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ADVISORY BOARD / STAFF / BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ADVISORY BOARD
Hunter Lovins, is the president and founder of Natural Capitalism, Inc. and co-creator of the Natural Capitalism concept. In 1982 she co-founded Rocky Mountain Institute and led that organization as its CEO for Strategy until 2002. Under her leadership, RMI grew into an internationally recognized research center, widely celebrated for its innovative thinking in energy and resource issues. By the time Hunter left, the institute had grown to a staff of 50 people and a $7 million annual budget, half of it earned through programmatic enterprise. [more]
Denis Hayes is president of the Bullitt Foundation and board chair of the International Earth Day Network as well as the immediate past chair of the Energy Foundation. During the Carter administration, Hayes headed the federal Solar Energy Research Institute (now the National Renewable Energy Laboratory). From 1983 to 1988, he was an adjunct professor of energy engineering at Stanford University and in 1982 he was Regents’ Professor of Energy and Resources at the University of California. In 1970, he was national coordinator of the first Earth Day, an event often credited with launching the modern American environmental movement. [more]
Dr. David Orr, is Professor of Environmental Studies, Oberlin College. SEPTEMBER 17, 1998—David Orr barnstorms the country for the environment. Every year, three or four dozen colleges and universities invite him to lecture, often as keynote speaker for conferences and symposia. Reporters covering global warming flip through their Rolodexes for his name. Several dozen journals have published his articles about biophilia, sustainability, and, as he described it to Jay Parini in the New York Times, "environmentalism [as] a question of ethical design." [more]
Van Jones, is an eco-visionary, award-winning human rights attorney and powerhouse speaker. He is the founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights (EBC), a strategy and action center, working for justice, peace, and opportunity in urban America. Based on a decade of front-line activism, he offers comprehensive solutions and inspirational models to the three grave perils facing society: widening social inequality, radical environmental destruction, and deepening despair. His visionary proposals answer the call for expanded opportunity, ecological sustainability, and renewed hope. [more]
Senator Gary Hart, (D-CO). Since retiring from the United States Senate, Gary Hart has been extensively involved in international law and business, as a strategic advisor to major U.S. corporations, and as a teacher, author and lecturer. He is currently Wirth Chair Professor at the University of Colorado and Distinguished Fellow at the New America Foundation. For 15 years, Senator Hart was Senior Counsel to Coudert Brothers, a multinational law firm with offices in thirty-two cities located in nineteen countries around the world. He was co chair of the U.S. Commission on National Security for the 21st Century. [more]
Dr. James "Gus" Speth, Dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. From 1993 to 1999, Dean Speth served as administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and chair of the UN Development Group. Prior to his service at the UN, he was founder and president of the World Resources Insti-tute; professor of law at Georgetown University; chairman of the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality; and senior attorney and cofounder, Natural Resources Defense Council. [more]
The Honorable Claudine Schneider, Former Member of Congress (R-RI). Served in the U.S. Congress 1980 to 1990; global energy expert. Claudine served in the U.S. Congress from 1980 to 1990. She was the first woman ever elected to major political office in Rhode Island. She distinguished herself by authoring and passing into law several pivotal, energy related pieces of legislation including the first Appliance Efficiency Standards Act, Least-Cost Utility Planning Act, and Demand-Side Management Act. She also authored the comprehensive, ahead of its time, Global Warming Prevention Act. [more]
Dr. Mohan Munasinghe, is the Founding Chairman of Munasinghe Institute for Development. Prof. Mohan Munasinghe has postgraduate degrees in physics, engineering and economics, from Cambridge University (UK), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), McGill University (Canada), and Concordia University (Canada). Presently, he is Chairman, Munasinghe Institute of Development (MIND); Vice Chair, U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Geneva; Honorary Senior Advisor to the Govt. of Sri Lanka; Visiting Professor, Yale Univ., USA; and Visiting Professor, United Nations Univ., Tokyo. [more]
Elysa Hammond, CLIF BAR Ecologist: I’m an environmental scientist with a special interest in food production systems. During the past 20 years, I’ve worked in ecological research and education in a variety of places, including Mexico, Peru, Indonesia and, more recently, in New York where I now live. My work has varied in setting and task, but has always revolved around food, agriculture and resource use. I’m very excited about working for Clif Bar Inc. This is not an ivory tower. This is a company that makes healthy food and seeks to make the world a better place along the way. [more]
Dr. Bunyan Bryant, School of Natural Resources, University of Michigan. Although Bunyan Bryant's major faculty appointment is in the School of Natural Resources and Environment, he is a member of the Urban Technological and Environmental Planning Program, and has an adjunct position with the Center of Afro-American and African Studies. In 1973 Dr. Bryant did post-doctoral work at the University of Manchester in England in Town and Country Planning. His current research interests include developing case studies on corporate, agency, and community responses to hazardous waste sites. [more]
Dr. Jon Isham I was appointed the Luce Professor of International Environmental Economics at Middlebury College. During the three-year term of this position, I will be working with colleagues at Middlebury and elsewhere to develop global strategies for building a more hopeful, sustainable future. For the last several years, my collaborative work with Middlebury students and others has focused on building the climate movement, as summarized at the ''What Works' project. Based on this work, Island Press published in June 2007 Ignition: What You Can Do to Fight Global Warming and Spark a Movement, which I co-edited with Sissel Waage. [more]
Billy Parish, Director, Energy Action. I'm a co-founder and coordinator of the Energy Action Coalition and have been a full-time organizer working to build the youth climate movement for four years. I'm from NYC, went to Yale for 5 semesters and left to do this work. I believe young people will lead the way. [more]
Ms. May Boeve, Organizer, Step It Up 2007. May Boeve led Middlebury College’s action-oriented environmental and social justice group, the "Sunday Night Group". In January 2005, May was inspired by "What Works: Building the New Climate Movement" conference and became instrumental in putting the conference message into action. That summer, May and seven other students embarked on The Road to Detroit, a 15,000-mile road trip around the country in a vegetable oil and biodiesel-fueled bus. May and company toured concerts, festivals and community events to spread the word that cleaner air, a stable climate, and an energy-independent future are possible. [more]
Dr. William Moomaw, is Professor of International Environmental Policy and has been the Director of the International Environment and Resource Policy Program at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University since 1992. In addition to his work at the Fletcher School, he is also Director of Tufts Institute of the Environment which coordinates a variety of environmental programs in research, education, activism, outreach and service at all of Tufts University's varied schools and colleges. He also co-directs the Global Development and Environment Institute, which explores the relationship among economics, environment and technology. [more]
Mr. Nino Amato is the government relations and policy development specialist for the Wisconsin Farmers Union. He is working on a number of environmental issues involving energy conservation and efficiency, renewable energy and global warming.Amato is a successful business executive and civic leader who has served on the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, the University of Wisconsin Hospital Authority Board, and as president of the Wisconsin Technical College System. He holds a master of arts degree from the Robert M. La Follette Institute of Public Affairs and a bachelor’s degree in education, both at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. [more]Staff
Dr. Eban Goodstein, Project Director, is Professor of Economics at Lewis and Clark College in Portland Oregon. Goodstein is the author of a college textbook, Economics and the Environment, (John Wiley and Sons: 2007) now in its fifth edition; The Trade-off Myth: Fact and Fiction about Jobs and the Environment (Island Press: 1999); and Fighting for Love in the Century of Extinction: How Passion and Politics Can Stop Global Warming (University of Vermont Press: 2007) Goodstein’s current research focuses on the economics of global climate change, a subject on which he has spoken widely. Articles by Goodstein have appeared in among other outlets, The Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Land Economics, Ecological Economics, and Environmental Management. His research has been featured in The New York Times, Scientific American, Time, Chemical and Engineering News, The Economist, USA Today, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. Goodstein received his B.A. from Williams College and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He serves on the editorial board of Environment, Workplace and Employment, is on the Steering Committee of the Economics for Equity and Environment: E3 Network, and is a Member Scholar at the Center for Progressive Reform. 
Chungin Chung, Communications Director, holds a masters degree in Public Administration from Portland State University, and an undergraduate degree in fine arts. Chung was the founder and first Board President of the Korean American Citizens League; she steered the organization through its first two years of development into a vibrant Oregon-based civil rights advocacy organization. She also brings extensive private sector experience in small business development, graphic design, and personnel and database management. Chung serves on the President’s Board of Visitors supporting diversity efforts at the Oregon State University.
ALEX TINKER, Program Manager, received his B.S. in Political Science and Economics from the University of Oregon in 2006. Before coming to Focus the Nation as an organizer in 2007, Alex was a field manager for Working America/AFL-CIO where he worked on the Healthy Kids campaign. He has been involved in peace and social justice work with the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) his whole life, and one of his earliest memories is tagging along into the voting booth with his mother. Alex is a volunteer Crew Leader for Portland Friends of Trees and spends most of his spare time in his garden. His passion for climate activism comes from a deep respect for planet Earth and all its inhabitants, and a desire to preserve it for his daughter's generation.
Laura Westwood, Program Manager, received her B.A. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University in 2006. In college, she was active in political campaigns and ran track. As part of the Green Corps environmental organizing training program, she learned how to run effective, winning campaigns and tested these skills out in the field working for the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters and Minnesota Environmental Partnership. Laura returned to her homestate of Oregon to be a national organizer for Focus the Nation and is excited to build for Focus 2009.
Minna Brown, Outreach Coordinator, received her B.A. in Sociology and Anthropology from Middlebury College nestled in the beautiful Green Mountains of Vermont where she was active in Middlebury's global warming-focused Sunday Night Group. Her passion for global warming activism has taken her from Middlebury, where she created the Flat Earth Award and wrote a senior thesis about global warming journalism, to Missoula, MT where she worked for globalwarmingsolution.org, organizing a national fast, and has brought her back to her hometown of Portland where she is excited to get rolling with Focus the Nation.
Jenny Bedell-Stiles, Organizer, received her B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of Oregon. During her senior year, she completed an honors thesis on effective policies to lower greenhouse gases in the electricity generation sector. A graduate of the environmental organizing program, Green Corps, she had the opportunity to work on global warming focused campaigns in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Florida, and Vermont. Since returning to her home town of Portland, OR, she's been working with the Cascade Climate Network to develop a group to help students run effective global warming campaigns in Washington and Oregon. 
Hyunsun Park, Computer Programming Consultant, holds a degree in computer engineering from Kyeong Hee Cyber University in Seoul, South Korea, with an emphasis on planning and management of software development. She has been working in the field for ten years. TOP
Board of Directors
Indigo Teiwes is Board Chair. As the Senior Sustainability Research Analyst for an investment company she has 8 years of experience managing the environmental sustainability research program for Portfolio 21, a global mutual fund. She has contributed to the development of investment guidelines and policies for the fund and is responsible for qualifying companies for inclusion. She is a graduate of the University of Oregon's Lundquist College of Business and the Environmental Studies Program. Indigo has worked with the Sierra Club, the University of Oregon's Sustainable Business Symposium, and the Oregon Natural Step Network. She is also Chair of the Natural Capital Center's Energy Working Group.
Edward Wolf is Board Vice Chair. A free-lance writer, Ted has been the director of communications at Ecotrust, and was a senior researcher at Worldwatch Institute (1982-87) where he developed a lasting and informed interest in global climate change issues. He has a bachelor's degree in biology and environmental studies from Williams College and a master's degree in natural ecosystem management from the University of Washington. 
Dr. William Barnes is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Portland?s Pamplin School of Business. He earned his Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Notre Dame. His areas of research interest include environmental economics and sustainability and comparative financial and labor institutions. At the University of Portland, he teaches principles of micro and macroeconomics, environmental economics, and comparative economics in the undergraduate programs. At the graduate level, Dr. Barnes teaches an economics review course and a course on corporate social responsibility and sustainability. He has presented his work at numerous national and international conferences, and his publications have appeared in journals, such as the Journal of Economic Issues, the Journal of Business and Economics Research, and the Case Journal.
Lisa Weasel is Associate Professor of Biology at Portland State University in Oregon. Her research focuses on the global ethics of biotechnology, with a current emphasis on sustainable agriculture and development. She is internationally recognized for her work in feminist science studies, and is coeditor of Feminist Science Studies: A New Generation (Routledge 2001). Her forthcoming book, Food Fray: The Global Politics of Genetically Modified Food, will be published by Amacom in 2008. Dr. Weasel received an A.B. in Biology from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in molecular biology from Cambridge University.
Dr. Terryl Ross is Director for Community and Diversity at Oregon State University. Before coming to OSU, Ross helped created diversity plans for the University of Washington and Green River Community College. Ross is the founder of MOSAIC, the Multicultural Organization of Students Actively Involved in Change at the University of Washington. As leader of MOSAIC for 10 years, Ross developed and led an annual diversity summit in Seattle, conducted a diversity audit for the UW, and brought together several different groups to advance diversity goals. Ross holds a Ph.D. in educational communication and technology from the University of Washington and a master's in public relations from Syracuse University. He earned his bachelor's degree in government from Eastern Washington University.
Gary Tomchuk is Chief Executive Officer at Ethical Marketplace, a new television series. Gary is a pioneer in the Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) market, bringing together 22 years of experience in marketing, business development, technology and management. He brings a vast network of strategic relationships developed while heading Awareness Marketing, the consulting firm he founded in 1995, specializing in the holistic health and natural products. Most recently Gary served as Director of CSRwire, a corporate social responsibility newswire service.
Vicky Hastings is Managing Director of Maxwell PR, a national communications firm based in Portland, Oregon. Drawing upon her 20 years' experience establishing successful public relations strategies for some of the most important brands in the Pacific Northwest, Vicky Hastings manages communications programs for many clients, including Bonneville Environmental Foundation, Castor & Pollux Pet Works, Travel Oregon, a biodiesel producer and a new solar power company. Vicky's background includes managing public relations programs for Alaska Airlines, Gold Toe, ENERGY STAR Homes, Intel, Microsoft, Nike ACG, Sheraton Hotels, Tree Top and Tillamook Cheese. Her career includes five years of managing the PR practice of Cole & Weber / Red Cell and nine years as founder and managing principal of the Hastings, Humble, Giardini public relations firm.Jonas Kron is an attorney at law specializing in corporate shareholder advocacy and institutional investor fiduciary duties as they apply to environmental, social and corporate governance issues. From his practice in Portland, Oregon he advises socially responsible shareholder campaigns and represents them before the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Kron is a graduate of Vermont Law School's environmental law program where in addition to a Juris Doctor, he received a Masters in the Study of Environmental Law.
Focus the Nation gratefully acknowledges the generous financial support of The Lewis Foundation, The Kendall Foundation, The Lazar Foundation, The Wallace Global Foundation, The Surdna Foundation, The Ben & Jerry's Foundation, The Templeton Foundation, The Living Springs Foundation, The Mental Insight Foundation, The Rockefeller Family Fund, and the Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust, as well as many private donors.