Jo Banner, Co-Founder & Co-Director, The Descendants Project
Jo banner co-founded The Descendants Project, where she channels her affection and knowledge into challenging systems, primarily legal systems that have exploited the descendants, such as herself, of those enslaved to plantations. She is now working to gain recognition of the burial grounds of the enslaved as sacred sites and aims to protect such sites and their communities from degradation, especially degradation caused by heavy industry.
Dr. Ana Isabel Baptista, The New School, New York, New York
Ana Isabel Baptista, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice in the Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management graduate program and Co-Director of the Tishman Environment and Design Center at The New School.
Yinka N. Bode-George, Volt Energy Utility, Baltimore, Maryland
Yinka N. Bode-George leads the strategy and management of Volt Energy Utility’s environmental justice and community impact practice. Prior to joining Volt’s team, she led the Environmental Health Program for the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators.
Robin Caiola, Center for Science in the Public Interest, New York, New York
Robin Caiola is a New York-based development consultant and professional photographer. Ms. Caiola currently serves as the Chair of the Board of the Center for Science in the Public Interest the nation’s food and health watchdog which lobbies governments and corporations for a healthier food environment.
Ramón Cruz, Sierra Club, Brooklyn, New York & Puerto Rico
Ramón Cruz has over 20 years of experience intersecting the fields of sustainability, environmental policy, urban planning, energy and climate change. He has worked in the public sector in his native Puerto Rico as the Deputy Director of the Environmental Quality Board, the state environmental regulatory agency and as Commissioner of the Puerto Rico Energy Commission.
Mark Lichtenstein, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York
Mark Lichtenstein is the executive operating officer at the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), and a faculty associate in Syracuse University’s Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration.
Bill McKibben, 350.org, Middlebury, Vermont
Bill McKibben is founder and senior adviser emeritus of 350.org. His 1989 book The End of Nature is regarded as the first book for a general audience about climate change, and has appeared in 24 languages.
Kirstie Pecci, Just Zero, Sturbridge, Massachussetts
Kirstie Pecci is the Executive Director of Just Zero. Previously, she was the Zero Waste Project and a Senior Attorney at Conservation Law Foundation. Kirstie is a former MASSPIRG Staff Attorney actively engaged in waste reduction and opposing the expansion of landfill and incinerator capacity.
Leslie Tamminen, Seventh Generation Advisors, Santa Monica, California
Leslie Mintz Tamminen is the director of Seventh Generation Advisors, a nonprofit environmental organization in Santa Monica. In 2006, she founded the Clean Seas Coalition, where she spearheaded efforts to create and pass California’s SB270 law to ban single-use plastic bags.
Laurie Valeriano, Toxics-Free Future, Seattle, Washington
Laurie Valeriano is Executive Director for Toxic-Free Future where she has worked since 1995. For more than 20 years, she has worked to pass strong environmental health policies at the state level.
Imari Walker, Research Triangle International, North Carolina
Dr. Imari Walker is a research scientist at Research Triangle International (RTI). In 2021, Imari completed her PhD at Duke University investigating the release, transformation and effects of polymer associated chemicals within aquatic environments.
Monica Wilson, Global Alliance for Incineration Alternatives, Berkeley, California
Monica Wilson is the Associate Director of GAIA U.S. and Global Programs Coordinator. Monica has worked with GAIA since 2002 and served as GAIA’s International Co-Coordinator for five years.
Patti Wood, Grassroots Environmental Education, Port Washington, New York
Patti Wood is founder and executive director of Grassroots Environmental Education, an award-winning not-for-profit environmental health organization whose mission is to inform the public about the health risks of common environmental exposures and to empower individuals to act as catalysts for change in their own communities.
Dan Xie, Student PIRGs, St. Petersburg, Florida
Dan began her career in college as a student leader with CALPIRG, where she helped to bring high-speed rail to California. In her current role she directs the national political strategy for the Student PIRGs.