, Paul Ligon joined Waste Management Upstream as a business development manager in 2001. He also led the Upstream Enterprise Management business vertical for four years, before moving into his current position in 2007.
Ligon spent 11-years working as a Senior Scientist with the Tellus Institute of Boston, managing projects for The United Nations, General Motors, ConAgra, Verizon, Texas Instruments and the USEPA. He has published or delivered more than 20 presentations and professional articles and is a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM).
A graduate of The University of Vermont, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Sciences, Ligon went on to earn a Master's of Business Administration degree from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He founded Tuck's “Business and Sustainability Initiative” while in graduate school and recently co-organized Waste Management's Corporate Sustainability Summit involving executives from nearly 30 different Fortune 500 companies.
Session(s):
Inspired by Trash
Toward Closing the Loop in the Bottled Beverage Industry
Paul Lilienthal
CEO, Pictura Graphics
Paul Lilienthal is the President and owner of Pictura Graphics. Paul's leadership of Pictura's brand and market strategies has positioned Pictura Graphics to become one of the leading wide-format digital graphic companies in the U.S. Pictura Graphics is committed to continuous advancements in the sustainability of the company, through manufacturing process improvements, innovative product and services offerings, commitment to its customers. Along with the Signage and Graphics Summit, Lilienthal is active in the Exhibit Design and Planners Association (EDPA) and the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association.
Session(s):
What Gets Measured, Gets Done: Driving Sustainability Home
Sustainable Sourcing
Annie Longsworth
Managing Director, Cohn and Wolfe
Annie has 15 years of communications experience including editorial positions with national business and technology publications, and marketing communications for dozens of start up and public companies. Annie is the senior counselor to Chevron Global Lubricants and American Express and is actively involved with the marketing programs of Tastybaby, Fabrik and Spot Runner. Additionally, she oversees the day-to-day operations of the office.
In March 2007 Annie launched a global sustainability practice entirely devoted to communication strategies around the topics of sustainability, alternative energy and environmental strategy. As a Green Wolfe, Annie was an integral part of American Express Partners in Preservation program, which was designed to build awareness for the need to protect our history.
Prior to C&W, Annie was Vice President of Corporate Development and Accounts Services at Wilson McHenry Company. In this position Annie was responsible for the strategy and execution of global PR programs for clients including Pioneer Electronics, Micron Electronics, Acer America and CBSSportsline.com. She began her career as an editor, working for Inc. Magazine and a variety of Ziff Davis publications.
Session(s):
2009's Greenest Brands
Effective PR In The Age of Transparency
Linda Loudermilk
Founder & CEO, Linda Loudermilk
Linda’s personal mission is to influence change on the planet and change within ourselves, the consumer, as we and the planet are directly correlated to one another. Linda’s purpose is to ignite expressiveness, encourage clarity in the choices of daily life and through awareness bring about gratitude of this planet, our home, within which we reside and from which we are fed. Her design, practice and materials are brought together mindfully from her core.
Six years ago, Loudermilk had made it to the Paris runways and the top of high fashion. In that moment she should have been rejoicing in the accolades. Instead, she felt empty. In Loudermilk’s own words,
“I was creating beauty, but beauty without soul.” She realized then that she wanted to make a difference in the world, to shift the way people think about the earth. With groundbreaking passion, she began researching products that are sustainable, by meeting with and learning from scientists and seeking out companies that create fibers without pesticides or other toxic processes. She developed relationships with manufacturers that do not poison the water supply as they have a consciousness about their effect on the earth.
What Loudermilk discovered is a world of design that can be blended with eco-responsibility in an exciting way. She trademarked the term luxury eco™, becoming the first designer to create a luxury+eco lifestyle brand under one umbrella—all made from the sustainable fabrics that she researched and developed, targeted towards the most demanding luxury consumer. She began using organic textiles that are woven from natural sources like bamboo, SeaCell® (seaweed) and Ingeo™ (corn). She collected scraps of lace and other fine fabric remnants from European sources, and started weaving them into her fashions. She found a way to personalize the beauty of the earth through her designs, by honoring its natural gifts.
According to Loudermilk, nature is the original punk. Her inventive style packs an iconoclastic punch from noirish suits—to sculpturally sexy shift dresses—to jeans cut deadly on the hip. That flair for the dramatic comes innately to Loudermilk, who studied Shakespeare and costume design at Oxford University in England “one of the world’s leading academic institutions.” Loudermilk’s intuitive sense of tailoring, passed down from her couturier grandmother and experience as a sculptor is the very foundation from which she embellished upon in becoming what she is today. Linda’s fine designs are passionately hand finished and mostly made in the USA.
Beyond her revolutionary designs, Loudermilk is bringing together the global pioneers who are producing “green” and “gold” at the same time. By establishing the luxury eco™ Stamp of Approval, she seeks to identify those who are also breaking new ground in their respective fields. The emblem is a message to the consumer that the products or services are not only eco-friendly – but also superior in luxury quality, design and craftsmanship. It is the only Luxury Certification.
Loudermilk’s mission is to define every aspect of life as radically and decidedly eco-responsible. She is recognized as the first to identify and successfully market to the luxury eco™ consumer. Her extraordinary vision and commitment to research and product development have established her as an authority and positioned her company years ahead of the competition in understanding how to generate sustainable profits in this emerging market.
For Loudermilk, there is no question: change is inevitable. It is the only way to the future.
“The Linda Loudermilk brand is design with a higher purpose.
Session(s):
Eco-Fabulous!
Susan Mac Cormac
Partner, and Co-Chair of the Venture Capital/ Emerging Companies Group and the Cleantech Group, Morrison and Foerester
Susan Mac Cormac is a partner in the Corporate Group of Morrison & Foerster’s San Francisco office. She currently serves as a co-chair of the Venture Capital/ Emerging Companies Group and the Cleantech Group for the firm worldwide.
Mac Cormac has extensive experience representing start-up to late-stage private companies primarily in the Cleantech or Sustainable space. She provides corporate and finance advice in connection with mergers, acquisitions, asset purchases and sales, reorganizations, joint ventures, and equity and debt financings. She regularly advises boards of private and public companies, special committees, and CEOs on corporate governance and Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”) issues and has joined the faculty (teaching on issues of sustainability and corporate governance) at both the Stanford Director’s College and the Northwestern Corporate Counsel Institute. Mac Cormac also represents nonprofit corporations involved with Sustainability and CSR, providing advice to their boards on fiduciary issues, conflicts of interest, and other corporate matters.
Her representative Cleantech clients include Advanced Refining Concepts, Altra Biofuels, Agile Waves, Arcadia, Biosignal, Carbonetworks, driptech, ElectraTherm, Photon Energy Systems, MicroMidas and Veristeel. Her representative sustainable and social enterprise company clients include Divinely D’lish/18 Rabbits, MicroEnergy Credit Corporation, Resdida, Revolution Foods, and Small Potatoes Urban Delivery. Her nonprofit clients include the Biomimicry Institute, Business for Social Responsibility, Goodwill, Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council and RSF Social Finance. Her venture fund clients include Darwin Venture Fund-of-Funds, Pacific Community Ventures and RSF Social Finance.
After working in New York for three years, Mac Cormac joined the firm as an associate in 1997 and became a partner in 2001. She was born in Davidson, North Carolina, and graduated in 1988 from Williams College with a degree in Political Economy. She received her J.D. and LL.M. degrees from Duke University School of Law in 1993. Mac Cormac lives in the Presidio National Park with her husband and two young boys (Eddie and Alex).
Ms. Mac Cormac is a co-chair of the Green Technology & Climate Change Committee for the ABA Section of Science & Technology Law. She is admitted to practice in both California and New York.
Session(s):
A Brief History & Some Quick Takes on the Future of the American Corporation
Diane MacEachern
Founder & CEO, Big Green Purse
Diane MacEachern is a founding member of Green Moms Carnival, a blogging network of mostly moms who reach millions of consumers with their green lifestyle tips, product reviews and shopping suggestions. MacEachern is also the founder & CEO of Big Green Purse and publisher of the award-winning www.biggreenpurse.com; and she is the best-selling author of Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World and Save Our Planet: 750 Everyday Ways You Can Clean Up The Earth.
MacEachern is a regular commentator on Martha Stewart's Whole Living radio program; her advice is frequently sought by such publications as Family Circle, Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal, Body & Soul, Reader's Digest, BizyMoms.com, and other media outlets focused on educating and empowering women, especially mothers. Her audiences have included the American Bankers Association, Pacific Life Insurance Company, Toyota's In the Interest of Women Conference, California Professional Business Women, Texas Conference for Women, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, HP, the Discovery Channel, the Association for Workplace Excellence, and the sultanate of Oman. In April, she will be featured in Glamour magazine's Earth Day issue as one of the country's top women environmental leaders.
Session(s):
Insights in to New Consumer Segments: Mom's, Millenials & Communities of Faith
Women and Green: Who They Are, What They Want, and Why They Matter
Scott MacKinlay Hahn
Loomstate for Target
Scott Mackinlay Hahn, co-founder of ROGAN and Loomstate, grew up surfing the un-crowded beach breaks of Fire Island, New York where his family managed the Sailors Haven Marina at the Sunken Forest. Scott’s environmental awareness and activism stemmed from his various roles in managing the socially dynamic and ecologically delicate national park.
When Scott met designer Rogan Gregory in 1998, he already had a series of entrepreneurial projects under his belt. His prolific background in business crossed over the realms of art, communication and entertainment, making him the ideal partner in facilitating Gregory’s inherent design talent. Over the next few years, the two friends would launch an entirely new kind of premium denim company, known as Rogan. In 2002, as they began to examine and re-evaluate their methods of production, Mackinlay Hahn and Gregory – both committed environmentalists – became fully aware of the harmful and toxic effects of conventionally grown cotton. The resulting epiphany: launch a clothing line made of 100% organic cotton, and promote sustainable agriculture. Thus, Loomstate was born. In the Fall of 2004, Loomstate launched its first collection.
Loomstate Men’s and Women’s collections are inspired by the roots of classic American casual style born of the positive non-conformity and activism of youth subcultures over the past 40 years. Renewed through modern fits, constructions, uncompromised attention to detail, each item of clothing is rendered in the highest quality and most comfortable 100% certified organic and environmentally sustainable materials. Loomstate’s goal is to create clothing that will be instant wardrobe standards, standing the test of time and weathering the coming and going of fashion.
Loomstate for Barneys Green
In Spring 2007, Loomstate and Barneys New York partnered together to launch Barneys first exclusive eco-friendly label – Loomstate for Barneys Green.
Loomstate for Target
Spring 2009, Loomstate and retailer Target teamed up to create Loomstate for Target, a limited-edition collection of edgy eco-friendly fashion for men and women, providing impressive design for lower prices. The Loomstate for Target collection launched April 19th and will be available through May 16th, 2009 at Target.com and select Target stores nationwide.
Session(s):
Eco-Fabulous!
Erin Malec
Director of External Relations, GreenBlue
Erin Malec is the Director of External Relations at GreenBlue, a nonprofit institute that works with the private sector to enable the positive redesign of industrial systems. She works closely with GreenBlue’s two major projects: the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, an industry working group of over 200 companies dedicated to realizing a more robust environmental vision for packaging, and CleanGredients, an online database of the ingredient chemicals used in green cleaning products.
Erin has been working in public interest communications and policy for over ten years on a broad range of issues, from the environment to economic development and public health. Before joining GreenBlue in 2007, she worked as a political strategist for a Bay Area think tank, the Breakthrough Institute, and its sister company, American Environics. Erin also oversaw the communications department for the Breast Cancer Fund, a national nonprofit organization focused on the environmental links to the disease, and she was a Senior Account Executive at Fenton Communications, the nation’s largest public interest communications firm. Erin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania.
Session(s):
Leveraging Sustainable Packaging In a Growing Recession
Preston Maring
OB/GYN & Founder of Kaiser Permanente Farmer's Markets,
Kaiser Permanente
Dr. Preston Maring is the Associate Physician-in-Chief at the Kaiser Permanente East Bay Medical Center in Oakland, Kaiser Permanente’s first hospital location. He is responsible for new services planning and development for Oakland and Richmond’s 270,000 health plan members as well as members from around the Northern California region.
Preston has been at the East Bay Medical Center for over 37 years. While maintaining a part-time clinical practice of Obstetrics and Gynecology, he has served in a variety of administrative roles.
He is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and received his M.D. degree from the University of Michigan in 1971. He completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Oakland in 1974.
In 2003, he started a farmers’ market for the benefit of staff, members, visitors, the community around the medical center and the farmers. There are now markets at multiple Kaiser Permanente facilities in 4 states. The innovation and spirit of the local facility sponsors has resulted in different market models, community outreach and a program wide focus on healthy eating. He has also worked with the Community Alliance with Family Farmers to help create a system that sources produce for inpatient meals from small family farmers with a focus on increasing the utilization of sustainably produced foods.
He believes that the availability of healthy food choices is fundamentally important in support of Kaiser Permanente’s wide reaching health education and health maintenance programs that are sponsored within the program and in the community.
Session(s):
Bringing Sustainability Home: Integrating Fresh, Locally Grown Food to the Health Care System
Alan Marks
Senior Vice President & Corporate Communications, eBay
As senior vice president of corporate communications for eBay Inc., Alan Marks is responsible for leading communications strategy for all areas of the company, including business and consumer media relations, employee communications, executive positioning and issues and reputation management.
Alan has more than 20 years of experience managing communications for top global consumer brands. Prior to joining eBay in April 2008, Alan was at Nike Inc., where he served as a member of the company's global communications leadership team from 2005 to early 2008. Alan led corporate media relations for global product launches, communications of the company's growth strategy, and Nike's industry-leading corporate responsibility strategies.
Prior to Nike, Alan headed corporate communications for Gap Inc. from 1999 to 2005. There, he led media relations, executive and employee communications, reputation management and corporate responsibility. Before Gap Inc., Alan was with Avon Products Inc. for 12 years in a variety of global communications positions. He began his career as a journalist.
Alan received a BA in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an MA in liberal studies from New York University.
Session(s):
Rethinking the Consumption Compulsion
Mike McCamon
WaterPartners International
McCamon joined WaterPartners International (water.org) earlier this year as their Chief Community Officer where he hopes to focus a lens on and marshal support to address the safe water crisis. Mike has over 20 years of experience in various executive management and marketing roles in the technology industry like Apple, Intel, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, Sprint, and Iomega both in the U.S. and Europe. McCamon is an innovator, frequent speaker, and evangelist of online marketing and cause-based community building.
Session(s):
Water: The Next Eco Innovation Opportunity
Kellie McElhaney
Exec. Director, Center for Responsible Business
Kellie McElhaney is the John C. Whitehead Faculty Fellow of Corporate Responsibility and the Executive Director of the Center for Responsible Business at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. She developed and launched this new center in January 2003, which has helped place corporate responsibility squarely as one of the core competencies and competitive advantages of the Haas School. In her five years at Haas, the Center has received global critical acclaim. The Financial Times rated Haas number one in the world in January 2008. The Wall Street Journal ranked Haas as the number two business school in the country for CSR in 2006 and 2007.
Professor McElhaney teaches courses on Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility, which include in-depth, experiential consulting engagements with companies on real-world, high-visibility strategic CSR challenges, in all of the MBA degree programs at Haas. She also teaches extensive Executive Education in this area. She is also a Visiting Professor at the Kenan-Flagler School of Business at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and at the Institut d'Administration des Enterprises at the University of Poitiers in France.
McElaney was named a Faculty Pioneer by the Aspen Institute in 2005. Her research focus is in three areas: (1) Analyzing and developing companies' CSR strategy and its alignment with corporate strategy, business objectives, core competencies, and business value; (2) Exploring the linkage between diversity and CSR and using CSR as a hook to re-engage women with business as employees, consumers, and investors; (3) The business value and opportunities in branding, communication and CSR, on which has written a book due out in Fall 2008 entitled, Just Good Business The Strategic Guide to Aligning Corporate Responsibility and Brand (pre-order available now on Amazon.com).
McElhaney consults to several Global 1000 companies in developing integrated CSR strategy, bridging her academic focus with the practitioner world. Her client list includes HP, Gap, eBay, McDonalds, Ernst & Young, NVIDIA, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Nokia (Finland), Navigant, Volunteer Match, Ford Motor Company, Bernard Hodes Group (Great Britain), PG&E, Driscolls Berries, Triage Consulting Group, Ulster Bank (Ireland), StatoilHydro (Norway) and PG&E. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, a M.A. from Ohio University, and a B.A. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
McElhaney consults to several Global 1000 companies in developing integrated CSR strategy, bridging her academic focus with the practitioner world. Her client list includes HP, Gap, eBay, McDonalds, Ernst & Young, NVIDIA, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Nokia (Finland), Navigant, Volunteer Match, Ford Motor Company, Bernard Hodes Group (Great Britain), PG&E, Driscolls Berries, Triage Consulting Group, Ulster Bank (Ireland), StatoilHydro (Norway) and PG&E. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, a M.A. from Ohio University, and a B.A. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Session(s):
Best Practices in Driving Brand Value Through CSR
Mark McElroy, PhD
Founder, Center for Social Innovation
Mark W. McElroy is Executive Director and Chief Sustainability Officer at the non-profit Center for Sustainable Innovation (CSI) in Vermont. He is also board chair emeritus of the Sustainability Institute, also located in Vermont. For the past several years, Mr. McElroy has worked as a consultant in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability, and has assisted such firms as Ben & Jerry's Homemade and Cabot Creamery Cooperative with their respective sustainability programs.
Mr. McElroy is also affiliated with the University of Groningen in the Netherlands where he holds a 3-year faculty position as a Visiting Researcher. There he is leading a research and development effort to create cutting-edge strategies for managing, measuring, and reporting the social and environmental sustainability performance of organizations. This work also comprises the basis of McElroy's Ph.D. dissertation. The main thrust of Mr. McElroy's thesis, and of his work at CSI, is the development of a corporate sustainability reporting method known as the Social Footprint Method and the concept of sustainability quotients upon which it is based. The Social Footprint Method is an advanced corporate sustainability measurement and reporting system that arguably takes today's leading practices in the field, including the Global Reporting Initiative, to the next level.
Session(s):
Strengthening Your Brand with Context-Based Sustainability
Measuring Your Social Footprint
Martin Melaver
CEO, Melaver, Inc
Martin Melaver is the CEO of Melaver, Inc., a third-generation, family-owned business based in Savannah, Georgia. Melaver, Inc.'s vision is to become a vertically-integrated, truly sustainable real estate company. Melaver Inc.'s triple-bottom line notion of sustainability harkens back to its predecessor days as a grocery business (1940 - 1985) deeply integrated into the needs of the local community. After selling the grocery business to Kroger in 1985, the company has focused its attention on doing real estate a different way, by attending to the overall health and well-being of land and community.
Melaver, Inc. currently accounts for about 1% of all the LEED certifications1 in the U.S., including participation in three distinct pilot programs for sustainable development. The company's renovation of The Whitaker Building was one of the first in the nation to be listed on The National Register of Historic Places and to be LEED certified. Melaver, Inc. developed Abercorn Common, the first all-retail LEED shopping center in the country, including the first LEED McDonald's in the U.S. The company has also created one of the first sustainable real estate portfolios in the U.S. and has approximately 13 other LEED projects in the pipeline - office, hotel, residential, and retail - located in various communities throughout the Southeast. Other accomplishments include winning the Southface Institute's annual Argon award for visionary leadership and stewardship of the environment (prior winners have included Ted Turner and Arthur Blank) and an Excellence in Development award from The Urban Land Institute.
Martin grew up in Savannah, Georgia and received his BA from Amherst College. He holds a Masters and PhD from Harvard University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern. He is a past Fulbright scholar to Tel Aviv University, a recipient of a Mellon fellowship to Jesus College, Cambridge University, and a Lady Davis Fellowship to Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Session(s):
The Power in Sustainable Brand Partnership
Jeff Mendelsohn
Founder & CEO, New Leaf Paper
Jeff Mendelsohn is the founder and president of New Leaf Paper, a company with the mission of driving a fundamental shift toward sustainability in the paper industry. Paper manufacturing is one of the most polluting and resource intensive industries in the world. Mendelsohnenvisions a complete redesign of the paper industry to incorporate the principles of sustainability, and is a frequent public speaker on this topic. He leads New Leaf Paper's product innovation, creating a wide selection of market leading environmental papers that fit this vision.
Since it was founded in 1998, New Leaf Paper has seen real change in the marketplace through its efforts, and inspired some of the largest paper companies in the world to pay attention to environmental concerns. Mendelsohn's interest in socially responsible business transcends the goals of New Leaf Paper, and he actively works to support the growth of the socially responsible business community.
Session(s):
A Brief History & Some Quick Takes on the Future of the American Corporation
Russ Meyer
Chief Strategy Officer, Landor
As the chief strategy officer for Landor Associates, Russ Meyer has led teams and assisted in solving branding strategy and identity problems for clients, such as Andersen Consulting, Barclays Bank, Disney, DreamWorks, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Microsoft, PepsiCo, and Procter & Gamble. In addition, Russ has leveraged Landor’s expertise in mergers and acquisitions assisting in the brand strategy and identity creation for high-profile mergers, such as Bell Atlantic/GTE, BP/Amoco/ARCO, Compaq/Digital/Tandem, and Shell Oil/Texaco/Saudi Refining.
Russ has held several other roles at Landor including brand group leader, executive director of strategic services, and director of verbal branding and naming during his 13-year tenure. He managed programs for clients, such as Apple Computer, AT&T, Bayer, Electronic Arts, Lucent Technologies, Philips Electronics, and Rockwell International.
Russ is a frequent commentator on brands, business, and sustainability, and has been a guest lecturer at the University of California’s Haas School of Business and San Francisco State University. He has been quoted in Advertising Age, the New York Daily News, BusinessWeek, and CMO magazine, and has appeared on CBS’s MarketWatch and KPIX’s CBS5 Evening News in San Francisco. He is also the co-author of Beyond the Fourth Wall: Marketing for Non-Profit Theaters.
Russ received his BA from the University of Minnesota and holds an MFA in design from Northwestern University in Chicago. He also graduated from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management with an MA in management.
Session(s):
2009's Greenest Brands
Rob Michalak
Director of Social Mission & PR, Ben and Jerry's
Rob Michalak is Ben & Jerry's Director of Social Mission & Public Elations. Rob is on the senior leadership team at Ben & Jerry's known as "MOM" -- Managers of the Mission. Rob's role at Ben & Jerry's is to energize and direct the progressive side of the Company based on the values articulated in its Social Mission. This is Rob's second time around at the Vermont-based ice cream company. He served as Ben & Jerry's "PR Czar" in the company's halcyon growth years from 1989-1998. Rob came back to Ben & Jerry's in his new role in June, 2006. In between his first and second tours at Ben & Jerry's, Rob co-owned a production studio that produced media for companies that practiced caring forms of capitalism. Rob's earliest professional years were spent in radio and television news.
Session(s):
Unchaining Value: Growth in Fairtrade and the Corresponding Opportunity for Business & Society
Dialogue Session: The Future of Ethical Sourcing
Ryan Mickle
Co-Founder, Triple Pundit
Ryan Mickle founded Companiesandme in 2006 to help companies connect with consumers, employees and other stakeholders through social web technology. In 2007 the company launched dotherightthing.com to a fanfare of press, including features in the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, as well as hundreds of blogs around the world. He now works with major consumer brands to turn stories trapped in CSR reports and press releases into meaningful conversations with consumers, employees and other stakeholders online.
Ryan also writes for and contributes to managing Triplepundit.com, one of the world's most well-read and fastest growing websites featuring news and information on business and technology that leaves the world better off.
Ryan holds a BA in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley and traveled to both the Wharton School and Cambridge University to study leadership and international economics, respectively. He enjoys traveling, running marathons, yoga, and working hard to make a positive impact on people.
Session(s):
Top 10 Online Sustainable Brands Stories and the Tools That Got Them There
Tim Mohin
Principal Sustainability Consultant, EORM
Tim Mohin is a Principal Consultant and Team Leader for EORM's growing sustainability and corporate social responsibility practice. Formerly, Mr. Mohin led Apple’s Supplier Responsibility program where he initiated the company’s world-class social and environmental responsibility program.
Mr. Mohin had a 12 year career with Corporation from 1995 – 2006 where he held several positions including Director of Sustainable Development managing, Director of Employee Communications, Corporate Environmental Manager and Government Affairs Manager. Significant accomplishments include the Intel’s highly successful design for the environment program and Intel’s Project XL (Excellence and Leadership) program.
Before joining Intel, Mr. Mohin had a ten year career in the Federal government with both the US Senate and US EPA. Significant accomplishments include the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and The National Environmental Technology Bill of 1993.
Mr. Mohin has a Bachelors degree from the State University of New York and a Masters degree from Duke University.
Session(s):
Defining Carbon Leadership
Chris Nelson
Director of Corporate Development, Underwriters Laboratories
Chris Nelson directs global commercial development for UL Environment™, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) that is focused exclusively on environmental services for products, companies and energy. In this role, he is responsible for corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, partnerships and alliances and commercial sales and marketing operations. Previously, Nelson was director of corporate development for UL, helping its businesses identify candidates and options for strategic partnerships, mergers and acquisitions. A certified public accountant, Nelson has been in various financial management roles prior to his time at UL, including most recently as vice president of financial planning and analysis at Citigroup. Nelson has also spent time in various business development roles in the computer software industry.
Session(s):
Eco-Labeling – Who Do You Trust?
Steve Newcomb
CEO, Virgance
Steve Newcomb is one of the Silicon Valley's most prominent entrepreneurs and has been involved with 6 companies that have created more that 3 billion in market cap value. He recently sold his last company Powerset to Microsoft and he is currently the founder and CEO Virgance, a company that utilizes the power of social media and social networks to cause social change in a way that works in partnership with business.
Session(s):
Building High Impact Brands in a Digital Age
Christina Nicholson
Director of Sustainability, Williams-Sonoma
In her current role as Director of Sustainable Development, Christina Nicholson is responsible for driving sustainability as a strategic agenda throughout both corporate and brand activities within Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma brands. Her background in finance, sustainable design and marketing make her uniquely qualified for this cross sector challenge and she is making great headway on materials and supply chain, energy use and both internal and external brand communications and education.
Session(s):
Dialogue Session: Opportunities and Conditions for Successful Multi-stakeholder Collaboration
Bonnie Nixon
Director of Environmental Sustainability, HP
Bonnie Nixon and her green team of dedicated sustainability experts are responsible for the short and long term vision, strategy, marketing, messaging and stakeholder relations program for Hewlett Packard.
Over the last decade at HP, Ms. Nixon has worked with top level management on environmental, health, safety and social polices and procedures and designed and implemented a world class ethical sourcing and supplier relationship management program. She has played a strong lead in an effort of major competitors and suppliers on a common industry code of conduct and complimentary tools and processes that helps raise the bar in the electronics industry. In addition, Ms. Nixon has led audit trainings and supply chain social and environmental trainings and audits in Mexico, South America, Eastern Europe, India, China and Southeast Asia.
Prior to joining HP, as Vice President of an Environmental Planning and Communications Firm, Bonnie Nixon managed more than 200 public and private sector projects with business, community and agencies. As an experienced environmental mediator, she has spent more than 24 years working with business, government and non-governmental entities on environmental and social impact assessments and programs. Her experience spans across several industries including technology, biotech, hazardous waste, financial, infrastructure and utilities, food processing and transportation.
Bonnie has her degree from Pennsylvania State University in Sociology, is in the process of becoming a fellow at Stanford University and is on the executive faculty for the Presidio’s Sustainability MBA. Ms Nixon is published in “Navigating Rough Waters – Ethical Issues in the Water Industry”.
Session(s):
HP's Next Generation: Re-defining the Opportunity for Impact
Thomas Oh
Director of Marketing, Frito-Lay
Thomas is the Director of Marketing for SunChips. He is responsible for overseeing brand strategy and all marketing initiatives for SunChips, Frito-Lay’s pioneering sustainable brand. During the past year, he has led the launch of the brand’s first step towards a fully compostable chip bag, and created a breakthrough custom consumer partnership with National Geographic.
Prior to his current assignment, Thomas led the PepsiCo sales team charged with developing the company’s emerging presence in the Natural Channel. In total, Thomas has been with PepsiCo for 10 years in various headquarter marketing and field sales roles.
Thomas holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Columbia University and an MBA from the University of Michigan Business School. Thomas, his wife Corinne, their two daughters and son live in Plano, TX.
Session(s):
Sunchip's Sustainable Brand Journey: Thinking Outside (And About) the Bag!
Joshua Onysko
Founder and CEO, Pangea Organics
It was Pangea founder and CEO Joshua Onysko’s personal devotion and commitment to inspiring social sustainability that sparked the inception of Pangea Organics seven years ago. He devised the selling of the highest quality organic, personal care products as a means to an even greater end. After seven years of traveling to the likes of India, Nepal, and Tibet, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Thailand, Onysko had an epiphany: He realized that corporations were inheriting the earth and that by leading by example there was potential to influence others to reconsider their ways.
He shared with his friend Tom that he dreamed of starting an Institute to aid existing corporations in learning to become more socially responsible and environmentally sound and also to act as an incubator for start-ups. Tom looked at him and uttered those life-altering words: "You should start a soap factory to fund the project and you should call it Pangea." (If you remember, “Pangea” refers to the super continent, before Plate Tectonics divided the landmass into the seven continents of the world that exist today.) Two days later Onysko took these words to heart, literally. He up and moved to Boulder, Colorado, landed a job as a baker at Whole Foods, and made soap in his garage at night.
Why Soap?
Onysko, who grew up in rural Rhode Island and dropped out of school at age nine to pursue an acting career, has always followed his heart and his passions. When he realized that he wanted to move to India he stopped at home to visit his parents first. There, he noticed a coffee table book of his mother’s—“Making Hand Made Soap.” As a bonding project, Onysko made soap with his mother. They distributed a few samples to friends and family and saved a few bars for Onysko and his travels. In Goa, Onysko realized he really liked the soap. He also started getting emails from people he had given the soap to, saying how much they liked it too, how it was clearing up their eczema, and doing great things for their complexions.
The Result
Pangea Organics is currently the largest cold-processed organic soap manufacturer in the US. In addition to bar soap, the line also includes shower gel, liquid hand soap, hand and body lotion, facial cleanser, facial toner, facial cream, facial mask, facial scrub and lip balm. Throughout Pangea's growth, from its inception in 2001, Onysko, 30, has retained private ownership of his company, never straying from its vision: Ecocentric bodycare; always beneficial, never artificial. Onysko remains committed to creating products that are always organic, nurturing, handcrafted, fair-trade (whenever possible) and cruelty-free.
Session(s):
Low-Impact Packaging and Design
Jacquie Ottman
Priciple, J Ottman Consulting
Since founding J. Ottman Consulting, Inc. nearly 20 years ago, Jacquelyn and her colleagues have helped more than 60 Fortune 500 businesses, the Energy Star label and other organizations learn how to seize opportunities by pro-actively addressing consumers' environmental concerns. Ottman has helped clients develop concepts for exciting new products with less environmental impact and strategies for reaching green consumers while minimizing the risk of backlash. Her book, Green Marketing: Opportunity for Innovation, is called the "definitive work on the subject" by the American Marketing Association.
Jacquelyn is a sought-after speaker at conferences and corporate forums run by IBM, 3M, Philips Electronics, and GE, and one of the true pioneers of green marketing. She also serves as program co-chair of Sustainable Brands '08, as well as host to SLM's Sustainable Brands Weekly. The principal organizer and driving spirit behind the Design:Green eco-design educational initiative, she sits on the Advisory Board of the Centre for Sustainable Design (U.K.), the Center for Small Business and the Environment, and the NYC chapter of O2, of which she is a past co-chairman. For seven years, she chaired the jury of the American Marketing Association's Special Edison Awards for Environmental Achievement.
Session(s):
Sustainable Brands Through the Year
Emerging Options in Eco-Labeling
Design Green: Greener Products, Innovative Marketing, Better Business
Ben Packard
Vice President, Global Responsibility, Starbucks Coffee Company
Ben drives the strategy and oversees the programs behind the Starbucks™ Shared Planet™ commitment to doing business responsibly, encompassing the company’s approach to ethical sourcing, environmental stewardship and community involvement.
Before assuming his current role in 2008, Ben led Starbucks Environmental Affairs team. He directed key initiatives including an environmental footprint analysis and establishment of related performance metrics, a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and the first FDA-approved use of post-consumer recycled materials for paper cups. As chair of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Retail Development Committee, he has led development of LEED standards to help improve the retail sector’s environmental performance.
Ben holds a Master of Business Administration and Certificate in Environmental Management from the University of Washington. He sits on the national Net Impact Board of Directors.
Session(s):
Unchaining Value: Growth in Fairtrade and the Corresponding Opportunity for Business & Society
Dialogue Session: The Future of Ethical Sourcing
Eric Park
Creative Director,Ziba Design Inc.
At Ziba, internationally recognized design consultancy based in Portland, OR, Eric manages the innovation process with a multi-disciplinary systems approach, drawing on his deep understanding of user research, design planning, technology and implementation to increase clients' business value. Eric has been with ZIBA for nearly 12 years, leading business-driven design efforts for a wide range of consumer clients, including Intel, Clorox, Brita and Nike as well as a number of startups. He has extensive experience in consumer and technology product development. Eric led design efforts for M-Systems, Dial, and Ora Innovations, receiving Business Week/IDSA Gold, Silver and Bronze awards in 2001. Seven years ago, Eric spearheaded a Sustainable Design practice at Ziba. He continues working with the Oregon Natural Step network as a mentor for companies attempting to integrate sustainability into their business decisions.
Session(s):
Dialogue Session: Redefining the American Dream
Todd Parsons
Co-Founder, BuzzLogic
A co-founder of BuzzLogic, Todd Parsons is responsible for growing BuzzLogic's audience reach through partnerships with Influential Bloggers. Prior to founding BuzzLogic, Parsons led the Knowledge Bank and Online Business Services divisions of Silicon Valley Bank, where he managed development of productivity and business intelligence products for the bank and venture capital community. Previously, Parsons was a co-founder of Textus Worldwide, a supply chain management consulting firm and held senior management positions with InnovationWorld and Artmetropolis. Parsons has served on the faculty of San Jose State University's Electronic Commerce Program.
Session(s):
The Promises and Perils of Behavioral Targeting Online
Dev Patnaik
Author, Wired to Care
Dev Patnaik is a founder and principal of Jump Associates, a consulting firm that helps companies innovate. Together with his teammates, he works with visionary business leaders to identify new markets, reinvent existing categories, and define new products and services. Dev is a trusted advisor to senior executives at some of America’s most admired companies, including General Electric, Nike, Procter & Gamble, Target and Hewlett-Packard.
When he’s not working at Jump, Patnaik moonlights down the road at Stanford University as an adjunct professor, where he teaches design-research methods to undergraduate and graduate students. Since 1999, he has taught a course called Needfinding. In the class, students draw upon methods from anthropology, design and business planning to discover insights about ordinary people and create new products. While the class is required for all Design majors, it’s become a favorite of students from the Business School, School of Education and even Computer Science. As apples don’t fall far from the tree, Patnaik has a Bachelor’s degree in Product Design from Stanford.
Session(s):
Building the Business Case for Empathy
Dialogue Session: Channeling Optimism to Business Benefit
Susannah Patton
National Public Relations and Media Manager, Kaiser Permanente
Susannah Patton is a national PR and media manager at Kaiser Permanente, focused on promoting the organization's environmental work. She has also played a leading role in developing online and social media initiatives, including a news podcast series and farmers' market recipe blog. Since joining Kaiser Permanente in September 2006, Susannah has also promoted stories about the organization's electronic health record, KP HealthConnect, to national media outlets. In addition, she helped launch an external news website, KP News Center (www.kp.org/newscenter). A former journalist who spent many years living in France, Susannah has written for publications including the International Herald Tribune, the Associated Press and CIO Magazine. She recently published her first work of non-fiction. Susannah lives in Albany, CA with her husband and two young sons.
Session(s):
Behind the Scene's of Kaiser's Thrive Campaign
Lewis Perkins
Director of Sustainable Strategies, The Mohawk Group
A long-time advocate for “doing the right thing,” Lewis Perkins is a champion for sustainability – personally and professionally. The director of sustainable strategies for The Mohawk Group, a leading carpet manufacturer and commercial division of Mohawk Industries, Perkins draws on this passion to help advance the company’s mission of environmental and social responsibility. Coupling strong leadership skills with his fervent commitment to ensuring a positive future for the world around us, he helps drive awareness for the importance of sustainable design through strategic marketing communications, as well as The Mohawk Group’s partnerships with philanthropic organizations such as Global Green USA, Easter Seals and Susan G. Komen.
Prior to Mohawk, he served with The Clean Air Campaign. Perkins holds a Master of Business Administration in marketing and strategy with a focus on social responsibility from Emory University and a Bachelor of Arts from Washington and Lee University.
Perkins is active with various foundations including GOAL, an organization committed to promoting self-esteem, self-awareness and respect for individual differences in girls and young women and The Captain Planet Foundation. Visit Perkins’ weekly blog on Sustainable Innovation at Fast Company.com
Session(s):
The Power in Sustainable Brand Partnership
David Phillips
CEO, Natural Path Media
David Phillips is a pioneering Internet executive and entrepreneur who has served in leadership positions for the last fifteen years with AOL Inc., AOL Europe (JV with Bertelsmann), Crunch Music, Napster, and IGN/Fox.
After starting his legal career in Washington DC with Hogan & Hartson, Phillips joined AOL in 1994 as its second lawyer and became General Counsel of AOL Europe in 1997. In 1999, Phillips stepped into the position of President and Managing Director in the UK, where he led the strategic integration of the Company after AOL bought Netscape and CompuServe Europe.
In 2000, Phillips became the CEO of Crunch Music Ltd., a European pioneer of digital music, backed by Nomura and other VCs. Crunch was the recipient of several excellence awards and was acquired by Music Choice PLC in 2001.
In 2002, Phillips joined Napster as its VP of Music Services and Acting General Counsel, focusing on its business and product development efforts aimed to re-launch Napster as a paid subscription service.
In 2004, Phillips became the Executive Vice President of IGN Entertainment Inc., a leading online network focused on video and computer gaming, movies and digital entertainment. As head of Corporate Strategy, Phillips helped manage the Company's highly successful acquisition, integration and roll-up of its network and sale to News Corp/Fox in late 2005.
NaturalPath Media, founded in 2006, was borne out of Phillips’ passion for sustainability and holistic health. NaturalPath Media is the largest online advertising and media network for sustainable and conscious living with over 25 million monthly unique visitors across 130 plus web sites.
Phillips is a graduate of the University of Chicago School of Law and Pomona College in Claremont California. He lives in Marin County with his wife Mary and three young children.
Session(s):
The Promises and Perils of Behavioral Targeting Online
Paige Polous
CEO, Paige Polous Communications
Paige Poulos founded her eponymous public relations firm in 1990 at age 32 (see www.paigepoulos.com). In 2005, she was named one of the world's leading women entrepreneurs by The Starr Group. A passionate environmentalist, conservationist and preservationist, Poulos is turning her company's considerable communications might to the greening of wine and communications targeted both to consumers and to the winemakers and grape growers who provide them with fine wines. She and her husband split their time between the city and a certified organic hay farm in Potter Valley, CA.
Session(s):
Fireside Chat
Jon Prange
Venture Business Manager, San Diego Zoo
Jon Prange is the Venture Business Manager for the San Diego Zoo. Jon has been with the Zoo for 27 years. During that time he went from part-time while attending San Diego State University to working in the Finance Department after his graduation. He worked for approximately 13 years as an analyst for the organization until 2003 when the organization started to look more and more to analyses for innovative growth opportunities to fund our mission. Believed to be the first such position/department at a zoo, the Venture Business Office supports the strategic investment objectives of allocating resources to those opportunities that will enable us to fund our mission and realize our vision.
Session(s):
Uncovering New Business Opportunities by Meeting People Where They Are
David Quigg
Director of Marketing & Part Owner, Grays Harbor Paper
David Quigg, Director of Marketing and part owner of Grays Harbor Paper. David has played an integral role in the grass roots marketing and pull through sales strategy that help make Grays Harbor Paper sustainable even in these uncertain economic times.
David graduated from Gonzaga University with a BA in Communications. David has worked for Grays Harbor Paper since 1993. He has also spent time as an Assistant Cruise Director for Holland America Cruise Lines and with the Four Seasons hotel chain in both Las Vegas and Hawaii. David is proud to be working at Grays Harbor Paper as they work to obtain their goal to be the premier supplier of 100% Post Consumer papers in North America. David has spoken to Public and Private Companies, Government and NGO both large and small helping them channel their desire to be “sustainable” into practical low cost changes that can start today.
Session(s):
Blue Collar to Green Collar: Evolving a Traditional Industry
Reem Rahim
Chief Marketing Officer, Numi
As Chief Marketing Officer at Numi, Reem Rahim heads all marketing efforts including all package design. Reem is fluent in all aspects of tea, including its history and cultivation as well as product development of Numi’s full leaf quality tea and organic and fair trade sourcing. After earning her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, Reem switched gears and went on to pursue a Diploma d’Arte in Drawing and Painting from Lorenzo di Medici Art Institute in Florence, Italy and then a Masters in Fine Arts from John F. Kennedy University in the department of Arts & Consciousness Studies. Reem’s hand painted original paintings inspired by her brother and co-founder’s photography grace Numi’s packaging.
Along with her brother, Ahmed, Reem is a chief contributor and co-creator of Numi’s green and sustainable values. These efforts consist of partnering with Freeset, a textile cooperative in Calcutta, India that provides sewing and literacy skills to women once in the prostitution trade, to initiation of Numi’s non-profit organization and the social and environmental causes it supports. Reem continues to create art in her studio in Oakland, California and is fluent in English, Italian, Spanish, and Arabic.
Session(s):
Low-Impact Packaging and Design
Dialogue Session: To B or Not to B – The How's and Whys of Formalizing Your Sustainable Business Values
Robin Raj
Founder & Executive Creative Director, Citizen Group
Robin Raj, founder/executive creative director of Citizen Group, (www.citizengroup.com) has had an award-winning career in both traditional and digital media. His commitment to citizen marketing is evident in his career-long work for Amnesty International, NRDC, Rock the Vote, and others. At Citizen, Robin leads the agency’s efforts for USA Network, Pabst Brewing Company, Mighty Leaf Tea, C and WWF’s Climate Savers initiative. Earlier he worked for Foote Cone and Belding and Hal Riney & Partners, San Francisco, creating campaigns for AT&T, Coca-Cola, Levi's, Microsoft, Coors and Gallo. While at Chiat/Day in the 1980's, he created the NYNEX Yellow Pages "Human Cartoons" campaign, voted one of Adweek’s 25 Greatest Ad Campaigns and named to its Creative All-Stars list.
Session(s):
Sustaining Sustainability: Building Community And Shifting Behavior
Wendy Rawson
CEO/Founder, Bells for Everest
Wendy Rawson has worked as a business manager alongside Jeff Clapp for the last five years developing Bells From Everest. Drawing from ten years experience in international marketing she and Jeff have taken his artistic concept from the top of Mount Everest to the shelves of Walt Disney World. Presenting Jeff’s ideas through our website and to vendors has been a challenge requiring teamwork, persistence and dedication. Wendy was born in Ghana and lived in England and the West Indies.
Session(s):
Maximizing Profits by Imaginative Use of Materials
Adam Richardson
Creative Director, Frog Design
Adam is responsible for overseeing many of frog’s strategy engagements for product, digital and brand clients. He combines a background in industrial design, interaction design, and sociology and has a broad range of experience in both consulting and corporate settings. Clients have included DaimlerChrysler, HP, Microsoft, Motorola, Oral-B, Sun Microsystems, Vodafone, and Yahoo. He has extensive experience conducting ethnographic research to discover user needs, and with making research and strategy insights that connect concretely with product development. Prior to frog he ran his own consulting company, and has worked at Sun Microsystems (lead designer for high end servers) and Praxis Product Design (senior designer).
Adam earned a BFA in Industrial Design from the California College of the Arts (CCA) in 1992, and earned a multi-disciplinary MA from the University of Chicago in 1997, where his thesis focused on applying analytical tools from anthropology and sociology to the design process. He has written for design magazines such as Design Management Journal, Graphis, Metropolis, and Innovation. He has spoken at multiple conferences, most recently: About, With & For (Chicago, 2005), Netherlands Technology Officers Conference (Delft, 2005), Spark UX (Half Moon Bay, 2006). He has won ID Magazine and Good Design Awards, and he helped organize a show at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 1996 about the design of desktop computers. He is an Adjunct Professor in the Industrial Design program at CCA, where he has taught design research.explore the context of sustainability throughout the design process.
Adam led a workshop at the 2008 Sustainable Brands Conference addressing fundamental and systematic approaches to sustainable design. He also works with the Design Management Institute, leading workshops that explore the context of sustainability throughout the design process.
Session(s):
The frog design Approach to Sustainable Design
John Marshall Roberts
Author, Igniting Inspiration
John Marshall Roberts serves as communications consultant for several client organizations, including Evenson Design Group, a sustainable branding and design firm in Los Angeles. A former psychology professor, his unique insight into the psychology of the communication design process has made him a prominent contributor to several pioneering entertainment projects over the past decade, including two 200 million dollar plus theme park designs. Recent clients and partners have included the Oscar-winning BRC Imagination Arts, the Joseph Campbell Foundation, Knock Knock, Inc.
An outspoken voice within in the Los Angeles sustainable business community, Roberts is particularly interested in using his research to further the environmental movement's agenda. He works with a variety of profit and non-profit organizations to create messaging campaigns that inspire environmental action. His new book "Igniting Inspiration: A Persuasion Manual for Visionaries" is quickly becoming an indispensable tool for a new generation of socially conscious marketers, business leaders, and activists in the Los Angles area and beyond.
Session(s):
Dialogue Session: Channeling Optimism to Business Benefit
Changing the World Through Constructive Conversation
Inspiring Sustainability in Skeptical Audiences
Leonard Robinson
Chief Deputy Director, California DTSC
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Leonard E. Robinson to the position of Chief Deputy Director for the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) in September of 2004. He has over thirty years of experience in the environmental management field.
As DTSC's Chief Deputy Director, Mr. Robinson oversees the day-to-day operations of the department and acts as spokesman for such environmental initiatives such as: Brownfields; Pollution Prevention; Green Chemistry; Universal Wastes and Enforcement. DTSC’s mission is to protect public health and the environment. Mr. Robinson is spearheading the California Take It Back! Partnership. This Partnership is a consortium of: State and Local Government; retail stores; non-profit agencies and utilities that provide free; local and convenient locations for California residents to recycle their universal wastes.
Session(s):
Transparency & Green Materials: Key Building Blocks for Tomorrow's Brand Leaders
Brad Rodgers
Manager - Sustainable Pkg. & Advanced Materials Research, Frito-Lay
Brad is a 20 year veteran of the plastics and packaging industry after earning his degree in Polymer Chemistry from the University of Missouri-Rolla. He spent much of his career working for major polyolefin manufacturers in Texas and Delaware where he developed polymers for use in numerous packaging applications. He currently is the R&D Manager of Sustainable Packaging and Advanced Materials Research for Frito Lay where his responsibilities include the development of next generation packaging materials that will have a better overall impact on the environment. Brad currently has seven patents for various packaging applications and at least six more pending. He has authored or co-authored several papers and published articles in the area of barrier food packaging and is currently working on the development of advanced barriers using nanotechnology.
Session(s):
Sunchip's Sustainable Brand Journey: Thinking Outside (And About) the Bag!
Gwynne Rogers
LOHAS Business Director, Natural Marketing Institute
Ms. Rogers' specialty, strategic analysis and planning for LOHAS related organizations, evolves from her Masters in Environmental Management and MBA from Duke University. She brings many years of specific experience in environmental consulting where she served various companies such as Pitney Bowes and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Since joining NMI in 2002, Gwynne has worked with a wide variety of clients, including Ben and Jerry's, Aveda, Aramark, ConAgra, DuPont, Honda, Ford, Weyerhaeuser, and EPA (Energy Star). She is an expert in understanding the LOHAS consumer and their expectations for products and companies, and assisting clients to capitalize on this consumer segment. She is a frequent speaker at many industry events and conferences, including LOHAS Business Forums, the Sustainable Packaging Forum, West Coast Green, Health & Beauty America, EnvironDesign, and Greenbuild. Additionally, her expertise is regularly utilized by a range of media sources, including The Washington Post.
Session(s):
Research Roundtable: Brown Bag Lunch
Owen Rogers
Partner and Head of Consumer Experience Design, IDEO
Owen Rogers is a partner and head of IDEO’s Consumer Experience Design business community. Within this community, Owen guides and supports IDEO’s leaders in developing the firm’s offering in areas such as Food & Beverage, Energy, Financial Services, Media & Entertainment, and Mobility. He has also been instrumental in establishing IDEO’s presence in Asia, in markets including Japan, Korea, and China.
Owen began his career at IDEO in 1998 as an industrial designer and later ran Consumer Experience Design within the San Francisco office. Through his passion for bringing business acumen to the design profession, he helps businesses leverage design thinking to drive innovation. He has been a strategic adviser to clients, including HBO, Snap-on, and Amway, helping them develop and shape their brand vision.
Owen has continued to cultivate his interest in the intersection of design and business thinking by serving on the boards of Allen Edmonds, a historic North American mens shoe company, and Cleanwell, a natural cleaning product company with patented products in retail at Wholefoods and Target nationwide. He was a co-founder of Cleanwell and helped to develop the company internally at IDEO.
Prior to joining IDEO, Owen attended the Royal College of Art in London, where he earned a master’s in industrial design. He brings a refined and authoritative British accent to every one of his speaking engagements.
Session(s):
Opening Plenary: Sustainability is a Brand!
Edouard Rollet
Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer, Alter Eco
Edouard Rollet is the Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer of Alter Eco, a pioneering Fair Trade brand distributed in over 1,500 stores across the US. A passionate advocate for social justice, child protection, development, and issues that pertain to the inequalities between the North and the South, Edouard has traveled extensively in developing countries and has been involved in several development organizations in South East Asia. He also consulted for the communications department of the UNICEF in Dakar, Senegal.
Prior to launching ALTER ECO in the U.S., Edouard was a Senior Trade Attaché at the French Embassy in New York. He specialized in foreign investment, new ventures setup, media, marketing, and mass retail. Edouard holds an MBA from The European Institute of Business and a MA in Mass Communications from the University of Florida. Born in Lyon, France, he has been a U.S. resident for over 10 years. Edouard lives in San Francisco and is married to Ilse Keijzer, founder of Alter Eco Pacific (Australia/New Zealand).
Session(s):
Dialogue Session: To B or Not to B – The How's and Whys of Formalizing Your Sustainable Business Values
Lisa Ryan
National Advertising Director, Kaiser Permanente
Lisa Ryan began her career over 25 years ago in advertising at TLK/RSCG and DDB Needham Worldwide working on major accounts such as Ralston Purina, Anheuser Busch and Proctor & Gamble. She expanded her career to manage marketing communications and advertising programs for Continental Bank (Bank of America), MasterCard International and Bank of the West. Currently, she is the Director of National Advertising at Kaiser Permanente.
Lisa serves on the board of the Diablo Regional Arts Association and is an active volunteer in foundational work for the Contra Costa Library system. She is a native of Chicago and moved to San Francisco ten years ago. She lives in the East Bay with her husband and 4-year old daughter.
Session(s):
Behind the Scene's of Kaiser's Thrive Campaign
Neil Sainsbury-Carter
Business Development Director, ECOS
As Business Development Director, Neil is responsible for developing new business relationships throughout North America. Neil has a solid background in energy with over 14 years of experience on both the generation and demand side of the business. Neil has been part of teams developing energy assets ranging from combined cycle power plants to natural gas pipelines and he’s worked on the customer side of the meter with Invensys and his own onsite generation consulting business. Neil has completed over 150 commercial and industrial energy audits and developed solutions that include efficient lighting, integrated web-based control systems, heat recovery technology, solar thermal, fuel cell CHP technology, solar PV and methane capture.
Neil has a Bachelor of science in economics from the University of California, Riverside and an MBA from Thunderbird.
Session(s):
More Info Coming Soon!
Peter Salmon
Founder & Director , Moxie Design
Peter Salmon is founder and Managing Director of Moxie Design Group, an agency specializing in identifying, designing and communicating sustainable ideas that are good for our environment, good for the future and profitable for business.
Salmon has worked in the design industry for over 20 years. He has a long-standing interest in sustainable development, and the role of design and innovation plays in delivering better human and environmental outcomes.
He works with organizations` to help them understand and respond to the growing ethical economy. Providing insight and commentary on conscientious consumers and the markets they frequent. Salmon has consulted with a range of agencies and enterprises including New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Coca-Cola Amatil, Westpac Bank, SCA Hygiene Australasia, Shell New Zealand, DCI New York, EcoStore and NZI/IAG Insurance.
Session(s):
Next Plays: Building a Balanced Sustainability Strategy
The NextPlays Lab: Designing Your Sustainable Business Strategy for the Short and Long Term
Will Sarni
CEO, Domani
William Sarni is founder and Chief Executive Officer of DOMANI with 30 years of experience in providing sustainability and environmental consulting services to private and public sector enterprises. He has worked closely with companies such as Alcoa, BASF, Cisco, DIAGEO, Cherokee Investment, Enterprise Community Partners, Forest City Enterprises, Invensys, NTT DATA, TNK-BP, and Vivendi in developing and implementing sustainability strategies that provide the greatest tangible and intangible (brand) value to organizations.
He has a practical yet creative approach to implementing sustainability programs and integrating diverse business and technical issues related to energy, climate change, sustainable land use, and reporting/branding. Sarni's current focus is on the integration of sustainability initiatives into business decision making processes, the development and application of sustainability management and metrics systems, and carbon management programs. He is a Member of the Environmental Compliance Committee of the Chicago Climate Exchange and a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) and The Conference Board. He frequently speaks on a range of sustainability issues and authors an editorial column on sustainable business practices in Venture Magazine and host's Sustainable Life Media Climate Management Weekly."
Session(s):
Dialogue Session: Invention and Creative Destruction –Varying Paths to Innovation Success
Water: The Next Eco Innovation Opportunity
Blair Shane
Chief Marketing Officer, California Academy of Sciences
The Chief Marketing Officer of the California Academy of Sciences, Blair Shane strives to strengthen recognition and understanding of all that the Academy has to offer its diverse audiences. In preparation for the Academy’s reopening in September, 2008, Shane crafted and executed a successful marketing plan to introduce the new Academy to the world. Those coordinated efforts resulted in the launch of a new brand identity, a new website, the Academy’s first advertising campaign, more than 1,000 news stories around the world, and attendance figures that far exceed expectations.
Today, she remains focused on continuing to find compelling ways to tell the Academy story and attract enthusiastic and loyal visitors of all ages. Through a variety of marketing initiatives that build on the momentum surrounding the Academy’s reopening, Shane aims to inspire curiosity about science and the future of the natural world among all who encounter the institution.
Prior to joining the Academy in 2007, Shane served as the Vice President for Marketing Planning and Integration at Charles Schwab & Co. There, she provided strategic marketing guidance, managed communications, and led a large cross-functional team to achieve results for the consumer focused financial services brand. Prior to Schwab, she gained experience running lines of business at General Mills and Franklin Templeton Group.
Shane earned her MBA from Stanford University, as well as a certificate in public management. At Johns Hopkins University, she received her bachelor’s degree in history. Following her undergraduate work, she founded the non-profit “Hands on San Francisco” with the goal of motivating busy professionals to volunteer for community organizations in the Bay area.
A multi-generation San Franciscan, Shane grew up at the Academy and is delighted to see that it continues to inspire curiosity and discovery in her own young children. As a member of the Academy’s senior management team, she remains passionate about scientific education and is committed to help shape the Academy’s future.
Session(s):
The 4th R: Reinvention and Your Sustainable Brand
Nathan Shedroff
Author, Making of Meaning
Experience Design pioneer Nathan Shedroff is chair of the groundbreaking Design Strategy MBA at the California College of the Arts (CCA). The program melds design with business strategy to pursue a vision of the future of business as sustainable, meaningful, and truly innovative as well as profitable.
In addition to speaking, teaching, consulting, and entrepreneurial ventures, Shedroff has written extensively on design and business issues, including Experience Design 1 and Making Meaning, along with his website. He has three new books debuting in 2009: Design is the Problem, about sustainable design; Experience Design 1.1, an update to his 2001 book; and Experience Design 1 Cards, a design tool based on his book that helps designers put the approach into practice.
In 2006, Shedroff earned a Masters in Business Administration at Presidio School of Management, the only accredited American MBA program specializing in Sustainable Business. He lives in San Francisco where the climate, culture, and industry make it easy to have an esoteric title like Experience Strategist and actually make a living.
Session(s):
Rethinking the Consumption Compulsion
Frank Sicilia
Program Chair, MBA in Design Strategy, California College of the Arts, Author, Making of Meaning
Frank Sicilia is the Global Technology Director for Y&R Brands as well as the world wide climate change champion for Y&R Brands. Prior to joining Y&R, Frank was the Director of Global Networking for the Y&R Group Companies where his responsibilities included designing, deploying and managing the Y&R Global Wide Area Network. Prior to Y&R, Frank was a technology and security manager for various financial services and law firms. A native New Yorker, Frank attended Manhattan College in NYC and received a degree in Aeronautical Engineering.
Session(s):
What Gets Measured, Gets Done: Driving Sustainability Home
Yalmaz Siddiqui
Director of Environmental Strategy, Office Depot
Yalmaz Siddiqui is Office Depot's Director of Environmental Strategy, responsible for directing the development and integration of environmental programs under the company's vision to "increasingly buy green, be green and sell green". He came to Office Depot in April 2006 from IBM Consulting where he was a Senior Consultant and author of the first global study on environmental procurement of wood and paper products. Before he joined IBM, he was a management consultant at PwC, where he focused on the forest, paper and packaging industries.
Siddiqui holds a Master's in Environment & Development from Cambridge University in England, and a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing & International Business from McGill University in Canada.
Session(s):
Detangling Environmental Attributes, Specifications and Certifications for Green Product Design and Branding
Anna Siefken
Energy & Resources Senior Manager, ICF International
Anna J. Siefken is a Senior Manager at ICF International with over fifteen years of experience in project, team and account management activities, including marketing, strategic planning and program development in the retail, technology, and private sector environments. She works on a number of energy efficiency programs for ICF, including the management of EPA’s ENERGY STAR® partner outreach to all major U.S.-based retailers, including green marketing and communications support. Prior to joining ICF, Ms. Siefken was employed at The Home Depot, where she held positions in product procurement, merchandising, advertising, eCommerce, community affairs and environmental programming. Ms. Siefken developed and implemented various national programs including The Home Depot’s first Energy Initiative, which garnered significant sales increases in all energy efficient product categories. She fostered The Home Depot’s relationship with manufacturers, regional utilities, government, and non-government organizations. She also launched and marketed a national consumer education program for The Home Depot, which was featured in The New York Times. Ms. Siefken graduated from Duke University.
Session(s):
Eco-Labeling – Who Do You Trust?
Sandy Skees
Founder, Communications4Good
Sandy Skees, president and founder of Communications4Good, is a senior international public relations/marketing strategist, providing communications counsel and programs that create bottom line results in people, planet and profits through end-to-end stakeholder relationship management. She has more than 20 years experience at global and boutique agencies, as well as corporate marketing experience at an international technology company. She is recognized for highly developed problem solving skills that bring communications solutions to Fortune 100 corporations. Previously a partner at Porter Novelli, she managed the global HP account team in 20 cities/10 countries around the world and served on the agency's Global Citizen and Pro Bono Initiative. Currently she mentors for the California Clean Tech Open, is serving on a green building committee and advises a national micro credit nonprofit.
Session(s):
Effective PR In The Age of Transparency
Didi Snyder
Carpenter & Host, Extreme Makerover Home Edition
"Didi" Didiayer Snyder, born and raised in Australia, headed for America’s west coast in 1998, when she officially made the move to Los Angeles. Having worked as a model since her teens, this leggy Aussie quickly found herself on designer runways within weeks of her arrival.
“Modeling gave me a platform to explore the world,” explains Didiayer (phonetically pronounced Dee-Dee-Air), “but it was never the runways or designer clothes that interested me. It was the many people I would meet in small towns. The different cultures I would immerse myself in, and the surrounding environmental issues I would face. That’s what really held my attention – and it still does, even more so today.”
Indeed, the environment has held Didiayer’s attention for some time. Back home in Australia it was custom to go “walk about” and learn how to “live off the land.” A Royal Ranger for seven years, Didiayer became highly skilled in “bushman’s law” and eco-travel. Building shelters, finding drinking water, and cooking dampa (Australian camp bread) became the foundation on which she first developed her love for the planet. “When you spend time truly living off the land, you gain more respect for it. It was a natural step for me to want to support it. As I educated myself more about the things we humans do to harm the planet, I knew I had to step up.”
Didiayer has been supporting the environment by helping others in need. A long time volunteer with Habitat For Humanity, Didiayer has contributed her carpentry skills and knowledge on sustainable living to communities all across the nation. In 2008, she was their national ambassador and worked along side construction companies to build 280 energy efficient homes in a week. When it comes to helping people get in touch with the environment, she uses her professional organizational skills (she is a member of NAPO and the NSGCD) and educates homeowners on how to live an environmentally conscious clutter free life.
Today, Didiayer continues to educate herself and reads everything she can get her hands on, as well as, meeting with people in various fields to educate herself and others on how to lessen their own carbon footprint. “I didn’t start out thinking I was becoming an activist. But I realized the moment you open your mouth and tell others what they can do; you become part of the solution, an advocate. Now I wear that badge with honor.”
With all the interesting facets of Didiayer, it wasn’t long before she approached her agent Karen Wang-Lavelle and shared her vision on how she could merge her passion for the environment with her growing career. One of the networks that took notice of her knowledge and her background as a licensed home inspector (Didiayer is a graduate of Ashworth University in carpentry and interior decorating, and an honor student in Formal Arts in Australia) was the Travel Channel. In 2005, she became the host of the Travel Channels hit show, Amazing Vacation Homes. It was the perfect role for this building buff. They later used her as the host of The World’s Best Beaches and Off the Beaten Path. ABC soon after requested to meet Didiayer and in 2007 they invited her to join the Emmy Award Winning show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. “Each week as a cast carpenter, I share how people can be more conscious with their design and lifestyle choices,” explains Didiayer. “It’s an honor to be the show’s green voice. And, since I’m the ultimate do-it-herselfer, the hat that I wear for the show is one that I’ve worn for a long time.”
At home in Los Angeles, Didiayer is currently working on her non-profit “Building Hope” (which builds affordable housing in impoverished nations), her bio-degradable cleaning line “Greater Earth,” as well as, working in her outstanding fruit and vegetable garden.
Session(s):
The Power in Sustainable Brand Partnership
Betsy Sperry
Principal, One Degree & Entrepreneur in Residence, Stanford University
Betsy graduated from Stanford in 1985 and went straight to Madison Avenue where she earned the equivalent of a marketing MBA in the demanding halls of Ogilvy New York for such rigorous marketers as Kimberly-Clark, Seagram and AT&T.
Over the next 20 years, she has been knee-deep in the evolution of the communications industry, working in the early days of interactive marketing for Microsoft, tackling global b2b advertising for Sun, Intel and Sprint, and deploying increasingly innovative and viral efforts for consumer brands, such as Nokia and SanDisk. Throughout, she was asked to lead strategic client engagements, a digital agency (Beyond Interactive), an integrated media unit (MediaCom), and several full-service agencies (including McCann San Francisco). Most recently she was the Managing Director of Grey West. While there she worked with Anthem Blue Cross, McAfee, Oracle, Experian, Symantec and BMW.
After years of pioneering agency models, Betsy has founded her own digital strategy, branding and design shop. During the remaining hours in the week, she is also on a teaching team at Stanford in the Management Science and Engineering school where she focuses on providing real-world application of strategic marketing frame-works.
Session(s):
The Promises and Perils of Behavioral Targeting Online
Emma Stewart, PhD
Senior Program Lead, Sustainable Business & Operations
Autodesk
Emma Stewart, Ph.D., is currently the Senior Program Lead of Autodesk’s Sustainability Initiative. In this role, she leads the design software company’s efforts to optimize its environmental footprint and model sustainability best practices to its 9 million architect, engineer, manufacturing, and construction customers.
Prior to that, she founded and directed the Environmental R&D Division at Business for Social Responsibility, where her team designed corporate initiatives to analyze and adapt to ‘horizon’ issues such as payments for ecosystem services, water footprinting, carbon offsets and trading, climate lobbying, and sustainable product design.
Emma is a regularly featured columnist for Harvard Business Online, Environmental Leader, and ClimateBiz and her work has been cited by the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times, Global Finance, The International Herald Tribune, Inside Washington, Sustainable Industries, and Fast Company, among others. In 2007, she was named a Next Generation Fellow by the American Assembly and in 2005, she received the Bernard Siegel Award for Outstanding Research and Publication from Stanford University. She has been an invited speaker at Fortune500 companies, the National Press Club, the World Conservation Congress, UC Berkeley, and Yale University.
Emma is a member of the Business Expert Low Carbon Taskforce of the World Economic Forum and is a member of the Board of ODC/San Francisco. She holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Management from Stanford University and a B.A. Honours degree in Human Sciences from Oxford University.
Session(s):
More Info Coming Soon!
Duke Stump
Principal & Chief Architect, The Northstar Manifesto
After almost twenty years of playing brand builder and catalyst at wonderful places like Seventh Generation and NIKE Duke Stump listened his inner compass and went on a self-imposed spiritual journey. It lead him to his found his most recently created an adventuresome brand-consulting studio (The Northstar Manifesto) focused on growing the seeds of sustainability. It is a place for progressive collective of thinkers fostering a new generation of strategy and thought around what sustainability could be and should be.
Session(s):
Opening Plenary: Shift Happens -- An Emerging Zeitgeist
Elizabeth Sturcken
Managing Director (Corporate Partnerships), Environmental Defense Fund
Elizabeth directs the work of our California Corporate Partnerships team, which develops and implements joint projects with leading companies to create environmental change.
She is currently leading our team of people working with Wal-Mart to create broad environmental change in areas including climate change, China, seafood, and packaging.
In the past, Sturken led our FedEx project to develop environmentally advanced heavy-duty delivery vehicles. She also led our project with UPS to create innovative change in their express delivery packaging, resulting in environmental, business and customer benefits.
Session(s):
Winning Partnerships That Generate Business Benefit
Jim Sullivan
VP Advisory Services, Clear Standards
James (Jim) Sullivan brings over 16 years of experience to his role as Vice President of Advisory Services at Clear Standards, where he works directly with clients, partners, and analysts to drive the benefits of technology to better manage carbon across business operations. Sullivan is the former Director of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Climate Leaders, a program that partners with over 200 businesses whose revenues represent 10% of the U.S. GDP, to develop comprehensive carbon management strategies.
Sullivan's previous work at EPA included developing and analyzing performance metrics for U.S. climate programs, and serving as an expert reviewer of the European Union's climate policy under the UNFCCC. He represents Clear Standards on the technical committee of the WRI GHG Protocol Product/Supply Chain initiative. A frequent speaker at environmental and climate change related events, Sullivan is a strong advocate of industry efforts to implement meaningful, verifiable energy efficiency and carbon reduction programs.
Prior to his service at EPA, Sullivan worked at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom as an environmental client specialist focusing on environmental litigation, corporate due diligence for mergers and acquisitions, and environmental permitting & regulatory issues for a variety of Fortune 500 clients. He is a graduate of Brown University and holds a Masters of Science in Environmental Science and Policy from Johns Hopkins University.
Session(s):
Dialogue Session: Product and Supply Chain GHG Footprinting: Inevitable Evolution or Resource Distraction?
Kevin Surace
Serious Materials
Mr. Surace, a noted speaker and writer on climate change and the built environment, is on a mission to significantly reduce the use of fossil fuels and their effect on the environment. As CEO of Serious Materials, Kevin leads the company in its mission to reduce energy usage and CO2 generation of the world’s largest contributor, our buildings. By developing new materials and processes that require little energy to manufacture, and advanced products which dramatically improve the insulation and comfort of homes and offices, a worst-case climate and energy catastrophe can be avoided.
Before joining Serious Materials in 2002, Mr. Surace held executive and technical positions with Perfect Commerce, General Magic, Air Communications, National Semiconductor, and Seiko-Epson. He received his degree in electrical engineering technology from Rochester Institute of Technology where he currently serves on the Board of Trustees, and has been awarded multiple patents. Mr. Surace also serves on the boards of FreeLight, Array Converter, Zeta Communities, and Integrity Block; chairs the Sunnyvale Mayoral Green Ribbon Committee; and co-chaired the CCTO Building Materials contest.
Session(s):
Dialogue Session: Invention and Creative Destruction –Varying Paths to Innovation Success
Gary Survis
Managing Partner, First Trade Show/Go Green Displays
To Gary Survis, managing partner of First Trade Show/Go Green Displays, designing effective trade show and graphic displays has been a passion as well as a vocation. “If a booth doesn’t create an immersive, engaging experience, it’s just an expensive, wasteful prop,” says Gary.
Whether designing traditional displays for traditional Fortune 100 companies or entering into his latest venture, Go Green Displays, Gary combines his marketing and business background with his love for practical aesthetics to create settings that capture a brand’s essence and successfully broadcast it.
After founding Top Quality Digital/First Trade Show four years ago, Gary is taking the trade show industry to the next level with the creation of his newly launched Go Green Displays. Go Green Displays will focus on practical green exhibits that not only offer environmentally-friendly benefits but are cost-effective, visually appealing and fit with a company’s positioning.
Survis’ entrée into the world of green marketing comes at time when the industry is just beginning to review its practices. The trade show industry is a big producer of commercial waste. Gary and his company saw this problem as an opportunity to improve the entire industry. Survis has contributed to the Exhibit Designers and Producers Association (EDPA) committee to develop green standards for the trade show industry. He is also participated on the green panel for the New Jersey Global Green Expo sponsored by PSE&G this past April.
Prior to becoming a leader in the trade show industry, Survis enjoyed a successful career in marketing and consulting, working with such venerable institutions as the Hay Group, American Express and PRG-Schultz. At the Hay Group, Survis worked with a wide variety of industries, including consumer products, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and retail. While with American Express, he was part of the team marketing American Express Card Student Program and the small business corporate card. As a managing director for PRG-Schultz, Survis was responsible for new product development.
Survis has been featured in multiple publications including Forbes.com, Trade Show Week, Exhibitor Magazine and The New York Enterprise Report. Go Green Display’s first exhibit for the annual New York Toy Fair was featured on BusinessWeek.com. Recent Green projects have included work for Sephora, Ricoh, and Indigo Hotel (part of Intercontinental Hotel Group). He’s been a speaker for BizBash, TS2 Exhibit and Event Show and the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. Survis is also a member of the Exhibit Designers and Producers Association, the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association and the Trade Show Exhibitors Association. Go Green Displays was honored as a finalist in the NY Enterprise Report 2008 Small Business Awards in the inaugural category of Green Business.
He holds an MBA from New York University, Stern School of Business. Survis completed his BA in Entrepreneurial Management and Political Science at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Session(s):
SPONSORED SESSION: Face-to-Face Marketing & the Practical Green Event
Woody Tasch
Author, Slow Money on the beauty of Small (and Slow)
Woody Tasch, chairman and president, pioneered the integration of asset management and philanthropic purpose in the 1990s as treasurer of the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation and founding chairman of the Community Development Venture Capital Alliance. For ten years, through 2008, Tasch was chairman of Investors' Circle, a network of angel investors, family offices, and social purpose funds and foundations that has invested 133 million in 200 early stage sustainability-promoting ventures and venture funds, since 1992. He is the author of Inquires into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered (Chelsea Green Publishing Company).
Session(s):
The Economy at a Crossroads: Navigating to Success in an Uncertain Environment
Sara Todd
Associate Creative Director, Frog Design
Sara is an Associate Creative Director at frog design in San Francisco. She is a leader in user-centered research and interaction design, as well as an educator on how behavioral changes and design can positively impact on our environment.
For over ten years, Sara has worked on a variety of user- centered design programs, which include the UI and CMS design for large data-driven Web sites. Clients included the Packard Foundation, Graduate Management Admissions Council and the Pew Charitable Trust.
Sara is a graduate of the IIT Institute of Design. After completing her Masters in Design Methods, Sara moved to San Francisco to consult with the top user-centered design firms, as a design researcher and interaction designer for clients such as Sprint, Cingular and Polycom.
Sara led a workshop at the 2008 Sustainable Brands Conference addressing fundamental and systematic approaches to sustainable design. She also works with the Design Management Institute, leading workshops that explore the context of sustainability throughout the design process.
Session(s):
The frog design Approach to Sustainable Design
Laurens Van de Vijver
Vice President Product Development, TetraPak
Laurens van de Vijver is vice president, marketing and product management, Tetra Pak U.S. & Canada. His career with Tetra Pak has lead to successfully positioning Tetra Pak’s carton packages as the environmental and convenient package alternative for healthy liquid food in the Dutch and Belgian markets. Prior to joining Tetra Pak, van de Vijver held various marketing and sales positions with Heineken and Mars. He holds a degree in business economics from Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Session(s):
Leveraging Sustainable Packaging In a Growing Recession
Pam Van Orden
Principle, Enlightened Brand
Throughout her 30-year career Pam has straddled two worlds, with one foot in the world of business and the other in the world of consciousness. These dual passions have led her to focus her work on the roles of awareness and integrity in building brands that succeed in the workplace and the marketplace. Pam's experience in building brands extends across a broad base of clients and client types, from small businesses and nonprofits to the Global 1000 and government agencies.
Enlightened Brand clients include such leading organizations as Fritz Institute, Juniper Networks, NASA, Sun Microsystems, and Swisscom. Prior to founding Enlightened Brand, Pam served as corporate identity manager for Intel Corporation and global brand strategy manager for Symantec. She is a sought-after speaker, facilitator, trend scout, and executive advisor for businesses that want to become market leaders for our connected world, and served as program committee co-chair for Sustainable Brands '08.
Session(s):
NASA Sustainability Base: A Case Study in Collaboration & Storytelling
Jill Vohr
Marketing/Communications Manager, U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR
Jill Vohr, Marketing/Communications Manager for ENERGY STAR at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has more than 15 years of Environmental Marketing experience. Her environmental marketing work has spanned everything from recycling education for the New York Department of Sanitation to providing consulting services to a wide variety of Federal and State environmental programs focused on issues such as sustainability, hazardous waste/source reduction, green development, green buildings, environmentally preferable products, transportation, green power and energy efficiency. As Communications Manager for ENERGY STAR, Ms. Vohr leads the ENERGY STAR product branding and marketing efforts and provides environmental marketing support to leading, national retailers. She also lends her expertise to the EPA’s Sustainable Products Network that brings agency-wide players together to determine how to address the public’s ever-growing interest in guidance for environmentally preferable purchasing. Ms. Vohr has a BFA in acting and an MBA in Marketing from New York University.
Session(s):
Eco-Labeling – Who Do You Trust?
Mathis Wackernagel, PhD
2007 Skoll Award Winner & Founder, Global Footprint Network
Mathis Wackernagel, Ph.D., is a founder and Executive Director of Global Footprint Network, a charitable research organization with headquarters in California. This organization supports the creation of a sustainable economy by advancing the policy-utility of the Ecological Footprint. The goal is to make ecological limits central to decision-making everywhere. Wackernagel has lectured at over 100 universities and worked on sustainability issues for organizations on all continents but Antarctica. He has authored or contributed to over fifty peer-reviewed papers, numerous articles and reports, and various books on sustainability that focus on the question of embracing limits and developing metrics for sustainability, including Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth, Sharing Nature's Interest, and WWF International's Living Planet Report.
After earning a degree in mechanical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Wackernagel completed his Ph.D. in community and regional planning at The University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. There he created, as his doctoral dissertation, with Professor William Rees the "Ecological Footprint" concept, now a widely used sustainability measure. Mathis is also an adjunct faculty at SAGE of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and scientific advisor of the Centre for Sustainability Studies in Mexico.
Session(s):
Thinking Beyond Carbon: Understanding Carrying Capacity and the Full Ecological Footprint of Business
Futureproof Your Business: Understanding Business Strategy in the Face of Ecological Limits
Dave Weigel
Vice President of Marketing, ECOS
As Vice President of Marketing for Ecos, Dave guides the development of strategic positioning and ensures delivery of comprehensive market campaign research, development and deployment for our clients. With 18 years of experience in advertising and marketing, the past eight of which have been with Ecos, Dave spearheads all Ecos marketing efforts and does so in a way that takes full advantage of his background in the creative and entertainment industries. That background, which includes a stint as brand manager for Dark Horse Entertainment, gives Dave a perspective that allows him to create unique campaigns for each of Ecos’ clients, including ENERGY STAR award-winning efforts for Nevada Power Company and PacifiCorp.
Dave has a Bachelor of Arts in marketing communications from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon.
Session(s):
SPONSORED SESSION: Ecos, Coca-Cola & Burgerville: A Case Study in Collaboration
Adam Werbach
Global CEO, Saatchi and Saatchi S
Adam Werbach is widely known as one of the foremost experts in sustainability strategy. In 1996, at age 23, Werbach was elected the youngest‐ever President of the Sierra Club, the oldest and largest environmental organization in the United States. Since then, Werbach has declared environmentalism dead, built and sold three companies, and merged with global ideas company Saatchi & Saatchi to create the world’s largest sustainability agency, Saatchi & Saatchi S.
As Global CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi S, Werbach guides sustainability work from China to South Africa to Brazil, advising companies with nearly 1 trillion in combined annual sales, including Walmart, Procter & Gamble, General Mills and WellPoint. Werbach worked with Walmart to engage the company’s 1.9 million Associates in its sustainability effort, creating the Personal Sustainability Project (“PSP”).
Werbach is a frequent commentator on sustainable business, appearing on networks including BBC, NPR, and CNN, and shows ranging from the The O’Reilly Factor to Charlie Rose. He lives in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights with his wife Lyn and children Mila, Pearl and Simon.
Session(s):
Sustaining a Business in Turbulent Times: A New Strategy for Sustainability
Pamela Wilhelms
Chief Architect, Wilhelms Consulting Group (WCG)
Pamela Wilhelms is a social architect, organizational consultant and executive coach. With over 22 years of experience in individual and organizational development, she has worked internationally in both the public and private sectors developing the leadership capacity to create high performing organizations, and facilitating leadership teams to that end.Coaching for results, she links individual strengths with mission outcomes at the intersection of strategy, culture and leadership. Her coaching with executive teams focuses on the leadership presence, style and behavior that fuels significant and sustainable positive change throughout the organizational ecosystem.
Having started her career in environmental engineering, architecture and urban design before her graduate work in psychology, Pamela combines these disciplines to help leaders increase their awareness and influence on the invisible social structures in organizations that determine performance on multiple dimensions. Combining timeless architectural principles, the latest scientific research on the physiology of the brain and quantum field dynamics, she helps leaders maximize and focus the energy and passion in their own systems and those of their organization. She has coached executives in Fortune 20 companies, and Republican and Democratic Presidential Administrations. Pamela has designed and taught several multi-year leadership academies, stewards the SoL Sustainability Consortium, and founded the Faith and Sustainability Network.
Session(s):
Leader as Social Architect
Andrew Winston
Co-author, Green to Gold
Andrew Winston, founder of Winston Eco-Strategies, is the co-author of Green to Gold, the best-selling guide to what works - and what doesn't - when companies go green. He is a globally recognized expert on green business, and has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Time, BusinessWeek, Forbes, The New York Times, and CNBC. Winston is dedicated to helping companies both large and small use environmental strategy to grow, create enduring value, and build stronger relationships with employees, customers, and other stakeholders. His clients have included Bank of America, HP, and IKEA.
Winston bases his work on significant in-company business experience. His earlier career included advising companies on corporate strategy while at Boston Consulting Group and management positions in strategy and marketing at Time Warner and MTV. After these more traditional roles, Andrew pursued his passion to explore the overlap between business and environment. He served as the Director of the Corporate Environmental Strategy Project at Yale's renowned School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
Today, Andrew speaks to audiences of thousands of people around the world, acting as a practical evangelist for the benefits of going green. For his efforts, he was recently named a "Planet Defender" by Rock the Earth.
Andrew received his BA in Economics from Princeton, an MBA from Columbia, and a Masters of Environmental Management from Yale. He lives in Riverside, CT with his wife Christine and two young sons.
Session(s):
Recovering Green: Sustainable Innovations That Will Lead us Forward
Amy Wolfrum
Senior Associate, ICF International
Amy Wolfrum is a Senior Associate at ICF International with more than eleven years of experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. She serves as project manager for multiple clients, including four EPA voluntary programs and initiatives and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s Renewable Portfolio Public Outreach and Education campaign. Prior to joining ICF, she led the environment, science, and transportation practices for a lobbying firm specializing in not-for-profit conservation and research organizations. Key responsibilities included creating comprehensive strategies for developing partnerships with Congress and the Administration, building relationships between clients and federal agencies, tracking project status and evaluating success, writing reports, presentations, and materials targeting key audiences, and drafting congressional testimony. Prior to this experience, she worked for a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives where she managed energy, environment and transportation issues. Ms. Wolfrum has an MBA with a concentration in Environmental Management and Policy from The George Washington University and a BA from Occidental College where she double majored in Economics and Environmental Studies.
Session(s):
Eco-Labeling – Who Do You Trust?
Jonathan Yohannan
Senior Vice President, Cone Inc.
Jonathan joined Cone in December 2003. He is Senior Vice President and acting discipline head of Cone’s Corporate Responsibility practice. In 2008, Jonathan led Business Development for the agency. Jonathan’s skill set includes: program development, media relations, corporate responsibility communications, cause-marketing, sponsorship activities and event promotion.
Previously at Cone, Jonathan worked on Starbucks’ corporate social responsibility business. He and his team were responsible for helping the company communicate its complex coffee sourcing issues - how Starbucks purchases coffee and works with coffee communities including Fair Trade coffee - to key stakeholders including employees, consumers and influential activist groups. He also led Nestle’s CR strategy and communications around its environmental initiatives including the launch of Eco-shape, a lightweight plastic bottle.
Previously, Jonathan managed the U.S. launch of a new calcium-rich mineral water called Contrex. In addition to national and local market media relations, Contrex was unveiled to influencers nationwide, including: food experts, fitness professionals, nutritionists and celebrities. Jonathan also played a role in the launch of Perrier’s PET bottle, overseeing the development of the multi-faceted program and securing spokesperson Ted Allen from “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.”
Before joining Cone, Jonathan worked at Ketchum, San Francisco. He worked in the Food and Nutrition and Brand practices and was charged with executing PR and marketing initiatives for Sutter Home Winery, Glad and the California Dried Plum Board. Before Ketchum, Jonathan was the marketing manager at Share Our Strength in Washington D.C. and worked at Hager Sharp, a PR agency also in Washington D.C.
Session(s):
New Media for Sustainability
Steve Zornetzer
Associate Center Director, NASA
Dr. Zornetzer is the Associate Center Director at NASA Ames Research Center. He has served as the Deputy Center Director and Center Director (Acting). Prior to that he served as Director of Information Sciences and Technology at NASA Ames. He is an internationally recognized leader in neuroscience and revolutionary, information technology-based applications to aerospace and space exploration missions.
The breadth of his expertise ranges from basic research in cognitive, perceptual, and neural sciences to applied research in integrative biology, biological information processing, molecular biology, genetic engineering, and biomedical science. He plans, directs, and coordinates the technology, science, development, and operational activities for research and advanced technology across a broad spectrum of research and development including information technology. He also serves as advisor and consultant to senior management officials at other Government agencies in matters concerning supercomputing, optical systems, networks, and intelligent systems. Dr. Zornetzer was recognized for his contributions to NASA by receiving the Presidential Meritorious Rank Award in 2001 from President Bush.
Before joining NASA in 1997, he headed the Life Sciences Directorate at the Office of Naval Research (ONR). Dr. Zornetzer was widely recognized for his leadership and vision at ONR and received a Presidential Meritorious Rank in 1991. Before joining government service Dr. Zornetzer was a faculty member at the University of California, Irvine. He has over 80 journal publications and has published 3 books.
Session(s):
Market Sector Innovation Snapshot: The Built Environment
