Alden Meyer | Union of Concerned Scientists | Director of Strategy and Policy
Current: Director of Strategy and Policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and Director of its Washington office. He has >30 years of experience on energy and environmental policy.
Past: Before coming to UCS in 1989, Alden served as Executive Director for 4 national organizations: the League of Conservation Voters, Americans for the Environment, Environmental Action, and Environmental Action Foundation. He worked as a policy analyst for the Environmental Action Foundation, and as energy issues coordinator for the Connecticut Citizen Action Group. He has testified before Congress on energy and environmental issues, and has authored numerous articles. He has served on several federal advisory panels, including the Secretary of Energy’s Advisory Board.
Education: Political science and economics (BS) from Yale. Human resource and organization development (MS) from American University.
Alison Wise | National Renewable Energy Laboratory | Senior Strategic Analyst
Current: Alison Wise analysis expertise lies with renewable markets and private sector investments, public policy and market/corporate policy. Her primary research interests are renewable energy and renewable fuels competitiveness, best practices for incentivizing renewable energy and renewable fuels. Her other affiliations include being a member of Corporation 20/20 (hosted by the Tellus Institute) and member of EcoSpeakers.
Past: Her prior work experience include being the Senior Research Consultant atClean Edge, Inc.; Director of Public Policy and Development at Future 500; Founder and Executive Director of Sea Change Sustainable Business Interest Group; Director of Business Development at Progressive Asset Management; Lead Public Policy Advocate at Washington Public Interest Research Group; Account Executive at Deep E. Co. and Field Manager at Oregon Public Interest Research Group.
Education: Alison received her B.A. in history and biology, 1996, Reed College. She received her M.B.A. in 2000 from the University of Oregon.
Ann Sorensen | American Farmland Trust | Director of Research, Center for Agriculture in the Environment
Current: Ann Sorensen is the Research Director for American Farmland Trust. Most recently, she has been helping her organization work with mainstream agriculture to define and unlock agriculture’s potential role in mitigating up to 20 percent of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. This includes working on federal policy, designing and implementing private markets for carbon credits and other ecosystem services, convening listening sessions with producers and working with certification efforts around the country to recognize producers who transition to more sustainable practices.
Past: After years as a university researcher, she brought her understanding of agriculture’s unique role in improving environmental quality to the Texas Department of Agriculture, the American Farm Bureau Federation and, since 1992, American Farmland Trust.
Education: Ann has a Ph.D. in entomology from the University of California at Berkeley where she worked with farmers to reduce their use of agricultural chemicals.
Arthur Keller | Minerva Consulting | Managing Partner
Current: Arthur Keller is Managing Partner of Minerva Consulting, where he advises startups in technical strategy, business strategy, and intellectual property strategy, as well as serves as expert witness on patent infringement cases. He is also a researcher at the Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He serves on the board of the Electric Auto Association and is a member of the Planning and Transportation Commission for the City of Palo Alto, where he has championed sustainable policies including a mandatory green building ordinance.
Past: He was founding co-chair of the Environmental Affinity Group of the Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2). He previously taught at Stanford University, The University of Texas at Austin, and Brooklyn College (City University of New York), as well as visiting professorships at the Helsinki University of Technology in Finland and Pascal University in Cordoba, Argentina.
Education: He received his Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University .
Arthur O'Donnell | Center for Resource Solutions | Executive Director
Current: Arthur O’Donnell is the Executive Director of Center for Resource Solutions.
Past: Prior to joining CRS in January 2008, Arthur O’Donnell was an independent business, energy and environmental writer for more than 25 years, winning many national and regional awards for his energy reporting. He was the founding editor and associate publisher of the award-winning California Energy Markets newsletter from 1989 through 2002. He was senior reporter for E&E Publishing's Greenwire.com and editor of the Land Letter. He frequently wrote for Public Utilities Fortnightly, the California Energy Circuit newsletter and was Editorial Director for EnergyCentral.com. He is also the author of several books.
Education: Arthur holds a MS in Communications from the University of Washington, where he was a Graduate Fellow in Business and Economics Reporting in 1981-82. He also graduated from Rutgers College in 1975 with a BA in Human Communications.
Carl Palmer | Beartooth Capital | Principal
Current: Carl is a co-founder and Principal of Beartooth Capital Partners, a private equity fund that invests in ranchland.
Past: Prior to Beartooth, Carl was President & CEO of Greenbridges, LLC, a conservation real estate investment company. He has also served as Executive Director of the Ogden Nature Center, an environmental education center and land trust. Carl successfully grew the Nature Center’s programs, staff and endowment, receiving the Salt Lake Olympic Committee’s Spirit of the Land Award on behalf of the Center. Carl also worked at the Teton Science Schools (TSS) in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with the TSS Executive Director and Grand Teton National Park Superintendent to launch the Murie Center, a nonprofit dedicated to building on the conservation legacy of Mardie, Olaus and Adolph Murie, some of our nation’s foremost conservation leaders.
Education: BA in Architectural Studies and BA with honors in Environmental Studies from Brown University. MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.
David Mears | Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, Vermont Law School | Director and Associate Professor
Current: David Mears specializes in environmental law and environmental litigation. Director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, he helps students hone their lawyer skills and assists nonprofit organizations and individuals.
Past: He has worked as assistant attorney general in the Texas Attorney General office and then as a senior attorney with the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. He served as the energy and environmental policy director for State-Federal Relations Texas office in Washington, DC, then served both as a trial attorney and counselor with the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division. In 1998, he was appointed senior assistant attorney general in the Washington Office of the Attorney General, Ecology Division. In 2005, he joined the Vermont Law School faculty.
Education: He received his BS degree from Cornell University in 1985, and his JD degree, summa cum laude, and MELP degree from Vermont Law School in 1991.
James Buizer | Office of the President, Arizona State University | Senior Advisor
Current: James Buizer is Science Policy Advisor to Arizona State University (ASU) President, and Executive Director for Strategic Institutional Transformation in the Office of the President. He also serves as Director of the University Center for Integrated Solutions to Climate Challenges and Professor in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning.
Past: Upon arriving ASU in September 2003, until July 2007 he served as founding Executive Director of the Office of Sustainability Initiatives in the Office of the President, where he led the conceptualization, design and initiation of the University-wide Global Institute of Sustainability and its School of Sustainability, which was launched in fall 2006. Prior to this, he served as Director of the Climate and Societal Interactions Office at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington, D.C. James serves on the Board of Directors of Second Nature, Inc.; Member, National Academies of Sciences Study: America’s Climate Choices; Member, Board of Directors, National Council for Science and the Environment; Secretary, Board of Trustees, Tesseract School.
Janice Hamrin | HMW International Inc. | Chief Executive Officer
Current: Jan Hamrin is CEO of HMW International, a consulting firm specializing in the implementation of sustainable energy policies. She also serves as Secretary General of the Environmental Tracking Network of North America.
Past: Jan recently retired as the President of the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS). Her work has provided policy and technical support for the implementation of renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate programs throughout North America and globally. Jan has been part of the China Sustainable Energy Program Renewable Energy Team since 1999 as well as working in Europe, Canada, India, Mexico, Thailand, Brazil and several other countries. She has co-authored numerous publications and serves on Advisory Committees for the International Energy Agency, the US Department of Energy and others.
Education: Dr. Hamrin received her Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of California at Davis, with emphasis on public policy evaluation of environmental and energy programs.
Jeremy Osborn | 350.org | European Co-Coordinator
Current: Jeremy Osborn, 25, is the European Coordinator of the international climate change project 350.org. A recent university graduate, Jeremy co-founded and ran his first post-graduate project, Step It Up, with Bill McKibben and university cohorts. The climate campaign proved a resounding success, with over 1400 events held in all 50 states, and afterwards he co-authored Fight Global Warming Now with McKibben and the rest of the Step It Up crew. He now works from Berlin, Germany, facilitating European efforts using the 350ppm emissions target as a social movement symbol for bold, equitable action on climate change and a strong United Nations deal in Copenhagen.
Jeremy Symons | National Wildlife Federation | Senior Vice President for Conservation and Education
Current: Jeremy Symons is Senior Vice President for Conservation and Education at the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), America’s largest conservation organization. He is a spokesperson for NWF and has appeared on NBC Nightly News, Fox News, CBS Evening News, CNN, the News Hour, ABC World News Tonight, National Public Radio and other media outlets. Jeremy also works with members of Congress and other elected officials to advance global warming policies and clean energy initiatives. He has been recognized as one of the nation’s top nonprofit advocates by The Hill newspaper.
Past: Jeremy previous position with NWF was Executive Director for their global warming campaign. Before joining NWF in 2001, he served as Climate Policy Advisor at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Jeremy has also worked on in the United States Senate for Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon on environmental and climate change issues, and in 2006-2008 served as co-chair of the U.S. Climate Action Network.
Jessica Boehland | The Kresge Foundation | Program Officer, Environment Program
Current: Jessica Boehland serves as a Program Officer in the Kresge Foundation’s environment program. In this role, she supports the foundation’s work on climate change with an emphasis on energy efficiency in the built environment.
Past: Prior to joining Kresge, Jessica worked as a writer and editor on subjects related to environmentally responsible design and construction. A LEED-accredited professional, Jessica spent seven years working for the publisher BuildingGreen in various roles, including as managing editor of Environmental Building News and contributing editor of GreenSource magazine.
Education: Jessica earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in environmental studies from Oberlin College. She also holds a Master of Environmental Management degree from Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, where she focused on climate change science and policy.
Jessica Bailey | Rockefeller Brother Fund | Program Officer for Sustainable Development Program
Current: Jessica Bailey is the Program Officer for the Rockefeller Brother Fund's (RBF)Sustainable Development program, where she focuses on climate change. She also manages the RBF’s Cross-Programmatic Initiative on energy, which explores the security and sustainability dimensions of energy policies.
Past: Before attending graduate school, she was awarded the Herbert Scoville, Jr. Peace Fellowship to work in the Nuclear/Security Program of Physicians for Social Responsibility. She interned in the Developing Policy Planning Office of the United Nations in 2003 and conducted a research project on the border of Colombia and Ecuador in 2001. She sits on the board of the 1Sky campaign, the Energy Action Coalition, the Herbert Scoville, Jr. Peace Fellowship, and is the co-chair of the Steering Committee of the Climate and Energy Funders Group.
Education: Graduate of the University of Notre Dame. International Relations (MA) from Yale University, where she concentrated on International Security Strategy.
Jimmy Daukas | American Farmland Trust | Managing Director
Current: Since 1997, Jimmy Daukas has been with American Farmland Trust (AFT) managing national policy campaigns, as well as handling senior project management, communications and development. Currently, Daukas directs AFT’s new Agriculture & Environment Initiative helping farmers and ranchers improve water quality and combat climate change while maintaining an economically viable agricultural sector. Daukas manages this $2 million initiative that includes federal policy campaigns and field projects.
Past: Prior to this effort, Daukas oversaw AFT’s campaign to transform U.S. agriculture policy in the 2008 Farm Bill to provide a better safety net, enhance conservation, improve rural development and expand access to healthy foods.
Education: Daukas has a bachelor’s in economics from Middlebury College and an MBA and MPM (masters of public management) from the University of Maryland.
Joseph Fullerton | Earth Efficient Solutions | Owner and Operator
Current: As the owner of Earth Efficient Solutions Joe helps building and business owners and tenants design and implement sustainability efforts. Joe is also the Green Building and Environmental Specialist at the City of Santa Cruz where he is responsible for everything from outreach and education to program design and implementation In addition, Joe is a co-chair of the Environmental Affinity Group at Silicon Valley Social Venture (SV2) where he been involved with key grants and capacity building efforts to organizations like Build It Green, The Ella Baker Center, Job Train, and Sustainable Conservation. Recently Joe joined Acterra's Be the Change program and is a volunteer environmental coordinator at the City of Los Altos.
K.C. Golden | Climate Solutions | Policy Director
Current: K.C. Golden is Policy Director of Climate Solutions, a research and advocacy organization accelerating practical and profitable solutions to global warming by galvanizing leadership, growing investment and bridging divides.
Past: From 1999 to 2002, KC was a special assistant to the Mayor of Seattle for clean energy and climate protection initiatives where he helped to engineer Seattle City Light's commitment to become the nation's first climate neutral electric power utility and the City's commitment to exceed the goals of the Kyoto protocol. KC was formerly Assistant Director of Washington’s Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, where he directed the state’s energy policy office. From 1989 to 1995, he was Executive Director of the Northwest Energy Coalition. He serves on the boards of Energy Northwest, 1Sky, and USCAN. He's a columnist and river enthusiast, and lives in Seattle with his wife and 2 teenagers.
Kaid Benfield | Natural Resources Defense Council | Director of the Smart Growth Program
Current: Kaid Benfield is director of the smart growth program at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). He co-founded LEED for Neighborhood Development, and is a founder and board member of Smart Growth America. He has authored or co-authored many leading publications on smart growth and transportation policy. He writes commentary for The Huffington Post and Daily Kos web sites, along with a daily blog on NRDC’s web site. Kaid was recently voted one of the world’s “top urban thinkers” in an online poll.
Past: Kaid’s previous NRDC position was director of the organization’s land program, and as its legal affairs coordinator. Prior to NRDC, he worked at the U.S. Department of Justice, and in private legal practice. He has served as chair of the environmental task force of the Congress for the New Urbanism, was a member of the National Academy of Sciences public advisory board, and of several other steering committees and boards relating to smart growth and transportation.
Education: He is a graduate of Emory University and Georgetown University Law Center.
Mark Spalding | The Ocean Foundation | President
Current: Mark Spalding concurrently serves as the Executive Director of Fundación Bahía de Loreto A.C. He is the chair of the Council of the National Whale Conservation Fund. Mark is an active participant in the marine working group, Baja California group, and coral reef group of the funders' organization, the Consultative Group on Biological Diversity. He serves on the International Bering Sea Forum. He has consulted for the Alaska Conservation Foundation, San Diego Foundation, the International Community Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Fundación La Puerta, and a number of family foundations.
Past: He designed and managed the Orca Fund. He has served as a member of the Environmental Grants Advisory Committee of FINCOMUN (Tijuanas Community Foundation). In addition, he has helped design some of the most significant ocean conservation campaigns in recent years. He brings his extensive experience with the legal and policy aspects of ocean conservation to the Foundation's grantmaking strategy and evaluation process. For more information see www.markjspalding.com.
Michael Fischer | Consultative Group on Biological Diversity | Executive Director
Current: Michael Fischer is the executive director of the Consultative Group on Biological Diversity, a back-office thinktank and collaboration hub for 55 of the nation’s leading foundations making grants in the environmental arena. He brings to his work almost 50 years’ experience in environmental management and regulation, including postings as executive director of the national Sierra Club and the California Coastal Commission.
Past: For 5 years, he directed the Environment Program at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. He has served on the boards of directors of a dozen environmental organizations, including Friends of the Earth-US, High Country News and the Yosemite Restoration Trust.
Education:In 2007, the College of Environmental Design at the University of California Berkeley awarded him its Distinguished Alumnus medal.
Michael Noble | Fresh Energy | Executive Director
Current: Michael Noble is the Executive Director of Fresh Energy, an organization working to enhance our economy, protect human health and communities, restore our environment, and establish energy independence by providing research, advocacy and innovative policy models while engaging citizens to take action on the energy issues that affect us all. He has over thirty years of professional expertise in energy, and has been a key strategist for major public policy innovations in energy, such as energy efficiency, renewable energy development, global warming solutions, and strategies to reduce reliance on foreign oil in Minnesota and the Midwestern region. Currently, he is the Chair of the Clean Energy Working Group and serves on the Steering Committee of RE-AMP. In addition, Michael serves on the board of directors of Conservation Minnesota Voter Center, Wind on the Wires, and the Will Steger Foundation.
Past: Michael has served as the CEO of three different not-for-profit energy organizations since 1979 and one for-profit energy services company.
Michael Replogle | Institute for Transportation and Development Policy | Global Policy Director, Founder, and long-term past President
Current: Michael Replogle is Global Policy Director and Founder of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, which helps cities develop sustainable low-carbon transportation systems worldwide, promoting smart growth, transit, non-motorized transportation, and pricing and travel demand management strategies. He is also currently a strategic advisor to the Environmental Defense Fund.
Past: Michael was a long-term past President of the Institute for Transporation and Development Policy and transporation director of the Environmental Defense Fund from 1992-2009. He has advised the World Bank, US Department of Transportation, the Singapore Land Transport Authority, and other governments worldwide.
Education: He holds an M.S.E. and undergraduate honors degrees in Civil and Urban Engineering and Sociology, all from the University of Pennsylvania.
Michelle Manion | NESCAUM/NESCCAF | Program Manager of the Climate and Energy team
Current: Michelle Manion is the Program Manager of the Climate and Energy team at NESCAUM/NESCCAF, where she works closely with the New England states, New York and New Jersey to support their efforts on state and regional energy, climate, and air quality policy and programs.
Past: Previous to NESCAUM, she was a Sr. Analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists working on forest carbon policy and has also worked as a consultant to a variety of governmental, industry, and non-profit clients including the US EPA, the Department of the Interior, the World Bank, and Conservation International.
Education: Michelle holds master’s degrees in natural resources and applied economics from the University of Michigan, and a B.S. in economics from Bucknell University.
Patrick Parenteau | Vermont Law School | Professor
Current: Patrick A. Parenteau is Professor of Law and Senior Counsel in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic (ENRLC) at Vermont Law School (VLS).
Past: He previously served as Director of the Environmental Law Center at VLS from 1993-1999; and in 2004 founded the ENRLC. Previous positions: Vice President for Conservation with the National Wildlife Federation in Washington, DC (1976-1984); General Counsel to the New England Regional Office of the EPA in Boston (1984-1987); Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (1987-1989); and Senior Counsel with the Perkins Coie law firm in Portland (1989-1993). Professor Parenteau is a nationally recognized expert on the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, NEPA, and other environmental laws. He has been involved in drafting, litigating, implementing, teaching, and writing about environmental law and policy for over 30 years. He is a recipient of the National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Achievement Award 2005 in recognition of his contributions to wildlife conservation and environmental education. In 2009 he received the River Advocacy Award from the Connecticut River Watershed Council.
Paul Robillard | World Water Watch | Executive Director
Current: Paul Robillard is the Executive Director of World Water Watch. He has been actively contributing to international education, development and research programs for almost 40 years.
Past: From 1968 to 1970, Paul was a Civil Engineer working with Peace Corps Ecuador on a United Nations project, which later became the basis for the worldwide UN water decade (1980-90). He also designed and coordinated water quality monitoring projects in the West Branch of the Delaware River and led a research effort in the Great Lakes to evaluate the impact of agricultural practices on surface and groundwater quality. He was named a Fulbright Scholar in 1995-96. He is widely recognized for his research, awards received include the W. Lamar Kopp Award at the Pennsylvania State University in 2001, and the National Gunlogson Engineering Award and the National Software Awards (1990 and 1993) by the Society for Engineering in Agricultural, Food and Biological Systems.
Education: BS in Civil Engineering from Notre Dame. MS and PhD were completed at Cornell.
Richard Somerville | University of California, San Diego | Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Research Professor, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Current: Richard Somerville has been a professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego since 1979. He is a theoretical meteorologist and an expert on computer simulations of the atmosphere. Richard Somerville's research is on the physics of clouds and their role in the climate system. He comments frequently on climate and environmental issues for the media.
Past: Somerville has received awards from the American Meteorological Society for both his research and his popular book, The Forgiving Air: Understanding Environmental Change. Among many honors, he is a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Meteorological Society. He is a Coordinating Lead Author for the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize equally with Al Gore.
Education: He received the Ph. D. in meteorology from New York University in 1966.
Rolf Nordstrom | Great Plains Institute for Sustainable Development | Executive Director
Current: Executive Director of the Great Plains Institute since 2007.
Past: Previously, Rolf helped manage the Institute’s Powering the Plains program. He has written and helped craft new laws on multiple environmental issues. Before coming to the Institute in 2003, Rolf served for a decade with the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board and Office of Strategic and Long-range Planning. For 7 of those years he served as Assistant Director of then Governor Arne Carlson’s Sustainable Development Initiative. 23 years of experience in economic and environmental policy, including positions with: The United States Congress; World Wildlife Fund (International), in Brussels, Belgium; National Wildlife Federation's, Corporate Conservation Council.
Education: BA in English Literature from Carleton College and MS in International Environmental Policy from Tufts University.
Sally Benson | Global Climate and Energy Project at Stanford University | Director
Current: Director of the Global Climate and Energy Project at Stanford University, Sally helps develop innovative low carbon energy supplies to meet global energy needs.
Past: Prior to Stanford, Sally worked at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , serving as Division Director for Earth Sciences, Associate Laboratory Director for Energy Sciences, and Deputy Director for Operations. She is a Professor (Research) in the Department of Energy Resources Engineering. For the past 10 years she has studied how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by capturing carbon dioxide from power plants and pumping it into deep underground formations for permanent sequestration. Benson was a coordinating lead author on the 2005 IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the National Renewal Energy Laboratory and Climate Central.
Education: BA in Geology from Barnard College, MS and PhD Material Science and Mineral Engineering Department from University of California.
Sarah Lynn Cunningham | | Consultant
Current: Sarah Lynn Cunningham is the director of the Louisville Climate Action Network.
Past: Sarah Lynn has been an environmental activist for nearly 40 years. Through her work as a civil servant for a large utility and a decade of practical experience identifying and implementing energy-efficiency projects and practices, Sarah committed herself to educating others about the many benefits of reducing their carbon footprints. After being invited to join www.theclimateproject.org and licensed by Al Gore to give her own version of An Inconvenient Truth, she cofounded the Louisville Climate Action Network. She has since been promoted to district manager of TCP’s presenters in IN, IL, KY, MO and OH.
Education: BS in environmental engineering and MS in environmental education and environmental history from the University of Louisville. She is a licensed, professional environmental engineer and a state certified environmental educator.
Scott Hajost | | Consultant
Current: Scott is currently the Senior Counsel to Center for International Environmental Law Advising.
Past: Between 1994—2009 Scott was the Executive Director and Manager of the Global Senior Management Team for the IUCN-USA Multilateral Office. In that position he was responsible for promoting IUCN within the US Executive and Legislative branches; coordinating IUCN’s relations with the major multilateral institutions based in the United States such as the GEF, the World Bank, UNDP, IADB and the UN; building and maintaining linkages with the private sector in the United States; and working with IUCN members to promote international conservation. In addition Scott was also the Executive Director of the separate IUCN-US public charity.; 1990-1994: Environmental Defense Fund, International Counsel; 1988-1990: US Environmental Protection Agency, Acting Associate Adm inistrator and Associate General Counsel for International Activities; 1981-1988: US Department of State, Office of the Legal Adviser.
Scott Sklar | The Stella Group, Ltd. | Founder and President
Current: Scott Sklar is the founder and president of The Stella Group, Ltd, which is a strategic marketing and policy firm for clean distributed energy users and companies. Currently he is Chair of the Steering Committee of the Sustainable Energy Coalition, serves on the non-profit Boards of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy and the Renewable Energy Policy Project, and CoChairs the Policy Committee of the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council.
Past: For 15 years he was the Executive Director of the Solar Energy Industries Association and the National BioEnergy Industries Association, 2 years he was Political Director of the Solar Lobby, 3 years he was RD&D and Washington Directors at the National Center for Appropriate Technology, and 9 years he was an energy and military aide to Senator Jacob K Javits (NY). He cofounded the Congressional Solar Coalition, and was appointed in April 2007 onto National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy & Technology of USEPA.
Stephen Schneider | Stanford University | Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies
Current: Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies, Biology Professor, and a Senior Fellow in the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University.
Past: 1973-1996 NCAR scientist, where he co-founded the Climate Project. Since 1988, involved with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and was a Coordinating Lead Author for Working Group II, and a Synthesis author for the Fourth Assessment Report. In 2007, he along with 4 generations of IPCC authors received a collective Nobel Peace Prize for their joint efforts. Elected to the US National Academy of Sciences in 2002, Schneider received the American Association for the Advancement of Science/ Westinghouse Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology and a MacArthur Fellowship for integrating and interpreting the results of global climate research. Founder/Editor of Climatic Change, he has authored or co-authored over 500 books, scientific papers, proceedings etc. Schneider consults for climate-policy decision-making, and has consulted for federal agencies and White House staff in 6 administrations.
Stuart Cohen | TransForm | Executive Director
Current: Co-founder and Executive Director of TransForm, an organization that has built powerful, diverse coalitions to promote world class transit and walkable communities in the Bay Area and beyond. Stuart spearheaded the campaign for the Bay Area’s smart growth visioning process, which later spread to other regions and became the framework for SB 375.
Past: In 2005 Stuart helped conceive and launch the Great Communities Collaborative, which engages Bay Area communities in planning for sustainable, equitable development near transit. He also co-founded ClimatePlan, a statewide network promoting smart land use and transportation as critical components of California's climate strategy. Previously, Stuart worked with ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability as a researcher on the climate impacts of transportation policies, and at NYPIRG as a Statewide Outreach Director.
Education: Master's Degree in Public Policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at U.C. Berkeley.
The Reverend Canon Sally Grover Bingham | The Regeneration Project | Founder and President
Current: Sally has been active in the environmental community for 25 years. She is the founder and president of The Regeneration Project, which is focused on its Interfaith Power and Light (IPL) campaign. The IPL campaign includes a national network of over 10,000 congregations with affiliated programs in 29 states. She has brought widespread recognition to the link between faith and the environment, and as one of the first faith leaders to fully recognize global warming as a moral issue. Sally serves on the National Board of the Environmental Defense Fund, the Environmental Working Group, the US Climate Action Network, and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Past: The IPL campaign and the Rev. Bingham have received numerous awards including the 2007 U.S. EPA Climate Protection Award, the Purpose Prize, the Energy Globe Award and recognition as a “sacred gift to the planet” by the World Wildlife Fund. The Rev. Bingham was named one of the top 15 green religious leaders by Grist magazine and received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from the University of the South in Oct 2008.
Twana Karney | Acterra | Green@Home Program Director
Current: Twana is currently the Green@Home Program Director for the environmental non-profit, Acterra.
Past: Twana worked first as a chemical engineer and plant operator in chemical and food industries. For 8.5 years, she was the Executive Director for the Leadership Mountain View program, a program to train and develop community leaders. In January of 2007, Twana was selected by The Climate Project to be trained to present the slide show for “An Inconvenient Truth.” After training with Al Gore in Nashville, along with 800 other volunteers from around the country, Twana is currently giving presentations on behalf of The Climate Project to spread awareness about global warming and climate change. She was a member of the Mountain View Environmental Sustainability Task Force and has appeared with her husband, Bruce, on the News Hour with Jim Lehrer. She has also made guest appearances as a home energy efficiency expert on KPFA radio, ABC 7 morning TV news and KCBS radio.
Education: MBA from the University of Chicago in 1983.