Joel Makower, Chairman and Executive Editor Emcee

For more than twenty years, Joel Makower has been a well- respected voice on business, the environment, and the bottom line. The Associated Press has called him The guru of green business practices. Joel is co-founder and executive editor of Greener World Media, Inc. which produces GreenBiz.com and its sister sites, ClimateBiz.com, GreenerBuildings.com, and GreenerComputing.com. He also is a co-founder and principal of Clean Edge Inc., a research and publishing firm focusing on building markets for clean energy technologies, and serves as a senior consultant to GreenOrder, a sustainability strategy firm that works with such companies as Dupont, General Electric, and General Motors. Joel has been appointed a Batten Fellow at the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia, where he is compiling and editing a book of business case studies tentatively titled The Case for Sustainability.

Alex Steffen, Executive Editor Opening Keynote Speaker

Alex Steffen has been the Executive Editor of Worldchanging since he co-founded the organization in 2003, as the next phase in a lifetime of work exploring ways of building a better future. In a very short time, Worldchanging has become the most widely read sustainability related publication on the Internet, with an archive of over 7,000 articles by leading thinkers around the world. It has played an important role in revealing formerly obscure innovations and ground-breaking ideas, thereby pushing forward the sustainability movement and assisting in the growth of its network. Worldchanging is based on the premise that a sustainable future is not a distant possibility, but a growing reality. It seeks to connect worldchanging people with the tools, models and ideas for building it.

Adam Werbach, CEO Closing Keynote Speaker

Adam Werbach is Founder and CEO of Act Now. He is highly regarded as one of the worlds experts in sustainability. At age 23, Adam was elected as the youngest president ever of the Sierra Club, the oldest and largest environmental organization in the United States. Adam left the Sierra Club and founded Act Now in 1998 to engage the corporate and media world in sustainability. By 2004, he became critical of the pace of change of the environmental movement and delivered the controversial speech Is Environmentalism Dead? Act Now has become a driving force behind Wal-Marts strategy to become a global leader in sustainability and its internal sustainability communications aimed to educate and engage the heart and soul of the organizationits 1.3 million U.S. Associates.

Marc Alt and Phil Hamlett, Co-Chairs Presenters

Marc Alt is the principal of Marc Alt + Partners, a New York based design consultancy specializing in research, business analysis, brand strategy, and environmental strategy for corporations, non-profi ts and philanthropic organizations. Phil Hamlett is the graduate director of the School of Graphic Design at The Academy of Art University in San Francisco where he prepares students for the realities of the working world. Together, they are the co-chairs of the AIGA Center for Sustainable Design (CFSD), a nationwide initiative to elevate sustainable thinking within the design profession at large. In this capacity, they work with designers across the country to identify needs and develop solutions to chart the course of this important dynamic within the profession.

Jean-Charles Boisset, President Presenter

Jean Charles Boissets family firm, Boisset Family Estates, is Frances leading producer of wines from Burgundy, France and a global leader in the production of premium Pinot Noir. With California roots at DeLoach Vineyards in the Russian River Valley, Boisset has led an industry pioneering effort toward sustainability by addressing practices from the vineyard to the vessel. At wineries from DeLoach to Clos Jordanne in Ontario and Domaine de La Vougeraie in Burgundy, he has implemented organic and biodynamic farming techniques. Simultaneously, he has successfully introduced alternative packaging innovations that dramatically reduce a wines environmental impact.

Valerie Casey, Founder Presenter

Valerie Casey heads a global practice at IDEO. She creates novel concepts for consumer products, rich experiences for public and home environments, and informational strategies for onscreen interactions, for clients like Sprint, ESPN, MTV, Barnes & Noble, Johnson & Johnson, and Microsoft. Valerie founded the The Designers Accord, a call to arms for the creative community to reduce the environmental impact caused by design, and to work collaboratively to inspire sustainable change. Valerie has published and lectured on design throughout the international community, and is an adjunct professor at California College of the Arts. She holds a master's degree in cultural theory and design from Yale University, and a BA from Swarthmore College.

Mark Galbraith, VP of Product Design Presenter

Nau could not have made the leap from innovative branding and business concept to reality without an expert in the field of design, textiles and material. That expert is Mark Galbraith. Mark is skilled in every element of product creation from conceptualizing initial designs to managing the production process. He has traveled extensively internationally to coordinate and execute manufacturing plans. At Nau, Mark leads the team of designers through all phases of fabrication taking concepts from the intangible to a fully designed, production-ready product.

Dawn Maxey, Spoken Word ArtistPresenter

Dawn Maxey is a spoken word artist and teacher. She directs and performs with the Stanford Spoken Word Collective, an 18 poet award-winning performance group. She was part of the 2006 Stanford Slam team that competed at the annual Collegiate Slam Poetry nationals, and won two awards: Best Delivery and All-Around Poet. She has performed at the GreenBuild Exposition in Chicago and Opportunity Green in Los Angeles in addition to leading writing workshops for public schools around the country. Dawn also performs on behalf of YouthSpeaks, a non-profit literary organization dedicated to promoting social consciousness through the power of spoken word.

Jacinta McCann, Architect Presenter

Jacinta McCann is an urban landscape architect with extensive experience directing multidisciplinary teams in master planning and community outreach efforts, on projects ranging from waterfronts to new communities and campuses. Prior to moving to San Francisco, Jacinta ran EDAWs Australian practice for eight years, culminating in major projects associated with the staging of the Sydney 2000 Olympics, including the Olympic Village, which has received more than 30 planning, design and industry awards in recognition of its sustainable design. While practicing in Sydney, Jacinta received the Australian Business Woman of the Year award in 1997, and was appointed to the Board of the National Capital Planning authority for a three-year term.

Jane Savage, Director Presenter

Jane Savage is Director of Nikes Considered Design Platform where her focus is to continually drive the use of more sustainable materials and design practices in Nikes product development. Jane believes that with Nikes global reach, sustainability and responsibility should be in the consciousness of every Nike employee getting product to market. In her 10 years with the company, her positions included Design Director of Kids Footwear and Design Manager of Womens Sport Performance Footwear until her recent appointment to help lead the Nike Considered Design movement. Janes passion for sustainable design was ignited while earning a degree in Industrial Design from the Rhode Island School of Design.

Scott Stowell, Proprietor Presenter

Scott Stowell is the proprietor of Open, a design studio that works with clients to create rewarding experiences for people that look, read, and think. Open projects include redesigns of the TV networks Bravo, Nick at Nite and Trio; strategy and identity work for corporate and non-profit clients; and multimedia presentations for Jazz at Lincoln Center. In addition, Open provides the design for Good magazine, the publication for people who give a damn. Before starting Open, Scott was the art director of Benettons Colors magazine in Rome and a senior designer at M&Co. New York.

Jeff Walker, Principal Presenter

Jeff Walker is a principal and creative director with VSA Partners. Since joining VSA in 1995, he has led strategic design initiatives including annual reports, advertising, package design, collateral, naming and identity development and dimensional environments in both consumer and business-to-business engagements. Jeff participates in the business development of VSA, assists in resource management, and leads design teams on specifi c brand communication programs. He leads VSAs collaboration with General Electric, and has worked with IBM, Cingular Wireless, Harley-Davidson, Time Warner, Goldman Sachs, Coca-Cola, SRAM Bicycle Components and Wilson Golf.