Change Maker
Raised in Fairbanks, Alaska, by a single mom who traveled to Alaska in the early 1970’s to help build the Alyeska Pipeline, my early years - in one of the harshest of climates and with the humblest of means - provided me a foundational understanding of the importance of a balanced natural ecosystem to maintain and enhance our quality of life.
Driven by a deep curiosity about human behavior, I’ve spent my career exploring how to create and sustain change. I’ve leveraged that curiosity to develop regional, national, and international initiatives that demonstrate what is possible when we work together.
Here is a sample of the change I’ve helped bring to life ~
Industry Collaboration
I’ve long held the belief that when we work together we can make more significant change happen more quickly than when we work alone. The Green Sports Alliance was born out of that belief, coupled with the positive potential for sport to inspire us off the field just as it does on the field. From humble beginnings with six founding teams, the Green Sports Alliance has been recognized by President Obama who created the annual Green Sports Day in recognition of its impact. Today the Green Sports Alliance has more than 500 members worldwide with participation from every major league, the NCAA, NASCAR, and the PGA. It has influenced significant water, energy, and waste reductions across the industry, delivering needed financial savings to venues of all sizes.
Policy Change
While working for the late Paul Allen I was fortunate to lead the development and implementation of The Great Elephant Census, an ambitious effort to count all remaining African Savannah elephants in one calendar year. The results would be used to inform policy change for the protection of elephants. This work served as the basis for Global Fin Print, an equally if not more ambitious effort to count the remaining near-shore sharks and rays and assess the health of their ecosystems. What I discovered through both efforts was a critically important trade loophole that needed to be closed to fully stop the trade of items made from endangered species. Enter Initiative 1401: Saving Animals Facing Extinction. I-1401 would become the most successful voter initiative in Washington State history and would influence policy change in multiple states and at the federal level.
Scalable Solutions
While driving policy change on single-use non-recyclable plastics across more than 100 cities, states, countries, and companies I learned a very important lesson - not all companies offering acceptable alternatives are ready for scale. During the Stop Sucking campaign, we saw sales of an acceptable alternative increase by more than 5000% in the first three months, yet, the company couldn’t keep pace with our campaigning. Determined to avoid that in the future, I partnered with Vita Coco to bring to market a new vertical - water in aluminum cans - to support the Hydrate Like A Mother campaign. We delivered this new brand, Ever & Ever, in record time, inspiring substrate switching by Pepsi-Co and Coca-Cola.
Let’s connect!
Have an opportunity you’d like to explore? Inspired by something you read? Want to discuss an innovation you’ve been working on? Share a bit about yourself and we’ll get a call set up!