Teens Turning Green

(In alphabetical order)

Jennifer deVito, Principal/Creative Director, Axion Design Inc. (Communications and Finance)

As Principal and Creative Director, Jennifer brings to Axion over 20 years of her business acumen, enthusiastic integrity, and insistence on delivering the finest creative product possible.  Her responsibilities include key account management and overall management of daily operations, personnel, financial and strategic business planning at Axion.

Prior to taking over the reins at Axion, Jennifer held management positions at Levi Strauss & Co.  She was a tangible driver of the Dockers brand, its design, merchandising and international production efficiency.  Her role on production and management task forces at Levi served to hone Jennifer’s skills in teamwork dynamics earning her aprestigious management award.

Jennifer holds an MBA from the University of San Francisco and a BA in Economics from the University of California, San Diego.  She lives in Marin County with her husband, Rob Jigarjian and son, Misha.

Zem Joaquin, Green Design and Strategy Consultant, is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of ecofabulous.com, a website that dedicated to finding the best of the best when it comes to sustainable, sexy, stuff. Zem also applied her eco-chic talents to Condé Nast’s House &Garden magazine as the former Eco Editor and currently to Domino Magazine as Contributing Eco-Editor. She also hosts a segment on apopular morning radio show and co-hosts episodes on national television programs such as Kimmora Lee Simmons “Life in Fab Lane,” and the upcoming Adrian Granier “Alter Eco” program. Zem regularly featured in various print, online and television channels, and she is frequently introduced and quoted as an industry thought leader and green design authority. A certified green building professional, protogé of William McDonough and long-time fashionista, Zem consults on eco-design projects for individuals and corporations. Her approach, mission andvision are inspirational and captivating as she is frequently engagedby leading corporations such as PG&E, Williams Sonoma Home, PotteryBarn, Visa and Whole Foods to lead mid level & senior management teams through tailored green strategy presentations and educational seminars. She is also co-founder of the Cradle to Cradle 2009 conference. When Zem is not writing for her website, preparing her next monthly contribution to a media channel, or helping a company “go green,” she is committed to her positions on the Board of Directors Global Green USA, Healthy Child, Healthy World, and Teens for Safe Cosmetics. She has lived and worked in Milan, Paris and London and finally settled down in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two young children.

Michelle Klahr, Senior Associate Consultant, Bain & Company

Paul Schramski, State Director, Pesticide Watch

Paul is the State Director of Pesticide Watch and Pesticide WatchEducation Fund and manages the day-to-day operations of the organization. He previously worked for Toxics Action Center in New England. Paul is a graduate of the Green Corps field school for environmental organizing. He also serves on the Board of Common Frequency, a California-based media justice nonprofit.

James Schurz, Attorney, Morrison and Foerster
Mr. Schurz’s practice encompasses all manner of commercial transactions and intellectual property matters, including actions for breach of contract and business torts, including unfaircompetition, fraud, trade libel, products liability, and jointventure/distributor termination.  Mr.Schurz has broad experience representing energy companies, resource companies, electronics manufacturers, and pharmaceutical companies.  He has appeared extensively in courts throughout Northern California, and, in particular, San Francisco Superior Court, the United States District Courts for the Northern and Eastern Districts of California, and the California Courts of Appeal.

He is an adjunct professor of law at theUniversity of California, San Francisco, Hastings College of the Law (1998 topresent)  is the co-author of “How to Choose a Forum that is Right forYou” (International Commercial Litigation 2002) and “Dispute Avoidance and Resolution Mechanisms in International Environmental Conventions and Multilateral Trade Agreements,” (United Nations Environmental Programme 1995) and a series of articles for California Law Business, California Real Property Journal, and International Commercial Litigation. 

  Judi Shils,  Executive Director, Teens Turning Green

Judi Shils has spent the last 10 years of her life spearheading grassroots community projects. While attending a Marin County Supervisors meeting in 2002, she listened to concerned citizens pose questions about the high cancer rates in their neighborhoods and express thoughts as to possible causes. The dearth of answers led Shils to form the Marin Cancer Project: Search for the Cause, and now the teen-driven force for sustainable change, the non profit, Teens Turning Green (teensturninggreen.org). As well, Shils worked with campaign members and green businesses to create the first line of eco body products for teens launched nationally with Whole Foods Market in 2008. 

After attending Temple University and American University, she started her Emmy Award-winning career with ABC Sports in New York and remained in television for 25 years. in 1988, Shils moved to Los Angeles, where she produced the first critically acclaimed reality television special "3,000 miles, 21 days, 10 cents" for Fox Television.

Moving to the Bay Area and becoming a mother to daughter Erin, changed the course of her life. In 1995, Shils created the successful Diary Project (diaryproject.com),  one of the very first on-line forums for teenagers to discuss their lives, as well as an accompanying newspaper component and Emmy Award-winning television series called "Life in Progress" on Oxygen TV series. As well she produced a stage version of the DP, the script was created with entries from the website. She founded and ran the annual student art show "Celebrate Arts" for 10 years.  

Shils' environmental work began at the California Coastal Commission, where she has been a consultant since 1996, focusing on public education programs and the annual California Coastal Cleanup Day.  

Judi resides in Marin County, California.

Heidi Locke Simon, Partner, Bain & Company (Board Chair)

Heidi Locke Simon is a Partner of Bain & Company, a globalstrategy consulting firm.  She is a leader of the firm’s performance improvement capability area and manages Bain’s marketing and client development efforts on the West Coast.

Prior to joining Bain in 1993, Heidi worked in investment banking for Goldman, Sachs & Company and spent time in brand management with Colgate-Palmolive Company.

Heidi earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Politics and Economics with highest honors from Middlebury College, including course work at the University of Paris.

Patricia Zeigler, Co-Founder of Banana Republic, The Republic of Tea and ZOZA (Communications and Finance)
After majoring in Art at UCSB she joined the editorial staff of the SFChronicle as an illustrator and courtroom artist. She worked briefly as a fashion editor, columnist and syndicated on-air fashion “tipster”before co-founding Banana Republic with her husband and partner, Mel Ziegler.  Over its first ten years they built 100 stores, a legendary catalogue business, travel book division, and launched the magazine TRIPS, winning national awards in fashion, direct marketing design andperformance, and architectural design.
In 1992 she co-founded TROT, creating the category of premium teas with its award-winning package design. She co-authored The Republic of Tea,Letters to a Young Zentrepreneur (Random House).
In 2000 she co-founded ZOZA, an internet clothing for the sport of living.
She also co-founded The Mountain School and the Garden School (now the Greenwood School).
She and Mel, her husband of 30 years, have two children. Patricia’s interests center on healthy design, food, home and environment. Currently she is advising small businesses, and is writing and illustrating a children’s book on healthy eating habits