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External Advisory Board
(View a list of our Honorary and Emeritis Members).
 
Bama Athreya
Executive Director
International Labor Rights Fund
Bama Athreya is the Executive Director for the International Labor Rights Fund, a Washington DC-based nonprofit advocacy organization which is active in sweatshop monitoring, and together with other parties is suing companies like Unocal, ExxonMobil and Coca-Cola for human rights violations in developing countries. Dr. Athreya joined the ILRF in early 1998, just after returning from a two-year assignment in Cambodia as the AFL-CIO’s Country Representative. While in Cambodia she directed worker education and labor law training programs and conducted extensive research on the problems of women workers and on child labor. She is a cultural anthropologist, and received her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. She spent three years in Indonesia, first as a State Department official and later as an independent researcher, and wrote her thesis on Indonesia’s labor movement. She has also lived and worked in China, Taiwan and India.
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Nancy Bacon
Sr. Vice President
Energy Conversion Devices
Nancy M. Bacon is Senior Vice President of Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD Ovonics), a member of the boards of directors of United Solar Ovonic Corp. (a wholly owned subsidiary of ECD), Sovlux Ltd. and Sovlux Battery (ECD Ovonics’ solar and battery joint ventures with KVANT and the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy), Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), and the United States Industry Coalition (USIC). At ECD Ovonics, Ms. Bacon’s responsibilities include finance, public and private financing, development of business and strategic plans, and presentation to major international corporations for the commercialization of ECD Ovonics technologies and inventions; negotiation for establishment of joint ventures and licensing of company technologies, as well as being responsible for the administration of government relations, proposals, and contracts. In 1997, Ms. Bacon was recognized by Crain’s Detroit Business as one of Detroit’s Most Influential Women. Ms. Bacon has a B.S. in Accounting and is a certified public accountant (CPA). Prior to joining ECD Ovonics, she was a manager at Deloitte & Touche.
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Dave Berdish
Manager, Social Responsibility
Ford Motor Company
David Berdish has been at Ford since 1983 and has worked Production, Program Management, Finance, Quality, Business Planning and Organizational Learning. He received a BA from the University of Michigan and a MS from Virginia Commonwealth University. His work has been featured in several publications and he has presented at systems thinking conferences around the world. David is responsible for the development of the Ford Motor Company Business Principles. The Principles will integrate the "triple bottom line" of economics, environmental, and societal performance into current Ford operating processes. He is also leading the design and development of a Human Rights Code of Conduct and related processes. David regularly teaches courses for the Erb Institute and is also on the faculty of the Prince of Wales Business and Environment Programme.
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Lauren Bigelow
 Managing Director
Cleantech Network
Lauren Bigelow Reed is the Managing Director for the Cleantech Network. Prior to joining Cleantech, Lauren served as the Educational Director at the Ann Arbor IT Zone, a networking and education organization that promoted the growth of the IT industry in Michigan. At the IT Zone, Lauren was responsible for over 60 annual events, including IT Forums, Entrepreneur Bootcamps, and the Center for Venture Capital & Private Equity Finance's annual venture conference. She served the IT and Biotech sectors in collaboration with a wide range of partner organizations and entrepreneurs. Lauren was the Marketing Director of the Richard Hale Shaw Group, a boutique developer training company where she created and executed marketing strategy and brand awareness. Her prime foci were to develop marketing & advertising materials and further their market position as a premium .NET training provider in coordination with Microsoft and other software companies. Lauren earned a BA in Economics (University of Michigan) and an MA in Anthropology Northwestern University), and has authored several anthropological publications. She currently serves as a Director of the Sustainable Living Company in England and on the Advisory Board of Amara Conservation.
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Kate Brass
Ecomagination Program Manager
GE Energy
Katharine Brass is the ecomagination program manager for GE Energy. Kate leads the Energy businesses efforts with respect to defining the ecomagination product portfolio for Energy, developing strategic customer relationships and large energy and conservation demonstration projects. She represents the environmental interests of the business with respect to national and international government affairs, global research efforts, new technology commercialization and internal greenhouse gas reduction programs. Kate holds a Bachelors degree in Finance and Economics and a Masters in Environmental Management and Policy. She has 20 years of experience in sales, marketing communications and strategic marketing.
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Meghan Chapple-Brown
 Senior Advisor
SustainAbility
Meghan Chapple-Brown is a Senior Advisor at SustainAbility, a think tank/consultancy group, working to advise on corporate respnsibility and sustainable development as it relates to market risks and opportunities. Previously, at the World Resources Institute she managed the Beyond Grey Pinstripes report as well as other projects within the business education portfolio. She has experience in corporate social responsibility from her work with The Albright Group, Ford Motor Company, and Dow on climate change, human rights, and emerging markets, respectively. She also has expertise in ommunity development and environmental education.
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Terry Cullum
Director, Corporate Responsibility and Environment & Energy
General Motors Corporation
Terry A. Cullum is responsible for corporate responsibility issues on a global basis, as well as for supporting the staff on global environmental initiatives.
He is GM’s Liaison Delegate to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. He is also GM’s key contact to the United States Council for International Business and is the current Chair of their Environment Committee.
Cullum began his career at General Motors’ Cadillac Motor Car Division as a project engineer in Materials Engineering in 1981. He held various positions dealing with selection of materials, validation testing, and specification development before joining the corporate environmental staff in 1994.
Cullum received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers and serves on the following Boards: Center for Sustainable Systems External Advisory Committee at University of Michigan (Chair); ERB Institute External Advisory Board at University of Michigan; and the Center for Resilience at Ohio State University.
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John Ehrmann, Ph.D.
 Senior Partner
Meridian Institute
Dr. Ehrmann is a founder and Senior Partner of the Meridian Institute. Dr. Ehrmann is one of the most highly skilled and sought after facilitators in the field. He has pioneered the use of collaborative processes for two decades, using it for everything from conflict resolution to creative processes like organizational planning for the future. He has led projects in national and international forums; in public policy arenas involving legislation, negotiated regulations and Federal Advisory Committees; in organizational management settings; and with stakeholder groups advising individual companies. For the most part, his work has focused on the environment, natural resources issues, and the economic and social challenges associated with developing sustainable practices for communities and industries. In addition to his extensive involvement in facilitating collaborative processes, Dr. Ehrmann also works to promote the use of collaborative decision-making. He gives lectures and has published numerous articles on collaborative decisions in public policy issues. He also serves as an adjunct faculty member for the University of Wyoming and provides advice to the Institute and School of Environment and Natural Resources on the use of collaborative problem solving in natural resource decision-making. Dr. Ehrmann received his undergraduate degree from Macalester College and his Ph.D. in Natural Resource Policy and Environmental Dispute Resolution from the University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources. His doctoral dissertation involved developing a practice-based model of the policy dialogue, which can be applied to both practice and research. Between 1983 and 1997, Dr. Ehrmann was executive vice president at the Keystone Center, Keystone, Colorado. In September 1997 he left Keystone to found the Meridian Institute.
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Joseph Fiksel, Ph.D.
 Principal
Eco-Nomics LLC
Dr. Joseph Fiksel, Principal and Co-Founder of Eco-Nomics LLC, is an internationally recognized authority on sustainable business practices. He has over 20 years of management consulting experience, and recently directed a $2.5 million study of the global cement industry commissioned by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. He has been engaged on several projects by the Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI), a consortium of 40 leading U.S. companies, to develop tools that capture the business value of environmental excellence and sustainability. Joseph began his career at DuPont of Canada, and subsequently founded the Decision and Risk Management group at Arthur D. Little, Inc. Most recently, he served as Vice President for Life Cycle Management at Battelle Memorial Institute, in Columbus, Ohio. His clients have included leading multi-national companies in the chemical, pharmaceutical, agricultural, electronics, defense, automotive, consumer products, and electric power industries.

Joseph has served on numerous professional advisory boards, including the U.S. Technical Advisory Group for ISO 14000. He was an officer and founding member of the Society for Risk Analysis, and has testified on health risk analysis issues before several Congressional and White House committees. He has published over 70 refereed articles and several books, and is a frequent invited speaker at business and professional conferences. His most recent book, Design for Environment: Creating Eco-Efficient Products and Processes (McGraw-Hill, 1996) has been translated into Spanish and distributed worldwide. He holds a B.Sc. from M.I.T. and a Ph.D. in Operations Research from Stanford University.
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Karen Flanders
Director, Corporate Responsibility
The Coca-Cola Company
Karen is Director of Corporate Responsibility at The Coca-Cola Company, responsible for leading the Company’s global CSR strategy. Prior to joining The Coca-Cola Company, Karen managed international, target-driven advocacy campaigns at the World Wildlife Fund. Karen is fluent in English, French and Dutch from her tenure with a Brussels-based, pan-European public affairs agency where she worked with corporations such as Mars, L'Oreal, and McDonald’s on European environmental and social policy matters.
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Kevin Greiner
President / CEO
Gas-South
Kevin Greiner is President and CEO of Gas South, a leading provider of natural gas and energy services in Georgia's deregulated natural gas market. Gas South serves over 160,000 residential, business, and governmental customers, and has annual revenues of approximately $250 million. Gas South was formed as part of an acquisition of Southern Company's natural gas unit in early 2006.From 2002 through 2005, Kevin held management positions at two Southern Company divisions. In 2004 and 2005, he was Director of Marketing for Southern Company Gas. From 2002 - 2004, he was General Manager at Southern Company Energy Solutions, responsible for that division's build-own-operate energy projects and its energy information services business lines. From 1998 - 2002, Kevin worked in various sales & marketing roles at Enron Energy Services. He spent two years in Frankfurt, Germany helping to build Enron's retail energy businesses in Europe, and is a fluent German speaker.
Kevin taught an Erb Institute course on the energy industry in Winter 2003. He is an Erb Institute alum, having received his MBA and MS from the University of Michigan in 1998. He also holds a BA from Wesleyan University.
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Catherine Greener
Vice President of Consulting
Act Now
Catherine has more than 20 years of experience in the implementation of sustainability, lean manufacturing, and industrial quality management systems. She has led sustainability and resource efficiency projects for clients ranging from entrepreneurial start-ups to the industrial facilities of multinational corporations and Fortune 500 companies. Additionally, Catherine sits on several advisory boards addressing sustainability in higher education programs, for-profit companies, and the city of Denver. She has experience in the food and beverage processing, automotive, chemical, semi-conductor, facility automation (robotics), and construction industries. She combines her sustainability, quality management, and lean manufacturing experience with acute problem solving skills and an exceptional ability to uncover process waste. Catherine has given numerous talks, facilitated visioning sessions and conducted training classes in sustainability, continuous quality improvement and other disciplines, developed waste reduction programs, and led problem-solving groups for manufacturing strategy. Additionally, she has experience in ISO 9000, ISO 14000 and Six-Sigma. She holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University and a MBA from University of Michigan. Catherine lives in Boulder Colorado with her husband Alan in a home featured on the Boulder Solar Home tour.
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Charles Griffith
Director, Auto Project
The Ecology Center
Charles Griffith is Director of the Ecology Center's Auto Project. He has worked for almost 15 years in the area of toxic materials management and environmental policy, including the last decade on automotive issues. Mr. Griffith currently helps coordinate a coalition-based advocacy initiative called the Clean Car Campaign, which challenges automakers to produce and consumers to purchase vehicles that meet global best practices for fuel efficiency, emissions and clean production.

Mr. Griffith has served as an advisor on a variety of automotive environmental initiatives, such as the US EPA's Common Sense Initiative for the Auto Manufacturing Sector, the President's Council on Sustainable Development Auto Demonstration Project, and the U.S. Auto Pollution Prevention Project. He was also an author on a recent groundbreaking study that documented the hazards from automobile end-of-life processing and developed policy solutions to address it.
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Erika Guerra
Regional Manager
Holcim (U.S.) Inc.
Erika Guerra is the Regional Manager responsible for AFR (alternative fuels and raw materials) Business Development in North America and Sustainability Program Manager for Holcim (US) Inc. In this role, Erika’s leads efforts to improve the level of understanding about and performance of the elements of the AFR business principles for Holcim (US) and St. Lawrence Cement with a view to growing Holcim’s AFR business. In addition to her role with Corporate Industrial Ecology – Holcim Group Support (HGRS-CIE), she oversees the development and implementation of the Holcim (US) sustainability programs, including AFR stakeholder relationships as well as the coordination of the sustainable development communication and advocacy plan. Erika also represents Holcim in many sustainable programs including the US Business Council for Sustainable Development and the University of Michigan’s Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise.
Erika joined Holcim in early 1997 as a member of the Ecoltec group at Holcim (Apasco) in Mexico. In 2001 she became the AFR Manager at the Dundee, MI, plant and later joined HGRS-CIE as a Senior Consultant for AFR Business Development for North and South America.
Erika holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico, and a Diploma in Business Administration from Universidad de las Americas, Mexico.
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Alan Hecht
Director of Sustainable Development, Office of Research and Development
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Alan Hecht is Director for Sustainable Development, Office of Research and Development, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He was Associate Director for Sustainable Development at the White House Council on Environmental Quality (2002–2003) and Director of International Environmental Affairs for the National Security Council (2001–2002). He served as the White House coordinator for the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. Dr. Hecht was the Deputy Assistant Administrator for International Activities at the EPA (1989–2001). Twice he received EPA's highest award, the Gold Medal, for leading U.S. negotiations for the environmental side agreement to the North American Free Trade Agreement and for his innovative work on promoting nuclear waste management in Russia. He has recently published articles on sustainable development in Environmental Forum (2003) and Water Policy (2004). He earned a Ph.D. degree at Case Western Reserve University.
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Gilbert (Gib) S. Hedstrom
President
Hedstrom Associates
Gib Hedstrom has 25 years of experience advising CEOs and board members about how to handle the toughest environmental issues of the day. Schooled in finance at GE, Mr. Hedstrom spent 20 years at Arthur D. Little, leading significant aspects of ADL's environmental auditing, strategy, and governance work. He was elected a Vice President of the firm in 1989. Mr. Hedstrom has reported to outside boards of directors of Fortune 500 companies on over 50 occasions regarding environmental governance, emerging issues, sustainable development, and audit program oversight. Following the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio to 2001, Mr. Hedstrom led ADL's worldwide Sustainable Development team. During this time, Mr. Hedstrom also managed ADL's EHS activities throughout Europe and Asia. From 2001 to 2003, he was a partner with PA Consulting Group (largest consulting firm in the U.K.), leading the firm's corporate environmental and sustainable development practice.

Gib holds a MBA and MS (Natural Resource Management) from the University of Michigan and a BA Economics and Geology from Hamilton College.
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Jack Reynold ("Reyn") Hendrickson, Jr.
Associate Broker
Swisher Commercial
Reyn is an Associate Broker of Swisher Commercial and a member of the Michigan Bar Association. He has 30 years’ business and real estate experience. His real estate skill set includes site location/demographic research, mergers & acquisitions, business start-ups, taking firms public, site development and management from raw land through stabilized lease-up and permanent financing, and sustainable/New Urbanist mixed use projects. Reyn works with clients in all types of commercial property transactions, including office, multifamily, vacant land, retail, research and industrial. He has built, managed, leased and sold hundreds of millions of dollars of real estate in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Reyn also has active projects elsewhere in the (Utah) plus a 20-suite mini-resort on Lake Rapel in Chile.

Reyn’s has lived in and around Ann Arbor since 1970. His academic background is 100% University of Michigan: undergraduate degree in location research and demographics, and Juris Doctor from University of Michigan Law School.
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Mel Jones
President and CEO
Sterling Planet, Inc.
Mel Jones is President and CEO of Sterling Planet, one of the leading renewable energy providers in the country. As a former employee of the Southern Company and now the CEO of a successful start-up, Mel combines 20 years of utility industry experience with the perspective of an entreprenuer in the rapidly growing renewable energy sector.
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Sara Schreiner Kendall
Vice President, Environment Health & Safety
Weyerhaeuser
Ms. Kendall is the Vice President for the corporate Environment, Health and Safety group at Weyerhaeuser Company. In that role she is responsible for the company's sustainability report, all EHS programs such as auditing, remediation, regulatory affairs and technical support to operations as well as leading the company's EHS Council which oversees performance trends and sets company direction on issues such as global climate change, sustainability and safety performance and programs. She has also worked in the Law Department as senior environmental counsel, as well as in the company's Wood Products and Timberlands businesses at Weyerhaeuser. Ms. Kendall worked as natural resource legislative counsel for Washington state Senators Daniel J. Evans and Slade Gorton. She received a JD from the Georgetown University Law Center, a Master of Forest Science (MFS) from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and a BA in Political Science from Northwestern University. She has served as President of the Northwest Pulp and Paper Association, a member of EPA's Sector Committee of the National Advisory Committee for Environmental Policy and Technology, and was recognized in 1995 with Weyerhaeuser's Presidents Award and in 1998 as Environmental Manager of the Year Award from the National Environmental Resource Center and the EPA.
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Peter D. Kinder
President and co-founder
KLD Research & Analytics, Inc.
KLD’s mission is to remove barriers to socially responsible investing by providing institutional investors with social research, compliance services, benchmarks, performance analytics and consulting. The firm is best known for the Domini 400 Social IndexK, the first for socially screened US equity portfolios which it created in 1990.
His articles on socially responsible investing and fiduciary duties have appeared in publications in the US, Canada, the UK and India. His most recent think piece “Socially Responsible Investing: An Evolving Concept in a Changing World” is available on KLD’s website, together with a number of his essays.
Mr. Kinder, Steven Lydenberg and Amy Domini are the authors of The Social Investment Almanac (Henry Holt, 1992) and Investing for Good (HarperBusiness, 1993). He collaborated with Amy Domini on Ethical Investing (Addison-Wesley, 1984). He also co-authored Law and Business (McGraw- Hill, 1982/94). With Steven Lydenberg, he wrote “Mission-Based Investing” (1999) which is about to appear in a revised edition.
Mr. Kinder was a co-founder and principal (1997-2000) of Domini Social Investments, LLC. KLD is a co-founder of the Sustainable Investment Research International Group (SiRi) and he has served on its board. Mr. Kinder has served two terms on the board of the U.S. Social Investment Forum, the SRI trade organization, one as vice chair.
From 1973 to 1988, Mr. Kinder practiced law, first as an assistant attorney general in Ohio, then in Boston as a staff lawyer for a foundation and finally in private practice. He specialized in administrative law and corporate regulation.
Mr. Kinder received an A.B. in History from Princeton University in 1970 and was awarded a J.D. from Ohio State University in 1973, both with honors. He was admitted to the bar in Ohio (1973), the District of Columbia (1977), Massachusetts (1978) and the Supreme Court of the United States (1978).
Mr. Kinder has two sons, one at the University of London and the other at the University of Wisconsin. His spare time is spent waiting for the New England weather to accommodate his passions for biking and cross-country skiing.
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George Kuper
President
Council of Great Lakes Industries
During the past 3 decades, George Kuper has been a recognized leader in the national effort to establish a productivity growth policy. In 1975, he was nominated by President Gerald Ford and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as executive director of then newly created National Center for Productivity and Quality of Working Life.

In 1978, Kuper joined the General Electric Company where he reported to the Senior Vice President in charge of operations and was responsible for company-wide productivity improvement programs.

While executive director (1983-1988) of the Washington, D.C.-based Manufacturing Studies Board of the National Academy of Sciences, Kuper was the originator and one of the principal founders of the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences, a major cooperative research program among U.S. manufacturers. Under his leadership, the Manufacturing Studies Board also gained prominence for the identification of public policy issues facing U.S. manufacturing. For example, the board initiated the concept of the Engineering Research Centers program of the National Science Foundation, and contributed to the understanding of manufacturing issues through a pioneering book entitled Toward a New Era in U.S. Manufacturing: The Need for a National Vision.

Before joining the CGLI in 1994, George Kuper spent 6 years as President and CEO of the Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) – a not-for –profit manufacturing research, development, and deployment organization based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. With a staff of over 130 professionals, under Kuper's leadership ITI became the largest organization of its kind assisting manufacturers in the United States, and became financially self- sufficient through both industrial and governmental contracts.

Kuper has also been the founding principal in four corporations and director of five additional companies. He has been executive vice president of the Boston Venture Management Co., deputy director of the Mayor's Office of Justice Administration in the City of Boston, and developed prototype productivity assessment programs for banking officers of the Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York.

In the last decade, Kuper has been chairman of the Working Group on Dual Use Technology policy for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, a member of the Board of the Arlington Institute, and the Technology Managerial Program Advisory Committee of the Conference Board. He has also been an advisor to the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Committee for Economic Development; chairman of the National Association of Manufactures Committee on Productivity; a founder and vice president of the American Productivity Management Association; and a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Council on Trends and Perspectives

He holds an undergraduate degree in political science from John Hopkins University and graduate degrees from the London School of Economics (International Law) and Harvard Business School (Business Administration). He has published several dozen papers and books, served on editorial boards of 4 journals, and has lectured extensively in the U.S., Europe and South Africa.
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Philip LaRocco
Founder and Executive Director of E+Co
E+Co
Philip LaRocco is the founder and Executive Director of E+Co, the leading practitioner of the enterprise-centered model of investing in energy enterprises in developing countries. Since 1998, E+Co has invested in more than one hundred and fifty enterprises and mobilized more than $155 million of capital. These enterprises provide modern energy to 3.1 million people; save 204,000 tons of firewood; produce 59 million liters of clean water and offset 1.2 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.

E+Co, a not-for-profit, public purpose investment company, has offices in Bolivia, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Ghana, the Netherlands, South Africa, Thailand and the United States. Mr. LaRocco has over thirty years of international experience. Until 1990 he served as the Director of World Trade and Economic Development for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey with responsibility for the World Trade Center (NY), a network of trade development offices and a portfolio of industrial development and waste-to-energy projects.

In addition to his duties as E+Co’s CEO, Mr. LaRocco focuses on financing structures and the creation of practical, hands-on training materials for entrepreneurs, financial professionals, development practitioners and policy makers. More than 800 entrepreneurs in over thirty developing countries have been trained through the efforts of E+Co and its partner organizations.
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Loch McCabe
President
Shephard Advisors
Loch McCabe founded Shepherd Advisors in 2000 with the belief that the key to a truly sustainable future is to grow businesses which enhance our wealth and environment at the same time. Mr. McCabe has been involved in the formation of the Clean Tech sector from “day one.” In the late ‘80s he helped design and raise money for commercial and municipal recycling programs. In the ‘90s, he built the Environmental Capital Network, which facilitated over $50 million in early-stage investments to Clean Tech companies nationwide. He has a knack for recognizing opportunities, developing stories, and working with others to secure needed resources. He backs up his instincts and enthusiasm with analysis and due diligence that fosters clearer thinking and action. At Shepherd, Mr. McCabe focuses on strategy, market development, and financing.

Education:
MA, Applied Economics, MS, Natural Resource Management, University of Michigan
BA, International Service, BS, Economics, American University
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Peter Mertz
 CEO and Founder
Global Forest Partners
Peter Mertz is CEO and Founder of Global Forest Partners. GFP is headquartered in West Lebanon, New Hampshire and is one of the largest timber investment management organizations in the world. Mr. Mertz has more than 25 years of forest management, analytical and investment experience in the timberland business. Prior to co-founding GFP, he was the Managing Director of UBS Timber Investors. Before joining UBS in 1995, he was Division Manager of Acquisitions, Economics and Planning for the International Paper Company. Mr. Mertz is a University of Michigan alumnus with a BS in Forestry from the School of Natural Resources and Environment and an MBA from the Ross School of Business. He is a Certified Forester and a Member of the Society of American Foresters and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
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Paul M. Murray
Director of Environmental Affairs and Safety
Herman Miller, Inc
As Herman Miller's Director of Environmental Affairs and Safety, Paul Murray carries the message of corporate environmental responsibility to business and academic audiences throughout the country. "The Power of One," his presentation to the design community, affirms that each individual can champion environmental awareness among co-workers and clients alike, whether by promoting the use of sustainable products or through a simple commitment to "reduce, reuse, and recycle" whenever possible.

Paul grew up in Selby, a small farming community in north central South Dakota. He attended Northern State College in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where he earned an undergraduate degree in chemistry; he also holds a Master's in management from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Initially credentialed as a high school teacher, Paul taught math and chemistry, and served as a high school coach, before leaving his teaching career to work as a research chemist with PPG Industries and Boise Cascade Corporation.

Based on his experience developing wood coatings and finishes, Paul joined Herman Miller in 1988 as a production manager responsible for wood finishing operations. Long interested in environmental work, Paul felt a connection to the company's history of environmental stewardship. However, it was not until he sought an air quality permit for a wood finishing area that Paul discovered a growing need within Herman Miller to identify and coordinate numerous "green" initiatives underway. Paul and others soon established EQAT, the Environmental Quality Action Team, and through the group's ongoing efforts Herman Miller has earned several environmental awards, including a Presidential citation, as well as national recognition as an environmentally progressive company. Paul was named Environmental Affairs manager in 1992.

In addition to his responsibilities with Herman Miller, Paul participates in several work groups for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality; holds memberships with both the Air and Waste Management Association and the National Association of Environmental Managers; and serves on the Board of Directors for both the University of Michigan's Corporate Environmental Management Program and the International Design Center for the Environment. Additionally, he sits on the boards of several non-profit environmental organizations.

Paul recently launched the Sustainable Research Group (SRG), a small environmental consulting service created to help other companies implement green initiatives similar to Herman Miller's.

Paul, his wife Rhonda, son Matthew, and daughter Renee reside in Hudsonville, Michigan.
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Scott D. Noesen
Director, Sustainable Development
The Dow Chemical Company
As Director for Sustainable Development for The Dow Chemical Company, Scott is responsible for directing and integrating Sustainable Development activity into the core business processes of the company.. The tools and processes created are being used by Dow's global businesses to more formally integrate the "Triple Bottom Line" of Economic Viability, Environmental Responsibility and Social Equity into their business strategies. Noesen is also the work process leader for the "Integrate EH&S and Business Strategy" (IEBS) work process within EH&S and sits on the newly formed Ideas Council within the Growth Center of Dow.

Noesen talks extensively in external forums on the subject of Sustainable Development and is active on a number of external advisory boards dealing with Sustainable Development and the role of Corporations. These include:

- The MBA/MS Program at the University of Michigan, a three year, dual masters degree program in business and environmental studies.
- The Sustainable Enterprise Initiative (SEI) at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina
- The Center for Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan
- The Finance Institute for Global Sustainability (FIGS)

Noesen joined Dow in 1979 as an Engineer in the Plastics Laboratory of Central Research. He moved to SARAN* TS&D in 1982 as a Senior Research Engineer. He was named a Product Market Manager for SARAN in 1985, a Market Manager in 1988, and a Market Development Manager for the Plastics for Packaging Industry Group in 1989. He was named a Project Manager for New Business Development in 1991, with emphasis on developing plastic recycling markets within the Plastics for Packaging Industry Group

Noesen graduated from Purdue University in 1979 with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. He is married and has two children.

* Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company
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Eric Olson
Vice President, Advisory Services
Business for Social Responsibility

Eric leads BSR's growing Advisory Services practice of delivering consultation on successful corporate social responsibility strategies and integrating them into the core businesses of BSR’s member companies. He joined BSR in 2005 with 15 years of work in the consulting field, including significant experience both in supply chain management and issues related to sustainable development. Most recently, Eric led The Natural Step in San Francisco to deliver advice and counsel to a broad range of companies on sustainability matters. He has also served as Vice President at the Boston Consulting Group and was a Partner and Founding Member of the Mitchell Madison Group, a global consultancy focused on strategic sourcing and supply chain management. Eric's primary expertise is in CSR and sustainability strategy development and integration, strategic sourcing and supply chain management, climate change strategies and program development. He has a Master’s degree in philosophy in Russian and East European studies from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and a B.A. in chemistry and Russian from Macalester College.
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Steven W. Percy
Chairman & CEO (retired)
BP America
Steve Percy is the former Chairman and CEO of BP America, Inc., BP's U.S. subsidiary prior to its merger with Amoco Corporation, and served in that capacity from 1996 until 1999. Prior to assuming those duties, he was President of BP Oil in the U.S. from 1992 to 1996, and since retiring from BP has also served as the head of Phillips Petroleum's Refining, Marketing and Transportation Company. He currently is Visiting Professor, Corporate Strategy and International Business, at the University of Michigan Graduate School of Business.

Mr. Percy returned to BP America from London, England where he served as Group Treasurer of The British Petroleum Company p.l.c. and Chief Executive of BP Finance International.

Born in 1946, Mr. Percy is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a Masters in Business Administration from The University of Michigan and graduated with a Juris Doctorate from Cleveland Marshall College of Law. He is a member of the Ohio State Bar.

Mr. Percy joined The Standard Oil Company in 1976 following service in the U.S. Army and several years with Babcock & Wilcox as a Senior Planning Analyst. His posts with Standard Oil included Manager of American Flagged Marine Transportation, Manager of the Eastern Crude Oil Division, Director of Operations Analysis, Director of Downstream Strategic Planning and Development, and Director of the Executive Office. In 1987, following the merger of BP and Standard Oil, Mr. Percy moved to London to become Manager, Oil Planning and Control in BP Oil International.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of Omnova Solutions Inc. and is Chair of its Audit Committee. Past corporate board memberships include GenCorp, Inc., the Tranzonic Companies, KeyBank National Association, and Transtar International.

Mr. Percy currently serves on the boards of Resources for the Future and Junior Achievement International. At the University of Michigan, Mr. Percy is a member of the Ross School of Business Corporate Advisory Board and the External Advisory Board of the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise. He is also a member of Rensselaer's Engineering School's Advisory Board and the National Advisory Council of the Cleveland Marshall College of Law.

Previously, he has served as a member of President Clinton's Council on Sustainable Development in the role of Co-Chair of its Climate Change Task Force. He has Chaired Cleveland State University's Foundation, held the position of Vice Chairman of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association and Chair of its Finance Committee and Chairman of Neighborhood Progress, Inc. He has also served as a member of the boards of University Hospitals of Cleveland, the American Petroleum Institute, the National Association of Manufacturers, the British American Chamber of Commerce and the Council on Economic Priorities.

Mr. Percy is married to Barbara, a math educator, and has two daughters, Amy, a graduate business student at the University of Michigan and Sarah who is an environmental consultant.
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George Pilko
Founder & Chairman
Pilko & Associates
George Pilko co-founded Pilko & Associates in 1980 with a simple idea: Do high quality consulting on EHS issues, keep clients “thrilled,” and attract staff who are committed to the same principles. The success of this philosophy shows in the numbers – to date the firm has assisted high profile chemical and energy clients in 48 countries on deals worth a combined total of $350+ billion.
Well known in the industry, George has published articles in Directors & Boards, and Mergers & Acquisitions, and he has been quoted in publications that include The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Petroleum Economist, and Chemical Week. In 1993, the University of Michigan named him Chemical Engineering Graduate of the Year.
George and his wife have two sons, one at the Naval Academy in Annapolis and the other working for JPMorgan Chase in New York, NY. Away from the office or client meetings, you’ll probably find George on a sailboat in scenic locations or behind a book.
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Lana Pollack
President
Michigan Environmental Council
Michigan Environmental Council President Lana Pollack grew up in Ludington, Michigan, and attended the University of Michigan, where she earned a B.A. in Political Science and an M.A. in Education. In 1997, she was a Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

An active political organizer and former dance teacher, Pollack was elected to the Ann Arbor School Board in 1979. In 1982, the voters of Washtenaw County sent her to the Michigan State Senate, where she served until 1994 on the Appropriations, Finance, Education, and Criminal Justice and Urban Affairs Committees.

The Senate's only Democratic woman for eight years, Pollack became a leading advocate for the environment, children and women's rights. She also earned praise as the architect of Michigan's landmark 1990 polluter pay statute which, before it was repealed in 1995, saved taxpayers $100 million by forcing polluters to pay for the cleanup of toxic waste. Pollack also established statewide coalitions to prevent gun violence and teenage pregnancy.

In 1994 Pollack narrowly lost the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate and retired from public office. She founded Michigan Monthly and served as the magazine's publisher until selling it in 1996. More recently she has taught at the University of Michigan and served on the boards of directors of national, state and local nonprofit organizations. In 2002 Pollack was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame.

Lana Pollack has been a student of music throughout her life. She has lived in the United States, England and Zambia and traveled in Africa, Europe, North and South America, Asia and Antarctica. She is married to Henry Pollack, a Professor of Geophysics at the University of Michigan, and they are the parents of an adult son, John, a writer.
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William G. Russell
Principal & CEO
SKN Worldwide
William G. Russell, Principal and CEO SKN Worldwide, applies his combined environmental, corporate finance, technology and management consulting knowledge to help clients pragmatically integrate Sustainability into their business and improve their triple bottom line performance.

He has created a worldwide network of employees and partners to deliver "whole" solutions based upon a proven systems approach for aligning and managing sustainability innovations as well as significant continuous incremental process and business practice changes.

SKN project areas include: (1) designing and implementing sustainability-oriented information and management systems aligned and integrated with broader business objectives, and (2) financially quantifying environmental and social liabilities and risks, process improvement costs and benefits, technology investment returns, and capital market and other stakeholder expectations and requirements.

Mr. Russell is the former President of the enterprise software company Ecos Technologies. He worked in all areas of the company including product design, development, sales and marketing, implementation and customer service. Their ECOSystem enterprise information portal product is built on Oracle 9iDB and 9iAS platform with a distributed multi-tier Java architecture. He worked closely with innovative and early adopter customers to develop its metrics management and Business Reporting functionality including the design and implementation of GRI compatible automated metrics management systems.

While leading the environmental practice for PricewaterhouseCoopers, Mr. Russell evaluated, audited and provided assurance statements related to environmental management systems, contingent liabilities, environmental reserves and financial, environmental and sustainability report disclosures. He led PwC's efforts to establish their global professionals service businesses in the areas of Climate Change and Environmental Management Information Systems. He is a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager with over 20 years experience. He has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland and a M.B.A. in Finance from Rutgers University. Mr. Russell is a member of the advisory board of University of Michigan's MBA/MS Program and the technical advisory board of Innovest Strategic Value Advisors. SKN Worldwide Sustainability Knowledge Network.
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Gwen Ruta
Director, Corporate Partnerships
Environmental Defense
Gwen provides strategic direction for Environmental Defense's Alliance for Environmental Innovation. This corporate partnerships program develops innovative, business-based solutions to environmental problems. The "Alliance" develops and implements policies to leverage the corporate supply chain, increasing the demand for, and supply of, environmentally preferable products. Ongoing projects involve reducing corporate paper use and increasing recycled content, improving emissions and fuel efficiency in corporate vehicle fleets and incorporating design-for-environment principles into corporate product development.

Prior to her role at Environmental Defense, Gwen served as Vice President and Director of Environmental Sustainability for Metcalf & Eddy (1998); Director of Executive Program Planning and Operations, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, (1995-1997); Director of External Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, New England Region (1984-1994); Chief of Marine & Estuary Protection for Massachusetts Bay, Buzzards Bay, Narragansett Bay and Long Island Sound; and Chemical Engineer, Texaco Inc. (1984 1987).

Gwens other service includes Innovations in American Government (evaluation team leader for Harvard University) (1997 and 1998); Robert C. Seamans Fellowship in Technology and Public Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government (1994); U.S. House of Representatives Merchant Marine & Fisheries Committee, loaned executive (1991); and Water Environment Federation, Watershed Management Committee Vice-Chair.

Gwen is the author of numerous articles on watershed protection, coastal development sustainability, and point and non-point source pollution management.

Gwen earned a M.P.A. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a B.S., Chemical Engineering from University of Virginia.
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Haig Sakoian
Global Director, Environment, Health and Safety Audit
Alcoa

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Helen Taylor
State Director, Michigan
The Nature Conservancy
Helen Taylor is the State Director of The Nature Conservancy's Michigan Chapter. She joined the Chapter in 1999 to lead their efforts to protect the natural heritage of Michigan, a beautiful and ecologically significant state on a regional and global scale.

She came to Michigan after directing the Conservancy's Great Lakes Program for three years. While there, she led the program's work with Conservancy state programs, public agencies, private institutions, government, industry, and environmental organizations to develop and implement a concerted science- based strategic approach for protecting the biodiversity of the Great Lakes ecosystem.

Prior to joining the Conservancy in 1996, Helen spent nine years working in the environmental policy field with a concentration in Great Lakes issues, pollution prevention, waste, and public involvement. Her project work focused on designing, facilitating, and mediating environmental initiatives, partnerships, and decision-making processes involving multiple stakeholders. Prior to entering the environmental field, Helen spent several years in the field of social services working with youth; the arts; as well as teaching overseas. She holds a degree in philosophy from Northwestern University.
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William Thomas
Counsel
Clifford Chance US LLP
William Thomas heads the Firm's environmental law practice in the Americas, part of a global Environmental Group of over 60 lawyers who work on environmental matters across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Mr. Thomas is Counsel in Clifford Chance's Washington, D.C. office, where his practice concentrates on transactions and projects, legal counseling and management strategy, and litigation and disputes involving environmental, health and safety matters. He is also a member of the Firm's worldwide Energy and Projects Group as well as the Environmental and Climatic Trading Group, and works closely with members of related practices within Clifford Chance, including M&A/Corporate, Banking & Finance, Real Estate, and Litigation and Dispute Resolution. He has advised companies, financiers, developers, utilities, and other enterprises across a wide range of assignments involving applications of U.S., foreign, and international environmental law. He has also resolved complex regulatory and enforcement challenges through use of management systems, emissions trading, wetlands mitigation banking, and other market-based instruments and proactive risk management strategies. His practice often involves issues with a foreign, trans-boundary or global dimension, such as: climate change; water resources; marine and cross-border pollution; cross-border environmental impact assessment; sustainable development, corporate sustainability, and social responsibility; voluntary international standards (e.g., ISO 14001); trade/environment disputes; and biodiversity conservation. He also possesses substantial expertise dealing with rapidly evolving rules and practice relating to corporate environmental disclosure.

Mr. Thomas balances the demands of his law practice with service to several prominent professional and environmental organizations. Most recently, he was appointed to the governing Council of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Environment, Energy and Resources (SEER) for 2005-2006. He is Co-Chair of the International Environmental Law Committee of the ABA Section of International Law, and past Chair of the International Environmental Law Committee of ABA SEER (1999-2002). He is also an officer of the Environmental Committee of the International Bar Association, Vice Chair of the Environmental Law Committee of the Inter-American Bar Association, and past Vice Chair of the Environmental Law Committee of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association (2000-2002). In addition, he is a member of both the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law and the Council of Partners of the Environmental Law Institute.

He appears frequently at national and international conferences, and is a widely published author on environmental law, policy, and related matters of corporate strategy. He will Co-Chair the ABA's 35th Conference on Environmental Law, to be held in March of 2006. His body of published material includes Crafting Superior Environmental Enforcement Solutions (ELI 2000) and contributions to both Stumbling Toward Sustainability (John Dernbach ed., ELI 2002) and Environmental Law and Enforcement in the Asia-Pacific Rim (Terri Mottershead ed., Sweet & Maxwell 2002). His articles have appeared in Review of European Community & International Environmental Law, Natural Resources & Environment, Georgetown International Environmental Law Review, Environmental Law Reporter, National Law Journal, European Environmental Law Review, Corporate Environmental Strategy, Environmental Finance, and other leading publications.
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Robert J. (Bob) Tierney
Director, Sustainability & Government Programs
United Technologies Power
Bob Tierney has worked for UTC/Pratt & Whitney since 1979. Currently, he directs sustainability and government programs for UTC Power. Previously, he was Director of Health and Safety for Pratt's global operations. Prior to that, he was manager of green business solutions in the Specialty Materials &: Services organization and prior to that he was manager in the engineering division leading the green engine program. Within UTC, Bob founded and leads the companiy's sustainability network.

Bob obtained a BS in environmental engineering from Florida Institute of Technology, an MBA from Florida Atlantic University, and a Masters of Environmental Studies from Yale University.
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Christine Vujovich
Vice President, Marketing and Environmental Policy
Cummins, Inc.
Christine M. (Tina) Vujovich became Vice President – Marketing and Environmental Policy for Cummins in October 2002, after serving as Vice President – Environmental Policy and Product Strategy since 1999. Ms. Vujovich earned her Bachelor of Science in Earth Science in 1974 and her Master of Science in Environmental Engineering in 1978, both from the University of Illinois. She graduated from the Executive Management Program from the Yale School of Management in 1986. Ms. Vujovich joined Cummins in 1978 as a Facilities Engineer and has held various technical and marketing roles for the Company.

Ms. Vujovich serves on the boards of Kimball International, Inc., the Engine Manufacturers Association, and the Diesel Technology Forum. She is also a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers and serves on EPA's Clean Air Act Advisory Committee and its Mobile Source Technical Review Subcommittee. In 2000 Ms. Vujovich was named one of the 100 most influential women in the automotive industry by Automotive News. Ms. Vujovich is married with 3 children.
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Ryan Waddington
Director
ZBI Ventures
Ryan is a Director at ZBI Ventures, the private equity arm of Ziff Brothers Investments, LLC (ZBI). ZBI is a multi-billion dollar private investment firm that manages the assets of the Ziff family, formerly of Ziff-Davis publishing. ZBI Ventures invests in energy assets and technology companies with a primary focus on unconventional oil and gas, biofuels, solar and other carbon-favored energy sources. Before joining ZBI, Ryan was Director of Venture Services for NextEnergy, a non-profit corporation founded to advance the alternative energy technology industry in the State of Michigan . There he developed and managed Michigan's only business accelerator program and seed fund focused exclusively on alternative and clean energy technologies. Prior to joining NextEnergy, Ryan spent over six years at DTE Energy Company (NYSE: DTE) where he identified, evaluated and managed clean energy technology investments in DTE Energy's $100 million corporate venture capital fund (DTE Energy Ventures), as well as managed several advanced energy technology demonstration projects. Ryan has also worked as an environmental engineer, and co-founded a start-up company, GetOutdoors.com.

Ryan earned a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan and an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Wisconsin. He also earned an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, where he participated in the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise.

Ryan currently serves on the Board of ZBI Ventures' portfolio company Advent Solar and the External Advisory Board for the Erb Institute. Ryan has lectured and taught courses on energy and energy technology at the University of Michigan.
   
 

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