ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS
KATHLEEN A. McGINTY, WNSF 2013 Leadership Award, Sr. Vice President & Managing Director, Strategic Growth, Weston Solutions Inc.
Katie also is an Operating Partner at Element LLC, a private equity firm and a Director at NRG Energy, Inc., and Iberdrola USA, Inc. Previously she served as Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and as Chair of the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority. She helped lead the state’s successful effort to attract clean technology and renewable energy companies to manufacture in Pennsylvania. Prior to serving in Pennsylvania, Katie was Bill Clinton’s Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. She also was Legislative Assistant and Environmental Advisor to Senator Al Gore and a Senior Visiting Fellow for a year in New Delhi, India at TERI, the Tata Energy Research Institute. Recipient of numerous awards for environmental leadership, including the Ansel Adams Award of The Wilderness Society, the “All the Right Stuff” award of the Apollo Alliance, and the “Unsung Hero” award of the League of Conservation Voters, Katie was designated a “Global Leader for Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and Woman of the Year by the Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment. She holds a BS in Chemistry from Saint Joseph’s University and a Juris Doctor from Columbia University School of Law, as well as three honorary doctorates in Public Service and Humane Letters.
Irene M. Narissi, Senior VP Strategic Opportunities, SAME SKY
Irene Narissi has joined the SAME SKY team to support founder, Francine LeFrak’s, vision and grow the trade-not-aid initiative and the ethical shopping movement. SAME SKY employs HIV+ women in developing countries.
The SAME SKY collection of beautiful jewelry is handcrafted by trained artisan survivors of the Rwandan genocide. http://www.samesky.com. Narissi is a veteran global fashion licensing and marketing thought leader. She brings extensive track record in the apparel wholesale and retail industry. Her experience of implementing profitable programs included high-profile brands 9 West, Tommy Hilfiger, Gloria Vanderbilt, Carlos Falchi and other noted brands. At Saks Fifth Avenue she managed two of the stores largest store businesses St. John Knits and Escada. Irene’s background includes a 20-year member of Fashion Group International and serving on the Advisory Board Retail Curriculum CUNY Westchester Community College. Her charitable work for which she earned a 2004 Hope Award, includes a directorship at SuitAbility, a welfare-to-work initiative which advises and prepares economically disadvantaged women for the work place. At Wildcat, a city funded agency Irene also mentored displaced workers from the World trade center.
CELINE SOLSKEN RUBEN-SALAMA, Director of Sustainability, American Express
Since May 2012 Celine as American Express’ first Director of Sustainability has been responsible for overseeing global environmental policy-setting, strategy, implementation and communications for the company. As a business strategist, she focuses on efficiency, technology and environmental sustainability; her clients have included Citigroup, Discovery Communications, the United Nations, the US EPA, The Earth Institute, and the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority. Celine’s writing have been published in treehugger.com, Consilience, Yahoo Green, Inhabitat.com, Ecogeek.org and CSR Now! She teaches at Baruch College, CUNY on how to design, produce and market environmentally preferable products and services. Celine is a Wallenberg Fellow and holds a MPA from Columbia University, an MBA and a BBA from the Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, CUNY. The child of early environmentalist urban/regional planners, Celine grew up in a zero-waste household with geothermal heaters, recycling and composting in Nairobi Kenya, Stockholm Sweden, and New York.
CHANTAL LINE CARPENTIER, Ph.D., Sustainable Development Officer & Major Groups Coordinator, UN Dept. of Economic & Social Affairs, Division of Sustainable Development
Joining the UN in 2007, Chantal is responsible for sustainable consumption and production, food security and sustainable agriculture. She previously served as Head of the Trade and Environment Program of the NAFTA Commission for Environmental Cooperation and as a policy analyst at the Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture. She also consulted for the UNDP, World Bank, and OCDE. A 2006 Yale World Fellow, Chantal is the author of numerous articles, book chapters, and reports for the UN Secretary General on the relationships between three pillars of sustainable development policies, trade and development and a co-author of a book on ethical Investing. Chantal holds a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech and M.S. and B.S. degrees from McGill University in agricultural and environmental economics. She did a post doc in the Brazilian Amazon with the International Food Policy Research Institute and field work in Chile and Mexico Chantal is an accomplished martial artist, and competes regularly in marathon and triathlon, including three Ironman.
AMY HALL, Social Consciousness Director, EILEEN FISHER
As Director of Social Consciousness and a member of the Leadership Forum, Amy supports the company’s efforts to practice business responsibly Amy guides the company’s human rights work in its supply chain, supports women and girls through strategic partnerships, and ensures a growing commitment to environmental sustainability in products and practice. Amy also co-leads the company’s People and Culture area. Previously, Amy had a fundraising career with various Asian-American cultural, educational and social service organizations in New York City. Her educational background includes a BA from Georgetown University, an MA from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a sustainable MBA from Green Mountain College. She currently serves on the advisory board of Social Accountability International and the boards of the American Sustainable Business Council and the Greyston Foundation. Amy recently cycled in the Brita Climate Ride from New York City to Washington, DC, on her self-built bamboo bike.
KELLIE A. McELHANEY, Ph.D., Adjunct Assistant Professor, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.
Kellie is the Margo N. Alexander Faculty Fellow in Corporate Responsibility and the founding Executive Director of the Center for Responsible Business at the Haas School of Business where she teaches courses on Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility that include experiential consulting engagements with companies. In 2005 Aspen Institute named Kellie a Faculty Pioneer for leading institutional change, hailing her as one of the world’s leading thinkers on strategic CSR. Her research focuses on analyzing and developing companies’ CSR strategies, exploring the linkages between gender and CSR, and the business value and opportunities in branding, communication and CSR. Bridging her academic focus with the practitioner world, Kellie consults to several Fortune 500 companies including HP, Gap, eBay, McDonalds, Ernst & Young, Driscoll’s Berries, Nokia, Navigant, Volunteer Match, and Ford Motor Company. She received her Ph.D. in higher education at University of Michigan, MA at Ohio University, Athens, and BA at University of North Carolina.
Women's Network for a Sustainable Future 