Mark Brescia is the multifamily & residential energy efficiency Program Manager for National Grid’s New York City and Long Island territories. Prior to joining National Grid he was an Account Manager for ICF working on the NYC Mayor’s Office Clean Heat program to improve air quality and save lives by eliminating heavy heating oil use and accelerating the adoption of the cleanest fuels in large multifamily buildings. Mark previously led Green Market Solutions’ Maryland Home Performance with Energy Star® program providing energy assessments, air sealing and insulation improvements for residential homes. He was also the Project Director Green Market Solutions’ school fundraising program that increased the use of Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs while educating students and communities on how to reduce their energy usage as part of The New Jersey Clean Energy Program. A graduate of Brandeis University, Mark has delivered pragmatic solutions to achieve sustainability goals for over 8 years. — Brooklyn, NY, USA
Philip I. Brilliant, CHMM, LSRP is the owner and founder of Brilliant Environmental Services, LLC, a full-service environmental consulting and contracting company with offices in Toms River, NJ. A well-respected site remediation expert, Phil was influential in the establishment of the NJ Licensed Site Remediation Program (LSRP) following the enactment of the Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA) in 2009. Phil was appointed by Governor Chris Christie and approved by the NJ State Senate to the NJ Site Remediation Licensing Board in 2010 as a charter member and, in 2015 he was reappointed as the LSRP who represents a State-Wide Environmental Organization because of his position as a Board Member of GreenFaith. Phil is both a frequent educator and lecturer on underground storage tank regulations and compliance, site remediation regulations and remedial technologies and technical guidance for the remediation of contaminated sites. Phil is a member of the Montclair State University’s Advisory Board for Continuing Environmental Education for Professionals (CEEP) and the President of Congregation B’nai Israel in Toms River, NJ. — Toms River, NJ, USA
Flávio Conrado is anthopologist, editor, organizer and scholar-activist. He holds a B.A. in Social Sciences from the University of State of Rio de Janeiro (1997), a M.A. and PhD in Sociology and Anthropology from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (2006). Since the 90's he's been engaged with Peace and Disarmament, Human Rights, Child Rights and Interreligious Dialogue/Cooperation issues in Brazil and Latin America. He works as Coordinator in Intersecções, a platform to create resources and promote courageous conversations on Evangelical faith and eco-justice issues. He was raised in Baptist tradition and now work with a missional nondenominational initiative on the outskirts of Brasilia, capital of Brazil. — Brasilia, DF, Brazil
Jack M. Gorman, M.D. founded Franklin Behavioral Healthcare Consultants in 2010. In 2016, he co-founded Critica LLC with Dr. Sara Gorman. Critica is devoted to fighting science denial and promoting science literacy. Dr. Gorman received his medical degree from Columbia University and received residency and fellowship training in the Department of Psychiatry of Columbia University/New York State Psychiatric Institute program. His newest book, authored with his daughter, Dr. Sara Gorman, Denying To the Grave , on the reasons behind denial of scientific medical evidence, was published by Oxford University Press in 2016. — Bronx, NY, USA
Scott James-Vickery is Executive of the Office of Deaconess and Home Missioner for the United Methodist Church, where he administers mission personnel both in the U.S and abroad who serve in a variety of advocacy vocations. He also serves on the Board of Directors for DOTAC-Diakonia of the Americas and Caribbean. DOTAC is an ecumenical group of Christian diaconal communities in North America, the Caribbean, Central America and South America leading the church in compassion and justice. — Hackensack, NJ, USA
Bishop Nathan Kyamanywa is a retired Anglican Bishop in The Province of Church the Church of Uganda, East Africa. He lives in the town of Hoima. Bishop Nathan spent 14 years as Diocesan Bishop of Bunyoro-Kitara Diocese, and 27 years before that as a church minister (unordained initially, but ordained in 1984). During his ministry, Nathan had a passion for the environment, conservation issues and climate change. He initiated a programme of planting trees (reforestation) to combat massive deforestation in his part of Africa, and he was and still is known for his strategic programme of demanding every candidate for confirmation to plant a tree before being confirmed, which led to many referring to him as a "Bishop of Trees." He is a founding member of the Excecutive for the Uganda Faith Network of Environmental Education (UFNEA), an organisation bringing together different faiths to combat climate change using faith-based beliefs, values and traditions. He held the title of the British Council Icon for three years (2009 -2010). Currently, he is the Ambassador of Climate Change for ActAlliance, a consortium of 12 churches and faith organisations working together for the preservation of the earth. He has traveled worldwide to attend climate change conferences, including most recently in Marrakech, Morocco in 2016. — Hoima, Uganda
Denise Patel is a New York City-based human rights and environmental activist. Her personal and professional work has focused on grassroots organizing, building coalitions, and leading advocacy campaigns to address occupational and environmental health impacts of climate change and toxic chemicals. She has previously worked for organizations such as the NJ Work Environment Council and has been a leader in the fossil fuel divestment movement working with the DivestInvest Network, 350.org, and the Peoples Climate Movement - New York. She holds a Master of Public Health from Columbia University with a focus on Climate and Health. (Brooklyn, NY)
Deborah Prinz is the former Executive Director of the Achieve Foundation of South Orange & Maplewood. She is a member of the New Jersey Jewish Film Festival Steering Committee, a trustee of the Orange Orphan Society and a member of the New Jersey Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission. She is a lifelong member of Temple B’nai Abraham in Livingston. — South Orange, NJ, USA
Fred Profeta was the mayor of Maplewood Township in New Jersey from 2004-2008. He was the Deputy Mayor for the Environment from 2008 through 2010. Profeta was Chair of the New Jersey Mayors’ Committee for a Green Future from 2006-2011, co-founding the Sustainable Jersey municipal certification program. Profeta has spoken widely around his state and beyond to promote Sustainable Jersey and presented at the 2009 Local Government Climate Change Leadership Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark. In 2010, Profeta received the New Jersey Governor’s Environmental Leadership Excellence award. He is also a New York lawyer specializing in appellate litigation and has been the senior partner of Profeta & Eisenstein since 1987. — Maplewood, NJ, USA
Cynthia Scharf is the Senior Strategy Advisor for the Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative and is on the Advisory Board of the Laudato Si Research Initiative at Oxford University, UK. Ms. Scharf previously served as the head of strategic communications and chief speechwriter on climate change for the United Nations Secretary-General from 2009-2016, including for the landmark Paris climate change agreement in 2015. She previously worked for the U.N. and several NGOs on humanitarian emergencies in the Balkans, Africa and Russia. Ms Scharf received her M.A. from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. - Sleepy Hollow, NY, USA
Barry L. Schwartz is CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Jewish Publication Society, the oldest Jewish publisher in the United States. He also serves as rabbi of Congregation Adas Emuno. Rabbi Schwartz is the author of ten books including Judaism's Great Debates (2012), Path of the Prophets (2018), and a children's environmental picture book Adam's Animals (2017). He is a long time activist with the Jewish environmental movement, including the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), Shomrei Adamah and the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL). He is an avid hiker. - Leonia, NJ, USA
Scott A. Weiner is the Principal of SAW Associates LLC, a consulting firm focusing on business strategy and public policy in the areas of climate change, commercialization of renewable energy technologies and emerging business models for energy utilities. He is a member of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in New York City and previously served as a member of its Board of Trustees. Scott has served as President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Energy, and as Deputy, Markets & Innovation, at the New York State Department of Public Service. He also has served on the senior management team of public and private clean energy businesses. Scott is the founding Director of the Center for Energy, Economic and Environmental Policy at Rutgers University and has served as a Senior Policy Fellow and Faculty Fellow at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers. - New York, NY, USA
Rev. Leo Woodberry has a long history of combating racism and promoting justice. During a rash of African American church burnings in the 1990s throughout the South, he worked with the South Carolina Burned Church Restoration Coalition to bring the arsonists to justice and shut down the operations of the Ku Klux Klan in South Carolina. He has long worked to address issues of environmental racism and climate justice, first working with the African American Environmental Justice Action Network in the 1990’s to organize community members around mercury contamination in fish and waterways from pollution from coal-burning power plants, an issue in his county where fish are subsistence food for low-income citizens. He was active in a coalition that prevented the construction of the Pee Dee coal plant, arguing that it would bring pollution and negative health impacts to the community while failing to deliver promised economic benefits and jobs. Rev. Woodberry has served on the Steering Committee of the Peoples Climate Movement and is nationally recognized as an environmental justice leader in the black church community. — Florence, SC, USA
Irene Woodard is the owner of True Blooms, a floral business using seasonal, fresh, local plants and flowers. True Blooms designed the stage sets for The Dalai Lama's visit to Town Hall, His Holiness Karmapa's visit to NYC, World Resource Institute, and The Earth Institute at Columbia University, and life celebrations, weddings, and memorials. She is a co-founder of The Shambhala Touching the Earth Collective, and she is on the Governing Board of Sky Lake Shambhala Meditation and Retreat Center. She is the mother of two adored adults, Charles (Max) and Catherine.
— New York, NY, USA