Jon Alexander
President
Sunshine Construction LLC
Jon Alexander is the President of Sunshine Construction and has 25 years experience as a general contractor in Seattle, focusing on large residential projects. He has specialized in and promoted green building since 1991. He is one of the founders of the Northwest EcoBuilding and is a fourth generation construction contractor.
Sunshine Construction LLC is a custom residential construction company, based in North Seattle, owned and managed by Jon Alexander. Our focus is on large residential remodels, additions and custom homes.
Building only one project at a time allows us to fully focus on producing the best possible quality and providing the best possible experience for all those involved. We work in all neighborhoods in the city of Seattle and other nearby areas. Since 1991, we have specialized in green remodeling and new construction. Having been the first to construct our local Built Green™ program’s highest rated home and, subsequently, the program’s highest rated remodel
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Bill Reed AIA, LEED
President
Integrative Design Collaborative
An internationally recognized proponent and practitioner in sustainability and an architect, Bill is president of the Integrative Design Collaborative - a consulting organization working to lift green building design practice into one that is fully integrated with living systems. He is an ally of the regenerative planning firm Regenesis and the strategic environmental planning firm Natural Logic. His work centers on creating the framework for and managing the integrative, whole-systems design process; emphasizing building evolutionary capability in design, construction, and engagement with our environment. The objective is to improve the overall quality of the physical, social and spiritual life of our living places.
He served as co-chair of the LEED Technical Committee from its inception in 1994 through 2003; is a member of the LEED Advanced faculty and one of the first of twelve USGBC trainers of the LEED Rating System; founding Board Member of the US Green Building Council; and served on the national executive committee of the AIA Committee On The Environment. He currently serves on the Board of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, as an advisor to Environmental Building News, and on the board of CitiLog.
Bill is a consultant, design process facilitator, and lecturer. He has participated in over 200 presentations and workshops relating to Sustainable and Regenerative Design. He has consulted on dozens of LEED projects - achieving many certifications - Certified to Platinum. He is a guest lecturer at Universities from Harvard to University of British Columbia. His clients range from New York City Department of Design and Construction, U.S. General Services Administration, Loreto Bay, Baja, Mexico, Sidwell Friends School, US Green Building Council, Genzyme Corporation, Teknion, LLC, the Willow School, Loreto Bay, various city planning agencies on the East and West coast, and many private development companies in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
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Jerry Brown
Attorney General
State of California
Edmund G. Brown Jr., current State Attorney General, served as California's Governor between 1975 and 1983. He is best known for his pioneering work in making California a leader in energy efficiency and renewable energy. Brown successfully sponsored a 55% solar tax credit and promoted the nation's first appliance and building efficiency standards.
Following law school, Brown worked as a law clerk to California Supreme Court Justice Mathew Tobriner, traveled and studied in Mexico and Latin America and then took up residence in Los Angeles, working for the prestigious law firm, Tuttle & Taylor. In 1968, he helped qualify a slate of presidential delegates to oppose the re-nomination of President Lyndon Johnson. The following year, Brown was elected to the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees, placing first in a field of 124. In 1970, he was elected California Secretary of State. During his term, he forced legislators to comply with campaign disclosure laws, exposed President Nixon’s use of falsely notarized documents to improperly earn a large tax deduction and drafted and helped pass the California Fair Political Practices Act. Brown personally argued before the state Supreme Court and won against Gulf, Mobile and Standard Oil for election law violations (Brown vs. Superior Court).
Brown was elected Governor in 1974 and reelected in 1978, by over one million votes.
During Governor Brown’s tenure, California produced 25% of the nation's new jobs. His eight years in office are generally considered among the most innovative in American history. He established the first agricultural labor relations law in the country, enacted collective bargaining for teachers and other public employees, started the California Conservation Corp (CCC), signed into permanent law the California Coastal Protection Act, earned federal protection of Northern California wild and scenic rivers, brought about the country's first building and appliance energy efficiency standards and made California the leader in solar and alternative energy.
Brown appointed more women, Asians, Latinos and African-Americans to high government positions than any other chief executive. He also created the nation’s first Wellness Commission, the Office of Appropriate Technology, the Native American Heritage Preservation Commission and the California Commission on Industrial Innovation. As president of the University of California Regents, Brown successfully sponsored the establishment of the prestigious Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Brown legalized the practice of Acupuncture and strongly supported the rights of chiropractors, osteopaths and lay midwives. He also significantly expanded apprenticeship programs and created the California Worksite Education and Training Act (CWETA). He mandated every high school district to establish clear graduation standards and successfully fought for increased math and science requirements for both the California State University and University of California systems. Finally, Brown restructured the California Arts Commission so that it was composed of practicing artists and increased funding by 1300%.
In the field of crime fighting, Brown enacted hundreds of tough anti-crime measures, including the “Use A Gun Go To Prison” Law and mandatory sentences for rape, sale of heroin, violent crimes against the elderly, child molestation and selling PCP. He established and funded the Career Criminal Prosecution Program, the Career Criminal Apprehension Program and the Crime Resistance Task Force.
After his defeat by Pete Wilson in the 1982 U.S. Senate race, Brown lectured widely, led delegations to China and the Soviet Union, studied Spanish in Mexico, spent six months in Japan studying Japanese culture and Buddhist practice, worked with Mother Teresa in India at the Home for the Dying and traveled to Bangladesh as a CARE ambassador of good will during the devastating floods of 1988.
Brown again practiced law in Los Angeles and in 1989 became chairman of the state Democratic Party. He resigned that position in 1991, expressing his disgust with the growing influence of money in politics, and sought the 1992 Democratic Presidential nomination. During that campaign he refused to take contributions larger than $100 and used an "800" number to raise funds.
Despite limited financial resources, Brown defeated Bill Clinton in Maine, Colorado, Vermont, Connecticut, Utah and Nevada during the 1992 Presidential primaries and was the only candidate other than Clinton to receive enough voter support to continue until the Democratic National Convention.
In 1998, Brown ran for mayor of Oakland against 11 other candidates and won in the primary with 59% of the vote. Before taking office, he successfully passed a voter initiative, changing the ceremonial office of mayor to that of a “Strong Mayor” form of city government. Brown was re-elected in 2002 with 64% of the vote.
Upon taking office, Brown emphasized three goals: reducing crime, revitalizing the downtown and encouraging charter schools. All 3 have been accomplished: Going into his eighth year, crime is down over 30 percent, new housing units for more than 10,000 people have been approved and are either built or under construction, and several excellent charter schools have been established. Brown has fought for tougher laws to keep criminals off the streets by imposing a strict curfew for those who have committed serious crimes at night and was a leader in the campaign to defeat Proposition 66 - an attempt to dismantle California's three strikes law.
Brown personally founded the Oakland School for the Arts and the Oakland Military Institute. Both schools serve students from the 6th grade through the 12th and are among the best performing schools in Oakland.
On June 18, 2005, Brown married Anne Gust in a ceremony officiated by Senator Dianne Feinstein. Later the same day, they had a Catholic ceremony at St. Agnes, the San Francisco church where Jerry was baptized and his parents were married. The marriage is the first for both.
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Hunter Lovins
Founder & President
Natural Capitalism Solutions
Hunter Lovins is an international consultant, professor, speaker and author on enhancing business value while practicing environmental sustainability. She presents regularly to audiences ranging from business, government, community groups and universities. For over 20 years, she has been widely published, quoted and referred to on how being environmentally friendly increases profits.
Hunter is one of the founders of the new field of Sustainable Management, a co-developer of America's first accredited MBA Sustainable Management program and a Professor of Business at Presidio School of Management. Hunter's best known book, Natural Capitalism- Creating the Next Industrial Revolution, is widely considered to be an inspiration and an essential reference book. President Clinton called it "A huge deal." The Economist stated, it will "...leave every reader with the hope that the old battle between business and the environment can reach a peaceful and constructive conclusion." She has authored hundreds of articles and books.
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Josiah Raison Cain
Landscape Architect and Chief Design Officer
Design Ecology
Josiah Raison Cain is a Harvard trained landscape architect with 16 years experience in ecological design and green building applications. He has been featured on radio and television, lectures regularly, and teaches courses at Esalen, Sonoma State University and UC Davis. He is currently a Partner and Chief Design Officer at Design Ecology in Mill Valley, specializing in vegetated architectural systems and urban ecological solutions.
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Al Gore
Vice President
Former Vice President Al Gore is co-winner, with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for "informing the world of the dangers posed by climate change." Mr. Gore is the author of An Inconvenient Truth, a best-selling book on the threat of and solutions to global warming, and the subject of the movie of the same title, which was awarded a 2007 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Gore also chairs the Alliance for Climate Protection, a non-profit organization designed to help solve the climate crisis.
He is cofounder and Chairman of Generation Investment Management, a firm that is focused on a new approach to Sustainable Investing. He is also a partner in the venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, heading that firm's climate change solutions group. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Apple Computer, Inc. and a Senior Advisor to Google, Inc. Gore is also cofounder and Chairman of Current TV, an independently owned cable and satellite television network for young people based on viewer-created content and citizen journalism.
Gore has been the leading advocate for confronting the threat of global warming since his election to the U.S. Congress 30 years ago. His pioneering efforts were outlined in his best-selling book Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit (1992). He led the Clinton-Gore Administration's efforts to protect the environment in a way that also strengthens the economy.
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Chris Jordan
Photographer & Designer
Chris Jordan is an internationally acclaimed photographic artist and activist whose work explores the detritus of American mass culture. His newest series, titled Running the Numbers, depicts the staggering statistics that define contemporary America, in huge intricately detailed panels as large as thirty feet wide. These huge works invite the viewer to walk up close and see every detail as a metaphor for the role of the individual in our hypermodern society. Chris's work is exhibited widely in the US and Europe, and has been featured in magazines, newspapers, weblogs, documentary films and television programs all over the globe. A sought-after speaker on the subject of mass culture, Chris also has appeared on several national television programs recently. Currently Chris is spokesperson for National Geographic's Earth Day 2008. He lives in Seattle with his wife the poet, Victoria Sloan Jordan, and his son Emerson.
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Chuck Reed
Mayor
City of San Jose
Chuck Reed is the 64th Mayor of San José. Launching the San José Green Vision in October 2007, he has laid out 10 ambitious goals that will guide the City of San José over the next 15 years including a commitment to receive all electrical power from clean renewable sources. As Mayor of San José, Chuck is committed to improving the quality of life in the City, boosting the public's trust in local government, and fixing the City's structural budget deficit. The Reed Reforms, a comprehensive strategy to return honesty, fiscal responsibility, and open government to City Hall, are part of Chuck's vision to make the political process more accessible to the general public. The reforms require further disclosure from elected officials, add restrictions on lobbyists, and increase the role of citizens in San José government.
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John Knott
Founder & CEO
Noisette Project
President and co-founder of the Noisette Company, LLC, John Knott leads the Noisette Project development team, which is collaborating in a public-private partnership with the City of North Charleston to restore 3,000 acres of the city's historic urban core. Mr. Knott has 38 years of experience in the urban redevelopment, historic preservation and community rehabilitation fields. He is an internationally recognized leader in the redevelopment of cities, and has served as an advisor to municipalities throughout the United States and Canada, in addition to cities in China and Russia.
As the Noisette Company's visionary, Mr. Knott guides the Company's master planning process with the local community in North Charleston, emphasizing the balance between business and residential uses with the restoration of the region's ecosystem. In 2001, Dewees Island, a 1,206-acre eco-friendly residential development managed by Mr. Knott, won the Urban Land Institute's prestigious Award for Excellence.
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David Suzuki
Author & TV Host
The Nature of Things
David Suzuki is an award-winning biologist and broadcaster who has has pioneered efforts in sustainable ecology. For his work Suzuki has received a UNESCO Prize for Science, as well as the United Nations Environmental Medal. His best-selling books include Good News For A Change: How Everyday People are Helping The Planet, Genethics: The Clash Between the New Genetics and Human Values, and The David Suzuki Reader. He is also host of the award-winning television show The Nature of Things. David Suzuki is a brilliant interpreter of science and nature for the non-specialist and engages audiences in an informative and profound discussion of our place in the natural world. He is currently Professor Emeritus in Zoology at The University of British Columbia.
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Allison Arieff
Editor
Sunset Magazine and "By Design" Columnist, New York Times
Allison Arieff writes the "By Design" column for the New York Times, Editor at Large for Sunset magazine, and lectures frequently on sustainability, architecture and design. Arieff was the Editor in Chief of Dwell, and was the magazine’s founding senior editor. She is the author of the books Prefab and Trailer Travel.
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Randy Hayes
Senior Staff
IFG
Randy Hayes, working from the US, is a Climate Policy Officer at the World Future Council. The World Future Council, based in Hamburg, is a global forum composed of 50 respected individuals from around the world championing the rights of future generations and working to ensure that humanity acts now for a sustainable future www.worldfuturecouncil.org. Randy Hayes is also the founder of Rainforest Action Network. Hayes, a filmmaker in the '80s, is a veteran of many high-visibility corporate accountability campaigns, has advocated for the rights of Indigenous peoples. He also worked as the President to the City of San Francisco Commission on the Environment (5 years) and Director of Sustainability in the office of Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown (2 ½ years). He worked at the International Forum on Globalization (4 years), a think-tank on the global economy is based in San Francisco.
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Shyam Kannan
Vice President Director of Research and Development
RCLCO
Shyam Kannan is a Vice President at Robert Charles Lesser and Co. based in our Washington, D.C. Shyam has expertise in all aspects of real estate development, including large-scale mixed-use ventures, complex infill projects, and high-rise mixed-use developments. He brings over a decade of experience in green buildings to clients needing strategic advice and market analytics surrounding green building and brownfield redevelopment. He leads RCLCO's research endeavors surrounding green and sustainable development as well as changing consumer preferences for residential development. He is currently a full member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and sits on its Transit-Oriented Development Council.
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Michelle Kaufmann
Principal
Michelle Kaufmann Designs
Our office is a leader in sustainable design. WE have been published in the New York Times, Time, Money, USA Today. The National Building Museum in Washington DC is building our Glidehouse in their museum for an exhibit they are doing on Green Building. Michelle Kaufmann has been a speaker at Prefab Now, hosted by Dwell magazine and UCLA hammer museum, at the Walker Art Center, DWR studios, Prefab Proactive by Dwell, AIA Minnesota convention, has been a professor at Iowa State University, and Woodbury University.
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Jeff Oberdorfer
Executive Director
First Community Housing
As Executive Director of First Community Housing, a non-profit affordable housing developer in San Jose, California, Jeff Oberdorfer AIA, CDS has pioneered in the arena of "Green", sustainable, multi-family housing for working individuals and families in the greater Bay Area. First Community Housing coordinates all financing, entitlements and award winning design on their mixed use developments. Jeff is a LEED Accredited Professional and a frequent speaker at forums focused on smart growth and affordable housing.
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Van Jones Esq
President
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Van Jones is working to combine solutions to America's two biggest problems: social inequality and environmental destruction. In 1996, Van founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. Named for an unsung civil rights heroine, the Center promotes alternatives to violence and incarceration. As an advocate for the toughest urban constituencies and causes, Van has won many honors. These include the 1998 Reebok International Human Rights Award, the international Ashoka Fellowship, selection as a World Economic Forum "Young Global Leader," and the Rockefeller Foundation "Next Generation Leadership" Fellowship. Van is also a national environmental leader, having served on the boards the National Apollo Alliance, Social Ventures Network, Rainforest Action Network, Bioneers and Julia Butterfly Hill's "Circle of Life" organization. Van's dual roles have given him a unique perspective on the country's problems and its potential solutions. He is calling for green economic development for urban America. The City of Oakland has adopted the Ella Baker Center's "Green Jobs Corps" proposal, which will train youth for eco-friendly "green-collar jobs." Now Van is pushing to create the first-ever Green Enterprise Zone, to attract environmentally-sound industry to Oakland. A 1993 Yale Law graduate, he is also a husband and father. A rising star, Van champions the most hopeful solutions to America's toughest challenges.