GreenBiz Team
Joel Makower, Chairman and Executive Editor
Joel is an award-winning writer and strategist on corporate sustainability practices and clean technology who, over 25 years, has helped a wide range of companies align sustainability goals with business strategy. He is the bestselling author or co-author of more than a dozen books, including The New Grand Strategy: Restoring America's Prosperity, Security and Sustainability in the 21st Century, and a sought-after speaker to companies and business groups around the world.
Elsa Wenzel, Managing Editor
Elsa has covered business, technology and sustainability for PCWorld, CNET, the Associated Press and MotherJones.com. She holds an MS from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern and a BA from the University of Iowa.
Heather Clancy, Editorial Director
Heather Clancy is an award-winning journalist specializing in coverage of transformative technology and sustainable business practices. Heather's articles have appeared in Entrepreneur, The International Herald Tribune and The New York Times. She is a senior writer for GreenBiz, and author of FORTUNE Data Sheet, a daily dose of enterprise tech news.
Anya Khalamayzer, Associate Editor
Anya has covered risk management, business, finance and technology news for more than seven years. She also brings a wide net of freelance projects to the table, including writing for FlavorWire, Huffington Post and Gotham Gazette. She holds a BA in business journalism from CUNY Baruch College.
Becky Dempsey, Marketing Director
Becky leads marketing programs for GreenBiz, including direct marketing, collateral, and PR. Becky's strong environmental background includes extensive marketing experience from her previous work with multiple environmental non-profit organizations and a BA in Environmental Studies from University of California Santa Barbara.
Lauren Hepler, Senior Reporter
Lauren Hepler is a reporter and editor focused on cities, transportation and climate. Her work has been published by Slate, the Silicon Valley Business Journal, Congressional Quarterly and the campaign finance watchdog OpenSecrets.org. She holds a bachelor's degree from George Washington University and is currently enrolled in UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.
Greg Kerwin, Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer
Prior to coming to GreenBiz Group, Kerwin served as Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer at Code for America. Prior to that he worked at UBM, where he developed leading global events and digital media products, including running a $100 million global event portfolio and collaborating with O’Reilly Media on the successful Web 2.0 and Gov 2.0 events. He has managed the launch and acquisition of numerous tech media products, and has extensive global experience in more than 15 countries, including India, China, Brazil, Japan, Indonesia, Turkey, Russia and throughout Western Europe.
John Davies, VP & Senior Analyst
John leads GreenBiz's research as well as the GreenBiz Executive Network, a member-based, peer-to-peer learning forum for sustainability professionals from $1B+ corporations. He is a veteran entrepreneur and innovator who has launched start-ups as well as improved business operations. John is a frequent speaker on supply-chain and sustainability topics and has written extensively for business, industry, and educational publications.
Paul Carp, Director of Research & Sr. Analyst
Paul leads GreenBiz research activities focused on sustainability and clean technology thought leadership initiatives. With 15+ years of experience in clean energy and sustainability across the federal government, large corporations and venture-backed startups, Paul has held roles in policymaking, community relations, business operations, sales and marketing.
Shana Rappaport, Director of Strategic Programs
Shana directs numerous efforts for VERGE in addition to supporting overall strategy and program design. She leads GreenBiz’s work with the public sector and around cities, runs VERGE Accelerate for disruptive startups, and spearheads the interactive technology showcase components of VERGE Interconnect. She brings over a decade of experience and lifetime of passion for advancing sustainability solutions to the GreenBiz team.
Daniel Kelley, Creative Director
Daniel has more than 15 years' experience in art direction and graphic design for web, video, print, and apparel. His expertise includes motion graphics, video direction, graphic design, conceptualization, brand development, and making dry topics more exciting.
Isa Anne Stamos, Director of Systems & Technology
Isa is a project and development manager who works with all the teams at GreenBiz to ensure the website and workflows are as impactful and efficient as possible. She is a 20 year veteran of the video game industry where she honed her project management and development skills to develop AAA console and mobile games.
Eric Faurot, CEO
Eric leads GreenBiz Group and 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.
Elaine Hsieh, VERGE Program Director & Senior Analyst
Elaine heads programming for VERGE. With 20 years of experience helping businesses on sustainability, green building, energy and technology issues, she serves as a catalyst helping people understand and respect the interconnectedness of our world. Elaine has been featured in Mashable, Reuters, The Guardian, and other publications for her social media influence within the green building, green business, and sustainability communities.
Ellie Buechner, Conference Director
Ellie manages logistics and programming of GreenBiz events. She is dedicated to bringing together professionals to share trends, technologies and leadership practices to create business value. Her background includes teaching environmental education in Malawi and Nicaragua, tagging sea turtles in the Bahamas, and using social media to promote sustainability locally and globally. She holds a BA in International Studies from Middlebury College.
Liza Boulet, Community Manager
Liza leads efforts to engage the ever-growing GreenBiz community through its digital and event platforms. She is passionate about driving sustainable and inclusive change in the business world. Previously, Liza played an integral role in organizing the largest event for next-gen responsible business leaders and managed environmental projects at her university. She holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from the University of Pittsburgh.
Sydney Massing-Schaffer, Senior Conference Coordinator
Sydney manages operations and develops content for GreenBiz events. Her background is in managing large fundraising events for non-profits. Previously, Sydney curated a wide range of performing arts and sporting events at her university. She also worked on the production side, specializing as an audio technician and stage manager. Sydney holds a BA from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Lina Bigaran, Administrative Manager
Pete May, President & Co-Founder
Pete co-founded GreenBiz Group in 2006 with Joel Makower. Prior to that he had over 20 years experience in B2B and technology media as an executive with companies such as Primedia, CMP and Miller Freeman. Pete was honored with the 2010 Folio 40 Award – C Level Visionaries Award. This award recognizes media industry influencers and innovators.
Alan Robinson, VP Business Development
Alan has spent more than two decades in B2B media. Prior to joining GreenBiz in 2008, he served as group publisher for EDN Worldwide with Reed Business Information. Previously, he was director of online advertising for PartMiner, Inc., and served in various international media director roles with CMP/United Business Media and Miller Freeman.
Lauren Phipps, Business Development Manager
Shaandiin Cedar, Sales and Marketing Associate
Before joining GreenBiz Group, Shaandiin worked for the International Center for Appropriate and Sustainable Technology, a nonprofit in Denver CO, coordinating marketing efforts and integrating residential energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions. At GreenBiz Group, Shaandiin enjoys supporting the sales and marketing teams, helping to foster and accelerate corporate sustainability, innovative green technology and the transformation to a greener and more profitable economy. Shaandiin holds a BSBA in Marketing from the University of Denver.
Sarah Musiker, Customer Success Manager
Sarah works with GreenBiz's sales, marketing, and events teams to ensure seamless coordination, exceptional project management, and optimal performance for contracts and accounts. Before joining GreenBiz, Sarah has touched on business development, relationship management, strategic partnerships, product management, marketing, communications, and policy research. Most recently, she was living and working in Tel Aviv, developing an abiding passion for water infrastructure while consulting for water technology companies looking to enter the US market.
Rocky the Chiweenie, Director of Paws-itivity
Rocky has never worked a day in his life, but takes his job seriously. Since coming to GreenBiz, he has assumed the duties of door greeting, interrupting meetings, and staring at people while they eat. During off hours, he can be found tanning, modeling and inspiring the children. Rocky is educated in sitting, lying down and shaking hands in the presence of food, from an unaccredited institution.