Judges

Graham Hill
Founder, TreeHugger.com, VP Interactive Planet Green at Discovery Communications

Graham Hill, a New York City resident is the founder of TreeHugger.com, which in 4 short years has become one of the most respected and trafficked environmental sites on the web. TreeHugger.com was recently acquired by Discovery Communications, and added to the family of networks as part of its Planet Green multi-platform, global environmental initiative. Additionally, Graham owns a product business that sells a New York souvenir he designed which sells in 150 stores. Graham has a Bachelor of Architecture with distinction from Carleton University in Ottawa and did advanced studies in Industrial Design at E.C.I.A.D, Vancouver.

 

Daniel I. DeWolf                                                            Member, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

Daniel is a member in the Corporate practice of the New York office and Co-Chair of the Venture Capital and Emerging Companies practice group. Daniel brings a unique blend of talent and expertise to Mintz Levin’s venture capital and emerging companies practice. In addition to his active legal practice, he is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the NYU Law School, and he has a wealth of experience as an active venture capital investor having co-founded Dawntreader Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm based in New York. Daniel is also the Co- Editor of Venture Capital Forms and Analysis, a leading treatise on venture capital published by the Law Journal Press.

 

Christiana Wyly                                                                  Environmental Entrepreneur

Christiana Wyly is an environmental advocate and a venture partner at Satori Capital, an investment firm focused on sustainable investing, providing conscious capital and helping to grow the market for products and firms dedicated to a sustainable future. Christiana's unique perspective as a twenty-something businesswoman has landed her on the cover of Kiplinger's and inside The New York Times, WIE Magazine, the Dallas Morning News, The Herald Tribune and Treehugger.com, among others. In addition to contributing regularly to the HuffingtonPost.com's "Green" column, Christiana is a frequent lecturer. Her recent speaking engagements include the Green Inaugural Ball in Washington, D.C., the Aspen Ideas Festival, the Conscious Capitalism Conference in Austin, Texas, Hollywood Goes Green in Los Angeles, and the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali.

Christiana is also active with a variety of non-profits. She holds a Founders Circle position at FLOW, the organization co-founded by Whole Foods CEO John Mackey that promotes entrepreneurial initiatives focused on creating sustainable prosperity. She also serves on the L.A. Committee for Global Green USA.

As a young girl, Christiana inspired her father, Sam Wyly's, environmental education, which ultimately led him to found one of the largest clean-energy companies in the country, Green Mountain Energy. It was this experience that showed her how business can be a powerful force for change. Christiana remains actively involved in the company, and she and her father are in the process of coauthoring a book about its creation and its ongoing mission and success. 

 

Arthur Kressner                                                       Director of R & D, Power Supply, at Con Edison of New York

Arthur ("Artie") Kressner manages a professional staff, developing technology for the transmission, distribution, control center operations, substations, customer operations and energy efficiency business units. This research is focused on the development and demonstration of new power delivery equipment, software models, sensors, feasibility and engineering studies. Artie has been in leadership roles at local, state and national levels in areas of energy policy, energy efficiency, customer end-use and various national environmental and public health programs. Artie has published papers and articles in peer reviewed technical journals and industry magazines related to energy efficiency, information technology, management and computer modeling.

 

 

Michael Block                                                                               CEO, Kinetix, & Co-founder of the Sustainability Practice Network

As CEO and principal of Kinetix, Michael oversees company strategy development, infrastructure and operations. He is responsible for business development and implementing Kinetix marketing initiatives. His strong belief in the need for community among sustainability professionals led him to co-found the Sustainability Practice Network, an interdisciplinary forum to further the goals of corporate sustainability and sustainable development. Prior to starting Kinetix, he was CEO of Avalanche Systems, a leading creator of digital communication solutions that was twice voted top ten interactive agency by AdWeek Magazine and was acquired in 1998 by Omnicom. Michael was a finalist for Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1997.

 

Jeremy Benton                                                                        President & CEO, Impact International

Jeremy has fifteen years of international experience working in the Learning and Development and Organization Development industry. He has worked with over 100 corporate, government, and not-for-profit clients across all sectors. Jeremy joined Impact in 1998 and has an in-depth knowledge of their services, business, and clients. Impact is a global leader in sustainable business transformation and people development. Their learning journeys and training solutions inspire new thinking and generate the meaningful dialogue needed to create and develop sustainable enterprise. Jeremy was responsible for setting up Impact USA in 2001. He is a member of the Board of Directors and in his current role of CEO is responsible for the US business.

 

Imke Oster 

Vice President, New York City Economic Development Corporation Green Sector Development

At NYCEDC, Imke currently leads New York City's effort to attract more green business and green jobs to the five boroughs. Prior to heading NYCEDC's green sector development efforts, Imke managed a number of international consulting engagements focused on identifying new market and growth opportunities for mainly Fortune 100 firms. In this capacity, she spent six years with the Monitor Group in London and New York, covering a wide range of industries and functions. Imke also serves as an environmental commissioner for the town of Montclair, NJ and as a member of the Board of a non-profit organization in NYC -Comprehensive Development Inc. Imke chairs the Strategic Planning committee of the Board.

 

Professor Jill Kickul
Director of the Stewart Satter Program in Social Entrepreneurship in NYU’s Stern’s Berkley Center for Entrepreneurial Studies 

Jill R. Kickul joined New York University Stern School of Business as a Clinical Professor of Management and Organizations in July 2008. She teaches courses in entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship and is the Director of the Stewart Satter Program in Social Entrepreneurship in NYU Stern’s Berkley Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Professor Kickul’s primary research areas of interest include innovation and strategic processes within new ventures, micro-financing practices and wealth creation in transitioning economies, and social entrepreneurship. She is the author of Entrepreneurship Strategy: Changing Patterns in New Venture Creation, Growth, and Reinvention, and has published more than 50 publications in entrepreneurship and management journals.

 

Board of Advisors

Marc Alt, President & CEO, Marc Alt & Partners

Katie DeWitt, Economic Development Corporation

Arrun Kapoor, Senior Associate, SJF Ventures

Ann Goodman, Ph.D., Executive Director, The Women’s Network for a Sustainable Future