Southeast Green - Speaking Of Green

Jonathan A. Eppstein, Founder/President of RedBird LED, Inc. Jonathan’s academic background is in electrical engineering, electro-optics and applied mathematics, all of which provide a strong foundation in both the theoretical and real-world aspects of cutting-edge design of LED lighting products. He also has more than 25 years experience as a successful entrepreneur, working in the defense, medical diagnostics, and pharmaceutical industries. At Laser Atlanta, Inc., his team developed the first Laser Speed gun for law enforcement as well as handheld laser range finders for the construction industry, America’s Cup Racing teams, and NASA. He co-founded SpectRx, Inc., a medical diagnostic company that successfully IPO’d in 1996; and he also co-founded Altea Therapeutics Corp., a developer of new therapeutic drug products based on a  patented drug delivery technology invented by Jonathan. With more than 40 US and over 200 international patents issued, Jonathan is well-versed in the the creation and value of int

Greg Kozera is a registered professional engineer with a masters degree in environmental engineering and over 35 years of experience in the natural gas and oil industry including hydraulic fracturing. He is the author of 3 books, numerous articles and technical papers. Kozera’s latest book, Just the Fracks Ma’am: The Truth about Hydrofracking is available from all online outlets. Kozera is also a professional speaker and the current President of the Virginia Oil & Gas Association. He is a father and grandfather whose oldest son just returned from deployment in the Middle East.

Joining us today is Alison Thomas, president of Keep My Planet Green, offering small businesses and consumers an easy way and affordable way to support renewable energy and sustainable practices. The company is part of Sterling Planet, the nation’s leading supplier of renewable energy and low carbon solutions and EPA’s Green Power Leadership Award winner for the past two years. Alison joined Keep My Planet Green after 18 years with Southern Progress / Time, Inc.  As national director of sales and marketing, she ran the Coastal Living Homes program and became involved in the promotion of green building products and practices working with well-known consumer brands across the country. Her career also was immersed in the travel and tourism industry, which prompted the formation of the development of the Certified Green Lodging Destination program for Keep My Planet Green. Amy Linde is a thirty-year veteran of marketing and business development working for Fortune 500 brands. She began focusing on the renewable

Bruce Lourie is one of Canada’s leading environmental thinkers and co-author of the bestselling books Toxin Toxout: Getting Harmful Chemicals Out of Our Bodies and Our World and Slow Death by Rubber Duck: How the Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Life Affects Our Health. He is President of Ivey Foundation, a private charitable foundation, a Director of the Ontario Power Authority and a Director of the San Francisco-based Consultative Group on Biological Diversity.  He is an honorary director of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and has founded several non-profit and for-profit organizations in Canada. Rick Smith, Ph.D. Dr. Rick Smith has been Executive Director of Environmental Defence since June 2003.  Prior to joining Environmental Defence, Rick was, from 1996, Canadian Director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and served as Acting United Kingdom Director for IFAW in 2001. He received his Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Guelph in 1999 for his study of a uniq

David Kreutzer is the Research Fellow in Energy Economics and Climate Change at The Heritage Foundation's Center for Data Analysis. In this position, Kreutzer researches how energy and climate change legislation will affect economic activity at the national, local, and industry levels. Before joining Heritage in February 2008, Kreutzer was an economist at Berman and Company, a Washington-based public affairs firm. From 1984 to 2007, he taught economics at Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., where he also served as Director of the International Business Program.  In addition, Kreutzer was a Visiting Economist at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1994 and was a visiting economics instructor at Ohio University in the early 1980s.

John Bradburn Manager of Waste-Reduction Efforts, General Motors John is manager of waste-reduction efforts at General Motors. In this role, he leads the company’s landfill-free initiative, which has resulted in 111 GM operations around the world that reuse, recycle, and convert to energy all waste from daily operations. John is an established expert in waste reduction and recycling, and frequently mentors other companies pursuing zero-waste goals. John’s responsibilities also include directing the company’s design-for-the-environment program, implementing sustainable processes and technologies. He collaborates with suppliers, product and manufacturing engineers, and external stakeholder groups. Under John’s leadership, GM recycled or reused 84 percent of its manufacturing waste generated globally through various resource conservation efforts in 2013. Between 2000 and 2010, the company reduced non-recycled manufacturing waste by 73 percent.

Join Speaking of Green as we talk to... Paul Trianosky Senior Director, Conservation Partnerships Paul supports SFI by acting as the principle liaison with conservation organizations, seeking to maintain existing partnerships and grow the network of conservation organizations involved in the SFI Program and working with SFI program participants. Paul also manages the Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program and monitors conservation research developments to identify opportunities to further the SFI Program and activities of SFI Program Participants.  Paul brings nearly thirty years of experience in forestry, non-profit management, forest certification, building collaborative partnerships, and strategizing to achieve landscape-scale conservation.  He has a B.S. in Forest Resource Management from Virginia Tech, and a Masters of Environmental Management from Duke University.

Created and founded by Mary Blackmon, Farm Star Living is the first of its kind – a new lifestyle brand celebrating both the lives of real farmers and the farming lifestyle in general so that people everywhere can better understand, appreciate and support farmers and the world of farming.   Mary is a 3rd generation farmer from Arkansas, who left her hometown to pursue college and a career in advertising sales and marketing in Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York City. She worked for publishing houses and internet companies (Wired, Walt Disney Internet Group). In NYC in 2002, she founded Spa-Addicts.com, the first national discount site for the spa & wellness industry. She grew it into a multi-million dollar business and a leader in the industry, and attracted hundreds of thousands of women as well as sponsors.   In 2008, however, she learned most of her family farm bordering Ark / LA would be sold. Not wanting to lose the family heritage and farmland her family before her had so cherished, Mary, along with

Suzanne Burnes - Executive Director, Sustainable Atlanta An alumnus of the prestigious Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership, Suzanne brings two decades of environmental and sustainability experience to Sustainable Atlanta. Prior to joining as executive director, she served as the Assistant Director of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Sustainability Division. There she was responsible for managing the division’s U.S. EPA and DOE grants, a staff of twelve, and for coordinating the department’s Sustainable Energy Management Plan and Council. During this time she also managed the division’s flagship environmental leadership program, the Partnership for a Sustainable Georgia, whose nearly 275 voluntary member businesses and organizations work to implement energy, water and material conservation practices. Suzanne’s experience in the environmental field includes consulting to U.S. EPA and the military on environmental cleanup and compliance issues. She also served on the National Advisory Co

Allie Brown – Renewable Energy Associate Based in Atlanta, Allie works on promoting clean energy, focusing on wind energy throughout the region. She provides assistance on wind energy through research, engagement with diverse stakeholders, policy advocacy, and implementation of local wind activities. Before joining SACE, Allie served on the executive board of the Sierra Student Coalition: UGA Beyond Coal and was a student fellow for Georgia Youth for Environmental Solutions. In addition to environmental organizing she was engaged in campus sustainability research. In 2012 she received a grant from UGA’s Office of Sustainability to design and oversee student-based research that recommended actions to reduce UGA’s energy consumption and increase use of renewable energy on campus by 2020. Allie attended the University of Georgia and received her bachelor of arts in Anthropology and minor in Ecology in May 2013. Simon Mahan – Renewable Energy Manager Simon joined Southern Alliance for Clean Energy in September

Dagmar is an internationally recognized leader in sustainability. She grew up in Germany before getting her Masters of Architecture from Georgia Tech. In 1991, she founded her own firm and began pioneering a process that would make The Epsten Group the world leader of LEED reviews.  In fact, through the US Green Building Council, her firm has completed more than 7,000 LEED certifications in 50 countries. The Epsten Group has been named one of the Top 10 Design Firms by Engineering News Record. As an architect and architectural consultant, Dagmar has guided large complex teams toward the sustainable performance of many significant buildings. all over the world. Closer to home, she is one of the pioneers of the green movement in Atlanta. She has provided consulting and/or design work for Atlanta institutions like Grady Hospital, Emory University, Coca Cola, and Georgia Tech. Dagmar also: Initiated the Atlanta AIA Committee on the Environment, serving as chair for its first three yearsHeaded the Georgia Committ

Sheri Koones, author of Prefabulous Homes, will discuss her latest book that was released April 15th. This book not only shows new and beautiful home design styles but alternative ways to save energy and harness renewable energy. 50 beautiful homes are profiled in the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Australia and many other locations. We can all benefit by sharing technology developed around the world. Prefabulous + Almost Off the Grid and Prefabulous + Sustainable, profile beautiful eco-built homes. I hope they will inspire you to want to build your own very sustainable home. These books profile the most efficient houses I have ever come across. My previous two books - Prefabulous and Modular Mansions were meant to change people’s perceptions of prefab as “doublewides” and to show that almost any house can be built prefab. I hope that I’ve altered peoples perceptions of prefab, at least a little, with the beautiful houses included in these books. Prefabulous + Sustainable and Prefabulous + Amost Off

Lucinda Curran is a Building Biologist and registered Chinese medicine practitioner and is the Director of Eco Health Solutions. Her focus is on assessing and providing solutions and treatments to individuals affected by environmental sensitivities (where aspects of our environment have a detrimental impact on their health). Part of her work involves her attending homes, schools and work places, and using specialised equipment to assess and measure indoor air quality, dust, mould levels and electro-magnetic fields. Over the last 20 years, Lucinda has been creating chemical-free products for skin care, to help with sleep, to assist with various pre-menstrual symptoms, to relieve gout, to reduce the severity of colds, and more!

American Fiber Packaging manufacturers a broad range of recyclable and compostable packaging. AFP are bringing utility and function to the lives of individuals and businesses. Speaking of Green will be interviewing leadership of American Fiber Packaging. We'll be discussing why local manufacturing will be the wave of the future. American Fiber Packaging recognizes the consumer’s need for safe domestically made products. AFP proudly produce our products in the United States of America.

Jeff Franson started in the window film business after graduating from Boston College with honors. Over the past 20 years, my national installation company - Window Film Depot - has tackled some of the most impressive and difficult architectural film installations ever completed in the US. Jeff is responsible for over 15,000 installations of film products in buildings and storefronts throughout the 50 states. Since the age of 15, Franson has been working 'in the field' and today am an expert installer of our products. I have been named a "Dealer of the Year' on five occasions by 3M's Renewable Energy Division. He is a professional trainer - over 500 tradesmen have taken my class on film installation techniques across the US and Canada. When clients ask, the solutions Jeff recommends come from this experience. His entire organization is built around this hard earned 'street cred' that can't be bought or created by a fancy marketing department. Jeff's strengths are listening to the customer, understanding th

Dr Ben Horton is a Professor at the Institute of Marine and Coastal Science of Rutgers University and a Visiting Professor at the Earth Observatory of Singapore and Division of Earth Sciences of Nanyang Technological University. His research concerns sea-level change. He aims to understand and integrate the external and internal mechanisms that have determined sea-level changes in the past, and which will shape such changes in the future. Dr Ben Horton has published over 130 articles in peer reviewed journals, including Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Geoscience and Geology. Dr Ben Horton is an author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5th Assessment Report (5AR) and a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. He is a committee member of the National Research Council, USA and PALSEA (PALeo-constraints on SEA-level rise). He is project leader of International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) 588.

Green Earth PR Network unites the extraordinary communication expertise of consultants respected for both knowledge and connections in the green community. I started this group to expand the intellectual capacity and creativity offerings available to each of our clients. My communications experience includes regional nonprofits, Capitol Hill, state government and green product manufacturers. Past and current projects/clients include: Milliken & Company, Forbo, Earth Share of Georgia, and U.S. Green Building Council. With a vocabulary that ranges from Alternative Energy to Zero Waste, organizations rely on my capability for writing clarity, communication strategy development and project management. Whether your audience is a nation or a neighborhood, we work to identify and achieve your communication goals. Focusing on details generates effective public relations strategies aligned with larger organization goals: What do you want to accomplish? How does your story differ from the competition? What are the

Healthy Green Schools is a all-inclusive school greening program to transform schools into safer, healthier and more sustainable environments for children and staff. Children spend a large part of their day in the school environment and schools are often full of harmful chemicals that are potentially damaging to health... especially industrial grade chemicals! The American Academy of Pediatrics has recently called for a major examination of chemicals found in everything from cleaners to personal care products and their impact on children's health, as only 200 of the 80,000 chemicals on the market have ever been tested for safety by the government. With 12% of children suffering from asthma today, 1 in 88 children being diagnosed with autism (in 2000), and childhood cancers, obesity, juvenile diabetes, premature puberty and other health issues on the rise, it is critical that schools search for ways to reduce the toxic exposure to children where they can. Healthy Green Schools makes this adventure education

Dr. Chip Konrad is the Director of NOAA’s Southeast Regional Climate Center (SERCC), which provides operational climate service programs and expertise in climate science for the southeastern United States.  He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Konrad explores the spatial and temporal patterns of atmospheric processes/patterns and the multiple linkages of these processes/patterns to surface weather and climate variability. He has over 20 years experience monitoring and studying extreme weather and climate events in the Southeast U.S. Konrad serves as a co-principal investigator of the Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments, an interdisciplinary research team that bridges climate science and decision-making.  He was the lead author on the climate chapter of the Southeast Region Technical Report to the National Climate Assessment.  He has published articles in a wide range of geography and atmospheric science journals on topics t

Louie Strike is President of Louie Strike & Company LLC, a firm providing advisory services to CEOs and Boards of Directors.  A member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), he has a combined experience as an outside director of over fifty years for nine unrelated firms; and over twenty years of experience as a CEO. He has public and private sector experience and has been involved with the administration of pension and profit sharing plans for over thirty five years. Louie has been interested in green energy and environmental issues for many years and is the author of Electric Cars and Solar Energy which focuses on changes in the automobile industry and how electric vehicles and solar energy can benefit society as a whole.