Author, 

environmental scientist, 

and advisor to 

companies, 

foundations, 

as well as NGOs. 

Worked for the 

World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF’s) Africa Program, 

Sustainable Northwest, 

Wallowa Resources, 

The Natural Step, 

Forest Trends, and 

Business for Social Responsibility, 

as well as advised the

Rockefeller Foundation, David & Lucile Packard Foundation, Garfield Foundation, various consumer products companies, insurance companies, and financial institutions. 

Author of 100+ articles that have been published in 

The Economist, 

The Guardian,

The Huffington Post, Environmental Leader, GreenBiz, Corporate Environmental Strategy, Sustainable Brands, 

Ecosystem Services, and Environmental Finance, as well as in scientific, peer-reviewed research journals, including Society & Natural Resources, Political Geography, Journal of Sustainable Forestry, and Journal of Cleaner Production.  

Creator and author of the award-winning ForestGirls book series - which depicts capable girls and women from around the world who are innovating and regenerating ecological systems - including: 

children's books, 

guided journals, 

innovator's notebooks & sketchbooks, and 

blank books for writing or artwork.

Editor of two books, including: 

Ignition: What You Can Do to Fight Global Warming and Spark a Movement (Island Press, 2007), and

Ants, Galileo, and Gandhi: Designing the Future of Business through Nature, Genius, and Compassion (Routledge, 2003). 

Course instructor, previously at the University of California, Santa Barbara's Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, and 

Presidio Graduate School's Executive Program.

Speaker who has delivered 

50+ invited speeches and briefings, including at the U.S. Capitol Congressional Center,  

the Commonwealth Club, and numerous universities as well as conferences around the world. 

Recipient of fiction-writing awards, including:  

- Gold Medal Winner for 

Children's Environmental Books from the NYC Big Book Award (2023);

- Gold & Silver Medals from

Nautilus Book Awards

(2023);

- the 1st Place Grand Prize for Best Fiction Book from the 

Next Generation Indie Book Awards (2022); 

- 1st Place for Best Children's Picture Book (0-5 years) from the Next Generation Indie Book Awards (2022);

- Gold Medal for Children's Picture Book (All Ages) in e-book categories from the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards (2022); 

- the Prism Prize for Climate Literature (2020), and 

- the Lili Fabili and Eric Hoffer Fiction Essay Prize 

(1999-2000). 

Academic credentials include a Ph.D. and a M.S. in Environmental Science, Policy and Management from the University of California, Berkeley, as well as a B.A. from Amherst College.  Also an exchange student at the National University of Singapore, as well as a 

Fulbright Scholar at the University of Oslo’s Institute of Human Rights.