Global Green

Matt Petersen - President and CEO

Matt Petersen has led Global Green USA since 1994, building and guiding the organization's innovative programs and initiatives. He also is Chair of Green Cross International's Energy Program. Matt’s vision for the green rebuilding of New Orleans has led to the greening of New Orleans schools, helped educate thousands of residents to rebuild their homes more energy efficiently, and helped create the Holy Cross Project, a sustainable village in the Lower 9th Ward with 23 units of affordable housing and a community/climate action center.

Matt has been touted a ‘green all star’ by Outside Magazine, and in May 2008 he was appointed by the Sir Edmund Hillary Institute in New Zealand as the Inaugural Hillary Fellow. Previously, Matt ran local, state, and federal political campaigns as well as serving as the Executive Director of Americans for a Safe Future.

Richard Wegman - Chief Operating Officer

Responsible for the management of Global Green USA's finances and administration, Richard Wegman has been helping to lead environmental companies since the late 1980s. Prior to Global Green USA, he served as a consultant to many environmental and social justice organizations in the Los Angeles area including El Rescate, Clinica Oscar A. Romero, Committee to Save Mono Lake, Coalition for Clean Air, Plaza Community Center in East Los Angeles, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and the Audubon Society. Previously he was the Chief Operating Officer of Tree People, a local community environmental non-profit. He also served for 8 years as the CFO of PS Enterprises, Inc., an environmental public relations firm that works with numerous cities, agencies, and non-profits.

Richard is Chairman of the Board for Amazon Watch an organization that works to protect the rainforest and advance the rights of indigenous peoples in the Amazon Basin.  He is also co-founder of ActiveMusic Inc, a non-profit that produces benefit concerts to raise money for other non-profit organizations, and is a board member of  Friends of Ballona Wetlands He holds an MBA in Finance and a B.S. in Marketing from California State Polytechnic University. In addition he is a certified Yoga teacher and Reiki healer.

Walker Wells - Director, Green Urbanism Program

Walker Wells' responsibilities include working with building industry stakeholders, affordable housing developers, and municipalities to further sustain able development practices, primarily through developing and implementing viable and cost-effective green building practices and programs. Former Senior Urban Designer with Gruen Associates in Los Angeles, Associate Planner with the City of Santa Monica, and Urban Planner for the City of Malmo, Sweden.

Walker is a member of the American Institute of City Planners and is a LEED Accredited Professional. He has Bachelor's degrees in Sociology and Environmental Studies from the University of California Santa Barbara, and an M.A. in City and Regional Planning from California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo.

Ted Bardacke - Green Urbanism Senior Program Associate

Ted Bardacke works with affordable housing developers, public agencies, school districts, and design and construction industry professionals to advance the sustainability of the urban environment. He has been involved in the drafting of numerous green building reference tools and standards, including Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating systems for Neighborhood Development and Neighborhood Development, the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) and the Green Communities Initiative for affordable housing. A lecturer in Urban Environmental Design and Planning at UCLA, in 2005 Ted accepted the USGBC’s Leadership Award for Advocacy on behalf of Global Green.

Ted is a former foreign correspondent based in Bangkok and Mexico City for the Financial Times, and coordinator of volunteer construction projects in rural Mexico for the American Friends Service Committee. He is a member of the American Institute of City Planners and a LEED Accredited Professional and has a B.A. from Wesleyan University and an M.S. from the Graduate School of Architecture at Columbia University.

Troy Simpson - Green Urbanism Program Associate

Troy Simpson's responsibilities include working with municipal governments on the creation of green building programs for public and private development, assisting select green affordable housing projects navigate the United States Green Building Council's LEED for Homes Program certification process, and supporting Global Green's efforts to ensure new schools constructed through the Los Angeles Unified School District's New School Construction Program meet standards of sustainability.

Troy is a LEED Accredited Professional and a Build It Green Certified Green Building Professional. He holds a B.S. in Political Science and Psychology from Santa Clara University.

Hagerenesh (Hagu) Solomon - Green Urbanism Program Associate

Hagerenesh (Hagu) Solomon is responsible for working with local government agencies to enhance green community developments on a neighborhood scale.  Working with both public and private community development institutions, Hagu is focused on advancing Global Green's expertise on the United States Green Building Council's LEED for Neighborhood Development (ND) certification process.

Hagu holds a Bachelor's degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Davis and an Master's degree in City Planning focused on Urban Design from the University of California, Berkeley.

Miriam Thompson - Green Urbanism Program Assistant

Miriam Thompson is working on evaluating which aspects of local government green building programs most effectively support the creation of climate action/sustainability plans. This project includes a quantitative analysis of the program’s results in terms of saving energy, saving water, reducing construction waste, protecting natural resources, and reducing green house gas emissions. She is also designing a series of case studies that showcase innovative green affordable housing projects that range from maximizing green building techniques with limited resources to meeting net zero goals.

Miriam is a native of Los Angeles who holds a Bachelor of Science in Design from the University of California, Davis and a Master of City and Regional Planning from California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo.

Elizabeth Teel Galante - Director, New Orleans Resource Center & Office

Beth Galante is responsible for the operation of Global Green's New Orleans Resource Center & Office, supervision of the Holy Cross Project, and rebuilding initiatives including green affordable homes, schools, and neighborhoods.

Beth was formerly an Assistant D.A. in New Orleans, handling predominently homicides, sex offenses and public corruption cases.  She taught at Tulane Law School, as the former Deputy Director of the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, which was the first recipient of the American Bar Association's Distinguished Environmental Achievement Award and the National Law Journal's Runner Up Lawyer of the Year during her tenure, for its groundbreaking work in the field of Environmental Justice. She is also a former legal representative of the New Jersey Attorney General and the Quapaw Indian Nation regarding damages to their natural resources. Beth has a Masters of Environmental & Energy Law and J.D. from Tulane Law School.  She is currently an Aspen Institute Fellow in its Henry Crown leadership program.

Camille Lopez - Build It Back Green Program Manager

Camille Lopez manages the Build It Back Green program in New Orleans, bringing green building resources to local residents, with an emphasis on long-term sustainability.  She and the Build it Back Green team reach out to educate and empower New Orleanians to make low cost energy efficiency upgrades and improve the indoor air quality of their homes. Additionally, Build it Back Green works to identify funders and green vendors to implement higher impact home modifications. Ms. Lopez has worked on Katrina recovery projects with several organizations since the Fall of 2005, most recently with Rebuilding Together New Orleans, focused on sustainable building practices in low income communities.

Prior to her arrival in the Gulf, she served on tsunami response teams in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, managing direct aid delivery to rural survivors.  She holds an M.A. from the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University and a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley. Early in her career, she taught English in Romania with the US Peace Corps, and is fluent in Romanian.  Ms. Lopez is a native of Southern California.  She recently purchased and renovated a 100 year old shotgun-style house in New Orleans, and is working on improving its energy efficiency.

Linda Stone - Policy Associate

Linda Stone currently serves as Policy Associate in Global Green’s New Orleans’ office.  In this capacity she works with state and local government, other nonprofits, and the school district to promote green building and green energy policy. Linda’s professional background includes assisting the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation with its master plan, founding The Green Project, and serving as director of Mayor Morial’s Office of Environmental Affairs from 1999 to 2002. When Morial left office in 2002, Linda took a job in San Antonio as director of the Metropolitan Partnership for Energy where she coordinated development of the city’s first residential green building program. She returned to New Orleans in January 2008 to work with Global Green.

Linda has a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of New Orleans. Linda also studied Spanish in Mexico and Spain and is a certified hatha yoga instructor. Linda and her husband Hugo Montero are renovating an historic house on Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. in Central City where they will live and run a Latin Cultural Center and Café.

Linda Morgano - Green Schools Program Associate

Linda was a former Global Green USA intern that assisted with creating the displays, the product library, and the green products and services list for the New Orleans Green Building Resource Center. She currently serves as an associate for the Green Schools Initiative. Her responsibilities include coordinating energy audits and incorporating sustainable products and techniques at select New Orleans schools; green building technical assistance; grant writing; and administrative and IT support.

Linda has a diverse professional background that includes managing software development projects and collecting and analyzing biological data in support of environmental protection and conservation efforts. She holds a M.S. in Computer Information Sciences and a B.S. in Ecology from the University of Pittsburgh. She earned her LEED AP credential and Permaculture certificate and is currently pursuing HERS training and certification.

Heidi Jensen - Office Manager, Assistant to Director

Heidi Jensen joined Global Green USA in 2008 to contribute to the green rebuilding efforts in New Orleans. She is responsible for the everyday operation of our New Orleans Resource Center, front desk reception and administrative support to the director and staff. Heidi coordinates Visitor's Center tours of the Global Green House in the Lower Ninth Ward, organizes green building resource center materials and consultations; coordinates our monthly panel discussions, newsletters, interns and community outreach events. Heidi is a native New Orleanian who's life endeavors have included the Louisiana Children's Museum, NO AIDS Task Force, childcare, voice over and local theatre and music.

Myron Warden - Energy Efficiency Fellow, Build It Back Green Program

Myron Warden’s responsibilities include providing technical assistance consultations to New Orleans residents, conducting energy audits, providing installation of energy efficiency upgrades for low-income families, documenting case studies, and delivering “Green-It-Yourself” workshops.

Myron is a former Americorps Construction Team Leader for Habitat for Humanity, Jacksonville, FL. He taught children English as a Second Language in Seoul, South Korea. He started his building science career as an intern for Southface Energy Institute specializing in residential energy efficiency and the LEED for Homes program. He is a Building Analyst I, Home Energy Rating Systems (HERS) Rater and LEED Accredited Professional. He holds a B.B.A. in Finance from Austin Peay State University.

Mary Luevano - Director, Policy & Legislative Affairs

Mary Luevano oversees policy and legislative initiatives related to green building, clean energy and climate change in addition to advising on a range of other policy issues for Global Green. She and the Policy staff work to educate decision makers and champion model policies in the areas of green affordable housing, green schools, green municipal buildings, climate solutions for low-income communities and solar and other renewable energy technologies. Much of the work focuses on the needs of low-income communities and crafting policies that engage new constituencies in the fight against climate change.

Prior to joining Global Green Mary worked as a Congressional staffer serving in the offices of  US Senator Alan Cranston, US Reps. Augustus Hawkins, Calvin Dooley and Jane Harman. Her legislative duties included work on environmental, defense technology, and business issues among others. She has also worked on numerous political campaigns. In 2004, Mary was appointed by Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn to serve on the City of LA’s Recreation and Parks Board of Commissioners where she was elected Vice President. In that capacity, she also served as the alternate representative to the LA Coliseum Commission. Mary also served for three years (one as President) on the City of LA’s Environmental Affairs Commission and has served on the UCLA Alumni Association Board of Directors as Chair of the Government Relations Alumni Advocacy Committee.

Mary holds a B.A. in Political Science/International Relations from UCLA and has completed the Congressional Research Service’s Graduate Legislative Institute in Washington, DC. In her spare time she is a Masters Swimmer and loves watching her beloved UCLA Bruins!

David Fink - Policy & Legislative Associate

David’s responsibilities include supporting the development and implementation of policy and legislative initiatives related to green building and energy efficiency.

Prior to joining the Global Green staff, David spent three years as a consumer advocate and organizer for Consumer Watchdog working on healthcare issues, insurance reform and political accountability. After that, he traveled for a year helping run campaigns in four different states for ACORN, fighting for workers rights and low-income families. David also worked as a legislative aide and press deputy for Los Angeles City Councilmember Richard Alarcon, handling policy work on the foreclosure crisis and poverty.

Erica Burt - Policy & Legislative Affairs Fellow

Erica assists Global Green's policy and legislative initiatives related to green building, clean energy and climate change. Previously, Erica worked to educate elected officials, architects, and urban planners on the techniques to achieve sustainable urbanism through a national seminar series at Farr Associates. She also helped research and write a textbook about sustainable urbanism, meant to be a handbook for city officials intent on implementing sustainability in the built environment. Erica has also worked for WRD Environmental and the City of Chicago Department of Environment, where aside from policy analysis and program design, she generated curriculum materials, and conducted outreach for a program to empower citizens to begin community organization around environmental issues.

Erica has a degree in General Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has completed some graduate work in Urban Planning. She is a licensed Professional Engineer Intern and a LEED Accredited Professional.
 

Dr. Paul F. Walker - Director, Security & Sustainability

Paul Walker has been with Global Green USA for over ten years and is responsible for direction and management of Global Green USA’s Security & Sustainabilty program, internationally known as the Legacy Program.

Paul is a former Professional Staff Member of the Armed Services Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives where he served as a senior advisor to the Chairman and full committee. He is also former Acting Director of the Peace and Conflict Studies Program at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts; and former Research Director with the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Paul has been an expert in international security, arms control, and nonproliferation policy for over 25 years. He has lectured and published widely, most recently on the demilitarization of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and has appeared on numerous TV and radio news and talk shows including Fox News, CNN, NPR, Christian Science Monitor, Voice of America, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and NBC. 

Paul holds a Ph.D. in political science and defense studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; an M.A. from Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies; a Russian Honors Certificate from the Defense Language Institute of the West Coast; and a Post-Doctoral Fellowship from the Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University.  He is also a Vietnam-era Army veteran.

Finn R. Torgrimsen Longinotto - Senior Fellow

Finn Longinotto' responsibilities include supporting the overall international Legacy Program out of Washington DC. Primarily focused on the development and implementation of Global Green /Green Cross projects funded by the Global Partnership, including Russian outreach efforts, community and regional assessment studies and community development projects. Coordinates outreach to Washington, DC's foreign diplomatic community on threat reduction initiatives and weapons destruction programs. Formerly Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase Bank.

Finn has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Geneva, Switzerland; an M.B.A. in International Management from Monterey Institute of International Studies; as well as an M.A. in Environmental Conservation Education from New York University (internship at The American Museum of Natural History's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation).

Marina Voronova - Program Associate

Marina Voronova's responsibilities include support and management for all Security & Sustainability Program activities. Prior to joining Global Green USA, Marina has participated in multi-disciplinary projects and nonproliferation initiatives dealing with terrorism, the physical protection of former nuclear and biological warfare (BW) facilities, and employment issues for former BW scientists in the Russian Federation and Central Asian states.

Marina worked for over five years at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies as Research Associate at the Chemical & Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program in Monterey, California and as Office Manager at the representative office in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Marina was also involved in opening a state-of-the-art biomedical facility in Russia while working as a Lead Researcher and Analyst at Investment Advisory Group International LLC in Moscow. Marina holds an M.A. in International Policy Studies from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, where she studied on a Graduate Muskie Merit Scholarship. She speaks and researches in English, Russian, and Spanish and is a member of Women in International Security (WIIS).

Annie White - Director, Coalition for Resource Recovery

The Coalition for Resource Recovery is an industry working group dedicated to identifying, promoting, and implementing cost-neutral or better programs to divert, reclaim, recycle, and add value to waste. Annie’s expertise lies in facilitating the collaboration of diverse constituencies to identify and implement innovative approaches to improve environmental and social outcomes.

Previously, Annie served as the founding executive director of GreenBlue’s Sustainable Packaging Coalition, an industry working group dedicated to realizing sustainable packaging solutions through supply chain collaboration. The Sustainable Packaging Coalition has grown from its nine founding member companies to over 150 members, and has been lauded as ‘one of the most influential groups in packaging.’ Annie has also consulted with Fortune 500 clients on issues including: sustainable products and packaging, recycling, and sustainability reporting and communications.

Annie has an M.B.A. from the Ross School of Business, an M.S. in Sustainable Systems from the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan, and a dual B.S. in Biology and Environmental Science from the College of William and Mary.

Ruben Aronin - Director, Communications

Ruben Aronin is responsible for overseeing the strategic messaging initiatives for Global Green and implements all of its media campaigns. Previously, Ruben served as the Executive Director of the Earth Communications Office, an international non-profit organization based in the Hollywood community. He has over a decade of experience in the environmental field and in non-profit management.

Ruben has overseen more than a dozen international communications campaigns that have reached over a billion people worldwide and has led celebrity delegations for press events at the United Nations, Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, and on Capitol Hill.

Ruben currently serves on the national steering committee of the Apollo Alliance, the Board of ECO India and Advocacy Arts, and the Advisory Boards of LOHAS and Ciceana. Prior to his environmental work, he worked for President Clinton's Inaugural celebration and for Congressman Christopher Shays.

Justine Smith - Communications & Development Associate

Justine joined Global Green in 2007. Her responsibilities include management of the Global Green website and social networking sites, communications with members and consituents, and working on corporate partnerships, media strategies, and events. Justine's previous work experience has been as Project Manager in Interactive Media including Yahoo! Music. Justine grew up in England and Ireland, and came to California for college, receiving a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from UCLA. She recently completed an A.A. in Interior Design. Justine lives in Venice and happily bikes to work.

Nina Storm - Events Manager

Nina Storm joined Global Green in 2006 and manages the planning and production of events all over the country. A life long environmentalist, Nina was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. A Los Angeles resident for the past 10 years, she held positions in entertainment, education, public relations and for other non profit organizations before joining Global Green. Nina holds a B.A. in Communication from Lewis and Clark College and currently resides in the legendary neighborhood of Laurel Canyon. A community and political activist, Nina has an ongoing romance with the City of Angels, and is thrilled each day, to have the opportunity to help make a contribution to protecting the environment through her work with Global Green. 

Jake Fried - Database Administrator

Jake is responsible for managing Global Green’s donor database in order to facilitate strategic fundraising efforts and to increase the capacity of development & communications staff to manage their relationships with donors, prospects and other partners. Prior to joining Global Green, Jake spent four years at Big Brothers Big Sisters - a mentoring organization serving at-risk youth - where he supported the national office’s fund development department in the role of Manager of Donor Data Systems. Jake studied film at Temple University and maintains an interest in narrative art.

Terri New - Consultant, Major Gifts

Terri New works with major donors of Global Green. She is the Founder and President of Capital Strategies, a fundraising consulting firm based in Los Angeles. Terri has worked for over 18 years with elected officials, philanthropists, corporations, business executives and grassroots activists around the country and has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for various causes and candidates.

Adam Greenfield - Consultant, Corporate Relations & Major Gifts

Adam is a former lecturer at Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles where he taught courses on human rights and global development. He holds an M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Michigan. He remains very interested in the politics and culture of the modern Middle East.

Heather Mott - Executive Assistant/Operations Manager

Heather Mott joined Global Green USA in April of 2008. Heather brings with her many years of operations experience from a variety of different environments including The Chicago Stock Exchange, The Economic Club of Chicago, the technology sector and most recently real estate. Heather is a native of Chicago but studied at The University of Virginia and Columbia College. An outdoor enthusiast, Heather enjoys hiking, horseback riding and photography in her free time.

Linda Wilson - Accounting Manager

Linda Wilson was born in New Orleans but now calls Los Angeles home. She is thrilled to join the Global Green Accounting Team and works closely with the COO and the Program Directors as Accounting Manager. Linda has a B.S. in Accounting from Woodbury University and brings with her years of knowledge from a variety of industries, including entertainment, construction, small business and tax service. Linda is enjoying and especially proud to be a new grandmother.

Michelle Hart - Accounting Assistant

Michelle Hart joined Global Green in 2006. She assists the Accounting team’s human resources and finance activities, including payroll, employee health benefits, and accounts payable. Michelle brings her love of people to Global Green, infusing positive energy into her daily interactions with all of the GGUSA team. Prior to joining Global Green, Michelle worked as an editor in the film industry. She is also a Somatic Movement Educator, teaching people to live more fully in their bodies.

Sarah Susson - Development Assistant

Sarah started interning at Global Green in February 2009, and was hired in January 2010 to help support the Executive Assistant to the CEO & COO. Prior to Global Green, she worked for Daily Variety, coordinating and producing the Variety Screening Series, screening Academy Award contending films in LA, NY and San Francisco.

Sarah graduated with high honors from UCSB with a B.A. in Communication, and currently resides in Santa Monica. When she is not working or traveling, she devotes herself to her family, sports, creative endeavors and volunteering. She was Captain of both the 2007 US Pan American Women’s Volleyball Team as well as the 2009 US Women's Maccabiah Volleyball Team. Sarah is passionate about and dedicated to sustainable living practices, projects, and education and hopes her enthusiasm and dedication will contribute to the success of GGUSA's mission.
 

Sharon Williams - Receptionist