Research Report: National Climate Change

Alison Wise currently wears many hats in the growing clean economy. She serves as the career services director for Ecotech Institue, the first and only career college for renewables and sustainability in the country. In her role there, Alison has shifted gears from her recent analytical positions to apply her knowledge towards building the bridge between students and the growing cleantech workforce. She is responsible for managing the Career Services Center and helping place students in applicable jobs based on their education. She will provide counseling and vocational guidance to students and graduates, and serve as a liaison between local and national employers and Ecotech Institute. Previously, Ms. Alison Wise was a senior strategic analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory working in the Deployment and Industrial Partnerships section, and is also the co-chair for this region`s chapter of the Clean Economy Network. She currently serves on the policy steering committee of the Colorado Cleantech Industry Association and is an active participant in several virtual communities in the clean energy and clean technology space. She blogs at the Huffington Post as The Clean Economist (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alison-wise/the-clean-economist-clean_b_705511.html) and is actively working on clean economic development strategies through her ancillary roles to her Ecotech position. In her role at NREL, she had been the lead strategist for the Clean Energy Economy gateway on the OpenEI platform developed with the Department of Energy (http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/12/the-clean-energy-economy-gateway-where-the-medium-is-the-message). She has spent 18 years working on environmental and socially responsible business and policy issues, including socially responsible investing and strategic consulting for Fortune 500 corporations. Alison was a senior research consultant at Clean Edge, Inc., a senior advisor and director of business development & public policy at Future 500 and one of six strategists who built the Sustainable Business Achievement Rating system (S-BAR) whose methodolgy has just been adopted by UL for their assessment of business sustainability. Alison also gained business and advocacy experience in positions at Progressive Asset Management, Washington Public Interest Research Group, Deep E Co, Right to Pride/Human Rights Campaign and Oregon Public Interest Research Group. In 2002, she founded a trade association in California named Sea Change, one of the first organizations that directly advocated for policies that would give environmentally sustainable businesses and business practices a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Alison received her master’s of business administration from the University of Oregon, and a bachelor’s of arts in history and biology from Reed College.

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. 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. He received his Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University .

Carl is a co-founder and Principal of Beartooth Capital Partners, a private equity fund that invests in ranchland. 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. Carl has a BA in Architectural Studies and a BA with honors in Environmental Studies from Brown University. He also has an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.

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. 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. 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.

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.

Sarah Lynn Cunningham is the director of the Louisville Climate Action Network. 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. 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 is currently the Senior Counsel to Center for International Environmental Law Advising. 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 Administrator and Associate General Counsel for International Activities; 1981-1988: US Department of State, Office of the Legal Adviser.

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. 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.