Amanda  Komar

Amanda is a graduate of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where she received her master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, specializing in Public Relations. She received her bachelor's degree from Virginia Tech, where she majored in Environmental Policy and Planning and minored in Psychology and Forestry. Before returning to graduate school, Amanda was employed with a small environmental consulting firm in Washington, D.C., where she worked primarily with the firm's biggest client, the Environmental Protection Agency. She spent the summer of 2010 developing a PR and marketing strategy for EcoSet Consulting, a Los Angeles-based company that provides environmental services to commercial film sets. Amanda's interests lie in using collaboration, outreach, education, and new and innovative ways to promote environmental protection.

Chris  Carmody

Chris has spent over 20 years helping communities utilize sustainability, social entrepreneurship, and philanthropy as catalysts for economic growth. Chris serves as Executive Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development and the Green Plus™ -- a program dedicated to helping America's smaller employers and their communities become more economically competitive through sustainable business practices. Chris has taught undergraduate and graduate level courses in strategic management at Oberlin College, Cleveland State University and Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1989, Chris staffed Michael R. White in his successful bid to become Cleveland’s second African American mayor. He served as Mayor White's Special Asst. for Education and Co-Director of the Mayor's Office on Competitiveness from 1990 - 1995, as well as on Cleveland’s Board of Zoning Appeals for six years. Chris holds an MBA from Case Western Reserve University, where he also served as graduate business student body president. In 1998, Chris founded the Greater Cleveland Film Commission, which brought over $55 million in new motion picture business to northeast Ohio. In 2002, Chris was selected for the American Marshall Memorial Fellowship. He has served as Trustee of a number of organizations promoting local business, social entrepreneurship, sustainability, economic development and the arts. Some of the boards on which he has served include the Greater Cleveland Partnership (www.gcpartnership.com); the Cleveland Film Society (www.clevelandfilm.org); Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (www.e4s.org); and the Civic Innovation Lab (www.civicinnovationlab.org). Chris managed the first campaign for public funding of arts and culture in Cuyahoga County.

Kirsten  Hausman

Growing up in Africa, Kirsten learned about sustainable development and conservation first hand and her passion for both guide her personal and professional lives. She also serves on the board of the Hausman Foundation for the Environment, a family foundation that concentrates on environmentally significant areas of the Caribbean. She received her BA in Sociology from the University of Denver in 2004 and, after moving from Colorado to North Carolina in 2007, she started working with the Foundation for Sustainable Community helping with events and community programming. Kirsten joined the Institute for Sustainable Development in 2008 to assist in the launch of the Green Plus program; she works with Green Plus chamber partners to ensure the program's success in their communities, as well as coordinating the communication and marketing efforts of the Institute.