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Who We Are
Mission Statement
To provide educational tours that demonstrate the sustainable economy in action, inspire support of local green businesses, and empower people to incorporate environmental responsibility and social justice into their personal and professional lives.
Sustainable Business Alliance
BAGT is a project of the Sustainable Business Alliance, a membership organization for companies committed to greater environmental and socially responsible business practices. Our Non-Profit number is 01-0919727.
Staff
Marissa LaMagna - Executive Director
Marissa founded Bay Area Green Tours in Fall 2008 and is thrilled to be showcasing the local green businesses developing in her East Bay backyard, known as the Green Corridor. She has worked as a community organizer most of her life and helped to start a teen center in New York that is now a Boys & Girls Club. She has taught high school, elementary school, vegetarian cooking and yoga. She has also been a film editor and was associate producer for The Sounds of Science, (now Pulse of the Planet) an internationally syndicated radio show.
In 2004, Marissa founded Studio Rasa, a green certified community arts and wellness center in Berkeley with a mission of fostering environmental awareness. She has been passionate about the environment ever since the fourth grade, when growing up in New York City, she often worried about where the garbage would go. She came up with an eco-friendly disposal system comprised of arteries underground that would whisk away garbage from apartments and sidewalks to be incinerated naturally in the center of the earth. She is still working out the kinks for this invention.
Marissa is on the Board of Directors of The Sustainable Business Alliance (www.sustainablebiz.org), a member of BNI, The Berkeley Chamber of Commerce and Buy Local Berkeley. When she is not working at the David Brower Center as part of the Dominican University Green Business Cluster in Berkeley, Marissa can be found working in her “office” in the redwoods or perched on the side of a cliff overlooking the ocean. marissa(@) bayareagreentours.org
Beth Gelfand - Human Resources and Operations Manager
Beth has more than 20 years of experience as an event producer, marketer/publicist, writer/editor, volunteer and project manager for a variety of non-profits tackling societal and environmental issues. She currently serves as a board member and the events producer of the Sustainable Business Alliance, the sponsoring organization for Bay Area Green Tours. Beth also works as a promoter for Studio 12 Flys and Dharma Merchant Services.
In addition, Beth and her husband Scott own The Buddy Club Children's Shows - the Bay Area's longest-running shows for families which entertain over 100,000 families a year with more than 100 live performances in Berkeley, Oakland, Danville, San Rafael and San Francisco. Their 25 year old company markets the natural and organic products industry to 13 million families nationwide, and also provides high quality children's entertainers for private events. Beth can be reached at beth (@) bayareagreentours.org.
Monique Isenheim - Business Development & Sales
Monique Isenheim has joined Bay Area Green Tours from Berlin, Germany. She holds an MBA in Sustainability Management and has a deep experience in business to business sales. Year round outdoor activities and traveling the continents are her
biggest passions. For Monique, education and sustainable business practice are two of the strongest levers to a sustainable development – Bay Area Green Tours offers a
perfect symbiosis of both! Monique can be reached at monique (@) bayareagreentours.org.
Julie Gengo - Communications & Outreach Manager
Julie Gengo is a seasoned marketing and communications professional who taps into her creative process and meshes conventional and innovative techniques to help businesses advance. Her body of work expands across the nonprofit and for profit sectors and focuses on products and services that lead to a more sustainable world. She considers herself a progressive thinker, activist, and creative soul. She believes that the green mindset is harbored in how you treat the world and yourself. Julie is a former board member of the nonprofit Kids for Peace and current lead volunteer with the S.F. Bay Area Oxfam Action Corp where she works in an outreach and organizational capacity. She recently relocated to the Bay Area to attract projects that make the world a better place. You can reach her at julie (@) bayareagreentours.org
Leah Dockstader - Tour Director
Leah Dockstader has joined the team as Tour Director after interning with BAGT for several months. Leah studied Sustainable Development and Environmental Justice at UC Berkeley, focusing on the climate change adaptation and food systems. She is passionate about promoting environmental education, and has worked in marketing, communications, outreach, and project management. She also taught creative approaches to environmental studies in both Southern California and the Bay Area. Leah loves travelling, doing photography, and being in the outdoors! Leah can be reached at leah(@)bayareagreentours.org.
Jen Brooks - San Francisco Waterfront Tour Manager
Jennifer graduated with a B.A. in Architecture from UC Berkeley with minors in Sustainable Design and City & Regional Planning. Before coming to BAGT, she worked in the environmental and renewables industry as Program Associate for Regenerative Network specializing in affiliate relations, graphic design, and event coordination. Jen has been involved in a wide array of sustainability projects, including auditing and implementation of operational recommendations to achieve LEED EBOM accreditation. She was a founding member of UC Berkeley’s first design-build group and is actively involved in sustainable development. Jen can be reached at jen (@) bayareagreentours.org
Rachel Fessenden - Sustainable Foods Tour Manager
Rachel has held a variety of positions in her native Bay Area, including working at UC Berkeley’s Plant Biology department and in outreach for the local chapter of the Sierra Club. She majored in biology at Oberlin College in Ohio, and has a strong commitment to creating a greener and more just life for all. Rachel has been volunteering with Bay Area Green Tours since May 2011, and is thrilled to deepen her knowledge of the local food scene as she dreams of starting her own vegan dessert-making enterprise. In her spare time she enjoys exploring the East Bay parks, following politics, and of course trying out new recipes. Rachel can be reached at Rachel (@) bayareagreentours.org
Mary Claire Evans - Tour Manager
Mary Claire has had a life-long passion for the environment ever since she fell in love with Yosemite Valley as a kid. This passion led her to Bay Area Green Tours, where she enjoys shining a spotlight on local sustainable businesses that are doing their part to create a healthy planet and economy. In her professional life, she works in nonprofit administration for Sierra Club, where she specializes in campaign finance and tax law compliance. She holds a BA in Mathematics from Middlebury College and a Certificate in Basic Cuisine from Le Cordon Bleu Paris. In her free time, she enjoys exploring her native Bay Area, trying out new restaurants, and dispatching Frog Hollow peaches. You can reach Mary Claire at MaryClaire (@) bayareagreentours.org
Elena Velez - Latino Liaison
Elena brings to BAGT extensive experience teaching languages to people of all ages and a passion for stewardship of our environment for our children's futures. A mother of two young boys herself, Elena is constantly promoting environmentally friendly living practices within different multicultural groups using her multilingual skills. Elena can be reached at elena (@) bayareagreentours.org
She studied Advertising and Marketing in her native country of Colombia and Sculpture in Italy. After years of study in different topics, Elena is excited to now be fully focused on work that she truly loves; being an environmental advocate and communicator on behalf of the planet. Elena presents workshops, interprets documents and catalogues, and provides an eco-centric translation for organizations working to reach out to the Hispanic community. She also works as a “greening” consultant for small businesses. elena_velez(@)ebgt.org
Baxter – Tour Mascot
Baxter likes long walks on the beach and hiking in the mountains. He’ll be your best friend if you say “hi’ and loves all things green. Baxter can be reached at baxter(@)ebgt.org
Board of Directors
Mark McLeod
Executive Director - The Sustainable Business Alliance
Sandra Beaton
Founder and CEO - Beaton Global Connections
Robert Bostick
Founder - RQB Advisors
Marty De Souto
Leisure, Travel & Tourism Specialist
Robert Girling
Professor Business Administration - Sonoma State University
Sharmila Sigh
Membership Developer - Green Chamber of Commerce
Jules Tippett
President/CEO - Tippett Studios
Ann Valliant
Owner - Business Savy Bookkeeping, Inc.
Board of Advisors
Deborah Badhia
Executive Director - Downtown Berkeley Association
Zenobia Barlow
Executive Director and co-founder - The Center for Ecoliteracy
Lisa Bullwinkel
Hoopla Coordinator - Another Bullwinkel Show
John Caner
Executive Director - Downtown Berkeley Association
Edward Church
Executive Director - Institute for Environmental Entrepreneurship
Kevin Danaher
Co-Founder – Global Exchange
Kath Delaney
Founder and Principal – Madera Group
Jonathan DeYoe
LPL Financial Planner – DeYoe Wealth Management
Pam Evans
Green Business Coordinator
– Alameda County
Robin Freeman
Chair Environmental Management and Technology Program - Merritt College
Gil Friend
President & Chief Executive Officer - Natural Logic
Claire Greensfelder
Coordinator - Conversations with the Earth
Leila Khatapoush
Sustainability Consultant – Breathing Room
Barbara Lippard
Advisor - SCORE
Justin Martello
Certified Financial Planner – Effective Assets
Carolina Miranda
Founder – Cultivating Capital
Michele Molitar
Chief Executive Office - Nectar Consulting Inc.
Allen Price
Founder & CEO - Tresendas
Bob Schildgen
Columnist - Sierra Magazine
Julian Sproul
Assistant to Arthur Rosenfeld - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Environmental Energy Technologies Division
Kate Trimlett
Lead Teacher
- Berkeley High School’s Green Academy
