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	Connected Companies principals have excellent track records in delivering results, with extensive experience in general business management, communications and PR, as well as in specialized sustainability management.  All are graduates of Presidio Graduate School’s executive program in sustainable business management. ... Rory Bakke brings over 20 years of expertise in designing and implementing award-winning environmental programs and public policies that promote environmental stewardship and save businesses money. She has held senior positions in local and regional government and has experience in business consulting, legislative lobbying and working extensively with public boards and committees, business organizations and institutions. As the founder of StopWaste.Org’s (dba Alameda County Waste Management Authority) StopWaste Partnership, she has worked with a wide range of industry sectors to improve environmental performance in daily operations and to design tools for strategic sustainability planning. Rory has worked with many clients to reduce waste and form sustainability partnerships, such as: the Oakland Athletics, Ghirardelli Chocolate, Peerless Coffee, American Licorice and the Alameda Newspaper Group. Her new company, Sustainable Concepts Studio, works with public and private organizations on systemic changes that produce more sustainable outcomes, particularly in the areas of waste reduction, adapting water practices in an era of climate change and in providing training for the transition to sustainability. Full bio > ... Ken Eskenazi is the founder and CEO of Innovation To Industry (i2i). He started the company to fuse his passion for a common cause (sustainability) with common sense – if you waste less, you’ll have more. I2i’s focus is bringing unique zero waste products to market (such as Rapioli™ reusable packaging system) and providing creative sustainability strategies to corporations. His online sustainability training module, ThinkGreenPasadena, won the inaugural 2009 County of Los Angeles Green Leadership Award for innovative initiatives that encourage sustainability. Eskenazi’s 20 years experience as an award-winning creative director for ad/design agencies on both coasts allowed him to flex his managerial, business and creative muscles on branding, advertising, packaging, web and marketing. His wide range of clients include CAA, the City of Pasadena, Coca-Cola, Crystal Geyser, Disney, Goldman Sachs, McAfee, Mattel, the NBA, NewPage, Oracle, Princess Cruises, Reebok, Sega, Sony, the USGBC, Warner Bros. and many others. He enjoys teaching graphics and sustainable packaging courses at Art Center College of Design and UCLA, and has spoken at the United Nations. Ken serves on the advisory board of the Sustainable Business Council, and is a member of the SBC Forum and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Energy, Water and Environment committee. Full bio > ... Christian Forthomme is President and Founder of RealChange. He is an international change, leadership and sustainability consultant, an entrepreneur, educator and connector for innovative North American and European organizations. He has been a key contributor to the success of leadership development, culture change and sustainability initiatives for clients around the world. Christian has specific experience in building highly effective multi-cultural teams and helping innovative organizations learn from each other on both sides of the Atlantic. Christian launched two innovative global consulting firms. He created and directed the pioneering MBA program in Organizational Leadership at John F. Kennedy University. Clients include Genentech, the Gates Foundation, Odwalla, New Leaf Paper, J&J, Groupe Yves Rocher, France Telecom, Bayer, BNP-Paribas or Nature et Decouvertes. Full bio > ... Shirley Naaning Gines is a 20+-year veteran in strategic marketing communications and corporate brand-building. She is experienced in creating and executing successful communications campaigns that support corporate business objectives and enhance brand reputations of Fortune 500s and technology start-ups. She has consulted and worked at Silicon Valley and Southern California companies, including Mobius/SOFTBANK Venture Capital, MIR3, Telegent Systems, SkyPilot, SkyStream Networks, Levi Strauss & Company, and Regis McKenna PR. She has earned a number of national PR awards, including the Public Relations Society of America's (PRSA) prestigious Silver Anvil Award of Excellence; and an International Association of Business Communicators Award. Her strategic counsel and sustained marketing communications programs have resulted in numerous features and news articles in top-tier business, consumer and technology news outlets, including Businessweek, The Wall Street Journal, NY Times, Forbes, Fortune, CNN, CIO Magazine, Newsweek, Infoworld, Network World, Rolling Stone Magazine, S.F. Chronicle and L.A. Times. Shirley holds degrees in psychology and communication from Stanford University. She is a graduate of the second cohort of the Executive Program for Sustainable Business Management at the Presidio Graduate School. Full bio > ... Andrea Green is a visible, authentic, passionate, articulate ambassador and advocate for sustainability and why businesses will benefit from its associated strategies. Andrea has more than 20 years of professional experience in stakeholder wealth creation and company management with specialties in licensing, brand management and evangelism, business development and marketing and sales, all within the consumer products realm.  Andrea has held functional executive positions in public and private companies, both domestic and international in focus. She is currently connecting traditional consumer products brand holders & manufacturers with short & long term sustainable wins, and consumers with better product options, through her company Globally Green. Her expertise has been combined with an education in Sustainable Business Management from the Presidio Graduate School, having completed their inaugural executive graduate program. Andrea is a member of the LA Sustainable Business Forum, LIMA (International Licensed Merchandisers Association) and ISSP (International Society of Sustainability Professionals). Full bio > ... Shannon McElyea brings more than 25 years of experience in new technology, communications and security. Her focus is on creating alliances for joint sales, marketing and engineering, primarily for start-up and early-stage companies. McElyea has been a significant contributor in three IPOs and one acquisition by evangelizing leading-edge technologies and creating the strategic partnerships and programs highlighted in IPO prospectuses. These technologies are ubiquitous today. Companies include DeepNines Technologies, iPass, CyberCash (now PayPal), NTI (now Cisco PIX Firewall), Netcom Online Comunications (now EarthLink), Portal Communications (now Oracle), Siemens AG - Germany, Xerox Divisions: Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) and OSD/SDD. McElyea has also been a featured speaker worldwide for topics such as Cyberbanking, VPNs and Security. Full bio > ... Miriam Weidner’s passion for sustainability and the LOHAS market grew from her roots in the natural products publishing industry. As executive publisher of HealthSmart Today, the custom magazine for Vitamin World’s loyalty marketing program, she directed all aspects of content, production and business development. Her tenure at Warren Miller Entertainment included event marketing and sponsorship management for clients like Sony, Nissan, Janus, and Clif Bar. Most recently, Miriam’s focus has been Web 2.0 social media marketing research and strategy execution to effectively (and sustainably) connect markets and marketers for a win/win solution. Full bio > ... Jerry Wheeler brings a unique perspective to sustainability consulting, with more than 15 years of experience in the retail, wholesale, uniform and manufacturing sectors of the apparel industry. His extensive uniform industry knowledge and work with leading lifestyle apparel manufacturers has driven the development of innovative insights, particularly in the areas of supply chain management and product development. His newest enterprise, EcoCentric, is dedicated to helping companies increase transparency, streamline processes and develop healthy business practices—with the ultimate goal of reducing environmental impact, improving social responsibility and the bottom line. Jerry was introduced to sustainability many years ago but it became his focus 5 years ago while developing a sustainable business model for his previous company. Jerry is an active advisory board member and ambassador to the Organic Exchange and is dedicated to facilitating the acceptance of sustainable and transparent business practices within the apparel and consumer products industry. Full bio >