Cory Booker

United States Senator, New Jersey

Cory Booker is the junior United States Senator from New Jersey. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker served as the 38th Mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013, before being elected to the U.S. Senate in a 2013 special election. After receiving his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Stanford University, studying at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, and attending Yale Law School, Senator Booker moved back to his home state of New Jersey to start a legal service non-profit for low-income families. He was elected to the Newark City Council at age 29 and then Mayor of the city where he still lives proudly to this day — fighting for justice, educational opportunity, inclusive economic growth, security, healthcare, affordable housing, green spaces and public safety, as a tireless advocate for those who have been left out, left behind, or left without a voice.

In the U.S. Senate, Senator Booker serves on the Judiciary, Foreign Relations, Environment and Public Works, and Small Business Committees, addressing pressing challenges such as lack of access to affordable health care and economic opportunity, environmental injustice, food insecurity, and a broken criminal justice system. He has introduced many bills aimed at tackling the climate crisis, developing federal policies to lift up low-income communities, indigenous communities, and communities of color, which disproportionately bear the burden of environmental pollution and exploitation, and ensure access to clean water and clean air for all. He is an original cosponsor of the Green New Deal and has introduced other critical legislation focused on improved air quality in schools, sustainable agriculture, endangered species, animal welfare, wetland restoration, renewable energy, farmers and more.

LISA BRONNER

Author, Going Green with a Bronner Mom

Lisa is the author of the blog, “Going Green with a Bronner Mom” and granddaughter of Dr. Emanuel Bronner, founder of Dr. Bronner’s, maker of the top-selling natural brand of soap in North America. A mother of three young children, Lisa has helped many make the transition to a healthier home and lifestyle. She educates consumers, the most powerful force for change in the market today, to be equipped with the knowledge to vote wisely with their dollars. In 2012, Lisa was a spokesperson for Proposition 37 to label Genetically Engineered Foods in California. Lisa’s writing has appeared on the Rodale Publishing blog and Prevention Magazine online, and she just finished up a speaking tour in Australia, focusing on the importance of Organic Integrity and Fair Trade business practices. Currently, Lisa is a spokesperson for Dr. Bronner’s and loves to share about their product excellence, progressive business practices, and revolutionary activism. Prior to her work with Dr. Bronner’s, Lisa was a high school English and journalism teacher for the gifted in Raleigh, NC. She enjoys cooking, crocheting, and quilting and volunteers with organizations that support moms in San Diego.

Nicole Cardoza

Social Entrepreneur and Wellness Leader,

Al Courchesne

Co-Owner, Frog Hollow Farm

You can always spot the co-owner of Frog Hollow Farm, Al Courchesne, by his iconic blue overalls and wide smile. Located on 280 acres in Contra Costa County, Frog Hollow Farms harvests award-winning fruit year-round. Farmer Al takes pride in his stewardship of the land through organic practices and a robust on-site composting operation that produces 4,000 tons annually. As an enigmatic leader, Al fosters a strong community among his year-round employees, housing fifteen families onsite. To ensure a 90% usage of all fruit, co-owner and wife Rebecca Courchesne leads the on-site kitchen that produces a variety of delicious prepared pastries, jams and dried fruit. With each fruit picked by hand at the exact time of ripeness, Farmer Al is adamant about ensuring the best quality to his customers.  

ANNA CUMMINS

Interim Director and Co-Founder, 5 Gyres

With more than 20 years experience in environmental non-profit work – including marine conservation, coastal watershed management, community relations, and bilingual and sustainability education – Anna Cummins is an expert in the field. Her “Synthetic Sea, Synthetic Me” TedX talk has been viewed and shared by thousands. Anna received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and a MA in Environmental Policy from the Middlebury Institute for International Studies.

MACKENZIE FELDMAN

Founder, Herbicide-Free Campus

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

SUSAN GRIFFIN-BLACK

Co-Founder & Co-CEO, EO Products

Susan Griffin-Black is the co-founder and co-CEO of EO Products, the California-based parent company of two leading personal care brands: EO® and Everyone for Every Body®. For nearly 25 years Susan has been a pioneer of the personal care industry, and has built a successful, exemplary company rooted in responsible business practices. Susan is an expert on safe, healthy personal care products and essential oils. She is involved with numerous advisory boards including Turning Green and Bay Cycle Project.

JESSICA HANDY

Education Program, Kiss the Ground

Jessica is a Mother and a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) who’s interest in health began at a young age when she witnessed the ill effects poor eating habits had on those she loved most. She has spent much of her career in public health, helping to increase access to healthy foods in underserved communities and empowering families to take an active role in their health. After starting a home garden she began to learn first hand the profound connection that nutrition has to agriculture; an experience that completely transformed her mission as a nutrition educator. She now is an advocate for soil health because simply put healthy soil grows health food, and healthy food makes for healthy people.

LAUREL HANSCOM

CEO, Global Footprint Network

Laurel is the CEO of Global Footprint Network, leading overall operations and strategy. She is interested in applying meaningful metrics to promote positive change in the world. She is constantly searching for ways to increase the impact and relevance of Ecological Footprint research. Since joining Global Footprint Network, Laurel has worn various hats, but she has a particular passion for Global Footprint Network’s open data platform and sustainable development projects. Laurel also contributes to the production and improvement of the National Footprint Accounts. Before joining Global Footprint Network’s research team, Laurel worked in the Office of Strategic Information, Research & Planning, at Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, DC, and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador. Her two years in the Ecuadorian Amazon were preceded by a brief career as an environmental analyst at AECOM, specializing in socioeconomic and environmental justice impacts. She holds a BA and MA in geography from San Diego State University, where her research focused on climate change vulnerability and agriculture. Laurel likes soccer, roof-top social gatherings, efficient meetings, and diving in head first.

Sophia Li

Journalist, Film Director and Climate Optimist,

SOPHIA LI is a Chinese American multimedia journalist, film director and climate optimist.

Her mission is to humanize a story, product or character through immersive storytelling and conscious content focusing on issues such as the climate crisis, spirituality and global tech trends.

Sophia puts climate positive solutions at the center of her work with projects like a short documentary on the biggest landfill in the US in partnership with the United Nations and environmental nonprofit Slow Factory, interviewing climate scientist Carlos Nobre: Nobel Peace Prize recipient on the Amazon rainforest to combat deforestation and teaching a course on deconstructing greenwashing myths in the fashion industry.

Sophia has interviewed notables spanning across fashion, tech, and culture from names like Arianna Huffington to Pharrell Williams, Celine Dion to climate scientists.

She is the former Entertainment Media Editor at Vogue.com where she worked on creating and launching VOGUE’s social and digital voice.

Amanda Parker

Managing Director, Cowgirl Creamer

Amanda Parker is the Managing Director of Cowgirl Creamery, located in Point Reyes, CA. Amanda comes from a business background, and began her journey working in cheese 12 years ago working in the retail side of cheese in New York City. A young and passionate leader, Amanda is dedicated to continuing the practices of the founders of Cowgirl Creamery, Peggy Smith and Sue Conley. She stands by the idea of dairy being used as a force for good, and is committed to maintaining the role that Cowgirl Creamery plays as a community hub and supporter of a local, regenerative, organic food systems. 

MARINA QUTAB

Lifestyle Blogger , Eco Goddess

Kirat Randhawa

Meditation Instructor and Founder, A Kind Rupture

DEBBIE RAPHAEL

Director, San Francisco Department of
the Environment

In May of 2014, Mayor Ed Lee appointed Debbie as the Director of the San Francisco Department of the Environment, a city agency that creates visionary policies and programs to ensure a sustainable future for San Francisco. Raphael returns to San Francisco after three years leading the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, where she worked to bal-ance stakeholder interests in protecting the public and environment from toxic harm.

Raphael believes that cities like San Francisco are incubators for bold action that results in meaningful change. Her approach to environmental decision-making focuses on using the best available science and robust stakeholder interaction to ensure that all voices are honored. This perspective has allowed her to succeed in addressing some of the most challenging environ-mental problems, including the rollout of California’s landmark Green Chemistry Initiative.

In 20 years of public service at city, county, and state levels, Raphael has crafted and imple-mented groundbreaking policies around toxics reduction, green building, business engagement, integrated pest management, and environmentally preferable purchasing. She graduated with honors in biology from the University of California, Berkeley, was a Smithsonian and National Science Foundation fellow, and has a Master’s degree in Physiological Plant Ecology from UCLA.

Alysia Reiner

Actress & Activist,

Award winning actress Alysia Reiner is best known as “Fig” in all 7 seasons of  Netflix’s ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, for which she won a SAG award. You may also know her as Kiki on HBO’s THE DEUCE or Sunny on FX’s BETTER THINGS – all 4 seasons on Hulu now, and season 5 coming soon! She also starred in and produced two award winning films: EGG (100% fresh on rotten tomatoes!) and EQUITY, both available on iTunes and Amazon now.

Alysia loves working as a change maker for women, just received the Acclaimed Collaborator Award from Women in Arts and Media, is an ambassador for the Geena Davis Institute for Gender Equality, on the global leadership board of TIMES UP, recently received a MUSE “MADE IN NY” AWARD from The Mayor’s office and New York Women in Film and Television. and is passionately committed to protecting the environment  – see  livariclothing.com, her zero waste womenswear label!

As a huge environmental activist, she has spread the green word as a mother,  featured as a parenting expert on KIDS IN THE HOUSE, and well as featured on Hallmark Home and Family TV, Celebrity Baby Scoop, Stroller Traffic, People.com, Healthy Child Healthy World, Family Focus Blog, Today I ate a Rainbow, MINI Magazine, Your Green Baby, and others. She was a celebrity green momma spokesperson for Healthy Child Healthy World, as well as Best For Babes, an organization that works to change how we view and support breast feeding, and gives moms the solutions they need to make it work. As a champion of all things eco-friendly, and she and her husband use their own home as a way to share information about building green. Their brownstone eco-renovation in Harlem was featured on television’s “World’s Greenest Homes” and “Renovation Nation;” in various magazines like Dwell, Gotham, Origin and The Nest; and they allowed the environmentally-friendly construction process to be chronicled on websites such as Dwell.com and Kohler.com. To learn more, follow @alysiareiner on Instagram & Twitter, and check out www.alysiareiner.com.

ERIN SCHRODE

Co-Founder, Turning Green

Erin is a citizen activist, social entrepreneur and writer. Since co-founding Turning Green in 2005, she has developed eco education and action platforms to inspire, educate, and mobilize millions of students and the global public with this non-profit and beyond. This leading voice on millennials, sustainability and social impact and vocal advocate for environmental action, public health and equal justice recently ran an unprecedented campaign for US Congress in California’s District 2 – working to redefine civic engagement, reinvigorate public service, and expand the definition of politician for a generation and a nation.

JUDI SHILS

Founder & Executive Director, Turning Green

Judi is a passionate grassroots activist and community leader. She has spent the last 14 years of her life spearheading innovative, impactful projects with diverse stakeholders on local, national, and global levels. The dearth of answers around Marin County’s high cancer rates led Shils to found the non-profit Search for the Cause, giving birth to Turning Green, a powerful student-led movement around education and advocacy that inspires and mobilizes students to transition from conventional to conscious. She is the force behind The Conscious Kitchen (TCK), a program in public elementary schools to serve fresh, local, organic, seasonal, non-GMO (FLOSN), scratch-cooked breakfast and lunch to students. TCK launched in 2013 on a campus where 95% of children are on free-and-reduced meals. Since expanding in scale and reach this past year, TCK formed the first organic, non-GMO school district in the country. Moving to the Bay Area in 1989 and becoming a mother to daughter Erin changed the course of Judi’s life. Prior to this, she was an Emmy Award-winning television producer for 25 years with ABC Sports, FOX and Oxygen, founded The Diary Project forum for youth at the onset of the internet. Judi also consults for the California Coastal Commission around public education and is a fierce advocate for positive change in the face of injustice across the globe.