John Perry Barlow

American Poet & Cyber-libertarian

John Perry Barlow is a retired Wyoming cattle rancher, a former lyricist for the Grateful Dead, and co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Since May of 1998, he has been a Fellow at Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet and Society.

He was born in Sublette County, Wyoming in 1947, was educated there in a one room schoolhouse, and graduated from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut with an honors degree in comparative religion in 1969.

In 1971, he began operating the Bar Cross Land and Livestock Company, a large cow-calf operation in Cora, Wyoming where he grew up. He continued to do so until he sold it in 1988. He co-wrote songs with the Grateful Dead from 1971 until their demise in 1995. He's known them since they looked like this. In 1990 he and Mitchell Kapor founded the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an organization which promotes freedom of expression in digital media. He currently serves as its Vice Chairman.

In 1990, he first applied William Gibson's science fiction term Cyberspace to the already-existing global electronic social space now generally referred to by that name. Until his naming it, it had not been considered any sort of place.

He speaks, consults, writes for a living. He has written for a wild diversity of publications, ranging from Communications of the ACM to The New York Times to Nerve°. He was on the masthead of Wired for many years. His piece for Wired on the future of copyright, The Economy of Ideas, is now taught in many law schools. His manifesto, A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace has been widely distributed on the Net and can be found on more than 20,000 sites. Partly as a consequence of that, he was called "the Thomas Jefferson of Cyberspace" by Yahoo Internet Life Magazine back when such cyber-hyperbole was fashionable.

In recent years, John has devoted much of his time and energy helping to "wire" the Southern Hemisphere to the North and has traveled extensively in Africa. His Wired piece, "Africa Rising" describes the first of these journeys. More recently, he has been working with Brazil's Minister of Culture, Gilberto Gil, in an effort to get all of Brazil's music online.

In June of 1999, Future Banker Magazine (an ABA Publication) named him "One of the 25 Most Influential People in Financial Services," even though he isn't in financial services.

L. Hunter Lovins

President, Natural Capitalism Solutions, Visionary Environmentalist

L. Hunter Lovins is President and founder of the Natural Capitalism Solutions. NCS educates senior decision-makers in business, government and civil society to restore and enhance the natural and human capital while increasing prosperity and quality of life. In partnership with leading thinkers and implementers, NCS creates innovative, practical tools and strategies to enable companies, communities and countries to become more sustainable.

Trained as a sociologist and lawyer (JD), Hunter co-founded the California Conservation Project (Tree People), and Rocky Mountain Institute, which she led for 20 years. Lovins has consulted for scores of industries and governments worldwide. She has consulted with large and small companies including the International Finance Corporation, Royal Dutch Shell, Interface, Clif Bar and Wal-Mart. Governmental clients include the Pentagon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy and other agencies, numerous cities, and the governments of Jamaica, Australia, and the U.S. She also serves an advisor to the Energy Minister of the Government of Afghanistan.

Recipient of such honors as the Right Livelihood Award, Lindbergh Award and Leadership in Business, she was named Time Magazine 2000 Hero of the Planet. She has co-authored nine books and hundreds of papers, including the 1999 book, Natural Capitalism and 2006 Climate Protection Manual for Cities. She has served on the boards of governments, non and for profit companies.

Hunter's areas of expertise include Natural Capitalism, sustainable development, globalization, energy and resource policy, economic development, climate change, land management, and fire rescue and emergency medicine. She developed the Economic Renewal Project and helped write many of its manuals on sustainable community economic development. She is currently a founding Professor of Business at Presidio School of Management, one of the first accredited programs offering an MBA in Sustainable Management.

Anank Nunink Nunkai

Traditional Shuar rom the Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest 

Anank Nunink Nunkai was born in 1947 to the Shuar of the Sacred Waterfalls, deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon. He is an Uwishin (traditional healer) guided by Arutam and the wisdom of his ancestors. Anank’s mission in life is to help people, preserve the Shuar culture, and the beautiful rainforest they call home.

In 1991 he traveled to the United States with a group of musicians called Grupo Chaarip who performed at a variety of international events. Their hope was to generate interest in Shuar culture, philosophy and mythology while also raisingawareness about over-consumption and the consequential contamination of the rainforest. Currently living in the Pacific Northwest, Anank can often be found speaking to students of all ages and participating in conferences in the United States and abroad. He speaks on a wide range of topics from the diversity of animals in the jungle to Indigenous Permaculture or the healing proprties of plants. You may also find him singing, performing traditional Shuar dances or teaching people to meditate.

When discussing Shuar cosmovision and the wonders the rainforest, Anank hopes to inspire interest in protecting such a magical place. He continues to be an active member of the Shuar community and works closely with his sons toward the goal of creating a Shuar owned ethnobiological preserve in the Kutukú and Shaimi Forest Reserve. Raúl is the President of the “Asociación Amigos de la Amazonía” in Madrid and works in conjunction with his brother Eduardo in Ecuador.

Anank believes that Shuar philosophy desires a world of equality and without greed; where plants purify the air and crystalline springs satiate the thirst of the universe. Sharing the natural world in a place of unlimited happiness where dreams become reality. Flying above obstacles and discovering a limitless horizon. Here, in the four winds, you will hear the vibrant voice of the sacred plant Natem saying… PEACE, LOVE, UNDERSTANDING & RESPECT.

Robert Gillespie

President of Population Communication, TGS Demographics Expert

Having watched our world's population more than double during his dedicated career, Robert Gillespie has traveled to more countries than not to improve the quality of life by increasing reproductive health. Amongst his global policy achievements, Robert authored the Statement on Population Stabilization by World Leaders, which has been signed by 74 heads of government.

Population Communication is challenging national leaders in the signatory countries to fulfill the mandate of the Statement. In the ten largest and underdeveloped countries, Population Communication has contracted with motion picture scriptwriters to develop screenplays with themes aimed at improving the status of women, lowering infant mortality and achieving the small family goal. Child survival and small family products and services have been designed for government and private family planning programs in the ten countries. These programs combine private enterprise and community participation.

They focus on mobilizing the support of youth, increasing the age at marriage, the spacing births and integrating family planning with women's programs, literacy campaigns, protecting the environment and achieving community participation. In seven countries Population Communication has pioneered the introduction of surgical contraceptive procedures. Working with prominent demographers and economists, Population Communication publishes books and promotes an awareness of the population problem with national leaders.

Robert is an expert speaker, consultant on global policy issues and producer of responsible media, such as his recent documentary, "No Vacancy" illuminating the stakes of our global population challenge.

Dr. Antonia Neubauer

Founder, READ Global, Co-Chair, Collaborating Nonprofits

Dr. Antonia Neubauer is Founder and President of Myths and Mountains, Inc., a cultural travel company, located in Incline Village, Nevada. Focusing on Asia, Southeast Asia, Antarctica and South America, the company designs adventures that highlight cultures and crafts, religions and holy sites, folk medicine and traditional healing, wildlife and the environment.

The company's goal is to introduce to and immerse participants in unfamiliar cultures in a manner that encourages understanding and appreciation of their global neighbors.

Giving back to the locals in regions where Myths and Mountains travels was a priority for Dr. Neubauer from the company's founding in 1987. To this end, she established READ--Rural Education and Development--a non-profit organization whose current focus is creating a rural renaissance – making villages in the developing world into viable places for people to live, educationally, socially and economically.

The READ beta site in Nepal has built close to 50 libraries across the country and seeded 50 businesses (ambulances, mills, factories, clinics, storefront rentals, fishponds, etc.) whose profits belong to the village and fully sustain and support the libraries. READ has also linked these libraries with organizations providing needed social services – medical examinations, micro credit, literacy classes, entrepreneurial classes, women's development, etc.

Louis D'Amore

President, International Institute of Peace through Tourism

Louis D'Amore is Founder and President of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT), a United Nations accredited, not for profit organization dedicated to fostering travel and tourism initiatives that contribute to international understanding and cooperation; cross-cultural appreciation; the preservation of heritage; an improved quality of environment and protection of biodiversity; poverty reduction; reconciliation and healing the wounds of conflict - and through these initiatives, helping to bring about a peaceful and sustainable world.

IIPT is dedicated to ‘Making travel and tourism the world’s first global peace industry’ – and to promoting the belief that ‘Every traveler is potentially an Ambassador for Peace.’

Mr. D’Amore has organized several Global Conferences on Peace through Tourism in different regions of the world. He is currently organizing the “1st IIPT European Conference: Bridging the North – South Divide through Sustainable Tourism Development” to be held in the Netherlands.

More than 40 prestigious international organizations have become members of IIPT’s Coalition of Partners for World Peace through Tourism, each Partner committed to a Millennium Project with the aim of “Building a Culture of Peace through Tourism.” IIPT activities also include promotion of the “IIPT Credo of the Peaceful Traveler, and a “Global Peace Parks Program” with more than 450 IIPT Peace Parks dedicated to date.

Mr. D’Amore pioneered the introduction of a social and environmental ethic within the travel and tourism industry in the mid- 1970’s as part of the world’s first study on the future of tourism conducted for the Government of Canada. IIPT’s first Global Conference, Tourism – A Vital Force for Peace, Vancouver 1988 introduced the concept of Sustainable Tourism. In 1992, following the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development (Rio Summit), he developed the world’s first Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Sustainable Tourism. He also developed the Guidelines for the Pacific Asia Travel Association GreeenLeaf Program and conducted the world’s first international study on Codes of Conduct and best practices in Sustainable Tourism for the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

His consulting experience includes working with the private sector and governments at all levels in a range of areas including: tourism master plans, community development, social impact assessment, environment, natural resources, cultural/heritage development, and conflict resolution with an emphasis on win-win solutions.

Photo: M. Salas-Porras

Colin Finlay

World Renowned Photographer - Co-Chair, Artists In Action

Colin Finlay is one of the foremost documentary photographers in the world. He has been awarded the prestigious Picture of the Year International honor six times.

For more than seventeen years, Finlay has documented the human condition with Compassion, empathy and dignity. He has covered war and conflict, disappearing traditions, the environment in both its glory and its devastation, genocide, famine, religious pilgrimage and global cultures.

In pursuit of his passion, he has circled the globe twenty-seven times. in search of that one photo that will be a testament to the depth of human will and compassion, of hope and of an informed collective consciousness.

His work has been honored by prestigious organizations such as the Lucie Award/IPA, POYi (Picture of the Year International). New_York Art Directors, Photo District News (PDN), Applied Arts, International Center for Photography, and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

His photographs have been featured in Vanity Fair, TIME, U.S. News and World Report, American Photo, Los Angeles Magazine, Asia week, World Health Organization, UNICEF, Photographic Magazine, Communication Arts and Discovery.

Currently, Finlay is also a partner at Definitive Stories, a partnership that produces and curates stories from around the world, using emerging technologies.

Finlay’s first book “Testify,” is a collection of images from seventeen years of photo journalism around the globe, and was published in 2006.

“Darfur: Twenty Years of War and Genocide in Sudan.” Finlay’s second book, was published in July 2007, by powerHouse. Co-produced with Proof and Amnesty International, this book brings to light the history of war by eight world-renowned photographers and writers. Established by Finlay, Proof is a non-profit organization established to create awareness on the issues faced by populations in post-conflict societies and to encourage social change through photography.

In 2007, Finlay also premiered 12N x 23E, 64S x 50 E. a photo essay that features contrasts between photographs taken in Sudan and Antarctica. The essay, which is also produced as an art installation book, was currated by Definitive Stories, where Colin serves as a partner/collaborator. The book shows cause and effect and allows the viewer to explore and discover their own conclusions on climate change. Read more about Colin in Treehugger Interview

Scott Badenoch

Co-Founder and CEO of CreativeCitizen.com / Digital Village Panelist

Scott Badenoch is the Co-Founder and CEO of CreativeCitizen.com, the wiki for green living, where you can find Creative Solutions for living more environmentally friendly lives. Scott is also a leader in the green community as a member of the steering committee for Green Business Networking, a group with over 1300 green business leaders, and BALLE's LA chapter (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies) called Local First LA.

Scott is a visionary and evangelist for the green movement, driving the market to greater heights through business solutions. Scott is an active attorney in the state of California and is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, California State Bar and the American Bar Association. Scott earned his Juris Doctorate and Master's degree in Mediation, Negotiation and Arbitration from Pepperdine University and is a writer for TriplePundit.com and EcoTimes.com. He studied poetry at Northwestern University for his Bachelor's degree. He can be reached at scott@creativecitizen.com or follow him on Twitter: TheCitizen.

Sheri WoodsGreen

President, WISE Ventures, TGS Co-Chair, Social Entrepreneurs

Sheri WoodsGreen is the founder and president of WISE Ventures, a social venture capital firm, and One Globe Foundation. She has integrated her diverse professional experience in the private, social, and public sectors to create a new approach to producing successful sustainable ventures.

Melding her expertise in brand development, product positioning, tactical marketing, business development, strategic planning and organizational development with her education in philanthropic studies from the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University and practitioner certifications in the application of several psychological assessment tools including Herrmann Brain Dominance and neurolinguistic programming - Sheri has created an innovative approach to connecting companies and causes with their ideal clients. Sheri designs the strategic architecture required to implement organization-wide initiatives centered on “doing well while doing good” on a regional, national and international level.

Sheri's own words describe her best: “As a passionate social entrepreneur I believe you either GO BIG OR GO HOME. Otherwise, what's the point? I've never settled for the status quo and have always been “potential-driven.” As an ardent observer and strategic activist, I realized early on that big problems required multi-layered, win/win solutions. So I immersed myself in researching and developing a multi-disciplinary problem-solving model integrating science, culture, ecology, economics, and more. I've stood on the shoulders of giants, learned from both mentors and mistakes and heard “it can’t be done” too many times. But after nearly a decade of intense investigation, the global solution model was realized. It’s been put through countless tests and has proven successful in multiple applications. The real work is now underway.”

Pamela Millar

Open Source Pioneer, TGS Co-Chair 1PIE Portal

At the nexus of Sun Microsystems’ role in creating Open Standards for Globalization, Pamela is now helping develop The Global Summit's strategy to globalize sustainability, starting with six key sectors of PIE (Partners in Empowerment).

Pamela Millar has entrepreneur in her bloodstream, having spent the past twenty years launching computer software and hardware companies into the global market. She has her MBA in international management and some of the biggest names in information technology companies in the world have been her clients, including Pixar, Compaq, Netscape and Sun Microsystems. A strong believer in the power of entrepreneurial thinking, Pamela helped optimize market positioning for innovative software companies around the world, including Dynaware, Pastel Development, Pixar Corporation, No Hands Software, Kensington Microware and others. Her range of experience includes both inbound and outbound marketing, from market development planning to product advertising and messaging worldwide. She is fluent in French and Spanish, speaks some Mandarin Chinese, and has lived and worked in France, Belgium, Mexico and Taiwan.

Pamela was senior global product strategist for Sun Microsystems for seven years, co-chairing the steering committee which determined the worldwide strategy for the company's software portfolio and chairing a group of product marketing directors across the company. Many of her responsibilities included customer needs analysis, competitive and market segment analysis, product requirements definition and global marketing strategy. In partnership with the global engineering team at Sun, Pamela contributed over one million lines of source code to the open source community, including the entire multilingual architecture for the Solaris Operating System. Since leaving Sun, Pamela has been guiding and stewarding new entrepreneurial companies such as Green Technology Institute, TEKIO, the Romero Institute, Earth Networks Television and Justsystems Corporation.

In her spare time, Pamela has also been active social entrepreneur. She rode her bicycle across the United States to raise money for Mobility International, an organization which helps people with disabilities travel internationally. Still committed to this cause, Pamela helped form the Accessibility initiative at Sun Microsystems, ensuring equal access for people with disabilities to the latest internet technology across the suite of Sun's products.

Pamela co-authored a book of Buddhist spiritual teachings, which is now selling worldwide in 23 languages. Her contacts with readers around the world sensitized her to the living conditions of impoverished communities worldwide. With a rash of natural disasters in many areas of the world in the 1990's, Pamela helped organize numerous flood relief efforts in the US, Latin America and Europe. She is also a field reporter for a satellite television station broadcasting only positive and inspirational programming around the world.

Gurminder Singh is noted authority on finance, enterprise, business and technology development. Gurminder is a technologist and has broad business experience developing practical applications and strategies for various companies in technology and enterprise development. He currently applies his technical expertise and business experience to offer organizational development, business re-engineering, technical consulting and capital formation, with special emphasis on green, clean, environmental and water technologies. In the area of green technologies, presently providing consulting services to various bio fuels production company in it’s capital raising efforts, developing strategic partnerships, global joint ventures, bio fuels wholesale and retail distribution strategies. As Co-Founder, President and CTO of Transformative Capital, a strategic financial advisory services firm, he is currently assisting various alternative energy companies in solar, wind, hydrogen and biomass related energy and power production.

As Co-Chairman Green Technology Institute, an initiative of the Tom Bradley Legacy Foundation at UCLA, he is working with the Board of the Foundation to launch various programs such as the Green Technology Leadership Lecture Series, the Green Technology Entrepreneurial Forum, the Green Technology Global CEO Conference. He is also the Chairman of the Global Council For Social, Economic, Environmental & Educational Relations, a think-and-do organization developing a new quality of life metrics, indices and associated tools.

Gurminder is also the Chief Architect of the Self-Adaptive Intelligent Network Technologies utilized for middleware integration for enterprise systems, cross device networks, QoS and Protocol management. He currently provides consulting for the development of wireless PAN, LAN, MAN, WAN & GAN & wireless middleware technologies. Concurrently, he advises the security and entertainment industries to develop strategies for scalable compression & encryption technologies. He serves as the Chairman of the Board of Advisers of Uponus Technologies Inc in Chicago, which is developing groundbreaking algorithms and patent pending technologies for scalable compression and encryption. He is the Interim CEO of StudentSpace, a academic intelligence software development company based in New Mexico.

Gurutej Kaur

Kundalini Yoga expert and Transformative Business Coach

For over 36 years, Gurutej has been teaching people how to connect to their higher consciousness through yoga, chanting, mediation and healing. Everyday she lives the meaning of her Sikh name, which translates as “the one who brings you from darkness into light at the speed of light.”

In 1969 Gurutej met Yogi Bhajan. Bhajan is credited for having brought Kundalini Yoga here to the United States. As one of his original students, Gurutej emerged as a founding practitioner of Kundalini. Through his instruction and spiritual guidance, Gurutej is considered a foremost authority on Kundalini and internationally recognized as one of a handful of Kundalini Yoga Masters in the World.

In 1970, Gurutej co-founded 3HO Canada. She ran 3HO for 17 years, where she facilitated the duplication of the successful yoga centers throughout the Canadian market and in due course helped take the organization worldwide. Gurutej’s obvious head for business did not overshadow her commitment to Toronto’s children, which is why she introduced yoga to surrounding communities by teaching staff at Toronto General Hospital and students at The School House and The Alternative Schools.

A co-founder of The Golden Bridge Yoga Center in Los Angeles, Gurutej, has lived and practiced out of The Blessings Center in the same market since 1999. But as a mother, her greatest achievement is in successfully raising two dynamic and consciously aware adult children, who like Gurutej, take great pride in their commitment to making the world a better place.

Gurutej is an artist, exhibiting her first gallery showing for her paintings and mixed media in May 2003. A prolific writer and media contributor, Gurutej is the subject of much media attention. She has been featured in/on Vogue, L.A. Yoga, Yogi Times, Fit Yoga, Common Ground, Splendora.com, The Discovery Channel and MTV. She was awarded Yogi Times’ July 2003 Service Award and Teacher of the Month for August 2003.

In 2005, Gurutej will have released over a dozen instructional yoga videos and DVD’s, which started with her popular Chakra series. Her healing products have been featured in Living Arts, Crystal Distributing, Spirit Voyage, and Ancient Healing Ways catalogues.

Pilar Stella Ingargiola, MPH

CEO & Founder of OneGiving - Co-Chair, Policy Action Sessions

Pilar Stella Ingargiola, MPH, is the CEO & Founder of OneGiving (www.onegiving.com), a global organization that empowers, inspires and connects people in giving to create change on the planet. Pilar is an author, speaker and social entrepreneur who has been working towards social change and making a difference on the planet through every endeavor she has embarked on over the past 15 years.

Pilar has worked locally, nationally and internationally on leveraging resources and enhancing efficiencies for and developing effective partnerships and collaborations. Pilar works with policymakers, foundations, nonprofits, media, business, universities, community and consumer organizations, and community and youth to create social change, affect policy and transform giving. Pilar works with media to promote giving and acts of service; with philanthropists and foundations to transform giving, leverage resources and affect policy; with corporations and investors in socially responsible giving and investing; with community and partners to build bridges and collaboration; and young people and others to affect social change.

Pilar is a founding partner of the LA Peace Collaborative (www.lapeace.org); participated in the Memorial Marshall Fellowship of the German Marshall Fund (www.gmfus.org); co-founded the Center for Systems Integration (www.csi-policy.org) in Denver, Colorado, a for-profit think tank working across sectors and systems for social justice and policy change; and co-founded with Colorado State Senate President Peter Groff and a collaborative of community partners to create the Colorado Multi-Ethnic/Cultural Consortium (www.cmecc.org), a nonprofit committed to creating a voice in policy for communities of color. A graduate of Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health in International & Global Policy and Maternal and Child Health, Pilar has been committed to social justice, health, education, multi-cultural, human and civil rights issues throughout her career.

Pilar speaks about multicultural, peace, human rights, social justice and other policy issues; socially responsible giving and investing, and other topics to inspire action for change and making a difference on the planet. Pilar also does workshops with women, young people and other audiences about writing, speaking our truth, living fully, sharing our gifts, and giving back to ourselves and others.

Steven S. Sadleir, M.A.

Director of The Leading Edge Corp (Enlightened Leadership training)

Mr. Sadleir worked as an international economist for the United States Government, East-West Center, Lloyds Bank and Bank of America. He also has a broad based experience in mortgage banking, investment banking, and institutional trading as well as a fund advisor. He is director of The Leading Edge Corp (Enlightened Leadership training) and the Conscious Business Network. Steven is also a Shaktipat Master in the Tamil Siddha lineage, is a best-selling author and guest lecturer on world religions, host of Enlightenment Radio and director of the Self Awareness Institute with students in over 120 countries. For more information www.TheLeadingEdgeCorp.net and www.SelfAwareness.com.

JW "Jahn" Ballard

Director of Performance Management Institute, Inc.

Jahn is the founding director of Performance Management Institute, Inc (PMI), and of The Commons: an Institute of the Whole (www.commons.org). His passion is creating working and learning environments where everyone can contribute their talents by building shared language, images, and business plans among and between different specialties and disciplines.

Jahn designed and founded Leadership Santa Barbara County (www.leadsb.org/). He has spent well over two decades doing business development, large-scale co-creation design, collaborative leadership development, and facilitating strategic summits for companies, communities and public benefit organizations PMI turns the mysteries of financial statements transparent, aligning CEOs with operating leaders and teams to drive business results, as well as with Bankers and Investors.

PMI’s mission is bringing high performance team energy, fun and satisfaction to work, generating purposeful control of outcomes by eliciting and applying everyone’s tacit knowledge of the whole system.

Jahn is the Designer and Inventor of the Financial Dashboard (www.financialdashboard.com), and is in a partnership the Maryland Assn of CPAs. He is the developer of Integral Operations Finance and Accounting Practices ™, and trains CFO’s, Controllers and CPA’s in Executive Finance for Operating Leaders.

Peter Matthies

Founder of the Conscious Business Institute

Peter Matthies, founder of the Conscious Business Institute, is an investor, business advisor and leadership coach. He is the author of 3 books and more than 100 articles on technology, investing and Conscious Business practices.

Prior to founding the Conscious Business Institute, Peter was a Principal at Apax Partners & Co., one of the world's largest Venture Capital and Private Equity firms with more than US$ 20 billion under management. He also served as Investment Manager at b-business partners, a US$ 800 million technology venture capital firm backed by blue chip corporate investors (Hewlett-Packard, Ericsson, ABB, Astra Zeneca etc.).

Peter has worked in the IT and financial market for 18 years and started his career at Andersen Consulting in Germany. He co-founded a systems integration and IT-consulting company. After selling his share, Peter worked as an IT analyst and US-correspondent in California. He founded an accelerator in Silicon Valley, focusing on financing and growing German and American IT start-up businesses.

Melanie St.James, MPA

Managing Director of The Global Summit / Moderator

Melanie’s life-long dedication to social justice, hands on international policy research and private sector entrepreneurialism fuel her passionate dedication to multi-sector collaboration, and functional vision of The Global Summit.

At 20, she began advancing theories linking population, environmental scarcity and poverty, advocating multi-sector collaboration and community empowerment.

Inspired by research and related programs in Africa, she founded TGS producing organization, Empowerment Works (EW) in 2001. Her training in transformational mediation and international negotiations further contributed to EW’s 7 Stages of sustainable development & PIE approach.

Melanie advances The Global Summit holistic approach through workshops and speaking at international conferences. Highlights include the 2006 International AIDS Conference in Toronto as co-Founder of the Coalition for a Sustainable Africa; unveiling her Population Theory at the 2004 Sustainable Resources Conference in Boulder; presenting PIE and moderating at the 5th International Symposium on Digital Earth, the 2008 Global Sound Conference and Lightning in a Bottle Eco-Festival, May 2008.

In April 2007, Melanie produced the first national press-conference on Colony Collapse Disorder, "Bees, Bio diversity and Food Security" which brought world renowned expert insights on sustainable agriculture, critical food security and bio-diversity to the mainstream media via immediate coverage in the LA Times and Live on NBC.

In concert with building Empowerment Works’ grass-roots programs in Africa, Melanie has deepened her private sector insights as Founder/CEO of BioNova™ Medical Corporation, through which she has authored various patents HIV/AIDS treatments and other life threatening diseases, managed treatment protocols in Africa and research with City of Hope and UCLA AIDS Institute.

Before he passed away, Ms. St.James worked closely with her father whose environmental technologies struggled to reach their potential in the face of vested interests while ultimately coming to life through Eco-Motors, LLC, a leading edge clean technology corporation. The need to expose what works best and disseminate it for the common good is one of Melanie's core interests in The Global Summit.

Melanie holds a Masters degree of Public Administration in International Management from the Monterey Institute of International Studies and BA in International Relations & Diplomacy from Schiller International University in Madrid, Spain. A global citizen at heart, Melanie speaks French and Spanish and has lived and conducted research throughout Asia, Europe, Africa and Central America. Preparing for TGS 2009 in LA, Melanie resides in Venice Beach, California with her dog, Jackson.