Award-winning author, environmental scientist, and advisor to companies, foundations, as well as NGOs on environmental and sustainability issues.
Worked for the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF’s) Africa Program, Sustainable Northwest, The Natural Step, Forest Trends, and Business for Social Responsibility, as well as advised the Rockefeller Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Garfield Foundation, various consumer products 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, the Journal of Sustainable Forestry, and the Journal of Cleaner Production.
Editor of two non-fiction 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 and in the Executive Program at Presidio Graduate School.
Speaker who has delivered 50+ invited speeches and briefings, including at the U.S. Capitol Congressional Center, the Commonwealth Club, and numerous conferences around the world.
Award-winning fiction author, who has won: gold and silver from the Nautilus Books 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); a 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).
Creator of the award-winning ForestGirls book series that depicts capable girls and women, from around the world, who are innovating and regenerating ecological systems.
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, studied as an exchange student at the National University of Singapore, as well as a Fulbright Scholar the University of Oslo’s Institute of Women's Rights.
