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Jon earned his BS in Chemistry from the University of St. Thomas and a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of California – San Diego. After graduate school, Jon joined Steelcase Inc. as their environmental chemist and eventually moved into a role as a leader in sustainable design and development. He joined Andersen Windows & Doors where he served as corporate sustainability manager and was responsible for product lifecycle assessments, material ingredient transparency, and preparing Andersen for a future in the circular economy. Jon is now the VP of Circularity and Senior Analyst at GreenBiz Group, a media and events company that works to accelerate the just transition to a clean economy.

Dylan has spent nearly two decades building better environmental and social impacts in the nonprofit and public sectors and the Fortune 500. Prior to GreenBiz, she was a lead strategist on the social innovation team at Verizon, where she introduced climate justice as a core element of the company’s climate approach and worked to address the rural digital divide. Formerly, at power company NRG, she developed climate and water strategy, and helped conceive and launch a consultancy to help commercial customers navigate climate action, resilience, clean energy, and energy efficiency. 

She now applies her experience in the field to lead and build upon GreenBiz’s offerings for sustainability professionals, working to support, drive, and lift up sustainability practice in business. A former music journalist, she lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Joel Makower is a well-respected voice on business, the environment, and the bottom line. As a writer and strategist on corporate sustainability practices and clean technology, he has helped a wide range of companies align environmental goals with business strategy. Joel is a bestselling author or co-author of several books on business and sustainability, including his latest, The New Grand Strategy: Restoring America's Prosperity, Security, and Sustainability in the 21st Century (St. Martin's Press).

He is a frequent commentator in print, broadcast and online media, and a sought-after speaker to companies and business groups around the world. In 2012, Joel was awarded the Hutchens Medal by the American Society for Quality, which cited “his ability to tell compelling stories that both inform and inspire business leaders toward profitable action.” From 1991 to 2005, Joel was editor of The Green Business Letter, an award-winning monthly newsletter on corporate environmental strategy. He is a graduate in journalism from the University of California at Berkeley and is an advisor to both for-profit and non-profit organizations. The Associated Press has called Joel "the guru of green business practices."

As an entrepreneur, Six Sigma blackbelt, and technologist, Tynesia helps businesses achieve their true potential through social impact. She has been religiously leading and writing about enterprises that “do well and do good” for over a decade.As President and CEO of CapEQ™, which she founded in 2011, she demonstrated how business and community goals can align towards mutual outcomes, helping Fortune 500 clients like the Carlyle Group, Marriott, and others change the way the world does business. In her previous role as Chief Impact Officer of Living Cities, Tynesia was responsible for ensuring $100M of investment produced outcomes that improved the lives of people across the country. Tynesia has published articles featured in the Washington Post, Forbes and more, and her most recent book is The Social Impact Advantage: Win Customers and Talent By Harnessing Your Business For Good. In her first book, Just Change: How to Collaborate for Lasting Impact, Tynesia shares her experience investing in cities and leaders across the country. Tynesia leveraged effective cross-sector partnerships to help establish the Social Innovation Fund and the Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act. As founding Executive Director of Year Up National Capital Region (NCR) she raised $20M, was recognized by President Obama, and supported the organization to ensure thousands of low-income young adults are hired in careers with family-sustaining wages.Tynesia has been a featured speaker at events ranging from South by Southwest to the White House Council for Community Solutions. Her work was highlighted in the New York Times bestseller A Year Up.Tynesia received her MBA from Harvard Business School and has a dual degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Duke University. She and her college sweetheart, Keith, are committed to indoctrinating their children, Dylan and Sydney, with a love of Duke basketball and all things geeky and sci-fi.

Alison Whritenour has spent nearly a decade at Seventh Generation, contributing to transforming the world into a healthy, sustainable and equitable world for future generations. Using business as a force for good drives Alison in all she has done with Seventh Generation across various roles in everything from brand activation to product innovation. Most recently, Alison was the head of channel and customer development at Seventh Generation, where in 2020, she delivered more than 40% growth, while navigating COVID-19’s business and consumer impact. Prior to her work with Seventh Generation, Alison worked in brand management at Colgate-Palmolive. Alison holds an MBA from Fordham University and a BA from Loyola University. She lives in Vermont with her husband and three children.

As Managing Director, CDP North America, Lori guides the global organization’s efforts to achieve its mission within the United States and Canada. Overseeing a team of nearly 100 personnel in North America, she manages all senior staff and leads the regional team’s operational and strategic direction.

She previously led CDP’s finance and administration team in North America, aligning central core functions with CDP’s mission. Lori brings over 20 years of experience in growing and managing organizations, and is passionate about cultivating strong workplace cultures and creating structures that allow non-profit professionals to bring their whole selves to their work. Prior to CDP, Lori was controller and director of human resources at Real Estate Arts, Inc., a New York branding and design agency, and the director of accounting and human services at Sol Savransky Diamonds in New York. Lori is a native New Yorker and holds a B.S. in Finance from Fordham University and a M.S. Business Administration, with a concentration in Global Business from City University of New York, Koppelman School of Business, Brooklyn College.

Kathryn served for many years as Director of Phoenix Water Services as well as Director of the City of Mesa Water Resources Department. In these roles she was responsible for the delivery of safe, clean, reliable water for millions of Arizonans, and significantly advanced the sustainable management of water resources in Arizona and the Colorado River basin. Kathryn earned a PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics from Texas A&M University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Michigan. In her position at Arizona State University, she oversees the research efforts of the Kyl Center for Water Policy, serves as a Professor of Practice at the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, and as a Senior Global Futures Scientist at the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory. Kathryn is a member of the Colorado River Research Group.

Kirk Siegler is a national correspondent for NPR News. As a roving reporter, he covers the western U.S. with an emphasis on rural issues, water and the effects of climate change on smaller communities and former natural resource dependent towns. Recent assignments have taken him to the U.S. states of Nevadaand Arizona where indigenous groups are protesting mines proposed onancestral lands that are also seen as key to the Biden administration’s goals oftransforming the U.S. transportation grid to electricity. After the deadliest and most destructivewildfire in California history, Siegler spent months chronicling the diaspora of residents fromParadise, exploring the continuing questions over how – or whether – the town should rebuild inan era of worsening climate-driven wildfires.Siegler is also frequently deployed to national and international breaking news events, fromhurricanes in Louisiana to mass shootings in Florida to a devastating earthquake in Nepal. Siegler grew up in Missoula, Montana and apart from a brief stint as a waiter in Sydney, Australia, has spent most of his adult life living and working in the American West, including reporting stints in Aspen, Denver, Los Angeles and Boise.

Bryan Lewis leads the Emerging Leaders program at GreenBiz.org, which elevates, cultivates and supports the next generation of Black, Indigenous and other leaders of color (BIPOC) in the climate community. His work connects underrepresented young professionals to global leaders in the sustainability industry and builds lasting connections that bridge the gap towards a diverse and well-resourced green workforce.
Prior to joining GreenBiz, Bryan served as Executive Director of EcoWorks Detroit where he led climate and energy education, building decarbonization, and local community organizing initiatives. He has a background in youth mentorship and career development and currently leads a network of emerging clean energy leaders in Michigan. Bryan received a Masters in Energy Science, Technology, and Policy from Carnegie Mellon University.

Sally oversees Forum for the Future’s mission to accelerate transformation to a just and regenerative future. This involves working with global businesses such as HSBC and Walgreens Boots Alliance, as well as a wide range of other non-profit, membership and philanthropic organisations. This work takes the form of both one to one partnerships and multi-stakeholder collaborations, all designed to address complex challenges in systems as diverse as from food to apparel. Sally has recently contributed to Forum’s 'Business Transformation Compass' - a guide to just and regenerative business, as well as co-authored ‘Driving Co-Benefits for Climate and Health’, private sector guidance for developing integrated climate and health strategies. Sally is a regular speaker at international conferences and has had articles published in a wide variety of media outlets. She is an independent advisor on Advisory Boards for several global businesses including Kimberly Clark and Burberry and also Co-Chair of the Independent Advisory Group for Travalyst, the global travel and tourism collaboration led by the Duke of Sussex.

Chief Executive of BirdLife International committed to protect the planet and all it harbors because it is the right thing to do. Convinced that only by empowering local action and working with local people we'll have global impact; and that only working together we can turn things around for the better and demonstrate we are part of a global community that cherishes diversity of life, respects differences and is able to put our selfishness aside for the common good. Proud mother of wonderful twin girls who challenge me constantly and push me to be better.

Jon earned his BS in Chemistry from the University of St. Thomas and a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of California – San Diego. After graduate school, Jon joined Steelcase Inc. as their environmental chemist and eventually moved into a role as a leader in sustainable design and development. He joined Andersen Windows & Doors where he served as corporate sustainability manager and was responsible for product lifecycle assessments, material ingredient transparency, and preparing Andersen for a future in the circular economy. Jon is now the VP of Circularity and Senior Analyst at GreenBiz Group, a media and events company that works to accelerate the just transition to a clean economy.

Jon earned his BS in Chemistry from the University of St. Thomas and a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of California – San Diego. After graduate school, Jon joined Steelcase Inc. as their environmental chemist and eventually moved into a role as a leader in sustainable design and development. He joined Andersen Windows & Doors where he served as corporate sustainability manager and was responsible for product lifecycle assessments, material ingredient transparency, and preparing Andersen for a future in the circular economy. Jon is now the VP of Circularity and Senior Analyst at GreenBiz Group, a media and events company that works to accelerate the just transition to a clean economy.

Eric Faurot leads GreenBiz Group, the leading B2B media company amplifying sustainable innovation. In this role he is responsible for the overall strategy and growth of the company. Previously he managed and produced some of the most influential technology events, including COMDEX, INTEROP, Black Hat and Web 2.0. Most recently he grew the technology division of UBM from $38 million to $63 million in three years.

Dylan has spent nearly two decades building better environmental and social impacts in the nonprofit and public sectors and the Fortune 500. Prior to GreenBiz, she was a lead strategist on the social innovation team at Verizon, where she introduced climate justice as a core element of the company’s climate approach and worked to address the rural digital divide. Formerly, at power company NRG, she developed climate and water strategy, and helped conceive and launch a consultancy to help commercial customers navigate climate action, resilience, clean energy, and energy efficiency. 

She now applies her experience in the field to lead and build upon GreenBiz’s offerings for sustainability professionals, working to support, drive, and lift up sustainability practice in business. A former music journalist, she lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Kentaro Kawamori is CEO and Co-Founder of Persefoni, a ClimateTech SaaS company that works with companies and financial institutions to account for, disclose, and manage their climate impacts. The company has raised $120m since its founding in 2020. Prior to founding Persefoni Kentaro was the youngest Chief Digital Officer ever at a Fortune 500 energy company and spent his career in the enterprise software space and spent time as an early-stage software investor at Rice Investment Group. Kentaro is also a Co-Founder & Board Director at Umbrage and an Advisor at Rehab.com. Kentaro has received recognition and awards for his work by various major institutions including the Forbes 30 Under 30 and SXSW Startup Competition.

Crystal Barnes is Senior Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG at Paramount. In this role, Barnes is responsible for Paramount’s social responsibility program including employee engagement, global giving and cross-portfolio campaigns and partnerships, as well as the expansion of the company’s Content for Change initiative. Her work spans the areas of philanthropy, volunteering, cause marketing, disaster relief and pro bono investments.  Barnes also leads Paramount’s ESG efforts inclusive of strategy, external reporting and assessments and is responsible for driving culture initiatives across the organization.  

Prior to joining Paramount, Barnes served as Senior Vice President of Global Responsibility and Sustainability at Nielsen, and Executive Director of the Nielsen Foundation. She held positions leading the Industry Relations team, focusing on developing strategic alliances with industry, trade and business associations, and worked on the communications and public affairs team where she initiated and managed Nielsen’s partnerships with civic, social service and business organizations.  With diversity, equity and inclusion as pillars in her career, Barnes also worked closely with Nielsen’s African American Advisory Council to drive diversity efforts across the company. 

A native of Pennsylvania, Barnes received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Broadcast Telecommunications and Mass Media from Temple University. She serves on the board of Citizen Schools and Get Schooled and resides in New Jersey with her husband and 3 children.

Heather Clancy, vice president and editorial director at GreenBiz, specializes in chronicling the role of technology in enabling corporate climate action and transitioning to a clean, inclusive and regenerative economy. An award-winning journalist, she started her journalism career on the business desk of United Press International, and her articles have appeared in Entrepreneur, Fortune, The International Herald Tribune and The New York Times.

Clancy was the launch editor for the Fortune Data Sheet, the magazine's newsletter dedicated to the business of technology. She co-authored the Amazon best-seller for entrepreneurs, "Niche Down, How to Become Legendary By Being Different." She is proud to serve on the boards of the WSLA Alumnae Group, a mentorship organization dedicated to nurturing feminine leadership in the corporate sustainability movement, and EcoAthletes, a collective of collegiate, professional and amateur athletes dedicate to using their voices to surface solutions to climate change.

Michael Kobori has spent his career working to build a more just and sustainable world. As Chief Sustainability Officer at Starbucks Coffee Company, he is responsible for leading Starbucks to become resource positive and activating sustainability with the company’s 350,000 partners and millions of customers worldwide. He also serves as an independent Director of Bunge Ltd., one of the world’s largest agricultural companies, which connects farmers to consumers to deliver more sustainable food, feed, and fuel to the world.

Previously, Michael served as Vice-President at Levi Strauss & Co. where he helped build the company into a sustainability leader in the apparel sector. Michael is deeply committed to industry collaboration on sustainability, having served on a number of boards and advisory commissions, including the U.S. Cotton Board, Better Cotton Initiative, Sustainable Apparel Coalition, ILO Better Work Programme, and Levi Strauss Foundation Board. During his long career in sustainability, Michael also served as Vice-President at BSR and spent nearly a decade at The Asia Foundation, where he supported human rights and economic development in Bangladesh, Thailand, and Vietnam. Michael has taught corporate sustainability at the Haas Business School, University of California at Berkeley. He is the Executive Producer of Utopia Theatre Project, an artist-led social justice theater company.

Michael received his Masters’ Degree in Public Policy from the University of California at Berkeley, where he also received his undergraduate education in Asian Studies and Psychology. He spent a year at International Christian University in Tokyo and studied sustainable finance at Oxford University.

My life’s work is centered on sustainability. Throughout my 30-year career, I have developed, commercialized, and scaled new technology and business models across the globe. As an experienced divisional CEO and P&L owner on a worldwide scale, I have hands-on experience in delivering exponential growth, shareholder value, and positive ESG outcomes with my teams. As an experienced publicly listed company Board member, I also have practical experience with ESG governance, risk, corporate strategy and capital markets. As Corporate Vice President of Sustainability at Microsoft, my team and I accelerate progress toward a more sustainable future by creating, executing, and implementing scaled IT-based solutions that help organizations around the world practically solve their sustainability and business objectives, while advocating for policies that support progress towards a just and inclusive NetZero economy.

Renée Lertzman PhD is a psychological strategist and advisor based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She works with leaders and organizations who seek to scale impactful engagement across stakeholders, consumers and employees on ESG, climate and ecology. Her speciality is helping high impact teams and leaders evolve from cheerleaders and educators into ‘guides” drawing on decades of experience, sustainability and psychological training. Clients include Google, VMware, IKEA, PBS, Vattenfall, Unity, and numerous start-ups and philanthropic organizations. She has a MA from University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and a PhD in Social Sciences from Cardiff University. She is a frequent guest speaker and lecturer at institutions around the world, and has been featured at Stanford University, Yale University, Columbia University, Oxford University, Climate-KIC, TED, and numerous industry and public events. She is currently working on a trade publication about applying the psychology of climate and ecological threats to our business and personal practices.

Chante Harris is a champion of social and financial innovation. Throughout her career. she has successfully scaled nationwide campaigns, technologies, and ideas for the Obama Administration, Fortune 500 companies, and startups. Her writing and work have been featured by ImpactAlpha, Business Insider, The Milken Institute, and other notable publications.

As an operator, she has secured and effectively deployed millions of dollars for the implementation of climate projects and energy-efficient technologies. In 2020 she built a $10 million early stage climate tech venture studio in the U.S. focused on global companies deploying technologies across mobility, buildings, agriculture, waste, water, materials, and carbon. Chante recently completed a residency with Schmidt Futures and is now developing new financial and deployment models with a broader group of catalytic funders to address the funding gap for hard tech and material science climate technologies at the critical early infrastructure project stage.

Named by Forbes as a 30 Under 30 in the Energy Category, Nasdaq as a Woman to Watch in 2022, ACEEE as a Champion for Energy Efficiency, GreenBiz as 30 Under 30 Leader, America on Tech as an Innovator and Disruptor, and Women Enews as a Pioneering Woman in Sustainability, Chante is at the helm of driving climate innovation and advancing the energy transition across the globe. Chante has traveled the world to speak at global events like COP, GreenBiz, and TechStars.

In addition to her work leading in climate tech and investment, Chante launched and built the only global digital collective and community that is 100% dedicated to advancing women of color working across the sustainability industry. Since its launch in the summer of 2019, the community has brought together over 5,000 women of color through virtual and in-person events, social media channels, a digital community, and online publication. 

Chante is on the advisory committee for the first-ever global Climate Center being built on Governor's Island in NYC and sits on the Board of Summit Impact. She is a lover of nature and music, an avid meditator, and a poet.

Nuha is on a mission to build a new standard for sustainable materials that puts our earth first. Nuha founded erthos while still completing her Business & Environmental Economics degree at the University of Toronto (Rotman). When her peers headed off to full-time jobs after graduation, she decided to go full-speed with erthos, scaling the company to a team of 20, raising over $7M and launching global manufacturing pilots to tackle the issue worldwide.As an entrepreneur in an emerging technology space, Nuha plays an active role in supporting the development of the diverse innovation ecosystem in Canada and Globally. From serving as a board member to National sustainability organizations and accelerators like Canada Plastics Pact and Enactus Canada, to mentoring young entrepreneurs and women in STEM, she is dedicated towards supporting next generation leaders who are collectively working together to create a positive impact on this planet.Nuha’s work in building erthos has been recognized globally, and the rapid expansion of erthos as one of Canada’s fastest growing cleantech companies. She was recently awarded by Bay Street Bull 30x30 and is on this years Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

Dylan has spent nearly two decades building better environmental and social impacts in the nonprofit and public sectors and the Fortune 500. Prior to GreenBiz, she was a lead strategist on the social innovation team at Verizon, where she introduced climate justice as a core element of the company’s climate approach and worked to address the rural digital divide. Formerly, at power company NRG, she developed climate and water strategy, and helped conceive and launch a consultancy to help commercial customers navigate climate action, resilience, clean energy, and energy efficiency. 

She now applies her experience in the field to lead and build upon GreenBiz’s offerings for sustainability professionals, working to support, drive, and lift up sustainability practice in business. A former music journalist, she lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Jon earned his BS in Chemistry from the University of St. Thomas and a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of California – San Diego. After graduate school, Jon joined Steelcase Inc. as their environmental chemist and eventually moved into a role as a leader in sustainable design and development. He joined Andersen Windows & Doors where he served as corporate sustainability manager and was responsible for product lifecycle assessments, material ingredient transparency, and preparing Andersen for a future in the circular economy. Jon is now the VP of Circularity and Senior Analyst at GreenBiz Group, a media and events company that works to accelerate the just transition to a clean economy.