Experts

Dr. Shilpa Tiwari is an executive with fifteen years of experience building, growing and managing sustainability, corporate citizenship, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging initiatives in complex organizations and in multisectoral contexts. Having worked in financial services, mining, oil and gas, forestry and energy, she is an industry agnostic, versatile and entrepreneurial. She has a strong business acumen combined with a great sense of curiosity and empathy. Shilpa has worked and lived in Africa, Asia, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean. She has a bachelor’s in biology, master’s in environmental policy and a doctorate in social anthropology.Her client work includes an inclusive marketing workshop for Fasken’s global marketing team, ESG 101 for CREA, DEI workshop for Vancity, Social Purpose Strategy and Communications for Coast Capital Credit Union. Prior to this Shilpa was the EVP of Social Impact & EDII & Sustainability at Communications Agency where she developed the agency-wide EDI Strategy, EDI Communications and EDI Workshops internally for teams and externally for clients such as P&G and Molson. She also held executive roles at OMERS as VP of Sustainable Investing spearheading their work on climate change and EDI and Manulife Financial where she was responsible for Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship portfolio.Shilpa is passionate about exploring natural landscapes and cultures. She has climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Mt. Everest Base Camp in Nepal, and hiked Torres del Paine in Patagonia. She continues to be amazed by all that nature and travel to far off places offers to us irrespective of age, gender, race or ethnicity. Shilpa speaks English, Hindi, Spanish and some French.She recently launched a direct trade and organic spice company called No Women, No Spice. No Women, No Spice support the development sustainable farm communities through agroforestry and regenerative agriculture projects, empowers women farmers by amplifying their work in agriculture, and provide enriching culinary experiences.

A fashion industry vet, Rachel has worked in apparel for nearly years, first cutting her teeth at Authentic Brands Group in 2004. From there she worked her way through the industry— eventually becoming Oscar de la Renta’s Head of Product, after years of learning her craft at Ralph Lauren, The Row, and Ralph Rucci. The pandemic sparked a new entrepreneurial chapter for both Rachel and her team— the March 2020 launch of their non-profit ‘Garment District for Gowns,’ aimed to help under- served healthcare workers, led to the eventual formation of their company ‘Goldatech,’ which manufactures uniforms, medical, and surgical apparel for state agencies and the Department of Defense (U.S. Air Force and U.S. Coast Guard). Rachel's team were the first awardees of Empire State Development's Covid Retooling Grant out of 40,000 applicants, and was awarded the 2021 NYS MWBE Innovation Award. Rachel has now launched Welles, an ESG-focused scrubs company on a mission to reset technical performance and environmental accountability standards.

Based in North Vancouver, Patrice Mousseau is a conscious entrepreneur and the owner/creator of Satya Organic Skin Care. Patrice is also a proud single mom and Anishinaabe member of Fort William First Nation.Patrice’s determination to change the world through business began by accident. For years, she was a news anchor for leading television & radio stations in Canada, but that all changed when her baby girl Esme began suffering from eczema at only 8-months old.Today, Satya has helped thousands of skin warriors around the world access clean, effective skin relief.

Mitch is a creative and sustainability entrepreneur, consultant, educator, and advocate, who believes that profit and planet can share the bottom line. He has a particular interest in solving the single-use dilemma with a design philosophy rooted in turning the ease of single-use into equally convenient reusable solutions. Mitch has successfully founded and lead Bagito, Returnity, and Revolusation, companies that provide consumers and businesses with smart reusable solutions that reduce carbon and primary resource usage and eliminate trash, while saving customers money and enhancing the customer experience. His passion for eliminating single-use has led him to also create and lead the North American division of RePack, an innovative Finland-based reusable shipping packaging service company. His work re-inventing single-use products and packaging as multi-use solutions has led to two utility patents, several awards and being credited with the creation of the concept and term Reusable-as-a-Service (RaaS). Mitch is also the founder and director of Power2Sustain.org, a K-12 environmental literacy project. Mitch started his working career as an elementary school teacher, principal, district administrator and charter school founder. He has a B.A. in International Relations/Political Science from UCLA, an M.A. in Bilingual Multiple Subject Teaching from San Francisco State, an M.A. from Colombia University in Organizational Psychology, and an M.Ed. from Teachers College Colombia in Education Administration. He lives in Santa Cruz, CA with his partner, practices yoga regularly, likes to cook and build stuff out of wood, and tries to get on his mountain bike whenever possible.

Michael Gardner founded LUXUS Design Build, a construction firm licensed for residential and commercial building in Nevada, in 2018. As the principal, Michael is responsible for the design and overall project success.   His professional background allows LUXUS Design Build to offer their clients a smooth, innovative and integrated approach to home building by providing all-in-one design-build services. From construction completion and architectural design conception to interior design concepts, LUXUS Design Build houses all facets of the home building process under one roof.   Michael has been working in the design-build and architecture industry for more than 20 years. His diverse design background and extensive travel has led to innovative, sustainable and unique designs solutions.  Prior to starting LUXUS Design Build, Michael founded the award-winning studio g ARCHITECTURE in 2010, which specializes in delivering excellence, integrity and innovation in its designs while remaining conscious of sustainability. As the firm’s principal and lead architect, Michael is responsible for the design and project management for both residential and commercial work.   Before 2010, Michael worked for one of Orange County’s largest residential architecture firms, where he directed projects from inception through construction. He earned his bachelor's degree in architecture from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.  In addition to his luxury design-build and architecture firms, Michael also founded Integro, a low-voltage firm that seamlessly integrates technology solutions in design-build projects. The firm collaborates closely with LUXUS Design Build and studio g ARCHITECTURE to deliver customized low-voltage solutions and cutting-edge technology that transform a home into modern intelligent spaces.  Michael’s residential work includes the National Association of Home Builders’ 2013 and 2016 The New American Home projects. He was the builder and architect of the 2019 The New American Remodel and of the 2023 The New American Home, which was built in Henderson, Nevada’s high-end community, Ascaya.   A native Australian who grew up in Southern California, Michael has been internationally recognized by the New South Wales Architects Registration Board in Australia and was entered into the Register of Architects of New South Wales. He is currently a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and is certified through the National Council of Architectural Registration Board (NCARB). As an advocate for the implementation and development of sustainable builds and design, he is also a member the U.S. Green Building Council with LEED AP credentials.  Michael is licensed in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Nevada, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Washington in the U.S. and New South Wales in Australia.   

Matthew is a film producer who believes that good stories need to be told. He has run several production companies and served as VP of Production and Development for Mili Picture International. He now brings that expertise to operations and fair trade production at Ecodunia.   He joined Ecodunia because the best stories sometimes come to life in the real world. Ecodunia is a good story that has become a great reality.

My name is Lymarie Jimenez and I'm originally from Puerto Rico. I started my entrepreneurial journey when I became pregnant with my miracle IVF baby - Nokomis. I built a sustainable eco-friendly brand dedicated to her and to improving the environment one candle at a time. I'm a proud latina business owner and I'm active within my community. I am a Tory Burch Entrepreneur, a Fearless Fund Women of Color grant recipient and a Digital Undivided Cohort 2023 participant and grant winner.

Luke Winter, the founder, has been involved in the retail industry since 2003. He started as a proprietor of a fashion clothing boutique and started Woodzee sunglasses on his day off on Sundays to satisfy his need for creativity & design. He launched the brand with three different sunglass designs that utilized natural materials like wood, hence Woodzee.Soon after, Woodzee became a full-time passion and business in 2013. Since then, Woodzee has created over 30 designs that utilize natural materials. Examples of the raw materials used to make sunglasses have included: recycled wine/whiskey/tequila barrel staves and authentic recycled skateboard decks to create unique and special sunglasses, not like any other offerings.Woodzee has had its most tremendous success with recycled skateboard sunglasses. It is the only company to collect authentic skateboards and then transform them into truly one-of-a-kind sunglasses as each one is different. The recycled skateboard sunglasses are impossible to duplicate as each board collected cannot replicate the usage and look.Currently, Woodzee is utilizing plant-based plastics that are biodegradable that possess the best of both worlds in terms of high quality and durability. In keeping with the company's commitment to producing products that look good yet are the best option for sustainability to do its part to have the most negligible impact on ecology.

Lisa is the Co-founder and CEO of Mermaid Straw. An extroverted introvert that loves cats, puzzles, being goofy, and working (it's true - Lisa loves to work), she's also an empath and highly intuitive. As a matter of fact, Mermaid Straw came to be what it is today, all because Lisa had a dream about starting the company. She has a chronic illness known as POTS, and is an advocate for fellow Spoonie warriors everywhere. She has a deep passion for doing what's right for this planet, and has long before this company began. She is obsessed with her husband, Adam, of over 13 years, and their 5 precious kitties. Lisa is forever grateful that Adam took this leap of faith with her and started Mermaid Straw from the ground up. Lisa's goal is to make Mermaid Straw a common household name, to be seen on the shelves at your favorite stores, and to spread awareness about how one person can make a difference.

Buffy co-founder Leo Wang is a second generation bedding maker. For 40 years his family has been weaving bedding for major retailers like from Ralph Lauren Home to Sleep Number. He became so attuned to the manufacturing process in his family’s bedding factory in northern China that he could tell the type of fabric being woven on the looms by the vibration from the machines. He was also keenly aware of the excessive amounts of power, water, fertilizer and pesticides needed to make cotton and down bedding – and of the waste produced. So after stints at The Clinton Foundation and consulting powerhouse McKinsey, Wang returned to his roots, resolved to come up with an earth-friendly manufacturing process. Buffy debuted with a comforter made with silky soft material spun from recycled plastic bottles, then developed a process to turn eucalyptus trees, which use 10 percent of the water needed for cotton plants, into super-soft, breathable fabric for sheets and comforter and pillow shells. Today, the Cloud Comforter is the top-rated comforter on the market with over 23,000+ reviews. 

Lee Zalben is the Founder & CEO of Peanut Butter & Co.

The story of LACSON RAVELLO begins with strong family roots in the garment industry. Kristina Lacson McConnico was born to Filipino parents and descended from a long line of dressmakers and fashion designers—grandmothers, aunts, and cousins. Upon establishing her own brand, she incorporated her surname, Lacson, and her grandmother’s maiden name, Ravello. For her, this family name captures the heritage and values that define her clothing line—a tradition of strong craftsmanship and quality materials, combined with a modern and design-driven approach.Originally from St. Louis, Kristina knew at a young age that she wanted to follow her family’s path in the fashion world. A skilled visual artist during her teenage years, she moved to Los Angeles to attend Otis College of Art & Design. Early exposure to leaders and icons in the fashion industry had a profound influence on her evolution as a designer.After college, she relocated to San Francisco and worked as a designer for large retailers such as Gap Inc., Bebe, and Target Corporation—in addition to building her expertise as a design consultant for smaller fashion labels and startups. Her two decades of industry experience have led her around the world numerous times, from production facilities in Asia to buying and research trips in Europe and all over the U.S. This global perspective followed Kristina as she created the LACSON RAVELLO brand. Her dedication to being a citizen of the world while keeping a relaxed California sensibility continues to inform her life and her work.Kristina currently lives in Oakland with her husband John of Bespoke Watch Projects and their cats Coco and Clementine. She is also a breast cancer survivor and thriver.