Business
Tanya M. Acker, Esq.
Attorney
A frequent guest on national and international television and radio broadcasts, Tanya Acker is an attorney and commentator. She has appeared on The Early Show, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, Anderson Cooper 360, Headline News, The O’Reilly Factor, Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell, CNN Reports, Your World With Neil Cavuto, CNBC Reports, and Britain’s Sky News and GMTV, among others. She has also guest co-hosted CNBC’s Power Lunch, contributed both to CNN’s AC360.com and the Huffington Post, and been featured in a C Magazine profile on noteworthy California women in politics.
During her studies at Yale Law School, from where she graduated in 1995, Acker represented indigent women in family law cases, served as a teaching assistant in Constitutional Law and Civil Procedure courses, and interned at the Office of White House Counsel, the Civil Rights Division in the United States Department of Justice, and the private law firms Irell & Manella and O’Melveny & Myers. After graduation, Acker worked at Williams & Connolly where she assisted President Clinton’s personal lawyers with press interviews, worked on the preparation of Congressional testimony for pending product liability legislation, and researched First Amendment issues. Acker then served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Dorothy Wright Nelson on the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Her duties during that appointment included advising and making recommendations to Judge Nelson and other Ninth Circuit judges about rulings on a broad variety of cases, and preparing Judge Nelson for oral argument on matters before the Court.
Acker was then awarded a Bristow Fellowship in the Office of the Solicitor General at the United States Department of Justice, where she drafted briefs on behalf of the Government before the United States Supreme Court. Acker also assisted the Solicitor General in his preparation for various oral arguments before the High Court, including the Clinton v. Jones case, where she participated with the Solicitor General and President Clinton’s personal attorneys in preparing for oral argument before the Supreme Court.
Acker subsequently worked as a litigator in the law firms of Latham & Watkins, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Fox & Spillane, where she worked both as a lead attorney and in a supporting role on a broad variety of cases, including state supreme court matters, corporate litigation involving public and private entities, and various constitutional cases. In the course of her practice, Acker received the ACLU’s First Amendment Award for her successful representation of the homeless in a case against the City of Santa Barbara. Acker also conducted a successful solo representation of a defendant entertainment firm in a breach of contract/wrongful termination jury trial. She also represented a high-profile talent agent in a dispute with his agency, negotiated his successful exit from the agency, and oversaw media efforts in that highly publicized case. Acker then worked on the 2004 Kerry/Edwards presidential campaign and subsequently served as the Deputy Campaign Manager for the mayoral campaign of Councilman Bernard C. Parks.
Acker has been featured speaker at conferences hosted by the University of Southern California and Harvard Law School, has moderated a forum on political issues hosted by Common Cause (a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization), and has addressed the Los Angeles Chapter of the English Speaking Union about American historical and political issues.
Acker received her B.A. degree at Howard University, where she graduated summa cum laude and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She was awarded a Luard Scholarship for study at St. Anne’s College at Oxford University, and served as the co-editor-in-chief of the Oxford University Women’s Magazine while at Oxford. At Yale Law School, she was awarded an Earl Warren Scholarship by the NAACP and a Coker Fellowship by the Yale faculty.
Acker serves on the boards of Public Counsel, the nation’s largest provider of free legal services, the Western Justice Center, which promotes alternative dispute resolution, and Planned Parenthood Los Angeles. She also serves on the boards of EmeraChem LLC, a Tennessee-based manufacturer that is dedicated to the development of clean energy products and Hunt Investors LLC, which invests in clean technology companies and products.
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Roger Barnett
Chairman and CEO of Shaklee Corporation
Roger Barnett is the Chairman and CEO of Shaklee Corporation, the leading provider of premium quality, natural nutrition and personal care products, environmentally-friendly household cleaning products, and state-of-the-art air and water treatment systems. Founded in 1956, Shaklee is the number one natural nutrition company in the U.S., with more than 750,000 members and distributors in the U.S., Japan, Mexico, Malaysia, Canada and Taiwan.
https://www.shaklee.com
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Kelly Blackstone
Co-founder of Three Branches Healthy Living
Kelly Blackstone grew up in Baton Rouge, LA and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2008 with a degree in Kinesiology: Health Promotion and Fitness. After college, inspired by Allison Evans, her best friend and future business partner, Kelly and Allison ventured to Hunt, Texas where they spent a summer learning about the harmful characteristics of every day personal care products, cleaning products, and food. From that point forward Kelly knew that she wanted to dedicate her time to educate and inspire others to make their own healthier decisions.
Kelly co-founded Three Branches Healthy Living, an online retail shop, in 2009 with a goal of preventing people from one day saying "Why didn't anyone tell me?!" Three Branches Healthy Living offers customers a plethora of educational opportunities as well as a number of high quality non-toxic products and supplements. One of Kelly’s main focuses within the company is the Three Branches blog, which offers practical examples of how to replace conventional products with easy, healthy alternatives. She is living proof that you can go throughout life using the same products for years without realizing they are harmful to your health until you make the switch to non-toxic products.
Kelly and Allison launched their own non-toxic cleaning line, Branch Basics, in the winter of 2010. Having such a passion for using only safe and healthy cleaning products, the two women are completely hands-on with every step of the process, including mixing, bottling and labeling.
Kelly has gone on to study Building Biology, which looks at the effects of conventional building materials on our health, as well as the hazards of electromagnetic radiation and poor indoor air quality.
She currently lives in Jackson, MS where she is the manager of the Pilates Place of Mississippi, and travels to teach healthy living workshops with Allison.
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Jane Buckingham
Founder and CEO of TRENDERA
Is there a difference between trends, micro trends and fads? Does the generation gap still exist? And why does it matter to you as marketers, employers, and even as parents? Jane Buckingham has the answers.
As the founder and CEO of TRENDERA, Buckingham is the leading expert on Generations X, Y, and V. Having studied these generations for over 20 years, she is able to help companies and individuals gain insights into these often inscrutable groups. Her services to clients combine sophisticated research tools with trend knowledge, helping companies to understand how consumers feel and to anticipate what trends will impact their businesses. Trendera produces the trend forecasting report “THE TRENDERA FILES” and works with clients including Facebook, Paramount, Fox, Target, L’Oreal, and many others.
Buckingham began her career at age 17 by writing the book Teens Speak Out about her own generation. This started her on a quest to better understand and explain how young people feel.
Buckingham pioneered the trend forecasting field by creating the marketing and consulting firm Youth Intelligence, which she sold to Creative Artists Agency in 2003. She created and published The Cassandra Report as well as the daily trend newsletter, TrendCentral which she also sold to CAA. Buckingham is the author of the bestselling The Modern Girl’s Guide book series, including The Modern Girl’s Guide to Life, The Modern Girl’s Guide to Motherhood and The Modern Girl’s Guide to Sticky Situations. She was the host of the television series “The Modern Girl’s Guide to Life” on the Style network for four years.
Jane is committed to public service work. In addition to speaking to parents and schools across the country, she serves on the Board of Directors for the non-profit organizations for The Rape Treatment Center and Stuart House, which provides comprehensive, free treatment for sexual assault victims both adults and children and Women in Film, both based in Los Angeles.
In her roles, Buckingham has been the subject of in-depth profiles in The Los Angeles Times and The Boston Globe, as well as on “60 Minutes,” and “Good Morning America.” She has appeared on numerous other television programs, including “The Today Show,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” and “The View,” and was voted by Elle Magazine as one of the Most Powerful women in Hollywood.
Jane Buckingham graduated from Duke University in 1990 with a degree in English.
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Allison Evans
Co-founder of Three Branches Healthy Living
Allison Evans is one of the founders/owners of Three Branches Healthy Living. An e-commerce company that empowers others to achieve their best health through clean living, Three Branches offers the highest quality non-toxic home and body products.
Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Allison’s personal health struggles forged the Three Branches path. While studying Public Relations at the University of Texas in Austin, she developed debilitating pain and numbness that left dozens of the best doctors in the nation dumbfounded. Having spent two years exhausting every other route, Allison turned toward natural healing. She learned about the effects of dietary and environmental toxins and how their removal was key to the body’s natural ability to heal. Allison’s pain ended and her passion began. Her roommate and best friend, Kelly Blackstone, was inspired by Allison’s lifestyle changes and the two girls fed off each other’s newfound passion for healthy living.
Upon graduation, Allison and Kelly went on to study the importance of a balanced diet and food-based supplements as well as Building Biology, which looks at the effects of indoor air quality and electromagnetic stress on the body. Alongside Allison’s aunt, Marilee Nelson, the two women founded Three Branches in the summer of 2010, followed closely by the launch of their own non-toxic cleaning line, Branch Basics.
Through giving workshops with Kelly, Allison is raising awareness among young women and moms about the chemicals we put in, on and around our bodies and the benefits of choosing safer alternatives. She believes wholeheartedly that this will result in providing a healthier environment for future generations.
Now 26 years old, Allison is newly married to her high school sweetheart and resides in Houston where she offices with her father and grandfather.
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Myra Goodman
Earthbound Farm
Myra Goodman is the author of Food to Live By: The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook (Workman, 2006), and the co-founder, with her husband Drew, of Earthbound Farm. Over 25 years ago, the two city kids from New York taught themselves to farm their 2.5-acre backyard garden organically so they could feel good about the food they were growing. Today, Earthbound Farm is joined by 150 dedicated farmers using sustainable organic methods on more than 33,000 acres; in 2009 alone, Earthbound Farm’s organic farming operations will keep more than 10 million pounds of synthetic agricultural chemicals out of the environment and out of the food supply.
Myra Goodman is the co-founder, with her husband Drew, of Earthbound Farm. She currently serves as executive vice-president and chief creative officer. Originally from New York City, Earthbound Farm started in 1984 when Myra and Drew began farming organically on their 2 -acre backyard garden in Carmel Valley, California. Today, their organic produce is farmed by more than 150 farmers on 30,000 acres and is available in 76% of American supermarkets. Annually, Earthbound Farm's organic farming avoids the use of more than 10 million pounds of conventional agricultural chemicals.
“Starting our family brought the value of eating organic food into even sharper focus. Children are more vulnerable to developmental damage from pesticide residues on food; their bodies are still growing, their metabolisms are faster, and because of their smaller size, they eat more fruits and vegetables per pound of body weight than adults do.
When we first started farming, Drew and I knew instinctively that we didn’t want conventional agricultural chemicals in our backyard or on our food. We wanted to grow food we’d feel good about, and so we taught ourselves to farm organically.
It’s my personal passion to bring the benefits of organic food to as many people as possible and serve as a catalyst for positive change. We’re trying to change how America farms and how Americans eat, because we believe organic food is the healthiest choice for people and the planet."
From HEALTHY CHILD HEALTHY WORLD. Reprinted by arrangement with Plume, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Copyright (c) 2009 by Healthy Child Healthy World.
To read more from Myra and many others, pick up your copy of our book, Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home, today.
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Jeffrey Hollender
Former President, Seventh Generation, Inc., Father of Meika, Alexander, and Chiara
Former President and Chief Inspired Protagonist of Seventh Generation, Jeffrey Hollender is a well-respected leader in the socially and environmentally responsible communities. Jeffrey led Seventh Generation from its humble beginnings to its current position as the leading and fastest-growing brand of natural products for the home. Currently he serves on the Board of Directors of Greenpeace USA, Healthy Child Healthy World, Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, and Alloy Inc., a publicly traded company.
"We know how to create that healthy home the doctor spoke about, and we have. What I want is for everyone else to know, too. Because so many people simply don't. People just don't realize that many of the things surrounding them are turning their homes into toxic sinks in which the air is two to five times more polluted than the air just outside. Most of all, they don't realize what all these things can do to the most vulnerable and defenseless among us. I don’t want anyone else to feel what I felt on that scary summer day. I don't want another child to suffer. From where I sit, I can see the place where those things never happen. I can see a world that's safe, clean, and healthy, one that nurtures life instead of harming it, and we're going to get there."
From HEALTHY CHILD HEALTHY WORLD. Reprinted by arrangement with Plume, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Copyright (c) 2009 by Healthy Child Healthy World.
To read more from Jeffrey and many others, pick up your copy of our book, Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home, today.
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