Teens Turning Green

Sloan Barnett, Author, Green Goes With Everything

Sloan is a regular contributor to NBC's Today show and the Green Editor for KNTV, in San Francisco. She has been a television and print journalist for more than ten years, and wrote a popular consumer advice column for New York's Daily News for nearly a decade prior to authoring Green Goes With Everything. The book is a thoroughly researched, easy to read how to handbook to “clean up your home” and live a healthier lifestyle. The mother of three and dedicated consumer advocate, Sloan lives in San Francisco.

Eva Chen, Beauty Editor, Teen Vogue
Eva Chen is the beauty and health director of Teen Vogue. She joined the magazine in 2003. Each month, Eva strives to create beauty content for the Teen Vogue reader that is a creative mix of the practical advice girls need and the aspirational, behind the scenes access that girls crave. In health matters, she seeks to help teenagers make the right decisions from school-day nutrition to body image. She has also worked at Harper’s Bazaar, Lucky, and ELLE magazines, and has a bachelor’s from Johns Hopkins University and a master’s from the School of Journalism at Columbia University.
 

Stefanie Hermsdorf, Creative Director

A graduate of Art Center in Pasadena, Stefanie has worked as Creative Director for several challenger brands including Benefit Cosmetics, Joe Boxer and most recently Method, as well as for fashion brands like Macy’s and Banana Republic. She earned her design stripes early in her career in Italy where, in addition to creative collaborations with brands lievey, Switzerland. Stefanie’s creative focus includes not only bringing a brand to life visually, but also through product development, formulation and fragrance, and her work involve the holistic brand experience. She is currently a Creative Consultant in the Bay Area.

Jane Iredale, Founder,  jane iredale - THE SKIN CARE MAKEUP
Jane Iredale started her career working in film, theater and television first as a casting director, then as an award winning writer and producer. In 1994, she founded Iredale Mineral Cosmetics, the first full makeup line on the market to offer not just color enhancement but also benefits to the skin. The products are based on micronized minerals and are made without fillers and binders (such as talc and mineral oil) and without chemical dyes or preservatives. As a result, the Iredale products are carried by salons, spas and medical clinics throughout the world. Jane has been a great inspiration to the teens for safe cosmetics and a magnificent support.

Michelle Klahr, Strategic Consultant and Green Team Captain, Bain & Company

Michelle Klahr is an Associate Consultant at Bain & Company, Inc., a global management consulting firm. Michelle started her career with Bain in the fall of 2007 in the San Francisco office and has worked on projects in the eCommerce and non-profit industries. Prior to joining Bain, Michelle earned her Bachelor of Arts in business economics from Brown University. While at Brown, Michelle was involved with multiple volunteer tutoring and mentoring organizations, and spent her junior year studying art history at the Università di Bologna in Bologna, Italy. Michelle currently serves as the co-captain of her office’s Green Team, and has helped to implement numerous changes within her office favoring greener alternatives, from cleaning products to sustainable produce. Michelle became involved with Teens Turning Green in the fall of 2008 by lending strategic assistance to the Teens for Healthy Schools initiative. 

Zem Joaquin, Founder, ecofabulous.com

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-s 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 and vision are inspirational and captivating as she is frequently engaged by leading corporations such as PG&E, Williams Sonoma Home, Pottery Barn, 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.

John Masters, Founder, John Masters Organics

John is part basement alchemist and part organic innovator. From his humble beginnings mixing organic essential oils and herbs in his kitchen sink, to the more than 30 luxury organic products carried around the world, John Masters continues his 15-year labor of love as a leader and innovator in the beauty care industry. John Masters is on the board of Global Green USA, an environmental organization with a mission to address the greatest challenges facing humanity. 

Jeremiah McElwee, Senior Global Whole Body Coordinator, Whole Foods Market  

Jeremiah oversees all aspects of Whole Body for all Whole Foods Market’s nationally, a job that entails managing product selection, working with stores to develop innovative concepts and helping major manufacturers/vendors with successful product development. Jeremiah stays on top of consumer demands and trends through his work with cutting edge researchers, companies and ethnobotanists to explore what is now and next. He is the inspiration behind the recent ground breaking partnership between WFM & Teens for Safe Cosmetics in the creation of the Teens Turning Green Collection exclusively at WFM nationally focusing attention on the health and well being of our next generation.

Summer Rayne Oakes, Green Activist / Cause Related Model

Summer Rayne Oakes is a youthful, energetic voice in the environmental movement. Her unique career combines her activism and image with her environmental expertise. A Cornell University graduate, Udall environmental scholar, and environmental scientist, Summer Rayne has taken environmental advocacy to the next level by trailblazing a career in values-based modeling--or exclusively aligning her work with more environmentally- and socially-conscious designers, companies and programs. In April 2009, she’ll be launching a sustainable shoe line with Payless ShoeSource and in August 2009, a sustainable line of home linens and textiles with Portico Home & Spa (both throughout U.S. and Canada). As a partner in SJR, a strategic communications and brand management firm, she often works in front of the camera as well as behind the scenes as a sustainability strategist.

Summer Rayne is an on-air correspondent and advisor for Discovery's new eco-lifesytle network, Planet Green. She has made appearances on Fox Business, CNN, Business Week TV, MTV Real World, HGTV and others and has graced the pages of Glamour, Allure, Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan, SHE, and more. Vanity Fair has named her a "Global Citizen," Cosmo called her a "Fun, Fearless Female," Outside listed her as one of the "Top Environmental Activists," and CNN has named her a "Young Person Who Rocks."

Joshua Onysko, Founder, Pangea Organics

Founder and CEO Joshua Onysko’s commitment to social sustainability launched Pangea Organics seven years ago.  After seven years of traveling to the likes of India, Nepal, and Tibet, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Thailand, Onysko had an epiphany:  He realized that corporations were inheriting the earth and that by leading by example there was potential to influence others to reconsider their ways. He envisioned an institute to aid corporations to be more socially responsible and environmentally sound, and heeded a friend’s suggestion to make soap to fund the project.  Forty products later, Pangea Organics is currently the largest U.S. cold-processed organic soap manufacturer—always organic, handcrafted, fair-trade (whenever possible) and cruelty-free, and never containing petrochemicals, parabens, GMOs or other synthetic or harmful ingredients.  Pangea’s ingredients begin to break down within 48 hours of use and a generous portion of profits support the Pangea Institute, a non-profit that researches and teaches sustainable living and business practices. 

Bahar Shahpar, Sustainable Fashion Designer

Brooklyn-based Bahar Shahpar is a self-taught designer with a diverse creative background in multimedia event production, fashion, and publishing. After extensive research on the history of American agricultural systems and the textile industry, she debuted her eponymous womenswear line for Spring 2007, inspired by the American frontier and created using only sustainable materials. The collection is now carried in esteemed retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue and over 30 independent boutiques internationally.  Bahar Shahpar was named to dominoWWD, Vogue, Lucky, NYLON, ELLE, and Oprah Magazine – as well as being regularly featured at established sustainable lifestyle journals such as Inhabitat.com and Sprig.com. magazine’s 2007 Green List, and she has been featured in major fashion and lifestyle publications, including

In 2008, Bahar co-founded The Four Hundred, a sales showroom and brand development agency focusing exclusively on high-end, fashion-forward sustainable design companies. She currently works as a consultant for sustainable style and wholesale sourcing, and is actively involved in several non-profit organizations and projects promoting different aspects of sustainable living.

Judi Shils, Founder, Teens Turning Green

While sitting in a county supervisors meeting in 2002, listening to concerned citizens asking questions about the high cancer rates in their neighborhoods and expressing thoughts as to possible causes, Judi realized someone needed to organize a grassroots effort to seek answers; thus the formation of the Marin Cancer Project, which evolved to Search for the Cause and is now Teens Turning Green.  Spearheading community projects is nothing new to Judi. In 1995, she created the very successful Diary Project, an on-line forum for teenagers. In 1996, Judi founded, and continues to direct, the annual "Celebrate Arts," a countywide art exhibition for approximately 70 K-12 schools now in its 8th year. In 2001, Judi produced "A Day in the Life of Marin," a project with high school students culminating in a book that served as the annual rep.

KayCee Stroh, Actress,  High School Musical

In a business where the focus is overwhelmingly placed on numbers and measurements, and where industry connections consistently trump talent, 24 year-old KayCee Stroh serves as a true reminder that the American Dream does still exist. Just four years ago, she was teaching dance classes in Salt Lake City, Utah. Now, she's proud to be a part of the High School Musical phenomenon.

The youngest of three children, KayCee followed in the footsteps of her older sisters and enrolled in her first dance class at the tender age of two. Because her mother worked as the studio's secretary, KayCee found herself spending much of her time there. "I guess you could say that music and dance were instilled in me from birth," she jokes.

Over the years, she made the transition from aspiring student to in-demand teacher. In the process she garnered awards for LA Undergrounds Distinguished Performer, Thunderstrucks Outstanding Choreographer, guest performer for the Utah Jazz half time shows, Award for outstanding accomplishment and excellence in Drama, Cheer, Music, Dance and Leadership and was even nominated to be Utah's best supporting actress in her High School's production of Anything Goes. However, KayCee is most proud of earning the titles of "Triple Threat" and "Miss Congeniality" amongst her peers and other teachers.

With a level of talent that is only matched by her incredibly kind heart, KayCee Stroh is sure to inspire many more.

Danielle Venokur, dvGreen Designs, Sustainable Event Design
Danielle Venokur believes that parties are important but thinks the planet is, too.  It’s these beliefs, coupled with a deep love of organic cake, that led Danielle, the former Event Director of L’Olivier Floral Atelier, to launch dvGreen, her sustainable event design and production firm. She hosts “The Green Party” on MNN.com, was one of Modern Bride’s 25 Trendsetters of 2008, and has appeared in The Knot, GOTHAM, InStyle, Wired, NY Times, and TreeHugger

Alice Waters, Chef, Author, and Proprietor, Chez Panisse Restaurant

Alice Waters, chef, author, and proprietor of Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley, California, is a pioneer of a culinary philosophy based on using only the freshest organic products, served only in season. Over the course of thirty-six years, Chez Panisse has developed a network of eighty-five local farmers and ranchers whose dedication to sustainable agriculture assures the restaurant a steady supply of pure, fresh ingredients.
Waters’ commitment to education led to the creation of The Edible Schoolyard, a one-acre garden and an adjacent kitchen classroom at Berkeley’s Martin Luther King, Jr., Middle School. The Edible Schoolyard, started in 1996, is a model public education program that gives 1,000 students the knowledge and values they need to build a humane and sustainable future by actively involving them in all aspects of the food cycle,. The program is nationally recognized for its efforts to integrate gardening, cooking, and sharing school lunch into the core academic curriculum. Alice founded the Chez Panisse Foundation in 1996 to support the Schoolyard and encourage similar programs that use food traditions to teach, nurture, and empower young people. The success of The Edible Schoolyard led to the School Lunch Initiative, which has as its national agenda the integration of a nutritious daily lunch and gardening experience into the academic curriculum of all the public schools in the United States.

Shailene Woodley, The Secret Life of the American Teenager