Presenters

Mary Lou Jepsen

Chief Technology Officer, One Laptop Per Child
Founder and President, PixelQi

Mary Lou Jepsen has been a pioneer in developing display technologies, from flat-panel televisions, to holography, to laser displays and day-lighting. She was most recently director of technology development in Intel's Display Division. Previously, she co-founded the MicroDisplay Corporation and served as its CTO. Her recent emphasis has been on single-panel LCoS systems, and her leadership in this area has brought her worldwide recognition as a top innovator in the industry. Jepsen also contributed to several breakthroughs in diffractive optics and holographic display technology, including building the world's first holographic video system, and the largest hologram in the world, one that spanned a city block (in Cologne). Jepsen holds a PhD in optics, a BS in electrical engineering, and a BA in studio art from Brown University. She also holds an MS from MIT, where she studied in the Media Lab's Spatial Imaging group.

    Natalie Jeremijenko

Technoartist and Innovator 

Natalie Jeremijenko is a design engineer and technoartist who puts emerging technologies to work for social change.  Recent projects of Jeremijenko’s have included planting pairs of genetically identical trees throughout the city of San Francisco to “render the social and environmental differences to which they are exposed”  and modifying consumer-grade robotic toys to sniff out toxic waste ;  Jeremijenko’s commitment to decentralized and socially responsible forms of information design is evident in the ongoing project HowStuffisMade (http://howstuffismade.org) an on-line encyclopedia of labor conditions and manufacturing processes involved in the production of contemporary products.  

Chris Jordan

Digital Photography Artist, Environmental Advocate

Chris Jordan is a Seattle-based photographic artist who portrays the detritus of our mass culture: piles of cell phones, aluminum cans, garbage, and the like. His work is exhibited widely in the US and Europe , and has been featured in print media, blogs, documentary films, and radio and television programs worldwide. Chris is also a father, husband, gardener, vegetarian, sometime jazz musician, and has an obsessive fascination with the sound of large Chinese gongs. 

Ryan Block

Editor in Chief, Engadget.com

Ryan Block is the editor-in-chief of Engadget , a web magazine focused on obsessive coverage of consumer electronics and technology. In addition to appearing to speak at Engadget events and formerly co-hosting a weekly podcast, he is also a contributor and founding editor of Joystiq, and a technology critic and commentator who has been quoted by the BBC, Business Week, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Times, and The Wall St. Journal. Ryan also maintains an active personal blog.

Gregg Chason

Vice President Industry Affairs & Relations, Philips Consumer Lifestyle North America

Gregg Chason is the vice president of Industry Affairs and Relations for Philips Consumer Lifestyle North America.  In his current role Chason provides guidance and support for Philips’ government affairs activities and leads the regional initiatives in supporting consumers, business partners and overall corporate goals in relation to sustainability.  He has been with the Company since 1984 and has held numerous positions since then, including vice president Online Sales and Marketing, vice president and general manager Institutional TV, vice president Mainstream TV Marketing, director, Video Marketing, marketing Manager Projection TV and regional sales manager.

David Conrad

Head of Environment for North America, Nokia

As Head of Environment for North America at Nokia Conrad is responsible for the management of materials disposition and recycling efforts, the integration of global strategy with regional programs, creating internal and external environmental awareness programs, monitoring and influencing proposed legislation and interfacing with internal teams to ensure sustainable business practices. The global team works together to ensure a positive global effort for the benefit of the environment and Conrad leads the North American endeavor. Nokia is a noted leader in CSR and environmental issues. 

Andrew Dent, Ph.D.

Vice President Materials & Director of Library , Material ConneXion

Dr. Dent plays a key role in Material Connexion’s expansion of its technical knowledge base.  His primary function is to direct research into innovative products and processes. His role includes coordinating the monthly jury selections that vote new materials into the four libraries in New York, Milan, Cologne, and Bangkok as well as management of the physical library team and our online database.  Prior to joining Material ConneXion, Dr. Dent held a number of research positions both in industry and academia. At Rolls Royce PLC, Dr. Dent specialized in turbine blades for the present generation of jet engines. He has completed postdoctoral research at Cambridge University and at the Center for Thermal Spray Research, SUNY, Stony Brook, NY. 

Arthur Huang

Founder and Managing Director , MINIWIZ Sustainable Energy Development LTD

Arthur Huang is a Cornell and Harvard trained architect with a special interest in sustainable design.  While teaching at the renowned Tunghai University and the National Chiao-Tung University in Taiwan, he created MINIWIZ with other professors and industry professionals who share his green sensibilities.  MINIWIZ is an innovative consumer tech-product development company that specializes in the design of green power generating and sustainable rechargeable systems for handheld digital devices.  Their first product, the HYmini™, the first hand-held universal charging device to harness wind (and also solar) power, was introduced in November 2007.

Douglas Johnson

Senior Director, Technology Policy and International Affairs , CEA

Doug Johnson is senior director of technology policy and international affairs for the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). He is responsible for public policy issues at the local, national and international levels that affect product development, operations, sales and marketing in the $148 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry.  Mr. Johnson directs CEA’s public policy activities and industry initiatives related to energy efficiency at the local, national and international levels.  Mr. Johnson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master of Arts degree from The George Washington University.

Allyson Klein

Manager, Server Technology and Software Strategy, Server Platform Group, Intel Corp

Allyson Klein manages the Server Technology and Software Strategy team within Intel's Server Platform Group.  Allyson has been driving server technology marketing for Intel for the past eight years including oversight of Intel's I/O, memory, virtualization, and data center efficiency initiatives.  She also has driven marketing programs for industry groups including the InfiniBand Trade Association, PCI SIG, Itanium Solutions Alliance, The Green Grid, and Climate Savers Computing Initiative.  Allyson holds a BA from the University of Oregon in Marketing and Management and an MBA from Portland State University.

Grant Kristofek

Sustainability Champion, Continuum

Grant Kristofek is the co-champion of sustainable design at Continuum. Grant's compassion, fearlessness and pioneering vision have helped him impact big changes both internally at the company and in a range of client and concept work. Grant is the co-founder and head of the Sustainability Group at Continuum and has initiated a series of ongoing internal programs to foster internal growth and knowledge.  Grant's interest in the path toward a more sustainable world began as a graduate student at MIT, where he worked on a patent pending device to improve vision impairment in people in developing countries. Since then, Grant has advised companies like American Express, SUN, and Procter & Gamble on incorporating sustainability in the design, production and distribution of their products and business strategies.

Peng K. Lim

Chief Executive Officer, MTI

Peng K. Lim is CEO of MTI, which is primarily engaged in the development of Mobion® cord-free advanced portable power systems, through its subsidiary MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc. Peng has been a pioneer in the commercialization of new products to market.  Prior to MTI Micro, Peng founded Tapwave, Inc. He was behind the development of the Zodiac, a portable electronic multimedia device that won multiple awards including, "Best Gear" by Time Magazine in 2003. Prior to Tapwave, Peng was VP, Worldwide Product Development for Palm Computing where he was responsible for directing the entire life cycle of product development and engineering for Palm handheld products, operating system and application software. While at Palm, he helped capture 75% worldwide handheld operating system and 65% PDA market shares.  Prior to Palm, Peng was VP of Engineering at Fujitsu Personal Systems. Peng holds a B.S. and a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from University of Windsor (Ontario, Canada) and a Master of Engineering Management from Northwestern University. Peng is an alumnus of the Stanford Executive Program for Growing Companies at Stanford University.

Jeff Omelchuck

Executive Director, EPEAT
Director, Green Electronics Council

Jeff is the Director of the Green Electronics Council and the Executive Director of EPEAT Inc. In 2005 GEC was selected by a group of committed stakeholders to manage and operate EPEAT, and was subsequently awarded an EPA grant to support its start-up. Prior to founding GEC Jeff founded, owned and managed a private consultancy dedicated to helping organizations develop and implement Environmental Management Systems and achieve certification to ISO 14001. Jeff is an RABQSA certified EMS Lead Auditor and has performed numerous audits to ISO 9001 and 14001 for two international registrars. He spent the early part of his career in the electronics industry in Silicon Valley in a variety of professional and management roles in operations and product development. Jeff received an MS in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management from Stanford University on an Honors Coop Fellowship and received an BS in Industrial Engineering from Montana State University.

Dr. Christina Lampe-Onnerud

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Boston Power

Dr. Lampe-Onnerud is one of the world's foremost authorities in battery system innovation and design. Strategy and technology advisor to the global battery industry, she has pioneered the use of lithium-ion and other materials to deliver more powerful, longer lasting, safer and cost-effective batteries for laptops, PDAs, cell phones and other electronic devices. Prior to founding Boston-Power, Dr. Lampe-Onnerud was one of the youngest partners ever appointed at Arthur D. Little/TIAX, where she ran the company's globally- renowned battery labs, defined strategies for the world's top chemical and battery organizations, and directed high-profile market evaluations. Awarded 15 patents in portable power solutions, with 6 patents pending, Dr. Lampe-Onnerud has been recognized among the 100 Top Young Innovators by Technology Review, MIT's Magazine of Innovation. She has also served as keynote speaker on power issues at industry and government initiatives for more than 15 years. Dr. Lampe-Onnerud earned a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry and a B.Sc. in Chemistry and Calculus from Uppsala University in Sweden.

Daniel Porras

VP/SVP Sustainability, Solio

Daniel handles sustainability at Better Energy Systems, makers of the Solio solar-hybrid charger. He is tasked with integrating sustainability into operations, product development, social and environmental projects, and media. Prior to Better Energy Systems, Daniel worked internationally as an environmental journalist, and built a practice around sustainable investing at UBS Financial Services, where he managed private assets with a focus on socially responsible investing.  He is the founder Planetwize, a new media company, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Natural World Museum, a UNEP partner which uses art to raise awareness about environmental issues. He has an MS in Environment and Development from the London School of Economics.

Regan Warner-Rower

Director of Business Development, M2E Power, Inc.

As one of the founders of M2E Power, Ms. Rowe has been involved since the beginning on the development of a new green power source for mobile electronics.  Regan spent 10 years as an executive managing global technology transfer in emerging economies working with companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Becton Dickenson, and Upjohn/Pharmacia in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America.  M2E has broad applications for mobile devices with a number of environmental benefits including reducing the amount of battery material needed in mobile devices, powering through human movement rather than from the grid, and doubling the effective life of lithium battery chemistry.  M2E Power, Inc. is a start-up CleanTech company with a physics level technology break-through in magnetic induction that dramatically increases generator efficiency.  It is now possible to generate sufficient power through typical motion for applications in mobile electronics. M2E can also be used in larger generator applications such as wind, ocean wave and electric vehicles.

Renee St. Denis

Director of Product Take Back and Recycling, HP

Renee St. Denis is the Director of Product Take Back and Recycling in the Hewlett Packard Americas organization. In this role, Ms. St. Denis represents HP on issues relating to the sound end-of-life management of electronics.  Ms. St. Denis and her team manage take back and recycling programs at several locations in the US, Canada and Latin America with several suppliers. These programs account for in excess of four million pounds of hardware products and supplies being responsibly recycled each month. Finally, Ms. St. Denis is responsible for designing and implementing systems which ensure the compliance of HP with regard to manufacturer-responsibility and fee-financed take back legislation across the Americas. Ms. St. Denis received her Bachelor's Degree in Finance at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, and her Master's of Business Administration at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.

Douglas Smith

Director, Corporate Environment, Safety and Health, Sony

Doug Smith is the director of corporate environment, safety and health at Sony. In this role he directs the corporate environmental affairs for North American operations.  Smith establishes policies and corporate guidelines covering environmental, safety and health policies and supports the internal audit and ISO 14001 program for Sony North American facilities inclusive of US, Mexico and South America electronic manufacturing plants. Smith currently chairs the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) with over 30,000 collection points for consumer batteries in the US and Canada, and is on board of Portable Rechargeable Battery Association, dedicated to consistent solutions and standards for the portable power and mobile electronics industry.

John Solomon

Vice President & General Manager, U.S. Consumer Business, HP

John Solomon is Vice President & General Manager of HP’s US Consumer Business. He is responsible for maximizing revenue, profit and market share in retail for HP’s consumer offering for computing, printing and supplies. This responsibility spans the retail and online channels, and contract outbound sales across 13 categories, 100+ partners and 20,000 outlets and contract stationer branches throughout the U.S. John graduated from University of Stellenbosch (South Africa) with a BS in Industrial Engineering in 1987. He moved to the United States in 1990 to attend the University of Washington, graduating in 1992 with an MBA.

Markus Terho

Director of Environmental Affairs, Nokia

A member of Nokia's environmental management team, Markus Terho is heavily involved in the development of Nokia's global environmental strategy and activities with a particular focus on recycling. He is actively involved with industry wide groups such as the Global e-Sustainability Intitiative and works with a range of operators, NGOs, and national authorities around the world to expand recycling schemes and environmental awareness. He joined Nokia in 1994 and has a degree in Chemical Engineering from Helsinki University of Technology, Finland.

Moderators

Valerie Casey

Global Practice Head, Software Experiences, IDEO

Valerie Casey heads a global practice at IDEO. She creates novel concepts for consumer products, rich experiences for public and home environments, and informational strategies for onscreen interactions, for clients like Sprint, ESPN, MTV, Barnes & Noble, Johnson & Johnson, and Microsoft. Valerie founded The Designers Accord, a call to arms for the creative community to reduce the negative environmental and social effect caused by design, and to work collaboratively to make positive impact. Valerie has published and lectured on design throughout the international community, and is an adjunct professor at California College of the Arts.

Allan Chochinov

Partner, Editor in Chief, Core77

Allan Chochinov is a partner at Core77, a New York-based design network supporting the global design community through both online and offline initiatives. He serves as the editor-in-chief of Core77.com, the widely read design news website, Coroflot.com design job and portfolio site, and DesignDirectory.com design firm database.  He is associate professor at New York's Pratt Institute, where he teaches in the Graduate Industrial Design Department, and has just begun teaching in the graduate department at the School of Visual Arts' Graduate MFA Program. He has been named on numerous design and utility patents, and has received awards from I.D. Magazine, Communication Arts, The Art Directors Club and The One Club.

Katie Fehrenbacher

Editor, Earth2Tech

Katie is the Editor of Earth2Tech.com, a cleantech news site that is part of the GigaOM.com network. She's also a Senior Writer for GigaOM.com and has been a reporter covering technology and Silicon Valley for 5 years. She's written for publications like Red Herring, the BBC, Engadget.com, the Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun, and ReadyMade Magazine. 

Jennifer van der Meer

Chair, o2 New York

Jennifer is a leader in brand and product innovation, and is a founding principal at research design house Risque Consulting. A former Wall Street analyst and economist, Jennifer transitioned into the design industry upon graduating with an MBA from HEC in Paris. She has held strategy and executive management positions at Organic, Inc., Frog Design, and Fahrenheit 212. A leader in the green design community in NY, Jennifer serves as chapter chair of o2-NYC, and lectures on the topic of sustainable innovation.