Tia Diaz-Balart – The Founder and President of the EcoChamber, Tia Diaz-Balart has merged her personal commitment to the environment with her professional executive and marketing skills. Tia is also currently the Vice President of rbb Public Relations where she focuses on implementing media, brand awareness and community relations campaigns for a wide-array of sectors such as banking, finance and professional service firms. Throughout her career, her clients have included companies such as United HealthCare, AT&T, Staples and Wal-Mart. Before then, acting as National Marketing Manager at Hewlett-Packard’s USA operations, she oversaw sales and marketing for several sales channels including B2B, online and retail and was responsible for more than $1.2 billion in sales through nationwide marketing initiatives.
Tia has been an environmentalist since 1987 because of personal circumstances. At the age of two, in 1969, she inhaled a chemical fertilizer on her grandparent’s farm leaving her lungs permanently damaged. As a result she spent her next years constantly battling pneumonia, collapsed lungs, and even comas until a change to a more natural lifestyle dramatically improved her condition.
Throughout her marketing carrer, Tia frequently found green companies coming to her wanting marketing services, but because they were start-ups, they did not have the budgets of more established companies. When the economy began to worsen, it was these companies that were hurting most and some were not able to make it. It was then that Tia decided to put her passion for the environment together with her marketing experience to help support companies who were environmentally responsible so that they could thrive even in challenging economic times. The vision for the EcoChamber emerged to help eco-friendly companies do business and network together from across the globe increasing their chances for success.
In addition, Tia envisioned a way for businesses AND the environment to thrive in the future. She noted how often laws were passed that might be good for the environment, but would cost thousands of jobs. In her opinion, there needed to be a mediator to help negotiate a deal that would be beneficial for all parties involved; saving the environment and jobs. In reality, she felt that it would be businesses that would bring about true environmental progress and a better partnership needed to be forged.
The other challenge that Tia wanted to address was the fragmentation among the environmental interests leading none of them to have enough traction within governments compared to their counterparts such as other food and medical organizations. The EcoChamber was created to help unify the varying eco-sectors such as energy and agriculture to create an environmental voice that could not be ignored and would foster even more rapid progress.
Diaz-Balart has also served on the Summit of the Americas, the unprecedented gathering in Miami of the heads of state of the 34 nations of the Western Hemisphere. She is also the founder of Kids at Ease, a non-profit organization providing services and funding research to ease the trauma of children who are hospitalized.
Tia is active within the community and served on the steering committee of the United States Conference of AIDS, The Children’s Bereavement Center, and works to support the Caribbean Heart Menders which is a group of health professionals who provide free life-saving surgery in the poorest Caribbean countries to children who would otherwise not survive. Diaz-Balart’s husband, U.S. Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, and their son live in Miami, Florida.
Anthony F. Altmann – Anthony F. Altmann is a Senior Partner and Co-Founder at International Renewables Group, LLC (IRG), a company focused on service and support for renewable energy projects and energy efficiency programs across the U.S. He has been a successful senior level operating executive, corporate consultant and entrepreneur. In addition to IRG, Mr. Altmann has been an active operating advisor and partner in numerous businesses applying his skills in turnaround management and early stage companies. Most recently he spearheaded the turnaround and sale of a long-established environmentally friendly chemical company (Enviroline) to a major foreign industrial concern (AkzoNobel) at a significant premium to industry averages.
Due in large part to his successful track record in creating high-performance organizations/teams Mr. Altmann is often contracted to provide both strategic and tactical advice to private equity firms, major energy companies and early stage companies. Through his advisory services firm (LAAD), he has participated in building companies in diverse fields including medical staffing and building products. In recent years the greatest focus has been placed on ‘green’ businesses. He currently sits on several private company boards and on the Advisory Council of Green Depot one of the fastest growing retailers of green and sustainable products with an aim of making green building and living solutions accessible and affordable throughout the U.S.
Before starting IRG in 2002 with former FPL Group colleagues, Mr. Altmann was Division President of FPL Group’s wholesale energy operation. At FPL he reinvented and led one of the most active and successful physical wholesale power trading groups in North America (over 22,000MW of generation in 14 states). He successfully renegotiated some of the largest U.S. natural gas supply and transportation contracts and handled the commercial aspects for numerous renewable energy projects (wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, hydro) as well as supporting retail energy marketing initiatives in various states. Mr. Altmann helped launch his division and reshape strategy for both regulated and unregulated businesses at FPL. Mr. Altmann grew his division from $600Mil to over $3Bil achieving top industry results. His teams were instrumental in acquisition/development that helped FPL Group transform from a regional utility to a national energy company.
Before joining FPL in the mid-1990s, Mr. Altmann spent time as an energy entrepreneur working closely with utilities (KeySpan/NationalGrid) in joint ventures to market energy and created one of the first online power trading businesses, catering to independent power producers (PowerNet). During the 1980s, Mr. Altmann rose from Vice President-Finance to President, CEO, and Director of Allegheny & Western, a successful integrated natural gas company that he joined upon its IPO. At A& W he oversaw stock offerings, acquisitions, divestitures, and the highly effective restructuring of a major gas distribution operation, transforming A&W into a highly profitable $300Mil public company. He led the firm’s efforts to expand its drilling operations and form international joint ventures and was a key force in A&W being recognized as a ‘Top 15 Fastest Growing Company’ by INC Magazine.
A native of NYC, Mr. Altmann is a graduate of Boston College, where he earned his BA degree with honors in Economics. He holds an MBA in Finance from Columbia University in NYC. He is active in charitable efforts in South Florida and is also a long-standing member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO/WPO).
Cesar L. Alvarez – Cesar L. Alvarez is Chief Executive Officer of Greenberg Traurig and has served in this position for the last 12 years. During this time, the firm has grown from 325 lawyers in eight offices in 1997 to more than 1800 attorneys and government professionals in 37 locations in the United States, Europe and Asia, including strategic alliances with Olswang in London, England and Brussels, Belgium; Studio Santa Maria in Milan, and Rome, Italy. The firm has been recognized as the fastest growing law firm in the U.S. over the last five years and is the 7th largest law firm in the country. In addition, Chambers and Partners, world leaders in client-led intelligence on the legal profession, through a panel of independent judges, selected Greenberg Traurig as “2007 Law Firm of the Year.”
In 2008, Cesar was honored by Chambers and Partners with their “Lifetime Achievement Award” and by the American Bar Association with their “Spirit of Excellence Award.” Prior to becoming CEO of the firm, Cesar practiced securities, corporate, and international law for more than 25 years. He has represented numerous public companies and serves on the board of directors of several publicly-traded corporations and charitable organizations. Cesar has been recognized nationally and in his community for his professional, business, and charitable leadership. Cesar has been recognized as one of the “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America” by The National Law Journal in 1997, 2000, and 2006 (the last 3 editions); one of the top most powerful Hispanics by Poder Power Issue; and one of “The 25 Best Latinos in Business,” Hispanic Magazine’s Power Issue, both in 2008.
Mark Begelman - Begelman co-founded Office Club in 1986, one of the nation’s first big-box office supply retailers and took the company public in 1989 before merging it with Office Depot. Following the merger, Begelman served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Office Depot from 1991 to 1995, during which time, he managed the company from 127 stores at $900 million in revenues to $4.5 billion in revenues with 460 retail locations nationwide; the company’s market capitalization grew from $900 million to $5.5 billion. Begelman left Office Depot in 1995, to start what became Mars Music, the fastest growing musical instrument retailer in the country during its time, and grew it to over 52 superstores with over $350 million in revenues. Most recently, Begelman was managing director of Woodbridge Holdings and appointed CEO of Pizza Fusion to steer the company through an aggressive national franchise expansion and oversee growth as the company moves ahead with its plans to open 500 U.S. franchises over the next five years.
Marcos Cordero: Co-Founder, CEO of the Green Business Bureau – Marcos Cordero is a LEED Accredited Professional and has experience in the environmental and solar photovoltaic industries. Marcos decided to join the entrepreneurial ranks after a successful career in management consulting. His previous role was as Manager in the Strategy and Operations Group at Deloitte Consulting, a top-tier management consulting group where he worked with Fortune 500 clients on their most challenging business issues. His studies include a mechanical engineering degree, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School .
David Etzler - David is an entrepreneur, eco-enthusiast, and event producer with a long track record of starting up and managing profitable events. Through his company, BusinessEvents, LLC, David produces trade shows, conferences and global trade missions all over the world.
David’s newest event venture, The Living Green Fair, combines his event production experience with his personal passion for Green ideas. With this fair, he will give back to the community by educating average families and business owners on how to live a Greener, healthier and more environmentally sustainable lifestyle. The Living Green Fair will be the largest Green themed event in the South Florida Region, with over 10,000 attendees in two days expected at John U. Lloyd Beach State Park.
David also owns and operates OutsourceWorld, LLC, a company that produces trade shows, trade missions, content and specialized events for the global sourcing industry. Primarily focused on business services, the Global Sourcing Forum + Expo is their premier event. This conference and thought leadership forum is designed for business leaders charged with gaining a competitive advantage, strengthening their organization, and increasing profit margins. This event has become an important meeting place where buyers and sellers of global business services converge to network, learn, and close business. This event brings academic resources, thought leaders, over 1,000 sourcing executives, and 135 global suppliers from more than 25 countries to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City over two days. Besides Fortune 1000 firms, it also has a special focus on mid market multinational companies that are increasingly challenged to grow to the next level.
Before founding BusinessEvents, LLC, David founded BDI, (www.bdionline.com) and served as a senior sales & Business Development executive for Vitts Networks, Qwest Communications (NYSE: Q) and IDT (NYSE:IDT). David is a board member of the Strategic Forum, the Treasurer of the Boca Falls Homeowners Association, and a member of the West Boca Community Council. David resides in Boca Raton, Florida with his wife Allison, his two children, Russell and Abigail and his third kid – a saltwater aquarium.
Cynthia Golub – Cynthia Golub began producing events for Art Galleries and private banks while living in Europe in 1996. Moving back to her birthplace of Miami Beach, Florida in 2000, Cynthia continued with the inception of Lifestyle Entertainment; focusing more on what was relevant to Miami Beach at the time which included nightclubs and both the Latin and electronic music industries.
After producing very well received Winter Music Conference and Latin Grammy events for Sony Discos, Warner Music Latin America and Universal Latino, Cynthia won the trust and respect of the new owner of Miami Beach’s Versace Mansion (now called Casa Casuarina) while convincing him to let her use his private home for the long awaited CD release event, Mis Amores for Warner Music Latin America’s biggest selling artist Luis Miguel which included the attendance of almost 500 eager members of the Latin press and 50 live satellite interviews conducted at his home with a 24 hour turn around. Successfully overcoming the challenges of producing such a large production in a very delicate private home resulted in the opportunity for Cynthia to become the exclusive event producer for Casa Casuarina where the owner decided to continue sharing his private home as a venue for the right type of events.
In the first weeks of 2004, Cynthia was asked to apply her marketing skills and vast network of contacts to a new magazine venture and leaving event world temporarily behind, she became the Director of New Business Development for a start-up Miami magazine called Haute Living. In her one year with Haute Living as a start-up, Cynthia consulted on everything from cover stories, to font styles to page layouts focusing most of her efforts on growing the magazine through page sales to Real Estate developers, agents and luxury retail brands, taking the magazine from only 38 printed pages to over 200 printed pages in its first year. Since then, Haute Living has become the US’s leading luxury market Real Estate publication and now prints dedicated issues for distribution in Miami, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
With a very successful year in the publishing world behind her, several opportunities presented themselves in the film and television world. With those, Cynthia was able to take her event production experience and new luxury retail relationships with her to Los Angeles where she began to do product placement for several top rated television cable shows as well as wide release feature films while producing film premiere events and brand marketing launches at the Sundance Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival.
Cynthia has recently returned to Miami Beach, Florida and has a full roster of event production and luxury brand product launch and placement clients as they prepare for Art Basel Miami, Super Bowl Miami, Sundance Film Festival, Kentucky Derby, several pro-tennis events including the Sony-Ericsson and a six month season of scheduled events for the Village of Bal Harbour.
Jim Lane - Jim Lane is editor & publisher of Biofuels Digest, the world’s most widely read biofuels daily. He is chairman of the board of governors of the American Biofuels Council. a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, and serves on committees within the Clean Cities Coalition and the Sierra Club. He appears on National Public Radio’s Living on Earth and is widely published in technical and general interest publications on renewable energy topics. His book “The National Energy Solution” is forthcoming in April. Biofuels Digest comprises the ofuelsDigest.com news website, the Daily Biofuels News Digest e-newsletter, and the Biofuels Digest Newswire. The Digest covers producer news, research, policy, policymakers, conferences, fleets and financial news. It is home to the Biofuels Digest Index™, a benchmark basket of biofuels stocks, and the “50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy” list. The Daily Biofuels News Digest is the most widely-read biofuels daily in the world (sources: Alexa, Quantcast). 62 percent of subscribers call it “the best online biofuels media”. The Digest has more than 20,000 direct links in Google and readers in 190+ countries. Biofuels Digest articles generate 6.8 million page views per year at biofuelsdigest.com; and more via syndication to Reuters, Fox News, and the Chicago Sun-Times. The Daily Biofuels News Digest e-newsletter reaches 6,600+ subscribers at more than 4,000 companies at 9am EST each weekday. Another 7,000 subscribers take the RSS and Atom feeds.
Sean O’Hanlon - Sean O’Hanlon founded the American Biofuels Council in early 2007, and has served as CEO since its inception. He first became interested in agricultural, environmental, health, economic and energy issues while traveling internationally during the late 1990′s and began investigating the potential benefits of alternative fuels. His interest in biofuels increased greatly after the events of 9/11 and during his research he saw the need for a unifying organization to bring all interested parties of renewable fuels together. Currently his duties include serving as senior analyst, director of education and public relations. Over the years Mr. O’Hanlon has developed contacts in every facet of the biofuels industry from Seattle to São Paulo. He has authored more than 200 articles on biofuels, co-created and developed the Certified Biofuels Educator (CBE) program, served on the Center for Hemispheric Policy Energy Security task force, chaired round table discussions, international conferences, regularly gives interviews to the media, and has been called “One of the most influential voices in biofuels”.
Dr. Jack Parker: Professor of Environmental Science and Chemistry; Coordinator of the Environmental Studies Certificate Program and the advisement program for the Environmental Studies Department – Dr. Jack Parker received a B.Sc. in Chemistry from Emory University in Atlanta and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a founding member of Florida International University and its Chemistry and Environmental Studies Departments. He has received university awards in teaching, service and advisement. He also received the Gregory Wolfe Faculty Award from FIU’s Student Government Association and a Distinguished Community Service Award from the Florida Board of Regents. He received the American Forests’ National Research Medal for his pioneering studies of energy conservation landscaping.
Howard Salus – Howard Salus (Founding Director, ENVMagazine (Environmental News & Views) was born and raised in Philadelphia and graduated from Central High School as a Barnwell Honor Student. He attended Penn State and Temple Universities earning a BS degree in business, then taking additional courses at Temple and Fairleigh-Dickinson. After two years in the Army, Howard entered the pharmaceutical industry in 1958, advancing to National Sales Promotion manager at Sandoz and Group Marketing Director at USV-Revlon. In 1970, he moved to Miami to assume the position of vice president of marketing and member of the board of directors of Key Pharmaceuticals. He served as President of certain subsidiaries and periodically taught market planning for the AMA and participated in the problem solving institute at SUNYAB.
While Howard was embarking in the publishing industry with TV News & Views, he met, hired, fell in love with, and married Mavis, his life-partner, in every sense. Though the business was successful, the creative stimulus was absent. They started entering theater, film and dining reviews. The scope widened. The excitement increased. Ultimately the TV listings were shed and the name was changed to Entertainment News & Views. Over the years, the product has become known as the premier independent arts, dining and entertainment newspaper. With this niche came more popularity and exclusivity. More tangential areas came into the fold, including society, fashion, increased cultural-oriented topics, and more good life subjects. With that came a good number of years on the radio, where various luminaries assisted, including Michael Aller, the late Sam Finkelstein and Jordy Childs. One of its features, the Arts Season Preview, was a successful, semi-annual, sought-after product and the 25th Anniversary edition was the pride of thousands.
Civic involvement is paramount with the Saluses. Mavis is on the board of Children’s Cancer Caring Center in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Howard is a member of the Miami International Press Club (past president), trustee at North Dade Regional Chamber of Commerce, Aventura Marketing Council, Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce and active with Leading Ladies-Transplant Foundation. In addition, Howard serves on the boards of Greater Miami Festivals and Events Association and Sunday Afternoons of Music and serves on panels reviewing under-graduate and graduate business plans at the Entrepreneurship Center of FIU.
After the sale of the company in May, 2007, Mavis was finally able to readdress a long passion – writing about the environment, nutrition, healthful living and spirituality. From that moment in early February, 2008, plans were made for the development of such a product. ENV was changed from “Entertainment” to “Environmental” News & Views, with our motto now being. “Dedicated to the Quality of Life” as a result of our focus taking on even greater significance. The mission is to gather the many aspects of this highly important subject and communicate them to the world in an exciting and entertaining manner via the web and frequent e-mail newsletters and to increase regional awareness via events and seminars and to contribute to different charities on a yearly basis. As is our planet, ENV intends to be a constant work-in-progress, sharing knowledge and growing and having fun learning and doing. Go Green with ENVy.
Yuda Saydun - Yuda is the President of ClimeCo Corporation which is at the forefront of providing greenhouse gas reduction solutions to major polluters under the European and US regional cap-and-trade regimes. ClimeCo’s team combines regulatory expertise with air quality management, world-class technology partnerships, as well as engineering, design, and operations services. The Company identifies and reduces its’ clients’ greenhouse gas emissions while allowing them to maximize the benefits of the resulting carbon credits. From 2006 to 2008, Yuda served as Executive Vice President at one of the leading climate change management companies (AgCert, a subsidiary of AES), where he led the full range of operations and ran the 650 sites where the Company produces Certified Emission Reductions, as well as the TurboGreen Division which was created to address the carbon management needs of major industrial Companies. Prior to joining the climate change world, Mr. Saydun was President of Genventure Corporation, a private investment and advisory services firm helping technology companies accelerate their expansion initiatives. From 1993 to 2004, he was Corporate Officer and Division President at Tech Data (NASD: TECD), a US$20 billion distributor of IT products and services, where he was part of the team that grew the Company from $1 Billion to $20 Billion. Prior to Tech Data, Mr. Saydun was a Vice President at American Express where he held roles in marketing, sales, strategic planning, and operations. His career includes numerous marketing, new product development and general management assignments in Europe, the U.S. and Latin America. Mr. Saydun holds a B.S. in Political Sciences from the Universite Libre de Bruxelles and an M.B.A. from U.C.L.A.’s Graduate School of Management.
Anabella Vogeler Smith - Anabella Vogeler Smith, Principal and Director of Interior Design at Zyscovich Architects, has been with the firm since 1993. During this time she has overseen projects ranging from the interior design of multifamily high-rise towers to consolidation, strategic planning, and corporate relocation of Capital Bank [Miami], Broward County Zoning and Planning, and Baptist Hospital Administration [Miami]. Working closely with the firm’s managing principal, Bernard Zyscovich, and her diverse and dynamic interior’s team, Ms. Smith has contributed to the firm’s emphasis on innovation and leadership through a commitment to design that minimizes environmental impact and the integration of efforts. Her involvement ranges from the actual operation of a space to the environmental performance and sustainability.
Joseph Winn: Gen Y Environmentalist - Joseph Winn’s passion for the environment has been growing for almost twenty years. An impressive statistic on its own, more so considering he was born in 1985. Joseph’s interest in the environment, though always a personal endeavor, received an initial public display through his first grade science project: “How to Save the Planet.”
With some years following the debut presentation, this University of Miami master’s graduate is unlike most individuals his age. He has conducted fish counts and other data gathering for the non-profit organization REEF, as well as chaired various positions for the University of Miami Propeller Club. Whether it be his hands-on experience with rescuing and rehabilitating marine mammals in the Florida Keys, working with GreenPeaceUM on pressing environmental issues, or assisting conservation groups in Belize and the Galapagos, Joseph has been there on the front lines, bearing witness to the damaging effects of pollution, overpopulation, and climate change.
Presently, Joseph is the President/CEO of GreenProfit Solutions, Inc., an environmental consulting, marketing, and benefits firm. Titles aside, his passion remains the same. Even while overseeing a nationwide organization, his original focus still rests on education. As a certified Divemaster, he goes scuba diving whenever possible, and has used this skill for the pursuit of science, conducting research dives at an active archeological site. When not in the water, you will find Joseph presenting to business organizations through both webinars and in-person workshops, writing educational articles, or simply providing green tips to Chamber of Commerce members. He currently serves on the board of the Port of Miami Propeller Club, the Riverwalk Trust Sustainability Task Force, and participates in the Broward County Climate Change Task Force.Joseph’s understanding of environmental and economic issues, combined with his unique background, help provide both students and businesses alike a fresh perspective on Balancing Business and Sustainability.
