Press:

Mark Hays

Hays will be discussing BOTTLED LIFE (NESTLÉS GESCHÄFTE MIT DEM WASSER).

Mark Hays has conducted research, campaign development and advocacy for a wide range of environmental and social change organizations, and spent six years as a campaign strategist, researcher and policy analyst for Corporate Accountability International.  There, he led development of the award-winning Think Outside the Bottle Campaign, which has worked to pressure bottled water giants such as Coke, Nestle and Pepsi to change irresponsible practices that are impacting the environment and people's access to water. The campaign is part of a broader effort to protect and realize the human right to water around the world.
 
He currently serves as coalition coordinator for the Democracy Initiative, a new project convened by the Sierra Club, NAACP, CWA and Greenpeace that seeks to bring together a wide range of environmental and social advocacy organizations to support efforts by allied organizations to protect voting rights and push back against the negative influence of big money in politics.  However, he remains actively engaged on water and corporate accountability campaigns as well.

Lisa Jackson

Jackson will be discussing REVOLUTION.
 
Administrator Lisa P. Jackson leads EPA’s efforts to protect the health and environment for all Americans. She and a staff of more than 17,000 professionals are working across the nation to usher in a green economy, address health threats from toxins and pollution, and renew public trust in EPA’s work.

As Administrator, Jackson has pledged to focus on core issues of protecting air and water quality, preventing exposure to toxic contamination in our communities, and reducing greenhouse gases. She has promised that all of EPA’s efforts will follow the best science, adhere to the rule of law, and be implemented with unparalleled transparency.

Jackson is the first African-American to serve as EPA Administrator. She has made it a priority to focus on vulnerable groups including children, the elderly, and low-income communities that are particularly susceptible to environmental and health threats. In addressing these and other issues, she has promised all stakeholders a place at the decision-making table.

Before becoming EPA’s Administrator, Jackson served as Chief of Staff to New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine and Commissioner of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Prior to joining DEP, she worked for 16 years as an employee of the U.S. EPA.

Jackson is a summa cum laude graduate of Tulane University and earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University. She was born in Pennsylvania and grew up a proud resident of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Jackson now resides in Washington D.C.. She is married to Kenny Jackson and is the proud mother of two sons, Marcus and Brian.

Jeremy Monroe

Monroe will be discussing Rivers Lost, Found, and Turned-Around.

Jeremy Monroe is the Director of Freshwaters Illustrated. "I see my job as helping to reconnect people to the vibrance, diversity, and profound importance of freshwater ecosystems. My background in aquatic ecology helps me to access stories and people that can help share and celebrate the beauty and value of freshwater life, and with a  talented group of visual artists and communicators, I work to make those stories as compelling as they can be. I live with my wife and two daughters within canoe-carrying distance to Oregon’s Willamette River."

Chris Palmer

Palmer will be participating in several events at American University throughout the festival, including SHOOTING IN THE WILD.
 
Chris Palmer is a wildlife filmmaker who joined the SOC faculty in 2004. Since then, he has founded its Center for Environmental Filmmaking; launched Classroom in the Wild, which takes students to the Florida Everglades, Alaska and other wilderness areas to make films; and initiated collaborations with Maryland Public Television, which broadcasts SOC student films as part of its “EcoViews” series about the Chesapeake Bay, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which gives students an opportunity to participate in many of its media projects. Palmer has produced hundreds of hours of films for television and the global network of IMAX theaters. He and his colleagues have won numerous awards, including two Emmys, an Oscar nomination and, most recently, the Environmental Film Educator of the Decade Award at the Green Globe Film Awards. His book, “Shooting in the Wild”, was published last May by Sierra Club Books. He holds a BS (First Class Honors) in Mechanical Engineering from University College London; an MS in Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture from University College London; an MPA from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.