Aedi Group Advisory Board
Mr. Alan AtKisson
President and CEO AtKisson, Inc.
Alan AtKisson has been working at the forefront of sustainability initiatives since 1988. He brings depth of experience and a very diverse set of professional skills to bear on the complex problems of sustainability. He has a long track record of being able to bring together people, ideas, and strategic approaches from many disciplines, to achieve more effective results.
Alan is the author or co-author of several widely read books, essays, and handbooks in the field of sustainability, including the popular 1999 book Believing Cassandra: An Optimist Looks at a Pessimist's World. The book was a category bestseller on Amazon.com, and has been published in Australian and Japanese editions. He is also a co-author of the compendium The Natural Advantage of Nations, a comprehensive review of sustainability in business and governance, edited by Michael Smith and Karlson Hargroves (Earthscan 2005); and a contributing author to WorldChanging: A User's Guide to the 21st Century, edited by Alex Steffen (Abrams 2006).
Since founding AtKisson Inc. in 1992, Alan has consulted to well over a hundred cities, companies, government agencies, civic initiatives, foundations, and non-profit or volunteer organizations; and he has presented hundreds of keynote speeches, seminars, workshops and training sessions, all over the world.
Alan began his work in sustainability editing In Context, the pioneering journal of sustainable cultures and systems; and as co-founder of Sustainable Seattle, a volunteer-driven initiative which introduced a model for urban sustainability indicators and was recognized with United Nations' and local awards. He is a former Director and Senior Fellow with the independent policy institute Redefining Progress. He was also a member of the international Consultative Group on Sustainable Development Indicators, which helped to define quality standards for the field, as well as the International Sustainability Indicators Network.
In 2005, Alan took on the additional task of leading the strategic transition and expansion of the Earth Charter Initiative, implementing a strategy that he and AtKisson Group colleagues had designed. Working over a two-year period as Executive Director for what became Earth Charter International (formerly the Initiative's small Secretariat), he guided the development of new programs, partnerships, projects, administrative and communication systems, and supported the formation of a new international governing Council and policy apparatus. Earth Charter International expanded its global reach and impact dramatically during this time.
As a writer, Alan publishes essays, columns, and academic papers; and he is also a professional singer and songwriter who often brings music into his speeches and workshops. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden.
Mr. Bill Browning
Founder Terrapin Bright Green
Bill Browning is one of the green building and real estate industry’s foremost thinkers and strategists, and an advocate for sustainable design solutions at all levels of business, government, and civil society. His expertise has been sought out by organizations as diverse as Fortune 500 companies, leading universities, non-profit organizations, the U.S. military, and foreign governments.
Early in his career, Bill helped build luminary thinker Buckminster Fuller's last experimental structure, based on advanced geometry systems. In 1991, he founded Green Development Services at Rocky Mountain Institute, an entrepreneurial, non-profit “think and do tank” whose work advances energy-efficient and environmentally-responsive design. His 300+ consulting projects at RMI included new towns, resorts, building renovations, and high-profile demonstration projects including Wal-Mart's Eco-mart, the Greening of the White House, and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Village. He also worked on energy efficiency improvements for a number of U.S. Department of Defense facilities, including the Pentagon, the Navy Yard, the Air Force Academy, and the Pacific Air Force Headquarters. In 1999 Green Development Services was awarded the President's Council for Sustainable Development/Renew America Prize. Bill remains a Senior Fellow at RMI.
Beginning in 2004, Bill was the Director of Design and Environment for Haymount, a New Urbanist community in Virginia. In this capacity he led the development’s site planning, authored a set of design guidelines, and guided the strategic development of innovative infrastructure systems for energy and resource management. In 2005 he left Haymount to join Jeffrey Bannon in co-founding Browning+Bannon LLC, an independent real estate and consulting firm focused on environmentally responsive development.
Bill was a founding member of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Board of Directors, and still serves on the USGBC’s Governance Board. Over the years Bill has served in a Board or advisory role to numerous other organizations, including: the Nature Conservancy, Greening America, the American Institute of Architects, the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education, RealEnergy, the Roaring Fork Conservancy, and the American Society for Testing and Materials. Currently, he is a member of the Real Estate Council for The Trust for Public Land, the Interface “Green Dream Team,” the Department of Defense’s Defense Science Board, and is an editorial advisor for Environmental Building News, Environmental Design & Construction Magazine, and Green @ Work.
In addition to consulting, Bill writes and lectures widely on sustainable design and building practices. He is a co-author of Green Development: Integrating Ecology and Real Estate; A Primer on Sustainable Building; and “Greening the Building and the Bottom Line.” He has published articles in Architectural Record, Progressive Architecture, Urban Land, and AIA's Environmental Resource Guide. His work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Popular Science, among others, and he has been interviewed by NPR, CNN, and PBS.
Bill received a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Design from the University of Colorado, specializing in energy-conscious architecture and resource management. He holds a Masters of Science in Real Estate Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was awarded the MIT Center for Real Estate's 1991 Public-Sector Fellowship, and, in 1995, the Charles H. Spaulding Award. In 1998 Bill was named one of five people “Making a Difference” by Buildings magazine. In 2001 he was selected as an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects, and in 2004 he was honored with the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership Award. Bill is based in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Antony Cortese
President Second Nature
Anthony D. Cortese, ScD is President of Second Nature, a non-profit organization with a mission to catalyze a worldwide effort to make healthy, just, and sustainable action a foundation of all learning and practice in higher education. He is also a co-director of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, and co-founder of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education and the Higher Education Association Sustainability Consortium and a consultant to industry, government and non-profit organizations.
Dr. Cortese is a frequent presenter and consultant. Among his efforts, he is currently very active with organizations like the National Association of College and University Business Officers, the Society for College and University Planning, the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers and the National Association of Educational Buyers to promote sustainable design, planning and purchasing in higher education. He also consults frequently with colleges and universities.
Dr. Cortese was formerly the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. He was the first dean of environmental programs at Tufts University and spear-headed the award-winning Tufts Environmental Literacy Institute in 1989 which helped integrate environmental and sustainability perspectives in over 175 courses and the internationally acclaimed Talloires Declaration of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future in 1990.
Dr. Cortese is a founding and current member of the board of directors of The Natural Step US, and a founding member of the Environmental Business Council of New England. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has been a consultant to UNEP, a member of the EPA Science Advisory Board and the President's Council on Sustainable Development's Education Task Force. He has been actively engaged in climate change and other large system environmental challenges for 25 years. He is also a founding member of the US Board of Councilors for the China - US Center for Sustainable Development.
His writing can be found in a wide spectrum of publications including Environmental Science and Technology, The Journal of the Association of Governing Boards, Planning for Higher Education, Facilities Manager and in books such as Ecological Medicine by Kenny Ausubel as well as on the Second Nature website. His articles and essays on Education for Sustainability serve as foundational reading for anyone striving to transform the process and content of higher education.
Dr. Cortese has B.S. and M.S. Degrees from Tufts University in civil and environmental engineering and a Doctor of Science in Environmental Health from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Dr. N. Lynn Eckhert, MD, MPH, DrPH
Director of Academic Programs, Partners Harvard Medical International
Dr. Eckhert collaborates with other academic leaders at PHMI and at PHMI’s partner institutions on initiatives focused on developing and enhancing medical and nursing schools and programs. She joined PHMI following a long career at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), where she practiced as a primary care pediatrician for more than twenty years and held numerous faculty and administrative leadership positions. She served as Associate Dean for Admissions, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Family and Community Medicine, and Dean/Vice Chancellor for International and Public Health Programs. She also served as Chairman of the the school’s Executive Committee, President of the University Hospital medical staff, and Chair of the Credentials Committee.
She has served on the Board of Trustees of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates and as its Chairman from 2001-2004. Dr. Eckhert also served as a founding board member of the Foundation for the Advancement of Medical Education and research (FAIMER). Dr. Eckhert also is a past member of the Composite Committee of the National Board of Medical Examiners.
Active in the Association of American Medical Colleges, Dr. Eckhert served on the Council of Academic Societies Administrative Board and as its Chairman. She served for many years on the AAMC Executive Council presiding as the Chairman in 2004-2005. In 2005 she chaired the Search Committee for the Presidency of AAMC.
She has also served as the President of the Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine and a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Academy of Family Physicians.
In collaboration with the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Association of Schools of Public Health and the National Institute of Health, she is the Chairman of the selection committee to recommend health professional graduate students for participation in the year long international health research fellowship, the Fogarty Fellowships.
In addition to her work with PHMI, Dr. Eckhert’s international experience includes working with Project HOPE in primary care training in many sites around the world, and a sabbatical year spent teaching at the University of Zimbabwe School of Medicine.
Ms. Leigh Gilligan Esq.
Partner, McCarter English Environment/Real Estate
Ms. Gilligan has extensive experience in many aspects of environmental and land use law including licensing and permitting, compliance counseling, and representation in connection with business and lending transactions.
Ms. Gilligan represents parties involved in federal and state hazardous waste sites including legal proceedings, private cost recovery actions and dealings with governmental agencies. She regularly represents lenders in the evaluation, management and resolution of environmental issues. She also has extensive experience in environmental issues involved in transactions for the purchase and sale of land and businesses.
Her representation also includes a municipal water and sewer commission; negotiations with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Environmental Protection regarding compliance issues; preparation of environmental opinions in connection with loans and bond issuances; compliance counseling to businesses of all sizes; representation of parties in environmentally-related state and local administrative proceedings (including wetlands, tidelands and Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act review and facility site assignments); and working with site owners and developers in the management of environmental issues and permitting in the context of development. Ms. Gilligan is a frequent author and lecturer on environmentally related topics. She has in the past been an Instructor/Guest Lecturer at MIT’s Center for Real Estate. Ms. Gilligan is recognized as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer for 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Dr. Karlson 'Charlie' Hargroves
The Natural Edge Project Executive Director
Charlie Hargroves is a graduate in Civil and Structural Engineering from the University of Adelaide, and a co-founder and the Director of The Natural Edge Project (TNEP). TNEP is an Australian based Sustainability Think-Tank founded in 2002 and hosted in-kind by Griffith University and ANU, operating as a partnership for education, research and policy development on innovation for sustainable development. In 2004 Charlie was seconded from TNEP as the Chief Executive Officer of Natural Capitalism Inc for 12 months, based in Boulder Colorado, under the supervision of Hunter Lovins. In 2007 Charlie was accepted as an Associate Member of the Club of Rome to represent the TNEP team.
The Projects flagship collaborative publication The Natural Advantage of Nations: Business Opportunities, Innovation and Governance in the 21st Century (Earthscan 2005) was awarded the Banksia Award for Environmental Leadership, Education and Training in 2005. The team is now working on an update of Factor 4 with Ernst von Weizsäcker, and a response to the Brundtland Commission’s Our Common Future including forewords from Dr. Gro Brundtland and Dr. R.K. Pachauri, Chief of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Charlie and the team from TNEP have developed a range of projects focused on education, training and strategy for sustainable development, including working with international partners such as UNESCO, World Federation of Engineering Organisations, Natural Capitalism Inc, Chicago Climate Exchange, World Technopolis Association, Chicago Manufacturing Centre, and Rocky Mountain Institute. The teams Australian partners include CSIRO, Engineers Australia, Purves Environmental Fund, Townsville City Council, National Framework for Energy Efficiency, HP, UniSA, KBR, VicUrban, Hatch, RMIT, QUT, and the Queensland EPA Sustainable Industries Division.
Mr. Jake Kheel
Environmental Coordinator, Punta Cana
Jake Kheel has dedicated his academic and professional career to environmental protection. His experience has ranged from community service with American high school students in developing countries, environmental education programs with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to coordination of public awareness campaigns, fundraising, and scientific and applied research for various not-for-profit foundations. These experiences have culminated in his current position as Environmental Director for PUNTACANA Group, one of the most successful development companies in the Dominican Republic with a proven history in sustainable development.
Jake has a Master’s in Environmental Management from Cornell University and Bachelor in Art’s in Spanish and Latin American literature from Wesleyan University in Connecticut.
Mr. Joe Laur
Vice President - Content, Greenopolis Steward, Society for Organizational Learning Sustainability Consortium
Joe Laur is Vice President of Content for Greenopolis.com, a web based social network, media and educational center, marketplace and playground fostering learning and collaborative action on green issues. He has spent the last decade as a consultant to organizations in all sectors, focusing on organizational learning, personal effectiveness skills and sustainable development. He studied with Dr. Karl Henrik Robert of The Natural Step and has facilitated learning courses and conferences with Amory Lovins, Paul Hawken William McDonough, John Elkington, Janine Benyus and Michael Braungart, and others. Mr. Laur has worked with whole systems change for over 30 years and is a certified practitioner of Structural Integration, an applied physiology practice invoking whole systems change in human body structures.
Mr. Laur was a founding partner of SEED Systems, a consultancy dedicated to learning and action for sustainable enterprise, applying systems thinking, scientific frameworks and organizational learning to foster innovation in companies engaging with environmental and social issues. In partnership with the Society for Organizational Learning, (SoL) (www.solonline.org) Mr. Laur along with colleagues Peter Senge and Sara Schley established the SoL Sustainability Consortium (www.solsustainability.org), an active group of industry leaders in learning and sustainability. He still serves as steward of this consortium, leading collaborative projects among the members as well as coaching individual member projects. This consortium includes members from BP, Ford, Coca Cola, Harley-Davidson, UTC, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Nike, 7th Generation, Waste Management and more.
Mr. Laur is co-author of Learning for Sustainability (2007) and The Necessary Revolution: How Individuals And Organizations Are Working Together to Create a Sustainable World written with Peter Senge, Sara Schley and Brian Smith, and with Sara Schley, co author of "The Sustainability Challenge," published in The Systems Thinker and "Creating Sustainable Organizations" published in the Pegasus' Innovations in Management Series. He received his BFA in 1975 from the University of Wisconsin. He is the father of 5 children.
Dr. Berrien Moore
Director Climate Central / Professor Emeritus University of New Hampshire
Dr. Moore currently serves as the founding director of Climate Central. Climate Central assesses and synthesizes the latest science, technology, and policy proposals to generate public awareness through easily understood, and graphically rich pieces for print, television and the web.
Previously, Dr. Moore was the founder and Director of the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space at the University of New Hampshire for over 30 years. He has authored over 100 papers on the carbon cycle, global biogeochemical cycles, global change as well as numerous policy documents in the area of the global environment. He has served as a committee member of the NASA Space and Earth Science Advisory Committee, which published its report in 1986: "The Crisis in Space and Earth Science: A Time for a New Commitment." Other committees and panels on which Professor Moore has served include the NASA Advisory Council's Committee on Earth System Science, the National Academy of Sciences' Board on Global Change, the Space Science Board's Committee on Earth Science, and the Science Executive Committee for the Earth Observing System (EOS).
Dr. Moore was appointed chairman in 1987 of NASA's senior science advisory panel, the Space Science and Applications Advisory Committee, and as such, was a member of the NASA Advisory Council. In May 1992, upon completion of his Chairmanship, he was presented with NASA's highest civilian award, the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal for outstanding service to the agency.
He has contributed actively to committees at the National Academy of Science; most recently, he served as Chairman of the Academy's Committee on International Space Programs of the Space Studies Board. This committee, in collaboration with the European Space Sciences Committee, jointly published "US - European Collaboration in Space Science." In 1999, he completed his Chairmanship of the National Academy's Committee on Global Change Research with the publication of "Global Environmental Change: Research Pathways for the Next Decade"
Dr. Moore led the IGBP Task Force on Global Analysis, Interpretation, and Modelling (GAIM), prior to serving as Chair of the overarching Scientific Committee of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP). As Chair of the SC-IGBP (1998 - 2002) he served as a lead author within the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Third Assessment Report (TAR) which was released in Spring 2001. He chaired the July 2001 Open Science Conference on Global Change in Amsterdam and is one of the four architects of the Amsterdam Declaration on Global Change.
Dr. Johanna Polvi
Independent Consultant
Dr. Johanna Polvi is an independent consultant based in Berlin, Germany with ten years of experience in political analysis and development cooperation in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific in the fields of good governance and economic development. As a project management expert, she has worked with all phases of the project cycle, including project planning, formulation and implementation, with particular expertise in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and the drafting of funding proposals. She has also worked with and coordinated relations between major multilateral and bilateral donors, such as the EU, UN, WB, IDB, DFID, USAID and CIDA. Due to her familiarity with the management of micro-projects at the grassroots level, she can draw on best-practice and lessons learned in the management of village level development schemes across various regions/countries and among different funding sources. She holds a degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the European University Institute. Due to her lifetime abroad, at times living even in challenging circumstances, she has proven ability to establish and maintain effective working relations both as team leader and member with sensitivity and respect for diversity.
Mr. Larry Rasky
Chairman, Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications
Larry Rasky has nearly 30 years of experience in public policy and media relations. He is best known for his management of highly visible, complicated communications matters, as well as his broad political experience. His strategic counsel is often sought on issues pertaining to high stakes litigation, corporate and personal reputation and issues management. Prior to launching his own company in 1989, Larry worked as Special Assistant for policy and communications for Congressman Ed Markey.
He also served as Press Secretary for U.S. Senator Joseph Biden, as well as Director of Communications for Senator Biden’s 1988 and 2008 presidential campaigns. Larry has also served as a campaign and media consultant to numerous local and national political campaigns including, Senator John Kerry and President Jimmy Carter. In addition to his responsibilities as Chairman and CEO of Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications, Larry serves on the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee of Emerson College. He is an active Board member of the New England Chapter of the Anti-Defamation League and serves on a number of other corporate boards.
Mr. Dave Waldron
Principal, Synapse Strategies
Dave Waldron is co-founder of Synapse Strategies, a management consultant firm helping organizations of all kinds bridge the gap to a sustainable future. In one of his roles, he currently leads strategic planning for the David Suzuki Foundation. Previously, Dave was the Director of Sustainability at the David Suzuki Foundation. Before the Suzuki Foundation, he led a team of internationally-recognized experts in the design and delivery of a unique, science-based Master’s Program in Sweden entitled “Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability.” He has initiated and led a series of sustainability initiatives involving the public, private, and non-governmental sectors in Whistler, BC. David brings over 20 years experience in environmental management, strategic planning, municipal engineering and community change processes. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, and a Masters in Resource and Environmental Management from Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada.
Todd M. Williams, PE, PG
CEO and President – ENTRIX, Inc.
Mr. Williams is currently serving as CEO and chief visionary for ENTRIX, a $100 million dollar environmental and natural resource management consulting enterprise. He has been providing environmental and natural resource management consulting advisory services to a wide ranging group of clients including Fortune 500 companies, private business enterprise and government agencies since 1984. His consulting expertise, and the vision for ENTRIX, is based upon the principle that today’s natural resource management challenges must be addressed not only through regulatory processes, but also through the application of strategic, market based and sustainable business solutions.
Specifically, Mr. Williams has been a long time advocate for holistic and sustainable integration of environmental and natural resource management liabilities and assets. His management consulting experience includes strategic environmental risk management and planning, integrated natural resource asset and liability management, regulatory compliance and negotiations, site investigation/remediation, Brownfields and natural resource restoration. Mr. Williams is a Professional Engineer and Professional Geologist in many States.