At Green University, the PGC Finalists had the opportunity to interact with and learn from these esteemed eco leaders and experts. They worked together with teams of students to create innovative campaigns and platforms for social action that will be implemented by Teens Turning Green and youth nationwide in 2012. WATCH VIDEOS OF THE TALKS HERE!

Esteemed speakers at Green University:

Susan Black, Co-Founder / Co-CEO, EO Products
EO Products Co-Creator, Susan Griffin-Black has been a pioneer in the personal care industry for over 15 years and is a leading expert in the field. An advocate of making safe, pure products, she has been involved with Teens Turning Green for several years and she maintains her status as a business leader and mother to Lucy and Marc.

Caitlin Bristol, Manager, eBay Green + Sustainability at eBay
A writer, designer, and sustainability strategist, Caitlin believes you can have your organic cake and eat it too. At eBay Green, Caitlin drives strategy and programs that leverage the power of eBay Inc. businesses to articulate and advance more sustainable forms of commerce - like the eBay Box reusable shipping program that piloted last year. She also serves as managing editor for green.ebay.com, the online home for the eBay Green Team, a community of 300,000+ people that have pledged to "buy, sell, and think green every day." Before joining eBay, she managed content and lead creative for ecofabulous.com – a leading voice in stylish, sustainable living. There she worked on strategic programs and media campaigns with companies such as Intel, Safeway, Method, Sprint, Dwell, Levi’s, and Electrolux. When she’s not working towards the seamless integration of sustainability into our everyday lives, she can be found exploring the San Francisco Bay Area on two wheels.

Allison Cook, Director of Special Projects, The Story of Stuff Project
The longest serving staff person, Allison joined the Project prior to the launch of The Story of Stuff in 2007. Allison’s background in public health and social justice activism includes work at Arise for Social Justice in Springfield, MA, the Berkeley Free Clinic, the Funders Network on Trade and Globalization and the Sustainability Funders Workgroup. As Director of Special Projects, Allison develops the campaigns associated with the film releases and leads collaborative projects with faith-based and educational communities.

Melissa DeSota, Global Environmental Sustainability, Steelcase Inc.
Melissa DeSota is a market developer with the Global Environmental Sustainability team at Steelcase. Steelcase, the global leader in the office furniture industry, helps people have a better work experience by providing products, services and insights into the ways people work. The company designs and manufactures architecture, furniture and technology products. It is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As a market developer for Steelcase, Melissa’s work involves the development and implementation of global environmental strategy, where she leads education and tool development for the Design Community and Steelcase customers. She led the relationship between Steelcase and MBDC (McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry) on initial materials chemistry implementation with the supply chain. This work with MBDC and the Cradle to Cradle philosophy led her to develop and implement the “end of use” strategies program for Steelcase, now called Phase 2. Melissa joined Steelcase in 1985. She has over 25 years in the office furniture industry, including several years in Sales Fulfillment, Product and Corporate Marketing, and with the Steelcase Design Partnership companies. She is a graduate of Aquinas College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Marketing. She is a member of the NRDC.

Maria Emmer-Aanes, Director of Marketing & Communications, Nature's Path Organic Foods
Maria Emmer-Aanes is a veteran marketer with two decades of experience connecting consumer products to their markets. Having honed her expertise at industry leaders like Target and Grey Advertising, Maria shifted her focus to organic and sustainable offerings, directing the marketing efforts for Great Harvest Bread Company and now for Nature’s Path Foods, North America’s largest organic cereal manufacturer. As Director of Marketing and Communications, Maria has helped reposition Nature’s Path to reach wider audiences in more meaningful ways, directing innovative approaches that integrate all marketing, social media, branding, events and packaging efforts.

Susie Hewson, Founder / International Sales / Marketing Director, Natracare
Susie Hewson founded Natracare back in 1989 because she wanted to develop the perfect feminine hygiene product for women who are chemically sensitive and have health and environmental concerns, such as the use of pesticides, toxic dioxin pollution and sanitary waste disposal. Hewson, who has been an environmentalist for more than 25 years, said, "Some women suffer from skin allergies and irritations, which can cause discomfort in varying degrees. Symptoms such as uncomfortable soreness and/or itchiness are often heightened during menstruation due to sensitivity to synthetic and plastic ingredients in sanitary products. In April 1989, after seeing a television program that focused on thee environmental damage caused by the dioxin residues that are created by the chlorine bleaching process used in paper pulp manufacturing, Hewson began her research on the materials and technology required to produce a safer and effective range of feminine hygiene products to rival those dominating the global market. The Honours graduate of Ravensbourne College of Art and Design in London, England, said, "I had been very concerned about environmental issues for years and the program acted as a catalyst to make me take my concern and anxiety a stage further." She is also a postgraduate of Reading University too, as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA). Hewson, who eventually developed a range of totally chlorine free and plastic free sanitary products that worked just as well as other brands and could be made at a competitive price, set up her company and went into production with the Natracare products of non-chlorine bleached sanitary towels.

Zem Joaquin, Founder / CEO, ecofabulous
Zem has been a contributing eco-editor at House & Garden, Domino, Architectural Digest and 7×7 Magazines. She received the 2009 Global Green Millennium Founder’s Award for her contributions as a Global Green board member, Co-Chair of Global Green’s San Francisco Committee, and Founder of Global Green’s Successful Annual Fundraiser and Ecofashion event. Mentored by William McDonough, Zem is a certified BuildItGreen design and strategy consultant and Cradle to Cradle enthusiast who helps companies and individuals create beautiful, smart, sustainable spaces and practices. Zem is the eco-luxury specialist for Planet Green’s Alter Eco and regularly contributes to various media. Much of her penchant for superior design came from her years at splendora.com and living in Milan, Paris and London. Her love for the earth, however, can be traced back to her early upbringing on a Palo Alto commune. As a mother of two, Zem is committed to improving all families’ health, education and access to well-vetted information. To that end Zem is an active board member of Global Green, Healthy Child Healthy World,Teens Turning Green, and Architecture for Humanity.

Rachna Kejriwal, Marketing Director, Kejriwal Paper USA Ltd.
An engineering graduate from Johns Hopkins University, Rachna spearheaded the US marketing of her family's stationary business. She then realized the great possibility in using sustainable materials to manufacture paper. With a consumer stronghold, the business turned its focus to 100% recycled fibers and paper. Rachna has been a fierce advocate for recycled materials in paper and beyond with retailers and wholesalers in the US and beyond.

Ashley Koff R.D., Author / Dietician, Ashley Koff Approved
Ashley Koff is an internationally-renowned registered dietician (R.D.) with the proven ability to demystify the science of nutrition and communicate the importance of a healthy lifestyle to clients in a way that instills loyalty and trust. As part of her “Qualitarian” mission, Koff is committed to helping consumers, healthcare practitioners and the media easily identify products that contribute to a healthy lifestyle and created The Ashley Koff Approved (AKA) Lists, a tool to help people identify products that meet a high standard of nutrition, and marketing integrity. Curiosity and a desire to get the whole story on food ingredients we consume, Koff routinely “goes to the source” around the world and throughout the US to explore food production and cultural influences in our food system. Koff maintains a private practice, regularly lectures, is a spokesperson for several national brands, and works to improve the quality of food choices in numerous outlets including on the sets of popular shows like: ABC’s Private Practice, CBS CSI: New York, HBO’s Big Love, FX’s It’s always Sunny In Philadelphia and FOX’s Bones. Koff was educated at both Duke and New York Universities and trained at LA+USC and Columbus Children’s hospitals. Koff completed coursework for certified clinical nutritionist (CCN) and continues her education with online integrative medicine modules and conferences. Koff was a dietician at the Cedars Sinai Medical Center, where she continues to serve as a frequent guest lecturer. She also lectures at prestigious universities across the country, including NYU, University of Arizona, and USC, among others.

David Lannon, President of Northern California Region, Whole Foods Market
David Lannon began his career in the Boston area working in produce with Bread & Circus in 1986, working his way up to director of operations. In 1994, he worked in Whole Foods Market’s Northern California region holding various store leadership jobs such as the store team leader for the Palo Alto as well as the San Francisco stores. In 1996, Lannon was promoted to regional vice president and later regional president of the North Atlantic region where he played an integral role in the overseas development of that region, specifically with the Kensington High Street store in London. Currently as regional president for the Northern California region he is responsible for 30 stores in California and Northern Nevada.

Domenica Peterson, Chief Visionary Officer, Global Action Through Fashion
Domenica’s professional career has focused on using fashion as a tool to solve global problems and she has worked with industry leaders in Fair Trade Fashion. She has led social entrepreneurship organizations, coordinated international aid projects and worked for the U.S. based Fair Trade pioneer TransFairUSA on the first certification standard for Fair Trade apparel and textiles in the US. She worked in London doing public relations for the Fair Trade fashion label PeopleTree and in Brussels sewing for the couture fashion label NATAN. She founded GATF to create a more equitable and sustainable world through fashion. GATF provides education & informational resources for consumers, producers & fashion industry professionals. In addition to GATF, Domenica is a contributing writer for Ecouterre.com and Coco Eco Magazine and sews for Mark Zunino Couture.

Debbie Raphael, Director, California Department Toxic Substance Control
Debbie Raphael has spent the last 20 years working for the Cities of Santa Monica and San Francisco and has dedicated her professional career to creating partnerships that protect human health and the environment by managing the use of chemicals in commerce. She has forged alliances between diverse stakeholders in order to build support for benchmark environmental initiatives, which in many cases have been replicated across the nation. Raphael is recognized internationally as the architect of San Francisco’s groundbreaking Precautionary Principle legislation and spearheaded the citywide adoption of a precautionary approach to environmental decision-making.
 
Raphael takes a pragmatic approach to chemical regulation. She has successfully crafted and implemented local legislation regulating toxic chemical content in consumer products including phthalates in children’s products and mercury in fever thermometers. Raphael has been at the forefront of a statewide effort to reformulate consumer products through product re-design, incentives, and consumer right-to-know efforts. Working with sectors such as garment cleaning, wood preservatives, dental offices, nail salons, and janitorial services to identify safer alternatives to the use of hazardous chemicals. She served as co-chair of California’s AB1109 Taskforce and Green Ribbon Science Panel, advising the state on issues around end-of-life management of fluorescent lights and the development of Green Chemistry regulations. She has been part of numerous statewide efforts to craft policy on hazardous waste management and extended producer responsibility. As Director of the Department of Toxic Substances Control, Raphael is honored to work side-by-side with departmental staff dedicated to protecting public health and the environment from toxic harm.

Beth Rattner, Vice President, Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute
Beth Rattner is the Vice President of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute where her mission is to encourage informed capitalism to help people make beneficial choices. Beth has taken her lead from environmental visionaries William McDonough and Michael Braungart, with whom she worked for years on the forthcoming sequel to Cradle to Cradle. She infused that same thinking into her client engagements with Blu Skye Sustainability Consultants, where she managed the Microsoft engagement, among others. Formerly with Hewlett Packard, Beth helped establish its Emerging Market Solutions (EMS) group, a group established to amplify ecological, social and economic development for the Bottom of the Pyramid and adjacent economic markets, while returning profitable incremental annual revenue for HP. Prior to HP, she worked for a Kleiner-Perkins start-up, Icarian, and America Online's AOL.com division, architecting business development strategies and deals. Beth is a California attorney with her J.D. from Loyola Law School and a B.A. in Political Science from U.C.L.A. She finds restoration in time spent out-of-the-box and certainly out-of-doors.

Maya Spaull, Director of New Category Innovation, Fair Trade USA
Maya's commitment to economic sustainability for farming communities and her deep belief in positive systems change is grounded in her early work as an ethnobotanist. She has found her niche at Fair Trade USA, spearheading strategic development of new Fair Trade categories. In this role, she works from idea inception to market launch, connecting all stakeholders in the sector and building Fair Trade supply chains. Maya has worked at Fair Trade USA since 2004, managing a multitude of products including tea, spices, honey, wine and cosmetics development with global brands. Maya is an experienced ambassador for Fair Trade USA , often visiting with Fair Trade producer groups and representing the organization at global industry events. Prior to joining Fair Trade USA, Maya worked in the gemstone industry on sourcing and sales. She also developed and sold her own line of jewelry. Maya is an avid gardener, music and art enthusiast, yogini, world adventurer and works locally in the Bay Area on sustainable food issues.