We have brought together some of the bravest and brightest leaders whose courage, wisdom or potential inspire us to act more boldly for environmental justice.
Meet Your Presenters

After a year-long “reverse-sabbatical” appointment as the Coastal Studies Scholar at Bowdoin College, David returned full-time to film and media: adding activist-media to awareness-media work. With major support from the Lewis Family Foundation, he founded the not-for-profit Conservation Media Group (CMG) five years ago. To date, CMG has developed almost 80 filmmaker activists and paired them with over 30 organizations who are campaigning for healthier oceans and a just and fossil-free economy. Successful milestones and results have included international protection of mobulid rays under the CITES accord, a model also being pursued to protect both whale and mako shark species. In the ocean plastics realm, CMG has supported the trash mapping work of Ocean Recovery Alliance, and the More Ocean, Less Plastic campaign of 5 Gyres. The group also provided training and support for 350.org’s Break Free mobilization, as well as communications expertise and on-going consultation to 350.org as they build a worldwide communications team and technical infrastructure.
David resides in the seaport of Camden, Maine with his wife Beverly, where they raised their family. He serves on the Board of the Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership. Summer caretaking duties of a Maine lighthouse are shared with his extended family. We have known David for more than 20 years, and he has been a close friend and advisor, and an integral part of our company’s and Alnoba’s work. He and his team produced the PBS film Of Stone, Wood and Glass, beautifully captures the spirit, sustainable vision and dream of Alnoba.

Steve has worked with numerous magazines, newspapers, NGO’s and production companies, such as National Geographic, BBC, Hakai Magazine, The Pew Charitable Trust, Discovery Channel, New York Times, TIME, LA Times, National Geographic Traveler, BBC Wildlife, Asian Geographic, Ocean Geographic, Oceana, Asian Diver, Nature’s Best Photography, Scuba Diver Australasia, Sportdiver, Habitat for Humanity, Concern Worldwide, Red Cross, 60 minutes Australia, and many more.
Steve’s images and films have been shown and won awards in numerous competitions and film festivals, such as Nature’s Best Photography, Outdoor Photographer of the Year, Beneath the Sea, Beneath the Waves film festival, Wildlife Conservation and Film Festival and San Francisco Ocean Film Festival.

Josh was born and raised in rural western Nebraska, where his family maintains an active cattle ranch. After attending the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Josh began his career as the Communications Director for Salt Lake City, where he worked on the City’s 2002 Olympics planning and was involved with many environmental and conservation projects.
After leaving the Mayor’s Office, Josh worked for nine years as an advertising and government affairs executive. During this time, Josh helped run several successful high-level political campaigns and provided pro-bono public relations work for many conservation organizations.
Josh has served on several non-profit boards. In addition to his leadership of Friends of Cedar Mesa, Josh also serves as town techie for Bluff, as well as volunteering on the Fire Department.

The organization is distinguished by top-notch academic programming and innovative collaborations to develop the next generation of ocean exploration. During summer undergraduate research and high school programs, students have life-changing experiences that transform them from students to scientists, while they are learning about the world around them in an immersive and unforgettable way.
Jennifer describes herself as an educator and a believer in doing and using the best available science for environmental management. Under her leadership, Shoals is also heavily engaged in public education about the marine environment and environmental policy making. As a steward of Appledore Island’s complex and unique history, Dr. Seavey keeps alive the stories of the fishers from the 1600s, artists from the 1800s and today’s marine scientists, and she uses the lab to blend different aspects of Appledore history to develop cutting-edge academic and research programs.

Prior to joining Carsey, Michael was at several Washington, D.C. think-tanks working on both federal and state economic and fiscal policy. He most recently was the Senior Director for the Fiscal and Economic Policy Portfolio at the Pew Charitable Trusts. Prior to that, he was the Vice President for Economic Policy at the Center for American Progress and held positions with the Economic Policy Institute and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Michael holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University and a Juris Doctor from American University.

Boeve and her team at 350.org were part of the coalition that organized the historic 2014 People’s Climate March, which drew more than 400,000 people to New York City to advocate global action on climate change. She has overseen 350.org’s innovative and highly successful campaign to secure commitments from major institutions to divest from fossil fuels, which in the past 5 years resulted in nearly $8 trillion in divestment commitments from hundreds of institutions including foundations, universities, cities, and churches.
With her 350.org co-founders she is author of Fight Global Warming Now.

Grist, which publishes online, now has an audience of more than 2.5 million, and has been especially successful reaching readers in their 20s and 30s. Readers follow Grist.org for information, inspiration, and conversation—as well as an injection of much-needed humor.
Giller is now using the Grist platform to launch Fix, a new program to showcase and connect an emerging set of leaders working toward a future that doesn’t suck.
Giller has been honored with a Heinz Award for launching the country’s most influential green media platform, and been named a TIME magazine “Hero of the Environment.” He has been featured for his work in such outlets as Vanity Fair, Newsweek, and Outside, and appeared on broadcast programs including NBC’s Today show.
Before launching Grist, Giller was editor of Greenwire, the first environmental news daily.

Phil's more serious pursuits include serving on the boards of the Conservation Law Foundation and the Environmental and Energy Technology Council of Maine, as well as on Maine Audubon's corporate partner steering committee and United Way of Greater Portland's campaign committee. Since 1996 he has been a mentor to at-risk kids through the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program.
After attending Boston College, he worked as a journalist before pivoting to business start-ups and becoming passionate about corporate social responsibility and using business as a force for good in the world. Prior to co-founding ReVision Energy, Coupe was vice president and director of corporate philanthropy at a Washington, D.C. startup that twice made the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing companies in America.

Susanne came to the Society in 1999 after serving for 10 years as the Director for Institutional Advancement, Director of Cooperative Education, and adjunct Assistant Professor of Land Use Planning at Unity College in Maine. While in Maine, Susanne was appointed by Gov. Angus King to the Maine Commission for Community Service. Her prior work includes serving as a project manager for a consulting firm doing land use planning projects nationwide.

Before joining the Forest Society, Will served as the executive director of the Mount Washington Observatory (2003-2006); the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center (1992-2003); and the New Hampshire Land Conservation Investment Program (1988-1992).


Manny is the owner & Spiritual Director of the Yoga Center of Newburyport. He teaches Asana, Meditation and Yogic philosophy, leading workshops and retreats in the US and internationally.
