Green Festival

Vacirca is President of Lastingnest inc, an award winning Green General Contracting Company and father of a son Vito (8), and a daughter Vanda (3). When he's not changing the world one project at a time, Vacirca likes to ride his bike in the woods with his kids, play Ultimate Frisbee and help coach the Ballard High School Ultimate Team.

Artful, experienced and pervasive actor Jeremy Ray Valdez has brought his passion and dedication to nearly forty television and film roles in the last decade. Valdez, recipient of the 2010 Imagen Award for Best Supporting Actor in La Mission, opposite Benjamin Bratt, just completed four feature film projects of which will be premiering in 2013. In addition, he’s taking his skills behind the scenes having just produced on his first feature, “Dreamer” and has several other projects in development. Valdez who was born in New Mexico and attended school in Arizona, came to Los Angeles and ...

Valerie Mason's love affair with beauty products began while she was still playing dress-up in her mother’s shoes and make-up. Over the years she had been made to feel like a beauty queen through its magical, transforming powers, but things got serious when she realized these products were more than just perfect colors and shades. While in college, Valerie had the life changing opportunity to research at M.I.T. in cosmetic surfactants (surface chemical reactions). She learned that we’re more than just what we eat. What we put onto our largest organ, the skin, has lasting consequences to o ...

Lia Valerio is the co-founder of Malia Designs, a Fair Trade handbag and accessories company, created to increase economic opportunity for marginalized women and to fight human trafficking in Cambodia. Starting with Valerio's trip to South East Asia after her service in the Peace Corps in 2000, Lia and her partner both independently recognized the need for women to have a secure and safe source of income. After completing her Master's degree at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs in 2004, Valerio's and her partner began the process of developing Malia Designs, which aims to c ...

Mark Vallianatos is Policy Director of The Urban and Environmental Policy Institute (UEPI) and an Adjunct Professor at Occidental College, where he currently teaches the Environmental Stewards class. Mark is co-author of The Next Los Angeles: the Struggle for a Livable City and a number of publications on food access, transportation, and goods movement. He is also co-chair of the College's Sustainability Committee. He has worked at UEPI since 2001. Before moving to the Los Angeles region and joining the Institute, he worked on international trade and environmental issues in Washington, D.C. Ma ...

John Valverde is the Director of Workforce Development at the Osborne Association, which provides men and women with criminal records comprehensive career development training to prepare them to enter and advance in the green economy. The Green Career Center seeks to embody making a difference by helping people in the re-purposing of their lives and advocating for opportunities for them to contribute to their families, communities and the environment. John’s commitment to social, economic and environmental justice; education; cognitive/behavioral development and breaking the cycle of illness ...

Sarah van Gelder is co-founder and executive editor of YES! magazine, a national media organization that fuses powerful ideas and practical actions for a more just and sustainable world. Sarah leads the development of issue themes ranging from resilient communities, to climate justice, to sustainable happiness. She heads up the non-profit’s newest initiative: YES! Takes on the News, which offers a solution-oriented take on the daily headlines at www.yesmagazine.org.

Corrine L. Van Hook manages communications, outreach, and supports fundraising efforts at Bay Localize. She helps coordinate and support key programs like Communities for Resilience and Green Your City as well as program development and strategic planning. Corrine's passion for social justice stems from youth and education, disadvantaged populations and people of color, and equitable opportunity. As a former IDEAL Scholar, she witnessed and continues to witness the compelling impact of investing in youth and disenfranchised communities so that leadership can reflect the real diversity it seeks ...

Jodie Van Horn is an organizer for the Freedom from Oil Campaign with Rainforest Action Network, a coalition that is working to free America of its oil addiction. Jodie also coordinates PlugIn Bay Area, an initiative aimed at promoting the commercialization of plugin hybrid vehicles to demonstrate that a demand exists for ultra fuel efficient transportation alternatives.

Van Jones is president and co-founder of Rebuild the Dream, a pioneering initiative to restore good jobs and economic opportunity. Van has a 15-year track record as a successful, innovative and award-winning social entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of three, thriving nonprofit organizations: the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Color of Change, and Green For All. He is the author of a New York Times best seller, The Green Collar Economy, the definitive book on green jobs. The World Economic Forum named Van a Young Global Leader in 2005. In 2008, Fast Company magazine said he had one of t ...

Van Schagen is Grist.orgs Seattle editor and has been writing about art, music and entertainment for the environmental news website since 2004.

Van Waning is an Environmental Engineer for the Urban Management and Brownfield Redevelopment (UMBR) group, which evaluates, remediates and provides for the redevelopment of properties for City projects and develops and implements programs in support of the City's wastereduction and recycling initiatives. Prior to her work at the Department of Environment, Van Waning worked as an environmental consultant in the private sector for several years. Van Waning holds a Bachelors of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois and a Masters in Environmental Enginee ...

Katrina vanden Heuvel is Editor and Publisher of The Nation. She is a frequent commentator on American and international politics on ABC, MSNBC, CNN and PBS. Her articles have appeared in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Foreign Policy magazine and The Boston Globe. She writes a weekly web column for The Washington Post. Her blog "Editor's Cut" appears at thenation.com. She is the author of The Change I Believe In: Fighting for Progress in The Age of Obama (Nation Books, 2011). She is also the editor of Meltdown: How Greed and Corruption Shattered Our Financia ...

Vanessa King, M.S., C.N.S. is a yogi, surfer, nutritionist and professor. She combines her experiences in mindfulness practices with her education in nutrition to create community-oriented health promotion programs that cleanse, nourish and empower.King is DC's AcroYoga expert, a long time yoga teacher and practitioner and thai yoga massage practicioner.

Krista Vardabash is the former Executive Director of the International Reciprocal Trade Association (wwwIRTA.com) and is now the U.S. liaison for GETS Plus, LLC (www.getsplus.com), a leading system for community currencies. In her role as IRTA executive director for seven years, Krista championed the inclusion of complementary currency networks and organizations into IRTA membership and provided leadership developing IRTA's complementary currency, the UC (Universal Currency). Krista is committed to serving the purpose of GETS Plus by playing a pivotal role in the stewardship of a culture that ...

Vaughan is the regional coordinator for Global Exchanges Freedom from Oil Campaign.

Kat Vaughan traveled to Guatemala for the first time in 1998 and immediately experienced a burden for the plight of the Guatemalan Mayan women and children. Seeing the beautiful artisan work of the Mayans, Kat spent time researching and getting to know various women groups. Eventually, Kat met an existing group of Mayan women artisans in the Guatemalan Highlands, established by American woman with a passion for beading and empowering Mayan women through economic development. Kat founded Globally Minded to support artisans in Guatemala through fair trade. Globally Minded designs hip beaded, fai ...

In 2006, Daniel Velez founded Greater Goods, a store in Washington, D.C., that sells products that help consumers live a greener life or products that provide an ecofriendly alternative for everyday items. When Daniel created this store, he was thinking about Iraq, energy independence, and global warming, and realized that living more sustainably is about the choices we make around engineering and technology. It's also about how we as humans use our living and work spaces. Since most people on the planet live in cities, that's where energy, water, and waste technologies should be applied. Mos ...

Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez are the co-founders of Back to the Roots, an urban mushroom farm in Oakland, California, growing gourmet mushrooms and mushroom kits sustainably on 100% recycled coffee grounds. Offers in hand, they were headed into the corporate world during their last semester at UC Berkeley in 2009 when they came across this idea in class a few months before graduation, fell in love with the waste-to-food model and decided to forego careers in investment banking and consulting to become full-time urban mushroom farmers! Back to the Roots diverted over 1 million pounds of cof ...

Carol Venolia is an architect and educator who has been involved with ecological building for more than 30 years. Named a Green Design Trailblazer by Natural Home Magazine, she has designed numerous context-responsive homes of straw, earth, and “good wood” and consulted on schools, healing centers, and eco-villages. In addition to her architectural practice, Carol directs the EcoDwelling program at New College of California and writes the “Design for Life” column for Natural Home Magazine. Her design work has been featured in The Natural House Catalog, Earth to Spirit, The Healthy Hou ...

Sylvia Ventura is an accomplished business executive and a social entrepreneur. She specializes in early stage strategy, marketing and development. Sylvia is both an investor, and a skillful entrepreneur, having founded two agencies and a clean-tech venture that was recently acquired. Early in her career she worked as a marketing executive for pharmaceutical, and consumer health companies. She is the founder of One Block Off the Grid (1BOG), the nation’s first and largest group purchasing organization for residential solar energy. Sylvia is a French native and holds a BA in Business Administ ...

Since her 9th grade year, Lenie has worked with elementary kids in her school’s annual Earth Day carnival, teaching them how to live a sustainable life. She was also involved in the Green Ambassadors program, a learning lab project of Environmental Charter High School, where she learned about reducing her carbon footprint, sustainability, and the problems/solutions in our environment. This year, she volunteered to restore a few miles of trails that were completely devastated on the Pacific Crest Trail with a few other students. And, this summer was very significant for Lenie because she was ...

Vetter is the Field Manager for Vesta Home Performance Retrofitting, a fullservice home performance contracting company in Seattle. Vetter previously owned a green remodeling company for ten years and currently serves as the Vice President of Home Performance Washington.

Nannette Vides grew up in San Francisco, where she studied ballet from the age of 5, and later worked with various multi-cultural dance troupes. She has been teaching Zumba for the past five years, and helping make movement fun and accessible for people across the Bay Area. Nannette says, " Zumba is all about expression and moving with the flavor you were born with. Anyone can do it. Plus, its a great way to get fit, burn calories, and best of all really smile!"

John Viera was appointed director, Sustainable Business Strategies for Ford Motor Company in January, 2007. Mr. Viera is responsible for developing global sustainable business plans, reporting externally on the company's environmental and social performance, and leading the company's engagement and partnerships with non-government organizations (NGOs) and other stakeholders. In January 2009, Mr. Viera assumed the responsibilities of the company's environmental policies, consistent with his current title of Director, Sustainability and Environmental Policy. Viera has held several positions wi ...

Hernando Villa is a Colombian healer and environmental consultant. He has been working with various indigenous groups in South America including the Camsra, Kogis, Sionas, Kofanes and the Emberas. His work has included environmental projects, plant medicine, music and ancient wisdom keeping. Hernando Villa is a Board Member of the Council for Environmental Affairs in the State of Risaralda, Colombia. He founded an NGO in Pereira in the Colombian state of Risaralda called Raices (roots in Spanish). Raices leads humanitarian and social projects. In urban Pereira they plant 100 organic garde ...

DJ Cavem Moetavation is more than a deejay, this Denver, Colorado native, hails from the historic Five Points and has been a long time community activist. At age 26, Ietef Hotep Vita is DJ C.A.V.E.M. (Communicating Awareness Victoriously Educating the Masses) Moetavation, an internationally known HipHop artist, writer/producer, deejay, HipHop Yogi, Afro-Latin percussionist, father, midwife, and environmental and youth advocate. He is an Eco-Cultivator/Educator, sharing his knowledge with various age groups in organic gardening, veganism, wholistic health, sustainability, conscious consumption ...

Kris Voelker is a singer, songwriter, performer and visionary. Her music has touched the hearts and souls of audiences nationwide. Kris believes there is a great need for music that supports higher consciousness and personal empowerment. Kris music creates a space that allows you to open up to your greatest potential and to dream the dreams of your inner self. It is filled with hope and inspiration and her lyrics and melodies linger with you long after the performance has ended.

David began his career as a remodeling contractor very interested in “green building” and participated as an active member of the Northwest Ecobuilding Guild. When the economy slowed down, he decided to specialize in the energy efficiency field as a weatherization contractor and founded Home Performance, Inc. in the fall of 2008. For the last two and a half years he has been managing Home Performance Inc. What started as a two-man operation on a shoestring now has 6 employees. HPI currently completes about 170 weatherization projects per year, 60% in the low-income weatherization field and ...

Kathi von Koerber is a dancer, healer and filmmaker from Germany and South Africa. She has spent time with elders from Bushmen tribes in southern Africa, the Tuareg in the Sahara, Gabonese Eboga priestess Bernadette Riebenot, Lakota, Navajo and Cherokee in the United States, Xawante and Fulnio in Brazil, and the Camsra and Kogi in Colombia. Kathi has taught dance and performed internationally for the last 15 years. She has designated her life to the preservation of indigenous wisdom and advocating rituals as a key element in human evolution and initiation into adulthood.Kathi founded the comp ...