AY, Artist, Entrepreneur, and Sustainability Activist

AY is an artist, entrepreneur, and sustainability activist who raises awareness for energy storage, beneficial electrification, sustainability, United Nations SDGs, demand-side management, utility companies, movements, companies/corporations, sustainable solutions, social media influencers, artists, bands, producers, entrepreneurs and more. AY is also one of the first artists to to power his concerts with 100% renewable energy.

David Attenborough, Broadcaster, Writer and Naturalist

David Attenborough is an English broadcaster, writer, and naturalist noted for his innovative educational television programs with a major focus on environmental issues, especially climate change. Over nine decades Attenborough has visited every continent on the globe, and his honest, revealing, and urgent messages are a powerful, firsthand account of humanity’s impact on nature and a message of hope for future generations.

Kate Williams, CEO, 1% for the Planet

Kate Williams is the CEO of 1% for the Planet. Having already given a total of more than $270 million from over 3000 companies, the 1% for the Planet community is an ecosystem of the most innovative individuals and organizations dedicated to creating a better world. 

Tony Salas, CEO, Shared-X

Tony Salas is the CEO of Shared-X, a company that accelerates Impact Farming companies, aiming to revolutionize the traditional farming industry by consolidating the value chain and empowering smallholder farmers. Salas holds a Ph.D. in crop science, plant breeding, and genetics, as well as a strong background in AgTech and innovation.

David Bronner, CEO, Dr. Bronner’s

David Bronner is Cosmic Engagement Officer (CEO) of Dr. Bronner’s, the top-selling natural brand of soaps in North America and producer of a range of organic body care and food products. He is a grandson of the company founder, Emanuel Bronner, and a fifth-generation soap-maker. David established Dr. Bronner’s as a sustainable leader in the natural products industry by becoming one of the first body care brands to formulate with hemp seed oil 

Jane Goodall, Founder, Jane Goodall Institute

Jane Goodall is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute. Through nearly 60 years of groundbreaking work, Dr. Goodall has the urgent need to protect chimpanzees from extinction while redefining species conservation to include the needs of local people and the environment. Today she travels the world, speaking about the threats facing chimpanzees and environmental crises, urging each of us to take action on behalf of all living things and the planet we share.

Ian Urbina, Reporter

Ian Urbina is an investigative reporter and author of the best-selling book The Outlaw Ocean, based on more than five years of reporting, much of it offshore, exploring lawlessness on the high seas. As a journalist, his investigations typically focus on human rights, worker safety and the environment.

Dr. Katharine Wilkinson, Author, Strategist and Teacher

Dr. Katharine Wilkinson is an author, strategist, and teacher, working to heal the planet we call home. Her books on climate include the bestselling anthology All We Can Save and the bestseller Drawdown. Dr. Wilkinson co-founded and leads The All We Can Save Project in support of women leading on climate.

Ryan Hickman, Founder, Ryan’s Recycling

Ryan Hickman is the Founder of Ryans Recycling. Hickman has customers all over Orange County, CA and he has a passion to recycle. His goal is to recycle to keep cans and bottles from reaching the ocean where it’s harmful to the environment. Ryan spends a part of every week sorting through cans and bottles from his customers and getting them ready to take to the recycle center. He has recycled over a million bottles and cans to date.

Paul Stamets, Mycologist and Founder of Fungi Perfecti

Paul Stamets, speaker, author, mycologist, medical researcher, and entrepreneur, is considered an intellectual and industry leader in fungi: habitat, medicinal use, and production. He lectures extensively to deepen the understanding and respect for the organisms that literally exist under every footstep taken on this path of life. His presentations cover a range of mushroom species and research showing how mushrooms can help the health of people and the planet.

Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder and Executive Director, WECAN

Osprey Orielle Lake is the Founder and Executive Director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International, working nationally and internationally with grassroots and frontline women leaders, policy-makers, and diverse coalitions to build women’s leadership, climate justice, resilient communities, and a just transition to a decentralized, democratized clean energy future.

Danni Washington, TV Host and Science Communicator
Danni Washington is a TV host and Science Communicator who is also the first African American woman/woman of color to host her own science television series. She is featured as a correspondent on a weekly nationally syndicated CBS series called Mission Unstoppable. Danni has also come to be known as a thought leader and advocate in the SciComm and ocean conservation realms. She has been a featured speaker for both live and in person events for global organizations.

Damien Mander, Founder, International Anti-Poaching Foundation (IAPF)

Damien Mander is a former Australian Royal Navy Clearance Diver and Special Operations Military Sniper turned anti-poaching crusader, environmental and animal welfare activist. Damien used his life savings and liquidated his investments to fund the start-up and running costs of the International Anti-Poaching Foundation (IAPF). Mander is outspoken about the priorities of mankind in an increasingly challenged society and advocates the use of military equipment and tactics for the purpose of protecting animals.

Seth Goldman, Founder, Eat the Change

Seth Goldman is the founder of Eat the Change, a platform that combines marketplace solutions with education and activism to empower consumers to make dietary choices aligned with their concerns around climate and health. Goldman also co-founded Honest Tea and is Chairman of the Board of Beyond Meat. 

Mark Hertsgaard, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Covering Climate Now

Mark Hertsgaard is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Covering Climate Now initiative which has grown to 460+ news publications reaching over 2 billion people in 57 countries. Hertsgaard has covered climate change since 1989, reporting from 25 countries in his books as well news outlets.

Jeffrey W. Eckel, Chairman and CEO, Hannon Armstrong

Jeffrey W. Eckel is Chairman and CEO of Hannon Armstrong, a leading investor in climate solutions. Under his leadership, the firm has become globally recognized for its pioneering approach to sustainable investing, serving as a trusted capital provider to leading companies in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and other sustainable infrastructure markets.

Greta Thunberg, Environmental Activist

Greta Thunberg is a Swedish environmental activist who worked to address the problem of climate change, founding a movement known as Fridays for Future. Her action inspired hundreds of thousands of students around the world to participate in their own Fridays for Future around the world. She has been recognized and praised worldwide by heads of state and schoolchildren alike, all captivated by the simplicity of her profound message: Start taking world problems seriously, or future generations will inherit the dire consequences.

Tom Szaky, Founder and CEO, TerraCycle

Tom Szaky is the Founder and CEO of TerraCycle, Inc. He is a world-renowned entrepreneur, business leader, innovator, and public speaker, who oversees one of the world’s few green multinational companies. Through TerraCycle, Tom has pioneered a range of business models that engage manufacturers, retailers and consumers in recycling products and packaging that would otherwise be destined for landfill or incineration.

Kevin Chin, Chairman and CEO, VivoPower

Kevin Chin is the Chairman and CEO of VivoPower International PLC is an international electric vehicle, battery tech, solar energy and critical power company. Chin is also the Chairman and Executive Chair of Arowana & Co., an international B Corp accredited investment group with private and publicly listed businesses in solar power, electric vehicles, critical power services, vocational and professional education, traffic management, technology and impact asset management fields. 

Trevor Hardy, CEO, BlueWave

Trevor Hardy is the CEO of BlueWave, where he leads all aspects of the company’s finance, operations, and expansion activity. Trevor helped grow the company into one of the most respected solar developers and community solar service providers in New England. The company’s purpose is to revolutionize energy with simple, powerful solar solutions.

Jordan Ramer, CEO, EV Connect

Jordan Ramer is the CEO of EV Connect, a company on a mission to build a better planet by enabling electricity as a transportation fuel. Ramer is an accomplished technology executive and entrepreneur. He has helped raise tens of millions of dollars in financing for growth companies in the clean energy, transportation, and resource efficiency sectors.

Daniel Silverstein, Founder, Zero Waste Daniel

Daniel Silverstein aka Zero Waste Daniel is a New York-based clothing designer and zero-waste lifestyle pioneer who uses pre-consumer waste sourced from New York City’s garment industry, as well as other hard-to-recycle materials, to create his line of genderless clothing and accessories that send nothing to landfills. Daniel continues to inspire change and make headlines by growing the mission of ending waste culture and redefining the meaning of  “sustainable design” as a call to action for all who wish to participate.

Robert Redford, Actor and Conservationist

Robert Redford is an ardent conservationist and environmentalist, a man who stands for social responsibility and political involvement, and an artist and businessman who is a staunch supporter of uncompromised creative expression. Redford has been a noted environmentalist and activist since the early 1970s and has served for over 40 years as a Trustee of the Board the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Green Girl Leah Thomas, Environmentalist

Leah Thomas is an environmentalist with a love for writing and creativity. Thomas is passionate about advocating for and exploring the relationship between social justice and environmentalism. She is the founder of eco-lifestyle blog @greengirlleah, which is a resource and media hub that aims to advocate for environmental justice and inclusivity within environmental education.

Emma Rose Cohen, CEO, Final
Emma Rose Cohen is the CEO and founder of Final, creators of FinalStraw—the world’s first reusable, collapsible straw. In the last decade, Emma’s passion for sustainability motivated her to help found a nonprofit, Save the Mermaids, with a mission to educate children about the harmful effects of single-use plastics. Emma has grown Final from a one product company to a company with an entire line of convenient, sustainable alternatives. Waste is just a design flaw. Emma and the Final team are on a mission to change that.

Shadi Bakour, CEO, Pathwater

Shadi Bakour is the CEO of Pathwater, who has a passion for tackling the world’s largest ideas and problems. Bakour started PathWater with a vision to disrupt and change the way we think about an industry that is destroying our environment and to help everyone break the addiction to single-use plastic bottled water.

Chad Farrell, Founder and CEO, Encore Renewable Energy

Chad Farrell is the Founder and CEO of Encore Renewable Energy, a leader in community-scale renewable energy project development services. Farrell has led innovative and collaborative efforts to design, permit, finance and construct over 75 different commercial-scale solar PV projects throughout the State of Vermont and beyond Many of these projects involve reclaiming undervalued real estate for clean energy generation and storage, helping to revitalize communities and create a cleaner, brighter future for all.

Amelia Baxter, Co-Founder and CEO, WholeTrees

Amelia Baxter is Co-Founder and CEO of WholeTrees Architecture and Structures. WholeTrees was founded in 2007 to develop and sell products and technologies that would scale the use of waste trees in commercial construction, increasing forest revenues, and offering green construction markets a new material for the 21st century.

Steven Novick, Founder and CEO, Farmstand

Steven Novick is the Founder and CEO of Farmstand,a company that delivers healthy, convenient and affordable meals to your door to cook in minutes. His commitment to health and the environment showed when Covid hit, Novick sold his house to fund Farmstand’s pivot into a direct-to-consumer meal delivery service that is 100% sustainable and transparent. 

Gene Gebolys, Founder, President, and CEO, World Energy

Gene Gebolys founded World Energy in a time when the social consciousness surrounding alternative fuel sources was starting to grow. Today, Gebolys continues to lead World Energy, pushing the boundaries of innovation into new low-carbon fuel markets and collaborating with leaders of change to address the world’s growing energy needs with simple, clean, and renewable solutions.

Brandy Hall, Founder and CEO, Shades of Green Permaculture

Brandy Hall is the Founder and CEO of Shades of Green Permaculture, a regenerative landscape design, build and education firm. Hall founded the company with the fundamental belief that wherever you’re from, whatever your background, and however you’re willing to contribute to the regeneration of our planet, your particular shade of green is not just important but essential.

Brandi DeCarli, Founding Partner and CEO, Farm from a Box

Brandi DeCarli is the Founding Partner and CEO of Farm from a Box, a cleantech-powered infrastructure for community-based local food production. As an off-grid, modular farm system, the company helps strengthen local and regional food systems by providing the technology needed to help small and medium-scale enterprises flourish with high-quality outdoor crops.

Pat Mitchell, Co-Founder, TEDWomen

Pat Mitchell is the Co-Founder, curator and host of TEDWomen. Throughout her career as a journalist, Emmy-winning producer and executive, Mitchell focused on elevating women’s stories and increasing their representation everywhere, especially in environmentalism.

Derrick Emsley, Founder and CEO, tentree

Derrick Emsley is the Co-Founder and CEO of tentree International who offers environmentally progressive, lifestyle apparel with the mandate of planting ten trees for every item purchased. tentree was founded on the premise that every consumer wants to know that they are contributing to the well-being of our planet. Emsley is empowering a new generation of environmentally active consumers.

Xiye Bastida, Climate Activist

Xiye Bastida is a climate activist and member of the indigenous Mexican Otomi-Toltec nation. She is one of the major organizers of Fridays for Future New York City and has been a leading voice for indigenous and immigrant visibility in climate activism. Bastida is on the administration committee of the People’s Climate Movement and a member of Sunrise Movement and Extinction Rebellion.

Russell Diez-Canseco, President and CEO, Vital Farms

Russell Diez-Canseco is the President and CEO of Vital Farms, who is on a mission is to bring ethical food to the table. Russell believes it is possible to produce ethical food at scale, and year-by-year his efforts help prove it. Under his leadership, Vital Farms have expanded its product line while improving the lives of people, animals, and the planet through food. 

Peter Krull, Founder, Director of Investments and CEO, Earth Equity Advisors

Peter Krull is the Founder, CEO and Director of Investments of Earth Equity Advisors, who manages diversified investment portfolios for clients across the country with a focus on sustainable, responsible, and impact investing. Krull focuses on creating and managing Earth Equity’s investment portfolios as well as writing thought leadership pieces and sharing the responsible investing story.

Jane Fonda, Actress and Activist

Jane Fonda is a renowned American actress, activist, and lifetime advocate for women and environmental issues. She co-founded the Women’s Media Center, an organization that works to amplify the voices of women in the media through advocacy, media and leadership training, and the creation of original content. Fonda currently serves on the board of the organization and continues to be a prominent voice for women and the environment.

Matt Hill, Founder and Chief Environmental Evangelist, One Tree Planted

Matt Hill is the founder and Chief Environmental Evangelist of One Tree Planted, a nonprofit organization that helps global reforestation efforts by making it easier for individuals and businesses to give back to the environment: one dollar plants one tree. While tree-planting is good for the planet, One Tree Planted ensures contributors know exactly how far their planting contributions go.

Leilani Münter, Race Car Driver and Environmental Activist

Leilani Münter is a biology graduate turned race car driver and environmental activist. She believes it is essential for humans to adapt and evolve the way we are living to a sustainable way that does not destroy the world around us. Leilani is an advocate for renewable energy, solar power, electric cars, plant-based diet, and animal rights. She sits on the board of three non-profits: Oceanic Preservation Society, Empowered by Light, and EarthxFilm.

Pete Davis, Co-Founder and CEO, GreenPrint

Pete Davis is the Co-Founder and CEO of GreenPrint, who focuses on the calculation and reduction of greenhouse gas and other environmental emissions, to reduce the carbon footprint for all of the groups served. Pete’s purpose is to make sustainability truly convenient, so it’s easy for people and businesses to do the right thing.

Rue Mapp, Founder, Outdoor Afro

Rue Mapp is the Founder and CEO of Outdoor Afro, the nation’s leading, cutting-edge network that celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. Mapp has captured the attention and support of millions through a multimedia approach that is grounded in personal connections and community organizing. 

Chaz Berman, Board Member and CEO, Grower’s Secret

Chaz Berman has conceived and built many successful companies over the past three decades. Berman is the CEO and Board Member at Grower’s Secret, Inc. an ag-tech company that produces an OMRI listed nitrogen, other amino acid fertilizers & a plant growth enhancer that is added to many other fertilizers. 

Frederico Garcea, Co-Founder and CEO, Treedom

Frederico Garcea is the Co-Founder and CEO at Treedom, the first project that allows companies and individuals to adopt a tree or a forest, which then become always visible on the web. Since its foundation in 2010, more than 1,000,000 trees have been planted in Africa, South America and Italy. All trees are planted directly by local farmers and bring environmental, social and financial benefits to their communities. 

Sylvia Earle, President and Chairman, Mission Blue

Sylvia Earle is President and Chairman of Mission Blue and The Sylvia Earle Alliance. She is a National Geographic Society Explorer in Residence and is called “Living Legend” by the Library of Congress. She is an oceanographer, explorer, author and lecturer with experience as a field research scientist, government official, and director for several corporate and non-profit organizations.

Jeffrey Perlman, President, Founder and CEO, Bright Power

Jeffrey Perlman is the CEO, President & Founder of Bright Power. An experienced energy auditor, energy analyst, and solar-energy-system designer, he has built Bright Power from a single rented desk in a shared office to the substantial enterprise that enhances building performance, simplify building operations, and contribute to a healthier environment inside and out.

Sam Teicher, Chief Reef Officer, Coral Vita

Sam Teicher is the Chief Reef Officer at Coral Vita, a company that creates high-tech coral farms that incorporate breakthrough methods to restore reefs in the most effective way possible. Teicher’s vision is to produce billions of corals from our farms each year in order to maintain these magical ecosystems for generations to come.

Sharon Rowe, Founder and CEO, Eco-Bags

Sharon Rowe is the CEO and Founder of Eco-Bags Products, Inc.  Eco-Bags is the original reusable bag brand, sold worldwide, recognized for social and environmental commitments and standards. Rowe is recognized as a thought leader in social innovation, sustainable and responsible production. She speaks regularly on building profitable, mission & value aligned businesses, believing that business can be a force for good, a currency for ideas that shape culture. 

Dr. Venkat Maroju, CEO, SourceTrace Systems

Dr. Venkat Maroju is CEO of SourceTrace Systems, a company that has become a global leader in providing software solutions to agriculture and allied sectors. The use of these technological solutions has made the agriculture value chain more sustainable, transparent and equitable, thus empowering hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers in developing countries.

Sally Ranney, Founder and CEO, Global Choices

Sally Ranney is an environmental visionary, strategist and advocate. Founder/President Ranney is the Founder and President of Global Choices and the American Renewable Energy Institute (AREI). She serves on the Board of Directors of the National Wildlife Federation, the Aspen Brain Institute, and the Climate Accountability Institute. She is also CEO of Stillwater Preservation LLC, a wetlands mitigation banking company and Senior Advisor to the One Humanity Institute and the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN).

Anselm Doering, Founder, President & CEO, Ecologic Solutions

Anselm Doering is the Founder, President, and CEO of Ecologic Solutions, a mission-driven, trusted leader providing the safest, most sustainable cleaning program in the world. With over 30 years of experience as an impact entrepreneur, eco-product developer and strategist, Doering has delivered highly effective, safer solutions to protect people and the planet.

Andrew Shakman, Co-Founder and CEO, Leanpath

Andrew Shakman is the Co-Founder and CEO of Leanpath, the industry-leading food waste prevention platform working with client partners to fight waste around the world. Andrew is a passionate food waste prevention advocate who wants to bring true reform to the food industry.

JoAnna Abrams, Founder and CEO, MindClick

JoAnna Abrams is the Founder and CEO of MindClick, an environmental health product intelligence company committed to empowering suppliers and their customers’ marketing, design, sustainability, and supply chain teams with easy-to-understand, easy-to-use insights and knowledge needed to meet global demand for healthier products and healthier environments.

Graham Ray, CEO, DeepRoot

Graham Ray is the CEO of DeepRoot, a company on a mission to create a more livable built environment, providing a high level of ecosystem services, by using green infrastructure like trees, soil, and on-site stormwater management. DeepRoot has more than forty years of experience helping trees thrive in cities, nurturing over 500 blocks of urban treescape in the built environment around the world.

Fabien Cousteau, Aquanaut

Fabien Cousteau is a third-generation ocean explorer, aquanaut, and environmentalist who is at the forefront of today’s ocean exploration. His latest project, Project Proteus, entails an underwater research center for the betterment of the ocean, the earth, and humanity. 

Duane Peterson, Co-President and Founder, SunCommon

Duane Peterson is the Co-President and Founder of SunCommon, a solar company making renewable energy simple and affordable. Peterson is a social entrepreneur with an eclectic 35-year career in socially responsible business, campaign management, government service and community involvement.

Brad Morton, Principal and CEO, Mortan Solar & Electric

Brad Morton is the Principal and CEO of Morton Solar & Electric, a full-service licensed electrical contractor specializing in energy efficiencies and renewable energy. Morton is very passionate about reducing the size of communities’ carbon footprint, which is why he has become so involved in the renewable energy industry throughout his career.

Aaron Fairchild, CEO, Green Canopy

Aaron Fairchild is the CEO of Green Canopy, the only for-profit homebuilder in America that was intentionally and deliberately started to combat and lessen the negative impacts of climate change and resource scarcity via in-city homebuilding. 

Julia Jackson, Founder, Grounded

Julia Jackson is committed to bringing together the brightest minds to foster greater collaboration, drive mass awareness and scale game-changing solutions to urgently address the climate crisis. Jackson founded Grounded.org, a philanthropic initiative that convenes scientists, policymakers, investors, executives, activists and front-line organizations to elevate solutions that create systemic change in order to stay below 1.5˚C in global temperature rise and ensure a livable planet.

John-Paul Maxfield, Founder, Waste Farmers

John-Paul Maxfield is the Founder of Waste Farmers, the first regenerative holding and operating company. Maxfield helps develop people, businesses, and brands that transform emerging social and environmental needs into market-based opportunities.

Joey Bergstein, CEO, Seventh Generation

Joey Bergstein is the CEO of Seventh Generation, a company that sells eco-friendly cleaning, paper, and personal care products. Bergstein has been transforming its business while pursuing the company’s quest to transform the world into a healthier, more sustainable and more equitable place for all.

Paul Watson, Conservationist and Environmental Activist

Paul Watson is a marine wildlife conservationist and environmental activist who was one of the founding members and directors of Greenpeace. He later left Greenpeace to create the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an organization that sought to protect marine wildlife.

Marci Zaroff, Founder and CEO, ECOfashion
Marci Zaroff coined the term “ECOfashion” and is an internationally recognized ECOlifestyle expert, educator, innovator, author and serial ecopreneur. Founder and CEO of ECOfashion Corp, a Greenhouse of Brands, including B2B turnkey sustainable fashion manufacturer MetaWear, regenerative in-conversion-to-organic cotton farm project RESET, QVC organic lifestyle brands Farm to Home and Seed to Style, and new D2C ECOfashion brand YES AND. Marci has been instrumental in driving authenticity, environmental leadership & social justice worldwide for nearly three decades.

Nana Boateng Osei, Co-Founder and CEO, Bôhten

Nana Boateng Osei is the Co-Founder and CEO of Bôhten, a company revolutionizing eco-luxury. Osei has created an eyewear line that uses sustainable materials such as discarded materials and reclaimed wood. Osei also plans to bring manufacturing to Ghana to create a place for education and resources to tackle climate change.

Collin O’Mara, President and CEO, National Wildlife Federation

Collin O’Mara serves as President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, America’s largest wildlife conservation organization. Under O’Mara’s leadership, the National Wildlife Federation is focused on recovering America’s wildlife while improving the management of and access to public lands.

Jeff Corwin, Biologist and Conservationist

Emmy-winning TV host Jeff Corwin has worked for the conservation of endangered species, natural resources, and ecosystems. Through education and awareness, he believes these vital elements of our planet can be conserved for future generations. Jeff also hosts a variety of popular television series seen worldwide including Animal Planet’s Jeff Corwin Experience.

Jeff Orlowski, Filmmaker

Filmmaker Jeff Orlowski served as director, producer, and cinematographer of the Sundance Award-Winning films, Chasing Ice and Chasing Coral. He is a two-time Emmy-Award winning filmmaker, and founder of the award-winning production company Exposure Labs, with a mission maximize the impact of film, creating a company dedicated to both quality storytelling and powerful campaigns.

Nancy E. Pfund, Founder and Managing Partner, DBL Partners

Nancy E. Pfund is the Founder and Managing Partner of DBL Partners a venture capital firm who goals is to combine top tier financial returns with meaningful social, economic and environmental impact.

Miyoko Schinner, Founder and CEO, Miyoko’s
Miyoko Schinner is the tenacious, award-winning vegan chef behind Miyoko’s. Her passion for her craft and mission is unrivaled. The publication of her groundbreaking book, Artisan Vegan Cheese, kicked off the start of the vegan cheese revolution. Whether in the kitchen or the farm, Miyoko makes her mission of feeding the world with delicious, compassionate food the drive behind everything she does.