Presenter Bios

Joel Albers: Joel has a Ph.D. in health care economics, and a Pharm.D. in clinical pharmacy, and works with the Universal Health Care Action Network of MN.

Angie Bourdaghs (MN Pollution Control Agency): Angie has been working at the MN Pollution Control Agency for over four years doing both green purchasing and green business assistance and education. She considers herself to be "Jane-of-many-trades" in the greening business realm, and is always available to businesses that are looking to find how best to save money while being green.

Curt McNamara: Curt McNamara is a practicing designer with 20 years' experience. He authored the entry on Buckminster Fuller in the UNESCO Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems, and teaches the Systems and Innovation Classes for the MCAD Sustainability Certificate.

Christie Manning (Macalester College): Dr. Christie Manning is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Macalester. Her research examines the cognitive and other psychological factors that influence environmentally-responsible behavior.

Elise Amel(Univ of St. Thomas): Dr. Elise L. Amel, has a Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and is an Associate Professor of Psychology and the Director of Environmental Studies at the University of St. Thomas. Her current research addresses measuring psychological variables related to sustainable behavior.

Britain A. Scott (Univ of St. Thomas): Britain Scott, PhD is Associate Professor of Psychology and former Director of Environmental Studies at the University of St. Thomas. As a social psychologist, her current scholarly focus is on the ecologically-connected self as a potential antidote to the negative consequences of women's bodily objectification in consumer culture.

John Arnold: John is a graduate of The University of Minnesota; engineer in the integrated circuit industry and computer industry; long-time activist for the environment and animals

Kaia Svien: Kaia, MS, facilitates workshops on the Work That Reconnects as developed by Joanna Macy. She is a mindfulness meditation instructor, a spiritual mentor, and a community organizer.

John Stelzner: John Stelzner works for the Minnesota Conservation Corps as the coordinator of the Youth Outdoors Program, which focuses on youth and young adult development through conservation work and service learning projects.

Dave Gagne: Dave Gagne is the Executive Director of Urban Boatbuilders, a non-profit that works with at-risk teens building wooden boats to provide work experience, appropriate workplace behaviors and mentoring for personal change.

Sarah Holm: Sarah Holm hasn’t been farming long, but she is planting the seeds for a long and successful farm life. Her long term goals are simple: earn a college degree, farm organically and grow as a leader to actively promote biodiversity and sustainability on family farms.

Sarah Graves: Sarah is a senior in the Environmental Science, Policy, and Management program at the University of Minnesota, and is president of Eco Watch, a student environmental organization.

Loretta Jaus: Along with her husband Martin and son Kevin, Loretta operates a fourth generation 410 acre, 70 cow dairy operation. The Jaus’ are one of over 1,200 family farmers in Organic Valley/CROPP cooperative.

Sean Gosiewski (Alliance for Sustainability): Sean is the Program Director of the Alliance for Sustainability. For 25 years, Sean has supported leaders in neighborhoods, congregations, schools and local government to make their communities more sustainable.

Daniel Nidzgorski: Daniel is a Ph.D. student in ecology at the University of Minnesota, working to understand how nutrients cycle through urban and suburban landscapes.

Barbara Parks: Barbara Parks specializes in career coaching for people who want to work for a more sustainable future through conscious career choices. Barbara teaches "Sustainable Career Planning" as adjunct faculty of Minneapolis College of Art and Design's noted Sustainable Design Certificate program. She is co-author of the "Complete Idiot's Guide to Green Careers."

Marilyn Cuneo (Women and Water Rights: Rivers of Regeneration): As a member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Marilyn has worked for women's human rights, has been active in the ongoing Save The Water campaign, and is currently convener of the MNMETRO WILPF Arts Committee and "Stirring the Waters" percussion band.

Diane Katsiaficas (Women and Water Rights: Rivers of Regeneration): Diane is a visual artist who develops multi media narrative works, and a professor in the Art Department, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Meena Mangalvedhekar (Women and Water Rights: Rivers of Regeneration): As an artist and photographer Meena works with digital media. She serves as a board member of Emerge Community Development, Twin Cities and 'Women and Water Rights Art Exhibition' organizing committee.

Liz Dodson (Women and Water Rights: Rivers of Regeneration): Liz Dodson is the Project Coordinator for the Women and Water Rights. She is a video artist, graduated from MCAD and has a BS and MA from University of Minnesota. Currently Chair of New Media for National Board Women’s Caucus for Art and on the Board of Osher LifeLong Learning Institute.

Kathleen Schuler, MPH (Healthy Legacy): Kathleen is Healthy Legacy's Co-Director at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, where she advocates for public policies and business practices that promote safer products. Kathleen is a former Bush Leadership Fellow in environmental health.

Peter Starzynski (Healthy Legacy): Peter is Healthy Legacy's Coalition Coordinator at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, where he builds the coalition's grassroots power. Peter previously served as campus organizer with MPIRG and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Daniel Halsey (Permaculture & Polyculture Design): Daniel is a Permaculture Designer, Teacher and Practitioner. A seasoned advertising photographer specializing in food and package design, he and Ginny live on SouthWoods, a twenty-five acre Oak Savannah wetland in Prior Lake. There they are building a self-sufficient life style through Permaculture Designed systems for heat, food and shelter. Dan teaches as an adjunct at MCAD, Brown College and is working on a Polyculture Design degree at the U of M. Dan is the Teacher's Guild Coordinator for the Permaculture Research Institute.

Jim Lovestar: Jim has been living a spiritually sustainable life for over thirty years. Outward expressions of that include Quaker practice, starting a neighborhood community garden, mentoring men and boys, living without a car and a dynamic marriage.

Burt Berlowe: Burt is an award-winning author and journalist, as well as a peace educator and social change activist in the Twin Cities. He has authored several books including "The Compassionate Rebel: Energized by Anger", "Motivated by Love", which won the nationally prestigious Nautilus Award, and its current sequel: "The Compassionate Rebel Revolution: Ordinary People Changing the World."

Samantha Merrit Smart: Samantha is a life-long community activist and grassroots organizer who participated in the struggle to force Harvard University to divest itself of investments in apartheid South Africa in the 1980's and was active in generation of the Rainbow Coalition in Boston. In Minnesota since 2000, she founded Speak Out Sisters!, a diverse collective of women devoted to analyzing and dismantling patriarchy. Samantha is the Development Coordinator at Windustry, which promotes community ownership of wind energy.

Ephraim Eusebio: Ephraim Eusebio is an artist, musician, socially-conscious realtor, community activist and steward of the environment. He has developed and drives an art car that runs on alternative fuel.

David Paxson (World Population Balance): David Paxson is a national leader on the issue of sustainable population. He has participated at international meetings - including the UN Population Conference in Egypt - and he has spoken to groups across the US. Graduating from the University of Michigan in Economics and Environmental Policy, he then worked at the Center for Population Studies at the University of Minnesota. In 1991 he founded World Population Balance. Pro-life and pro-choice members have respectfully agreed to disagree about abortion and other issues in order to work for a truly sustainable population level for the planet. David is hopeful. He believes that as people learn the realities of increasing poverty and suffering - and declining resources - they will take compassionate, humane action to bring population to a truly sustainable level for the benefit everyone.

Karen Shragg: Dr. Karen I. Shragg has been a naturalist for 26 years, 18 of them as the director of the City of Richfield's Wood Lake Nature Center. She is also a nature writer, environmental speaker and a children's book author. She has written eleven books including the Nature's Yucky series with Lee Ann Landstrom. She is a columnist for the National Association of Interpretation's Region 5 newsletter, The Buffalo Bull, where she has written her "Radical Rant" column for 7 years on a variety of environmental topics. Karen is a past vice president of World Citizen Inc. and a past board member of Kids for Saving Earth. She is a past board member for a local Izaak Walton League chapter and is a current advisory board member of World Population Balance. Karen has a masters degree in Outdoor Education. Her doctoral program at the University of St. Thomas was focused on issues of social justice. In 2002 she received her doctorate in Critical Pedagogy focusing on the future relevancy of community based nature centers in a changing society. Karen lectures on a wide variety of topics at conferences around the country ranging from the population issue to children's literature and from eco-friendly golf courses to sustainable lifestyles.

Ed Barry: Ed Barry is the designer of the Sustainable Living Planner and an advisor to the Population Institute. A business manager for major energy corporations for most of his career, for the past eight years Mr. Barry has devoted himself to working in the nonprofit sector to promote environmental sustainability.  Before coming to serve as the Sustainable Living Advisor for the Population Institute, he was the Chief Operating Officer for the Global Footprint Network, where he was responsible for both the research and applications departments, as well as the new international office in Brussels.
He received his B.S. in Chemistry and Engineering from Mich. State University and his MBA from the University of California at Berkeley. He also has taken advanced courses and training in education, business strategic planning, international alliances, and business development.