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Whether you are from an established community or fast-growing community, hear from inspiring speakers, learn from been-there case studies and get actionable information to make your community more eco-effective.

Terry Tamminen

Author, Lecturer and former Secretary of the California EPA
Global Warning: Solutions for the Climate Change Challenge

From his youth in Australia to career experiences in Europe, Africa and all parts of the United States, Tamminen has developed expertise in business, farming, education, non-profit, the environment, the arts, and government. An accomplished author, his latest book, Lives Per Gallon: The True Cost of Our Oil Addiction, is a timely examination of our dependence on oil and a strategy to evolve to more sustainable energy sources. In 1993, Terry founded the Santa Monica BayKeeper and served as the Executive Director of the Environment Now Foundation in Santa Monica, CA, where he co-founded the Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic at the School of Law, University of California Los Angeles. He was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003 as the Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency and later as Cabinet Secretary, the Chief Policy Advisor to the Governor.

At GreenTown, Tamminen will discuss solutions for the climate change challenge and offer hope that we can tackle the defining issue of our time and prosper in the 21st century. Using the experiences from many nations and the “living laboratory” of California, he will outline the steps underway and those still needed to win the battle over human-caused climate change.

Dean Kubani

Manager of City of Santa Monica’s Office of Sustainability and the Environment
Greening a Community: Lessons Learned from Santa Monica

As Manager of the City of Santa Monica's Office of Sustainability and the Environment, Dean Kubani oversees all of the City’s efforts related to water and energy efficiency, urban runoff, green building, hazardous materials and sustainability. Since 1994 Kubani has directed the ongoing development, implementation and evaluation of the Santa Monica Sustainable City Program. He lectures on sustainability at universities throughout the country, and has presented information about Santa Monica’s programs at state, national and international conferences. Kubani sits on the Advisory Boards of the International Sustainability Indicators Network and the University of Southern California Center for Sustainable Cities. Prior to his employment at the City of Santa Monica, Kubani worked as a Policy Analyst in the non-profit sector and was a Project Manager for an environmental engineering firm in Southern California.

At GreenTown, Kubani will detail his experiences greening the City of Santa Monica and offer advice to other communities on water efficiency, urban runoff, hazardous materials, toxics use reduction and sustainability.

Bob Dixson

Mayor, City of Greensburg, Kansas

Bob Dixson took the office of Mayor of Greensbug in May 2008. A native Kansan, Dixson was born and raised in Atwood in the northwest corner of the state. He has been a resident of Greensburg since 1985. He retired from the US Postal Service after 26 years of service, and was Postmaster of Greensburg for 16 years and Pratt Postmaster for six years. Dixson served on USD #422 School Board for 12 years and was President for eight years. He has also served on various church boards.

Mayor Dixson will share his experiences working to rebuild the city of Greenburg using sustainable initiatives.

Scot Case

Vice President, TerraChoice Environmental Marketing, Inc.

Scot Case is an internationally recognized expert on sustainable business strategy development, responsible sourcing, green supply chains, and environmental marketing with almost 15 years of professional experience. As Vice President of TerraChoice, Scot helps connect retailers and consumers seeking more environmentally and socially responsible products with the manufacturers supplying them. Scot has consulted with a variety of organizations around the world including: Wal-Mart and its suppliers, the World Bank and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Scot also currently writes a regular feature in Government Procurement magazine called "The Green Purchaser." He earned his Bachelors and Masters Degrees from Virginia Tech.

Abigail Corso, PE

Delta Institute

Abigail Corso is a Senior Associate Director at the Delta Institute with over 15 years of environmental engineering experience. She joined the Delta Institute in June 2001 bringing with her a unique combination of private and non-profit employment experience. Abby has worked closely with municipalities, industry and not for profit organizations on both the policy and technical aspects of green purchasing as well toxics reduction and energy efficiency projects, USGBC LEED projects, carbon offsets, and mercury reduction. Recently, she has been instrumental in establishing a public-private green purchasing consortium in West Michigan and is working on starting similar consortiums in the Chicago and Milwaukee regions. She holds a BS in Civil Engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia and a MBA from New York University and has been a registered professional engineer since 1995.

Adele S. Simmons, Ph.D.

Vice Chair and Senior Executive

Adele Simmons is a senior advisor to the World Economic Forum and a senior associate at the Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago. She previously served ten years as the president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Prior to that, Simmons was the president of Hampshire College and a faculty member at Princeton University. Simmons served on President Carter’s Commission on World Hunger and President George H.W. Bush’s Commission on Sustainable Development. She currently serves on the board of numerous nonprofit organizations, including the Synergos Institute, the Global Fund for Women, the Rocky Mountain Institute and the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Brenda Platt

Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Brenda Platt is the co-director of the nonprofit Institute for Local Self-Reliance, based in Washington, DC. In her 22 years with ILSR, she has authored more than a dozen reports on all aspects of recycling. She is currently a coordinator of the Sustainable Biomaterials Collaborative and is heading up ILSR’s Sustainable Plastics project, which is evaluating the role compostable bioplastics can play in a zero waste economy. Her most recent report, Stop Trashing the Climate, was released this past June. Ms. Platt has a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the George Washington University. In 2004, she became a certified commercial compost facility operator in Maryland. She is a former Board member of the National Recycling Coalition, the Container Recycling Institute, and the GrassRoots Recycling Network. With extensive work in recycling, zero waste planning, and local economic development, Brenda brings to this topic a unique expertise.

Chris Sullivan

Principal, C.C. Sullivan and former editor of Architecture magazine

A communications consultant and author specializing in the architectural market, Chris Sullivan was chief editor of Architecture and Building Design + Construction. Today he is principal of the marketing and design company C.C. Sullivan, based in the greentown of Montclair, New Jersey, whose clients include design firms, building material manufacturers, and design-oriented cultural groups.

Geoff Rathbone

Solid Waste Management Services, City of Toronto

Geoff is the General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services for the City of Toronto. He has over twenty years of experience in the solid waste and recycling field including private sector experience with firms such as Laidlaw Waste Systems and Domtar Recycling and at various levels of government. Geoff holds an Honours Bachelor of Environmental Studies Degree from the University of Waterloo. Geoff is responsible for designing the City of Toronto’s aggressive plan to divert 70% of waste from landfill.

Joyce O’Keefe

Deputy Director, Openlands

Joyce O’Keefe was Policy Director at Openlands from 1991 to 2005 and became Associate Director in 1994. She has recently been named Deputy Director. Ms. O’Keefe has been instrumental in a number of land preservation projects, including the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie and Fort Sheridan. She has also led a number of successful legislative initiatives, such as increasing the incentives for the donation of conservation easements and the Local Legacy Act.

Reggie Greenwood

Director of Economic Development
South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association
Chicago Southland Economic Development Corporation

As the Director of Economic Development for the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association and the Chicago Southland Economic Development Corporation, Reggie is responsible for developing and implementing an economic development program. He is currently leading projects on energy, environmental, and design guidelines; transit oriented development; logistics warehouse development; business cluster analysis and development; and real estate development. His education includes a Bachelor in Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting, a Masters in City and Regional Planning-Concentration in Economic Development, both from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and he is currently taking courses in sustainable businesses and informational technologies at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Reggie’s professional affiliations include the Illinois Development Council.

Rick Hitchcock, ASLA, President

Hitchcock Design Group

Planning, directing and designing successful projects since 1975, Rick Hitchcock has developed creativity and consensus building skills that have helped pioneer landmark developments for public agencies, private developers and institutions alike. Since 1980, Rick’s vision as President of Hitchcock Design Group has positioned the firm as one of the Midwest’s leading planning and landscape architectural firms. Rick has the innate ability to assemble the right team, understand client goals, see the big picture and build consensus among diverse stakeholders. This ability has led to client relationships that span eight months to eighteen years. Long-term client commitments are common and include multi-phased engagements in Neenah and Waukesha, Wisconsin and Elgin, Northbrook, La Grange, Joliet, West Dundee and Batavia, Illinois.

Robert Benson

Associate Principle and Design Director, 4240 Architecture

Honored among "the top 40 under 40" nationally by Building Design + Construction, Robert Benson has helped win a number of design awards and competitions with his Denver- and Chicago-based firm. His current projects include a new LEED-certified office building in Chicago, a church, a LEED Silver government office building in Dallas, and a $3 billion resort on the East Coast.

Ed Barsotti

Executive Director, League of Illinois Bicyclists

Ed Barsotti has been Executive Director of the League of Illinois Bicyclists since 2001. In his role heading the statewide bicycle advocacy organization, Ed serves as a liaison between government and cyclists seeking better biking conditions in Illinois. Projects include promotion of more trails and bike-friendly roads, motorist and cyclist education, and bike planning contracts for communities. A resident of Aurora, Ed bikes around 3000 miles per year for transportation and recreation.

Martin Felsen

Principal and Founder, UrbanLab

Martin Felsen is principal and founder of UrbanLab, a collaborative office practicing architecture and urbanism. UrbanLab has been the recipient of numerous honors, and has developed a reputation as a professional practice known for its innovative solutions to, and long-range strategies for the problems of both public and private communities. UrbanLab undertakes work of different sizes and scales, from urban interventions to small residences, but its primary interest is in forward-looking projects that speculate on a more resourceful tomorrow; to this end, UrbanLab is commissioned to produce both built work and purely speculative conceptual investigations.

Jack Pizzo

Senior Ecologist and Landscape Architects, Pizzo & Associates, Ltd.

Jack is founding partner of Pizzo & Associates, Ltd. and serves as the President, Senior Ecologist, and Registered Landscape Architect. Jack’s duties include directing the Management Team, marketing, speaking & education. Most importantly Jack serves as the ecological knowledge base for the company setting the philosophies, ethics, techniques and principals that have made Pizzo & Associates, Ltd. the industry leader in Ecological Restoration.

John Clark, AIA, LEED AP

Principal, Codogan Clark & Associates

As a founding principal of CCA, John has designed a wide range of projects in the Chicago area and throughout the Midwest. He oversees all projects, assuring quality and client satisfaction. These have ranged from large-scale municipal, institutional and educational facilities to high-rise, multi-use office, hotel, and casino complexes. John has completed a wide variety of significant projects involving urban planning, municipal design, and historic and contextual design. John’s work continues to win awards of distinction.

Carol Ross Barney, FAIA

Principal, Ross Barney Architects

Carol Ross Barney, FAIA is founder and Principal of Ross Barney Architects. She is responsible for the design excellence of all projects undertaken by the firm. Dedicated to improving the built environment, her work has an international reputation in design of institutional and public buildings. The work of her firm has been published in national and international journals, books and newspapers and has been awarded with numerous honors.

Doug Widener

Executive Director, US Green Building Council - Chicago Chapter

Doug Widener is the Executive Director of the US Green Building Council - Chicago Chapter. In this role he is responsible for the management of the affairs of the local Chapter including formulation of new policies in concert with the Board of Directors and is responsible for daily implementation of Chapter programs, events and initiatives, and oversight of financial planning and budgets. Prior to coming to the USGBC - Chicago Chapter, Doug served as Vice President of Education at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum of the Chicago Academy of Sciences. In this role Doug Widener was responsible for the funding, administration, research, development and implementation of all museum-based and outreach educational programming for the museum. Doug holds a Master of Science degree in Environmental Studies from Ohio University, Athens, Ohio.

Emily J. Harris

Executive Director, The Burnham Plan Centennial
Program Director, Chicago Metropolis 2020

Emily Harris is Executive Director of the Burnham Plan Centennial and the program director for early learning for Chicago Metropolis 2020. From 2001 to 2007, Emily maintained a private consulting practice. She provided strategic planning, research, writing, organizational development and program and policy development services to non-profit organizations and public agencies in a wide range of fields. Her clients worked in early care and education, violence prevention, leadership development, work force development, open space conservation, ecological restoration, historic preservation, urban planning, affordable housing and philanthropy.

Greg Davis

Produce Manager

Greg Davis has been working with produce for nearly 25 years. He has been Fox River Foods’ produce manager for 15 years. Greg’s previous experience includes working in the produce cooler before quickly being promoted to cooler and freezer receiving supervisor.

This is Fox River Foods’ fifth year of DOD Fruit and Vegetable Program participation under Greg’s direction. Currently, Fox River Foods is the approved DOD distributor for fresh fruits and vegetables for the entire state of Illinois. This year, the company will deliver more than 875,000 cases of produce to schools, restaurants, healthcare facilities and other foodservice operations.