Speaker Directory
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Aaron Ableman
Ableman is an acclaimed “edutainer” with a background in world literature, food systems, and community organizing. He grew up under the mentorship of Hopi elders and children’s musician Raffi, and he has graced the stages with K’NAAN and Joan Baez, among others. From India to Haiti, he has implementede co-arts programs and worked with at-risk teens. He has been heralded in publications such as the “Los Angeles Times,” “New York Times,” “MontrealMirror” and “San Francisco Examiner.” Ableman is the executive produce rfor the Clean Energy Tour, co-founder of the CommuniTre ... Read More
Michael Alexander
Michael Alexander, is an award winning journalist and Co-CEO and President of Conscious Planet Media. After 10+ years building successful businesses in the sustainability and holistic health industries, Michael launched Conscious Planet Media in 2006 with his wife and partner, Bianca. With a mission to serve as a sacred storyteller for a more just, sustainable and peaceful world, Conscious Planet Media produces original TV, documentary and online programming, including Conscious Living and the Emmy Award winning Soul of Green, currently airing on Fox and my50 in Chicago. Michael is a long time ... Read More
Bianca Alexander Esq.
Bianca Alexander, Esq. is an EMMY award winning multi-platform journalist, entrepreneur and advocate for healthy, conscious living. A certified yoga instructor and licensed attorney with degrees from Princeton and The University of Virginia Law School, Bianca translated her background in justice to empower mainstream consumers to live healthier, more eco-conscious lives. She is the co-founder and creative director of Conscious Planet, a multi-platform conscious news network. She currently serves as correspondent and producer of Conscious Living TV, a news series about the latest in eco-friendl ... Read More
Pamela Alimurung
Pamela Alimurung is the Senior Sales Executive at Li & Fung USA, a global leader in the apparel, home and footwear industry. As Volunteer Chairperson of New York City Fair Trade Coalition, Pamela uses her experience in the conventional fashion industry to increase and galvanize the fair trade movement in New York City. "Fair trade is always fashionable!" Read More
Dr. Clyde Anderson
Dr. Clyde A. Anderson currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Clergy and Providers for Racial Healthcare Equality. An ordained minister in the New York Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church, he formerly served as the Executive Director/CEO of The United Methodist City Society of New York, a multi-ethnic community based organization that works cooperatively with other denominational and ecumenical agencies to develop human and financial needs to empower and transform urban churches and communities throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Humanitarian and worl ... Read More
Dan Apfel
Dan Apfel, Executive Director of the Responsible Endowments Coalition (REC), is an experienced advocate for social, environmental and financial justice. Dan is a leading voice for responsible investing by colleges and universities and the need for them to rethink the essence of their economic relationships and invest more to support their local communities. Prior to joining the REC Dan served as a Program Officer at the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, where he worked with credit unions serving diverse low- and moderate-income communities around the country and co-ad ... Read More
Barbara Arrindell
Arrindell is one of the founders of Damascus Citizens for Sustainability. A professional artist, she has a Degree in BioEngineering from Columbia University, and a lifelong interest in sustainable and renewable energy sources and the environmental effects of human activities. Bio engineering is the place where biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics meet. Read More
Carmen Artigas
Carmen has a background in apparel, accessories, and product design. Having already worked in India with artisan communities, certified organic cotton and natural dyes in 1999 exposed her to the challenges of developing sustainable products. Carmen has worked in fashion for almost 20 years, most recently in sustainable fashion consulting, designing, and sourcing. She is currently teaching Ethical Fashion at FIT and Parsons New School of Design in New York, in order to reevaluate the human and environmental cost of a product and to advocate for craftsmanship, endangered crafts and to redefine ... Read More
Alice Ayala
Alicia has two sons, Keith 25 and Izzy 20. She worked at the World Trade Center for 4 years. She fell into the culinary arts by accident. She wanted to earn some Christmas money so she started working for Buon Italia down in Chelsea Market. She was prep cook and manager. She enjoyed cooking so much that she decided to go for her culinary degree at The Institute of Culinary Education (I.C.E.). During her studies there was an opening at the school for Registrar, Assistant Chef and Customer Service. She worked for I.C.E. for 5 years before she decided to go for her pastry degree. Now she work ... Read More
William Ayers
William Ayers, formerly Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), has written extensively about social justice, democracy and education, the cultural contexts of schooling, and teaching as an essentially intellectual, ethical and political enterprise.
His books include Teaching Toward Freedom; A Kind and Just Parent; Fugitive Days; (with Ryan Alexander-Tanner) To Teach: The Journey, in Comics; (with Bernardine Dohrn) Race Course. Read More
Adam Black
The twin interests of sustainability and the realities of human nature interested Adam from an early age. After studying Biotechnology in London he worked in over 18 countries on the production side of the film business, setting up desert camps in Jordan, and managing huge projects and teams from India to Argentina. After twenty years in film he took the plunge and blended his film work with his passion as a scuba diving instructor, emigrated to Australia to produce marine Natural history documentaries with the hope of saving these fragile ecosystems - a work still in progress.
Having lived o ... Read More
Virginia Bonofiglio
Virginia Bonofiglio began her career in the fragrance industry over 30 years ago, at Givaudan, where she trained in perfumery. Subsequently she held positions at Monsanto Flavor/ Essense, BBA, Florasynth, and Felton Worldwide where she developed and evaluated fragrances for a wide variety of products from personal care, to household, to fine fragrances. Her expertise extended beyond perfumery into fragrance evaluation, marketing support for sales and fragrance development, and management of the fragrance division of a flavor and fragrance company
For over 15 years Virginia has been an adjunc ... Read More
Lea Cullen Boyer
From Greenpeace volunteer in 1978, to her current position as Managing Director of Green Guru Network and Sustainability Coordinator for the County of Westchester, Lea has been an avid proponent of sustainable issues for over 25 years. She pioneered green local social media, developed municipal climate action plans, spearheaded large scale municipal biofuel and environmentally preferred procurement programs, consults for large scale recycling and waste reduction projects, energy efficiency policy and local agriculture systems for governments, non-profits and private entities Read More
Wendy Brawer
Best known as Founding Director of Green Map System, Wendy E. Brawer is an eco-designer and social innovator focused on sustainable community development through local leadership. From her original 1992 New York Green Map, the movement has spread to 60 countries, supported and linked by the participatory tools, icons, multimedia and events Wendy has co-created and shared at GreenMap.org. Her local New York Green Maps highlight her areas of expertise, including energy & climate, composting & local food, cycling & shared mobility.
Green Map’s honors include the Papanek Social Design Award, th ... Read More
Patti Bressman
Patti Bressman, Director of Program and Operations for the non-for-profit Children's Environmental Literacy Foundation (CELF), is an advocate for sustainability education in K-12 schools across the country. Through CELF programming educators and students learn how social justice, and environmental and economic health can be addressed in any subject area and across every grade level. Patti joined the founding CELF Board of Directors in 2003 after almost 20 years experience in financial and organization management. Her passion for connecting students to the evolving need for sustainable thinking ... Read More
Mike Brown
Mike Brown is a founder and Chief Operating Officer of BrightHome Energy Solutions; a Building Performance Institute Accredited Home Performance Contractor with offices in New York and New Jersey. BrightHome started in Westchester County in 2009 under Mike’s leadership. Mr. Brown brings more than 25 years of retail management experience and a strong belief in customer service. BrightHome is committed to energy efficient homes so homeowners can save money, be more comfortable and use less energy. Mike is a Building Performance Institute Certified Building Analyst and Building Analyst. Read More
Shahid Buttar
Shahid Buttar is a Muslim-American constitutional lawyer with expertise in the separation of powers and civil rights. After graduating from Stanford Law School in 2003, he litigated impact cases advancing campaign finance reform and marriage equality for same-sex couples in Washington DC, starting in 2004. Buttar later joined the American Constitution Society as Associate Director, and then practiced at Muslim Advocates in San Francisco for two years before returning to DC to lead the Bill of Rights Defense Committee. His presentations in 2011 included the U.S. House of Representatives in Janu ... Read More
JLove Calderón
JLove Calderón is an author, activist, producer and social entrepreneur who uses the creation of conscious media to address issues of social justice, race and gender. She has authored four award- winning books, including her life story That White Girl, which has been optioned for film. She currently has seven TV and Film projects in development, and just released her fifth book, entitled Occupying Privilege; Conversations on Love and Struggle. JLove is committed to truth, love, and freedom, and spends her time raising her family and working with courageous people on bold projects that inspir ... Read More
Dr. Helen Caldicott
The single most articulate and passionate advocate of citizen action to remedy the nuclear and environmental crises, Dr. Helen Caldicott, has devoted the last 35 years to an international campaign to educate the public about the medical hazards of the nuclear age and the necessary changes in human behavior to stop environmental destruction.
Born in Melbourne, Australia in 1938, Dr Caldicott received her medical degree from the University of Adelaide Medical School in 1961. She founded the Cystic Fibrosis Clinic at the Adelaide Children's Hospital in 1975 and subsequently was an instructor in ... Read More
Penelope Jagessar Chaffer
Penelope Jagessar Chaffer is the Director/Producer/Writer and Editor of the upcoming feature documentary film Toxic Baby. She is a multi award winning filmmaker and the first black, female director to be nominated for a British Academy Award.
Penelope gave a TED talk at the prestigious TEDWoman conference, alongside luminaries such as Hilary Clinton, Naomi Klein and Madeline Albright, with renowned environmental biologist Tyrone Hayes.
She has been honored by the children's environmental health non-profit Healthy Child Healthy World (named as one of Mrs. Michelle Obama's two causes.) HCHW co ... Read More
2002-2011 Green Festival®