Who are the Green Ribbon Commissioners?

Denis Hayes | Orin Smith | Jorge Carrasco | Tom Crowninshield | Grace Crunican | Rich Feldman | K.C. Golden | Anna Gottlieb | Doris Koo | Mike McGuinn | Dennis McLerran | Kollin Min | William Ruckleshause | Yalonda Sindé | Greg Smith | Anne Steinemann | Linda Strout | Doug Walker |

Denis Hayes, Green Ribbon Commission Co-Chair
President & CEO, Bullitt Foundation

Denis Hayes is President of the Bullitt Foundation. He was national coordinator of the first Earth Day in 1970, and remains the chair of the International Earth Day Network. From 1983 to 1988, Denis was an adjunct professor of engineering at Stanford University, and he also practiced law for several years in Silicon Valley. During the Carter Administration, he served as Director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Time magazine selected Hayes as one of its "Heroes of the Planet;" and the National Audubon Society included him in its list of the 100 Environmental Heroes of the 20th Century.

Orin Smith, Green Ribbon Commission Co-Chair
president & ceo (retired), Starbucks Coffee Company

Orin Smith is the retired president and chief executive officer of Starbucks Coffee Company. He joined Starbucks as vice president and chief financial officer in 1990. In 1994, he became president and chief operating officer in charge of all business activities and in 2000, he became chief executive officer. Smith is credited with sponsoring Starbucks corporate social responsibility initiatives, which have resulted in worldwide recognition for the Company. Smith retired from his position as Starbucks president and ceo effective March 31, 2005.

Smith serves on the board of directors of Conservation International, a global nonprofit organization that works to protect plant and animal diversity. He also serves on several nonprofit boards in the Seattle area, including the Advisory Board for the University of Washington School of Business and the UW Medicine Board of Directors. Smith is a graduate of the University of Washington as well as Harvard Business School.

Jorge Carrasco - Superintendent, Seattle City Light

Jorge Carrasco has almost 30 years of experience leading corporate utility companies and municipal utility providers. During his career, he has helped those organizations enhance financial performance, achieve growth and diversification and manage through economic change.

Previously, Carrasco was general manager of East Bay Municipal Utility District, a water and wastewater utility serving more than one million customers in Oakland, Berkeley and the eastern San Francisco Bay. He also served as city manager of Scottsdale, Arizona and Austin, Texas. As city manager of Austin he had oversight of an electric utility comparable in size to City Light.

Carrasco grew up in Laredo, Texas and graduated from the University of Texas. He received an MBA from St. Edwards University in Austin.

Tom has worked in the industrial sector of Seattle for more than thirty years. Starting his career at Todd Ship Yards shortly after being discharged from the U. S. Navy in the early 70s. Tom also worked for many years with Bethlehem steel and is currently the plant manager at the Lafarge North America Seattle cement plant. During his tenure with the cement plant Tom and his team have received several prestigious environmental awards. They have included the Northwest Power Planning Council- Energy Efficiency award, the Seattle City Light- Power Player award, the Portland Cement Associations- Cement Industry Environmental and Energy award, as well as the Lafarge Environmental Excellence award. Tom has also belonged to such organizations as the Association of Iron and Steel Engineers, the Northwest Natural Gas Users Group, the Air and Waste Management Association, the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle, and the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce.

Tom lives with his wife Cathie in Mill Creek and has three grown children Linsey, Breeana, and Brice.

Grace Crunican - Director, Seattle Department of Transportation

Grace serves as the Director of SDOT, appointed to this position in 2002, and has been engaged in transportation issues for nearly 25 years. During this time, Grace has incorporated the City's strategic planning staff into the department, is streamlining the permitting process and is revamping the department's project delivery and customer service approach. Previously, Grace served as the director of the Oregon Department of Transportation for five years managing approximately 4800 employees and a budget of $1.8 billion. Her federal experience encompasses her work as a deputy director with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), where she helped realize 13 major rail projects worth more than $6 billion.

Grace holds a Bachelor's Degree from Gonzaga University and a Master's in Business Administration from Willamette University.

Rich Feldman - Executive Director, Economic Development and Workforce Division, King County Labor Council

Since 1995, Richard A. Feldman has been the Executive Director, Economic Development and Workforce Division of the King County Labor Council, AFL-CIO (the Worker Center) in Seattle, Washington. He also is the Washington State Coordinator for the Apollo Alliance Washington State.

Feldman initiated the formation of the Duwamish Coalition - a broad alliance of labor, business, government and community - which focused on resolving contaminated land issues in the industrial area south of Seattle and retaining and expanding industrial employment. He developed the business, labor and environment Build Them In Washington Coalition and coordinated a team of economists, public relations and lobbying consultants that successfully insured that a major ferry construction job was built in-state and by local workers. Feldman co-developed the Harvard/Ford Foundation Innovations in Local & State Government award winning Community Voice Mail (CVM) system, which enables homeless and phoneless people access to critical phone communications.

Feldman was a member of Governor Locke's Sustainable Washington Advisory Panel.

K.C. Golden - Policy Director, Climate Solutions

K.C. Golden is Policy Director for Climate Solutions, a clean economy group pioneering practical and profitable solutions to climate disruption. He has helped to develop clean energy and climate protection programs for the City of Seattle, the State of Washington, and the West Coast Governors Global Warming Initiative. He is a former Director of Energy Policy for Washington State, where he served as Assistant Director of the Department of Commmunity, Trade, and Economic Development.

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Anna Gottlieb - Executive Director, Gilda's Club of Seattle

Anna, the founder of Gilda's Club Seattle, has a Master's Degree in Public Administration and a B.A. in Social Sciences. Her work experience includes being a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., a VISTA volunteer in Little Rock, Arkansas and a Presidential Management Intern. She has also been the proud owner of Popcorner in Pike Place Market.

All her skills and experiences have led her to Gilda's Club Seattle, a place where she feels very lucky to be part of and thrilled to work with so many wonderful people in this community.

Anna's favorite quote is one that she now understands fully, "We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give" (Winston Churchill ).

Doris Koo - Senior Vice President & Director, Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.

Doris joined the Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. in 2001 as the senior vice president and director of the western region, overseeing the Foundation's programs in Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, Denver, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, San Antonio, Dallas and the Native American program. Prior to that, Doris served as Deputy Executive Director at the Seattle Housing Authority, where she oversaw planning and development of four HOPE VI projects and other asset management activities. Doris was the founding executive director of Asian Americans For Equality in New York City.

Doris is a member of the Seattle Housing Levy Oversight Committee, and was recently appointed by Seattle School Superintendant Manhas to join the Citizens Advisory Committee for Investing in Educational Excellence. She is also Chair of the Affordable Housing Advisory Council for the FHLB of Seattle and a member of the National Community Council, WAMU.

Mike McGuinn - Attorney, Stokes Lawrence

Michael McGinn, a partner at the law firm of Stokes Lawrence, has twelve years of experience representing businesses and individuals in a wide range of legal disputes. Michael is an active Sierra Club volunteer who has led the local chapter in expanding political, legislative and conservation work on state and local issues. For the past five years, he has also been President of the Greenwood Community Council. Related work includes participation in city advisory committees addressing transportation, water quality and land use.

Dennis McLerran - Executive Director, Puget Sound Clean Air Agency

Dennis McLerran is the Executive Director of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, the regional air quality agency for King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties. Mr. McLerran is an attorney and former Chair of the Land Use and Environmental Law Section of the Washington State Bar Association. He has also served as the Director of the City of Seattle’s environmental and permitting agency, as the City Attorney for the City of Port Townsend and has been engaged in the practice of environmental and land use law in both the public and private sectors. He joined the air quality agency in June 1994. In May 1998, the Municipal League of King County named him Public Employee of the Year. He has been President of the Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials, the national association of local air agencies in the US. He has led the Agency in developing a number of national award winning programs, resulting in EPA Clean Air Act Advisory Committee awards in two of the last five years. These innovative programs include Diesel Solutions, a broad-based voluntary diesel retrofit and clean fuels program; the Puget Sound voluntary summer clean gasoline program; and the Washington State Clean School Bus program, making $5 million per year available to clean up 9,000 school buses.

Kollin Min - Senior Program Director, Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.

Kollin Min currently works at the Senior Program Director for Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. Previously, Kollin worked as the Washington State Director of the Cascadia Green Building Council, the regional chapter of the United States Green Building Council in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Kollin is an attorney with nearly 10 years of experience in the non-profit, governmental, and private sectors. Most recently, he served as the Campaign Director for the Cascades Conservation Partnership, a non-profit effort that has protected over 35,000 acres of threatened forestland in the Cascades. Prior to his work with the Partnership, he served as a Senior Legislative Aide to the Speaker of the Washington State House of Representatives, Frank Chopp, and as an environmental and land use attorney at the law firm of Preston Gates & Ellis in Seattle. Kollin received his law degree from the University of Washington, a Master's degree in environmental policy from Lund University in Sweden and a BA in political science from Yale. He lives in Seattle with his wife, Katja Shaye, and their sons, William and Stellan.

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William Ruckleshaus - Strategic Director, Madrona Venture Group

William D. Ruckelshaus is currently a Strategic Director in the Madrona Venture Group and a principal in Madrona Investment Group. He was Chairman/CEO of Browning-Ferris Industries for over a decade (1988-1999).

Mr. Ruckelshaus was Senior Vice President for Law and Corporate Affairs at the Weyerhaeuser Company from 1976-83. He recently retired as a director of Cummins Engine Company, Nordstrom, and Weyerhaeuser Company, and currently serves on the board of Vykor, Inc. and Isilon Systems, as well as numerous nonprofit organizations.

Mr. Ruckelshaus has been appointed to lead numerous federal and state commissions, including the Commission on Ocean Policy, NOAA's Science Advisory Board, and the Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board.

Mr. Ruckelshaus was Deputy Attorney General of Indiana from 1960-65, and a member of the Indiana House of Representatives and its majority leader from 1967-69. Mr. Ruckelshaus twice served as Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency -- from 1970-73 and from 1983-85. He also served as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Deputy Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice.

He has a BA from Princeton and a law degree from Harvard. He and his wife Jill live in Seattle.

Yalonda Sindé - Executive Director, Community Coalition for Environmental Justice

Yalonda Sindé is a founding member and the Executive Director of the Community Coalition for
Environmental Justice (CCEJ). CCEJ is a twelve-year old, multicultural, multi-issue organization whose mission is to achieve environmental and economic justice in low-income communities and communities of color. Yalonda specializes in cross cultural coalition building, community organizing, community-based research, and developing strategies for creating diversity and cultural competency in the environmental movement and within organizations. Her leadership has helped bring forth the voices of individuals addressing environmental injustice in the Pacific Northwest.

Yalonda has earned a BA in Political Science and a Masters Degree in Non-Profit Leadership from Seattle University. She is the recipient of numerous awardsand has gained notoriety for her articles, speeches and leadership ability in bringing together diverse constituents to address environmental justice, economic and social justice issues.

Greg Smith - CEO, Urban Visions

Greg Smith is CEO and founder of Urban Visions, a privately held Seattle-based real estate investment and development company, promoting smart growth, sustainable development and urban density. Greg was formerly the president and a principal of Martin Smith Development Corporation, one of Seattle's most active development companies over the last decade. Currently Urban Visions is leading efforts to redesign and develop the south downtown neighborhood of Seattle into a mixed-use community (150+ acres) centered around public transportation, historic Pioneer Square and major league sports stadiums.

An advocate for sustainable development with the real estate design and development arenas, Greg is also actively involved with local community, political and environmental organizations and is currently active on the boards of ULI, Futurewise, Downtown Seattle Assoc., Cascade Land Conservancy, Waterfront Partners, EOTC Land Use Housing & Neighborhood Revitalization Committee, Community Development Roundtable and Chief Seattle Club.

Anne Steinemann - Professor, Civil and Envrionmental Engineering/ Public Affairs & Director, The Water Center at the University of Washington

Anne C. Steinemann is Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Professor of Public Affairs, and Director of The Water Center at the University of Washington. She received her Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University. Dr. Steinemann specializes in environmental problem solving, integrating expertise in engineering, economics, policy, and health. She received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the highest honor for junior faculty in science and engineering, in addition to university teaching awards. She advises numerous government agencies and industries on water and environmental issues, and has directed more than $5 million in funded research. Current studies address climate impacts on water and energy resources, drought management, green buildings, campus sustainability, and health effects of pollutants. Read her full bio.

Linda Strout - Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Port of Seattle

Linda Strout was named Deputy Chief Executive Officer in February 2004. She provides oversight for the Port's legal, risk management, records management, health and safety services, corporate environmental, engineering, Port construction services and Port Police Department.

Strout joined the Port in January 1989 and served as the Port's general counsel from December 1991 through February 2004. Prior to joining the Port, she was a principal in the Seattle law firm of Skellenger and Bender, where she practiced general commercial and municipal law for nine years. Her practice consisted primarily of complex commercial and construction litigation, with an additional emphasis in real estate leasing and purchase and sales transactions. She also assisted in tax-exempt financings for a variety of Washington municipalities.

Doug Walker - Chairman of the Board, REI, Inc.

For over 20 years, Doug Walker, founding partner and CEO of WRQ (until 2004), led WRQ to become the technology and innovation leader that it is today. WRQ specializes in integration software and services that quickly adapt host-intensive environments to meet new business needs.

Doug is an active supporter of charitable, environmental, and community organizations. He is Chairman of the Board of Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) and serves on the Governing Council of The Wilderness Society and the boards of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the Seattle Parks Foundation, Green Diamond Resource Company, Harbor Properties, Inc., and NetMotion Wireless, Inc.

He graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in Mathematics from Vanderbilt University and attended the University of Washington Graduate School of Mathematics.

Doug is an avid hiker and mountain climber and a year-round bicycle commuter.                   Back to Top