Author,
environmental scientist,
and advisor to
companies,
foundations,
as well as NGOs.
Worked for the
World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF’s) Africa Program,
Forest Trends, and
Business for Social Responsibility,
as well as advised the
Author,
environmental scientist,
and advisor to
companies,
foundations,
as well as NGOs.
Worked for the
World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF’s) Africa Program,
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 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:
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 from
Eric Hoffer Book Award for Children's Books (2024);
- Gold Medal Winner of the
Eric Hoffer Book Awards' "da Vinci Eye Prize" for "Superior Cover Artwork" (2024);
-Finalist for The Nature Generation's Green Earth Book Award for Picture Books (2024);
NYC Big Book Award for Children's Environmental Books (2023);
- Gold & Silver Medals from Nautilus Book Awards (2023);
- 1st Place Grand Prize for Best Fiction Book from Next Generation Indie Book Awards (2022);
- 1st Place for Best Children's Picture Book (0-5 years) from 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);
- Prism Prize for Climate Literature (2020), and
- 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.