Archives: People

Meg Adelman, RN, BSN, MPH co-founded Navitas Organics with her husband Zach in 2003.  The company’s mission is to honor a healthy lifestyle through the innovation of nutrient dense superfoods and snacks.  Her long-time passion for preventative medicine led her to a career in Nursing in 2008 where she worked to empower patients to embrace self-care to overcome common health problems.  Although working in the surgical field for six years provided valuable training, it reaffirmed her commitment to prioritizing prevention strategies to mitigate the pitfalls of chronic disease.  In 2017, she completed her Master’s in Public Health at the University of San Francisco while taking the majority of her courses in Public Health Nutrition from the University of Massachusetts.  That same year, she launched a consulting and advocacy company, RN Health Stylist that focuses on population health education, corporate wellness programs and supporting food system reform, which she believes is responsible for many of the diseases that are crippling our healthcare system today.

Jordyn is a Doctorate student at Kent State University where she studies aquatic ecology to help the world understand the consequences of anthropogenic eutrophication on water quality. She has an ecocentric perspective on the world and tries to promote sustainable living in every way that she can. Jordyn completed her undergrad in Biology and Environmental Science at Cleveland State University where she first helped host a Conscious College Road Tour stop with her student org, the Student Environmental Movement. She is inspired by the Turning Green’s mission to educate about ecoconsciousness and is dedicated to helping the organization acheive their goals. Jordyn is passionate about native plant landscaping, promoting open science, protecting water resources, and encouraging people to get out and appreciate the beauty of nature. She enjoys running with her husky, yoga, hiking, bouldering and reading in her free time.

Jinno Vicencio is a third-year college student pursuing a degree in Agriculture. He is passionate about food systems and how their impact on the environment. He has had a vested interest in the environment since high school through building an aquaponic garden, attending summits on plastic pollution and being the 2017 Project Green Challenge Champion. Jinno now plans to WWOOF in Oahu, Hawaii, convert his van to live in full-time and ride some major surf.

Hill joined ELI as a Visiting Scholar in May 2015. Previously, he was the Senior Counsel for Environmental Governance of the Office of International and Tribal Affairs at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He also served as the Director of the Office of Environmental Justice at the EPA; and the Associate Solicitor of the Division of Conservation and Wildlife, and Director of the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Prior to that, he was Of Counsel at the international law firm of Dickstein Shapiro, LLP where he had an environmental law practice; Project Manager in the Superfund Business Unit of the consulting firm ICF international; Special Counsel to the Attorney General of the District of Columbia; Legal Counsel to the Inspector General of the EPA; Law Secretary to the Deputy Administrative Judge of New York City (Criminal Division); and an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn.

He has lectured in the Middle East, Africa, South and Central America, and the Caribbean islands on a variety of environmental law and policy issues. He has taught at Vermont Law School as an Adjunct Professor of Law for 21 years, and has served on the Environmental Law Center’s Advisory Committee since 1994. He has been the recipient of several distinguished achievement awards in environmental justice, and environmental law and policy. He has been the author of the three editions of the textbook/handbook for law students, undergraduate and graduate students in the environmental sciences, and environmental law practitioners, entitled, Environmental Justice: Legal Theory and Practice. He has authored/co-authored more than 20 articles on environmental law and policy, and environmental justice and sustainable development in scholarly and professional journals.

Hill received a B.A. in Political Science from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York; a M.A. in Political Science from Howard University; a J.D. from the Cornell University of Law; and an honorary doctor of laws degree from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law.

Travis graduated from Rice University and works as a Sustainability Analyst on the Circular Economy team at Cisco. During the day, he helps design products to be more easily reused, repaired, and recycled. Also during the day, he’s an avid cyclist and regular volunteer at various food rescue non-profits. At night he sleeps, but not very much. “Turning Green helped me understand the interconnectedness of all environmental issues–from food waste to soil health to material use to climate change–that informs the way I spend all my waking hours.”

Liz manages 1% for the Planet‘s network of business and individual members throughout the Western United States, and helps those members develop strong giving strategies and nonprofit partnerships. She believes that giving back to the environment is good corporate strategy, and that businesses have a critical role to play in changing consumer behavior and driving positive environmental impact. Prior to joining 1% for the Planet, Liz helped found and direct a nonprofit dedicated to advancing more sustainable, climate-friendly refrigerants. She previously worked in atmospheric policy development for the U.S. EPA and holds a Master’s of Environmental Science and Management from the Bren School at UC Santa Barbara and a B.A and B.S. from UC San Diego. A California native who is partial to the coast, Liz currently resides in Santa Cruz, CA with her husband and adorable dog, Tolo. She’s passionate about bikes (all types and especially for transportation purposes!) and spends her free time riding, running, surfing, and otherwise scheming her next adventure.

Mackenzie graduated from UC Berkeley in Spring 2018 with a degree in Society and Environment and a minor in Food Systems. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Herbicide-Free Campus (HFC), an organization committed to eliminating herbicides from schools across the country. While attending the University of California, Berkeley, Mackenzie along with her teammate, created Herbicide-Free Cal after the two got herbicides banned from their beach volleyball courts and decided to expand the campaign to the rest of the campus. Upon graduating in 2018, Mackenzie expanded the campaign to the rest of the UCs, and then nationwide, and Herbicide-Free Campus was born. The campaign resulted in the entire University of California system going glyphosate-free and Mackenzie also worked with the Protect Our Keiki Coalition to get all herbicides banned from every public school in the state of Hawaii. HFC now has campaigns at 20 schools in 10 states. Mackenzie received the 2019 Brower Youth Award for her work. Mackenzie is also a Food Sovereignty Research Assistant for the FAO and a Food Research Fellow for Data For Progress, where she writes food and agriculture policy for the Green New Deal.