Sessions
Lifestyles for the Green Generation
Environmentally friendly practices extend beyond the corporate world. Hear from those who demonstrate how they implement sustainable living and green policies not just in their businesses, but into everyday lives as well. From agencies dedicated to building green, affordable housing, to professionals who through eco-friendly products and design improve the function of your space, to a green energy, arts and education center, all seek to encourage environmental responsibility among all individuals.
Featured Speakers:
CHAIR
Founder
Mark Spellun
Plenty
Mark Spellun is the founder of Plenty, an eco-lifestyle magazine which focuses on the revolution in green culture and technology. It is Plenty’s mission to give voice to this new paradigm, one that is transforming not only how individuals conduct their daily lives, but also how companies innovate and compete in the market place. Previously, Spellun was a senior editor at the Economist Group and worked as a policy analyst for the US Federal Government.
KL Hassen
Organic Home, LLC
KL Hassen co-founded Organic Home LLC with Heather Radawski in January of 2006. They are a green cleaning, organizing and consultation company in the Philadelphia area operating on the principles of a 'Triple Bottom Line' – people, planet and profit.
James D. Heiden
Teko®, LLC.
Personal History: I was born December 8, 1950 in Glendive, MT, and spent my first 20 years in Minneapolis, MN, where I got acquainted with the great outdoors. I moved to Colorado in 1972 to get closer to the mountains; and have lived in Boulder and Estes Park ever since. My enjoyment and appreciation for being in the outdoors developed my great love for the environment. I am married with a 13-year-old step son. I’ve had many great adventures; this year to celebrate my wife’s 50th birthday we climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa.
Business: The first company I started was Banana Equipment in 1972 in Estes Park, CO. We were the first wholesaler of Gore-tex® fabric clothing in the world. I sold Banana Equipment to pursue other interests. In 1984, I became director of product development for Performance Bicycles the leading retailer in the world for cyclists. I left Performance Bicycles in 1989 to work for Nike as marketing manager for running and cycling apparel. In 1990, I started InterSource, LLC to do global sourcing for companies such as Lands’ End, Moonstone, Trek Bicycles, LL Bean, and REI. Late 2003, I became unhappy with the outdoor industry’s apathy to the environmental impacts of their products and I started Teko®, LLC..
Teko produces the highest performing outdoor and sport socks with the least environmental impact. Teko tries to “walk the talk” of sustainability with every aspect of the business: people, planet, and profit.. We use organic cotton, EcoMerino™ (sustainably farmed wool from Tasmania), Ecopoly™ (recycled polyester), and Ingeo™ (corn- based fiber). All of our raw materials, except out Tasmanian EcoMerino wool, come from within 100 miles of our factory in Mount Airy, NC. We’re an Exchange Participant in the Chicago Climate Exchange allowing us to offset the green house gasses created through the transportation of our materials and buy wind energy certificates to offset all of manufacturing and office energy use. Our catalogs use recycled and FSC certified paper and are printed with soy ink. Our reward winning sock packaging is made out of recycled chip board printed with soy ink. We even use compressed wheat straw to make our floor retail displays.
Not only does Teko strive to use the most environmentally friendly packaging and materials we also donate a portion of on-line sales to several non-profit organizations who embrace the outdoors. We pay above fair market value for our wool which in turn allows our supplier to actively practice conservation on their property. Teko now sells to over 250 stores in the United States, Canada, Japan, Tasmania, and Korea including REI and LL Bean.
Raphael Herz
Green Affordable Housing
Raphael is responsible for developing and implementing the Massachusetts $25 million Green Affordable Housing Initiative, to incorporate high-performance design and renewable energy technologies to build healthier, more affordable, energy-efficient homes for Massachusetts residents. Raphael has been with the Massachusetts Technology Corporation for several years, guiding or contributing to the launch of several initiatives here at MTC, including work demonstrating fuel cells, a K-12 renewable energy education initiative, the Waste-to-Energy program, and the early days of MTC e-gov initiative, MassConnect. Previously, he worked in various environmental non-profit organizations and the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He graduated from the South Carolina Honors College of the University of South Carolina and earned a Master’s from Duke University in Environmental Management.
Education and Outreach Coordinator
Chris Neidl
SolarOne
Chris Neidl is the outreach coordinator for Solar One, a Manhattan based green energy, arts and education center. Since joining the young organization in 2004, much of Chris' work has not only strived to bring focus to key initiatives that are appropriate and achievable for New York, but also to do so in an idiom that celebrates and honors, rather than disavows, the city's rich history of innovation and iconoclasm. This effort has been forwarded, to date, with a number of programs that he has spearheaded; most notably the Green Renter weekly lecture series, and Citysol, a recurring solar powered music and green market series that is hosted throughout the summer in Manhattan's Stuyvesant Cove Park. In addition to these programs Chris is involved in a number of other Solar One projects that combine policy, education and the arts. Before beginning his current position, Chris studied and worked as an outreach coordinator at the Solar Living Institute, a renewable energy education center in Northern California. Originally from Albany, New York, Chris received his B.A. in Geography from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver in 2001. He currently lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Vice President
Michael Ekstract
Verdant Magazine
Michael Ekstract is a Founder and Vice President at the newly launched Verdant magazine – an upscale sophisticated consumer lifestyle magazine offering reliable information on green initiatives. He currently serves as Vice President for Advertising, Partnerships and Sustainability.
Prior to Verdant, Michael served as the Director of Marketing at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a coalition of leaders in business, government and non-profits promoting environmentally responsible building. Michael’s background includes extensive experience in marketing and advertising as well as a long commitment to promoting environmental sustainability and conservation as an avocation.
In a seven year career at Comedy Central, Michael directed design production and technology use, helping the television network grow its brand recognition, ratings and profits. Before Comedy Central, he was a partner in advertising/design firm Race Point Graphics and helped Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theatre grow into a leading regional theater company. Michael is an avid naturalist and long-time member of a number of well known environmental organizations and over the years has volunteered locally with organizations such as the South Fork Natural History Society. He has a B.A. in Geography from the University of Chicago.
