Leadership Group

Executive DirectorJohn G. Stevens, Distinguished University Professor, University of North Carolina, Asheville; PhD, Physical Chemistry, North Carolina State University, 1969

Senior Advisor – Jon R. Wiener, PhD, 1984 Microbiology, University of Virginia. Currently, Associate Dean of Math and Science, AB-Tech.

Principal – Steve Cochran, Co-founder and President of Sustainability Strategies LLC. Board Member for the United States Partnership for Sustainable Development; Served as an elected North American delegate to the April 2009 United Nations’ “World Conference on Sustainable Development” in Bonn, Germany.

Special Advisor, Finances and Development – Paul F. Bellows, Chief Operating Officer, Retired, Kilpatrick Stockton LLP; Master of Public Administration, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 1973

Director of Government Relations/Development – Alan Escovitz, Formerly Director for External Affairs, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Ohio State University. 2008

Director of Communication and EducationSteven Samuels, MA, Creative Writing, Brown University, 1979

Senior Advisor, Natural EnvironmentRebecca A. Efroymson, PhD, Environmental Toxicology, Cornell University, 1993

Senior Science Advisor William W. Hargrove, Eastern Forest Threat Assessment Center, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station; PhD, Ecosystem Ecology, University of Georgia, 1988

Senior Advisor, Built and Natural EnvironmentDavid A. Johnson, FAICP, Professor Emeritus of Planning, University of Tennessee; PhD, Regional Planning, Cornell University, 1972

Special Advisor, Renewable EnergiesDrew Kitt, Founder and President, Renewable Logistics, Inc.

Special Advisor, Rural DevelopmentTom Hatley, Consultant and Writer; MS, Forest Science, Yale University of Environmental Studies; PhD, History, Duke University.

Special Advisor, The Built EnvironmentDavid Mosrie, President and Co-founder, Push Designs,LLC; BA, Ecological Design and Development, Prescott College, 1993

ResearcherChris Fargo-Masuda, Student, University of North Carolina, Asheville; Senior, Interdisciplinary Research:Ethics and Social Institutions

Administrative AssistantJennifer Cory, Student, University of North Carolina, Asheville; Engineering; George Mason University, BA, History, 1996

Co-Chair, Advisory Council Russ Martin, Formerly Mayor of Asheville and Investment Officer, Merrill Lynch & Co.

Co-Chair, Advisory CouncilDavid Wallace, Vice President for Strategic Development, Vanir Energy (a clean energy company), Asheville; MS, Physical Oceanography, University College of North Wales, 1986