I am Ecotrust's Director of Marketing and Communications. Ecotrust has spent nearly 20 years inspiring new ways of doing business, and along the way it has converted $60 million in grants into more than $300 million in capital for local people, businesses, and organizations from Alaska to California. Ecotrust is headquartered in Portland, and its many innovations include co-founding the world’s first environmental bank, starting the world’s first ecosystem investment fund, creating a range of programs in fisheries, forestry, food, farms and children’s health, and developing new scientific and information tools to improve social, economic and environmental decision-making. Ecotrust seeks to innovate, invest and inspire at every step.
I feel a deep connection for the mountains, forests and urban areas of the Pacific Northwest -- my home. I grew up exploring these locales as a guide, adventurer and son of a professor and teacher. I was fortune enough to travel the world and live in several areas, but I'm happy to be home and working on the ground to create a better future for the region.
I want people, profit and planet to thrive together, not at the expense of one another. According to the world's best economists, it will take no more than three percent of world GDP to convert to a global zero-carbon economy, which will improve economy, food, energy and climate security, and lead to fewer wars and more hope. I believe that the technology exists to accomplish all of this -- now we need to find the political and business will. We must do this in order to improve the welfare of the planet and its citizens.
I hold a master’s in journalism from the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication. I have nearly 15 years of experience of leading cutting-edge communication campaigns at Fortune 500, academic and nonprofit foundations. Before joining Ecotrust I taught for three years at a top-10 journalism and communication college, and I still teach in off-hours because I love being in the classroom. I am also an award-winning literary nonfiction writer.
