Mission | History | Programs | Staff and Board | Regional Committees | Internships | Jobs

Executive

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 serves on the Managing Committee of Green Cross International and is Coordinator of GCI's Energy and Resource Efficiency Program. Previously, he ran local, state, and federal political campaigns as well as serving as the Executive Director of Americans for a Safe Future.

Matt is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Pacific Council on International Policy. He serves on the advisory board of the Environmental Media Association, the board of the Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability, and the City of Santa Monica Environmental Task Force. He holds his Master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California and BA in Political Science from California State University at Chico.

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 coming on board at 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 TreePeople, 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 also the co-founder of ActiveMusic Inc, a non profit that produces benefit concerts to raise money for other non-profit organizations, and recently has incorporated a non-profit Yoga Center.He holds an MBA in Finance and a BS in Marketing from California State Polytechnic University. In addition he
is a certified Yoga teacher.

Allison Wilkey - Assistant to the President & CEO

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Weapons of Mass Destruction Program

Dr. Paul F. Walker - Program Director, LEGACY
Paul Walker has been with Global Green USA for over ten years and is responsible for direction and management of Global Green USA’s LEGACY program.

Walker 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.

Walker 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. 

Walker 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.

Cristian Ion - Program Associate, LEGACY
Responsibilities include support and management for all Legacy Program activities. Prior to joining Global Green USA, Cristian was a Research Associate at the Monterey Institute Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, CA and Washington, DC offices. Cristian also worked as a Junior Political Officer at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague, The Netherlands, and as a Research Associate at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research in Geneva, Switzerland. He speaks and researches in English, French and Romanian.

He holds Honors B.A. degrees in Chemistry, French and International Relations from Oregon State University, and an M.A. in International Policy Studies from the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

Finn R. Torgrimsen Longinotto - Senior Fellow, LEGACY
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.

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

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Green Building, Cities and Schools Program

Walker Wells, AICP - Program Director, R.E.S.C.U.E.
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.

Member of the American Institute of City Planners and LEED Accredited Professional Bachelor's degrees, Sociology and Environmental Studies, University of California Santa Barbara. Master Degree, City and Region al Planning, California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo.

Ted Bardacke – Program Associate, R.E.S.C.U.E.
Responsibilities include providing green building technical assistance to affordable housing developers, municipalities and construction industry professionals. Research projects include examining the feasibility of creating social equity and community through the increased use of renewable energy and complex financial tools. Also consults on select building projects pursuing LEED certification.

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. LEED Accredited Professional; M.S., Graduate School of Architecture, Columbia University; B.A., College of Social Studies, Wesleyan University.

Troy Simpson - Program Assistant

Monica Gilchrist - Green Building Resource Center Coordinator R.E.S.C.U.E.
Monica has been involved with Global Green USA’s Green Building Resource Center, since its inception in April 2004. She helped create and continues to administer the displays, library, programming, databases, outreach and consultations at the center. Monica also works on developing municipal green building programs.

MA, Urban Planning, University of California, Los Angeles.

May Chiu – Green Building Resource Center Assistant
May recently joined Global Green USA in May 2007. She serves as an assistant for the Resource Center in Santa Monica. Responsibilities include administering the center's daily operation and coordinating volunteer opportunities. May is also a Green Building Consultant with a local Los Angeles sustainable design firm. Prior to joining Global Green, May worked with a non-profit in Northern California and worked with projects that focused on green building, green affordable housing, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and environmental education.

May holds two BS degrees in Biological Sciences and Environmental Analysis & Design from University of California, Irvine. At UCI, she served as a coordinator for Alliance to Save Energy's Green Campus Program and assisted founding an Irvine chapter of California Students Sustainability Coalition. May received her LEED Accredited Professional credential in October 2006.

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Policy and Legislative Affairs

Mary Luevano - Policy and Legislative Affairs Director
Responsibilities include developing and implementing policy initiatives for Global Green USA. Direct activities pertaining to renewable energy campaign include state contract management, development and implementation of policy initiatives that pertain to local, state and federal government programs and interface with elected and appointed officials, other non-profits and corporate sector. Former Field Representative for U.S. Rep. Jane Harman and Senior Legislative Assistant for U.S. Rep. Calvin Dooley

B.A., Political Science/International Relations, University Of California, Los Angeles. Graduate, Congressional Research Service Advanced Legislative Institute.

Arti Panjwani – Policy Program Associate

David Fink – Policy & Legislative Associate

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Communications

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

Aronin 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.

Aronin 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, Aronin worked for President Clinton's Inaugural celebration and for Congressman Christopher Shays.

Justine Smith - Communications Associate
Justine joined Global Green in 2007. Her responsibilities include management of the Global Green website, as well as working on media strategies and events. Previously, Justine worked in project management at Yahoo! Music. Justine has a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from UCLA and an A.A. in Interior Design.

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Development

Janine Hamner - Director of Development
Janine brings over 20 years of experience in development and management to the Global Green team. She got her start in social change organizing in 1985 working for Council Member Ruth Messinger in New York and went on to work as a community organizer for ACORN organizing residents in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. Janine has served as the Vice President/ COO for the Coalition for Clean Air, and directed fundraising programs for: Corporate Accountability International (then known as INFACT); Neighbor to Neighbor; the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights; and A Place Called Home.

She has extensive experience in financial management & oversight, major donor fundraising, direct mail & telemarketing, event planning, foundations, and grassroots fundraising strategies. Hamner is excited about the challenge and opportunity to increase Global Green’s $6 million annual budget to enable Global Green to expand upon its current initiatives.

Adam Greenfield - Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations
Adam Greenfield's responsibilities include grant writing, foundation and corporate relations, event management, and other development duties. 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 MA in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Chicago and a BA in Political Science from the University of Michigan. He remains very interested in the politics and culture of the modern Middle East.

Nina Storm - Event Coordinator

Kristen Gordon - Development Associate

Alyssa Pitman - Campus & Outreach Coordinator

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New Orleans

Elizabeth Teel Galante – Director of New Orleans Resource Office & Center
Responsible for the operation of Global Green’s New Orleans Resource Center & Office, supervision of the Sustainable Design Competition, and rebuilding initiatives including green affordable homes, schools, and churches.

Former Deputy Director of the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, which was the f irst 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. Former legal representation of the New Jersey Attorney General and the Quapaw Indian Nation regarding damages to their natural resources.

L.L.M. Environmental & Energy Law and J.D., Tulane Law School

John Moore - Program Assistant
Responsibilities include providing green building technical assistance to builders and developers in New Orleans. John is the Program Assistant for the resource center in New Orleans. The major focus for his work in New Orleans is to help make builders aware of affordable green building options in the rebuilding effort in New Orleans.

John joins Global Green following an internship with Southface Energy Institute in Atlanta. John received his bachelors degree from Morehouse College in Atlanta. He has been a practicing artist for 10 years and has training in AuotCAD. He also received training in Home Energy Rating and energy efficient home building while at Southface. John has also worked for a construction company in Atlanta and is pursuing a degree in architecture. He joins the Global Green team, following Hurricane Katrina, with the desire to help in the rebuilding of his home town.

Mike Lopez – Green Building Program Associate
Provides technical support services for various “green” initiatives throughout the Gulf Coast region. Michael primarily offers assistance to Habitat for Humanity’s Operation Home Delivery Program which lies within the Katrina and Rita hurricane zones.

Michael is a licensed contractor and has 35 plus years of construction experience in the residential, commercial, and heavy highway industries. He founded and operated a construction company and consulting firm which offered project management and permit expediting services. After serving as the first Green Building Coordinator in San Antonio, he relocated to New Orleans in 2006. Michael has successfully completed his HERS training and is awaiting his official certification.

BS Building Construction, Texas A&M University, College of Environmental Design

Linda Stone - Green Schools Policy Associate

Linda Morgano - Green Schools Program Assistant

Heidi Jensen - Office Manager

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Administrative

Michelle Hart - Assistant

Dean Harvey - Accounting Manager

Olga Nazarava - Bookkeeper

Sharon Williams - Receptionist