Dr. Paul Bartels (NC)

pbartels@warren-wilson.edu

Paul Bartels is Professor of Environmental Studies and Director of Programs for the Environmental Leadership Center of Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC.  Dr. Bartels received his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz, an M.Phil. in Zoology from the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, and a B.S. in Zoology from Southern Illinois University.  He has taught zoology, animal behavior and conservation biology for over 14 years, and his research interests include behavioral ecology and coral reef conservation biology.  Dr. Bartels is a sailor, scuba diver, sea kayaker, and windsurfer, and a passionate spokesman for ocean conservation.

 (Rev) Phil Bratcher (SC)

peacefulstar@msn.com

I am entering my 25th year of ministry. I have served during that time as teacher, cook, group facilitator and counselor to congregants. I attended nurses training at Greenville Technical College from 79-82 and then as staff nurse, chief nurse of neurosciences at MUSC hosp in Charleston SC, staff and primary nurse for Roger Peace Rehab Hosp and diabetic educator for patients and families. I have been a volunteer chaplain for the dept of corrections for SC for 10 years and also about that much experience in prisons as counselor and pastor to youth and adult and women's prisons in Atlanta GA and parts of IL and SC. Presently, I am working for the SC Global Warming Campaign for the SC Christian Action Council here in Columbia and going into faith communities to do presentations to create awareness about the environment. Also involved in hosting a Fall Forum Event at Furman University in Greenville SC where people of science, business and faith will gather to speak and network. This event will be a CLP course credit for students and will be exciting. I also have a private counseling practice and do spiritual direction and have done so for 8 years and was ordained into the ministry in 1994. Just completed the East Coast School for the Work of Byron Katie, which is associated for my preparation for work with adults and children.

Ron Castle (TN)

roncastle@roncastle.com

Ron is a search engine optimization expert, web designer, video producer and business consultant to over 100 clients on 4 continents. Ron has an MBA from Pepperdine and graduate level ergonomics training from the University of Michigan. He was involved in the geothermal heat pump industry as a volunteer lobbyist, board member of the national Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium and development director for a geothermal heat exchanger installation contractor. Geothermal HVAC is the most energy efficient heating and cooling technology available today and, according to DOE and EPA, creates the lowest attributable emissions. Ron has made presentations on geothermal technology and climate change to the Joint House/Senate Renewable Energy Conference in DC, the Virginia Sustainable Development Conference, Greenprints in Atlanta and to numerous major ESCO's and electric utilities. Ron resides on the mountain near Sewanee, TN and is actively involved in wild lands and watershed preservation as founding president and board member of Friends of South Cumberland State Recreation Area, Inc. (supporting Tennessee's largest state wilderness park), an advisory board member to the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation, a member of the Cumberland River Compact and an advisory board member to the South Cumberland Regional Land Trust. He also supports numerous environmental organizations with time, money and talent. He is a published freelance writer on environmental, energy and climate change issues, a published outdoor photographer, often volunteering his services to worthy nonprofit groups. Ron was the recipient of the 2001 Civic Volunteer Award from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the 2000 recipient of the James D. Prince Memorial Award for wild lands preservation efforts in Tennessee.

Joyce Chumbley (FL)

JChum80600@aol.com

Joyce Chumbley, South Florida, is currently the Global Warming Campaign Organizer of the Alliance for Florida's Future. Joyce is a longtime activist for civil rights, environmental and social justice issues, and educational and arts opportunities for all people. Helped to create the Southern Partners Fund, a foundation to support grassroots organizing in the South. Served as director of a Florida organization designed to help raise the quality of education statewide. Served as director of a regional arts council dedicated to involving more people in creative activities. Taught college humanities and literature, and served as a college dean. Ph.D. in drama and theater.

Melissa Ladd (SC)

MelissaL@sccl.org

Melissa is the National Issues Director for the Coastal Conservation League in South Carolina.  Melissa is a graduate of Furman University, and received her Masters in Environmental Management from Duke University in 2001.  She is on the Steering Committee for the SC Interfaith Climate Change Campaign, and is a volunteer teacher in English as a Second Language.

Gary Lloyd (FL)

shawlloyd@cs.com

Gary Lloyd, Tallahassee, FL, was born in Georgia. He lived in North Florida almost entirely. After graduation from Florida State, U.S. Social Security Administration employed him for over 30 years. During the 1990s, he was a driver and note-taker for a young man disabled by muscular dystrophy who attended Florida State one or two courses per semester. He was majoring in Environmental Studies and was tapped for Phi Kappa Phi academic honorary. He died in October 1999 midway through Global Climate Change course. Although he lacked several courses he was granted a posthumous degree (only given twice before in FSU's history). It was beneficial for Gary to participate in these courses and rewarding to know his interest in our environment. A member of Sierra Club since 1987, Gary is currently serving as Conservation Chair for the Big Bend Group embracing eight counties around Tallahassee, and is a member of the City's Bike-Pedestrian Advisory Committee.

Dr. Karen McGlothin (TN)

kmcgloth@sewanee.edu

Karen McGlothin, native of Kingsport, TN, received her B.S. and M.S. degrees from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN and her Ph.D. from Clemson University in Clemson, SC.  She is currently an Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of the South in Sewanee, TN.  Her areas of interest include Invertebrate Zoology, Ecology, Entomology, and Developmental Biology and she is actively involved in the new Environmental Studies concentration that Sewanee began offering during the Advent semester, 1999.  She recently began working on a series of edited readers on environmental issues to be published by Acada Press.

Melissa Meehan (FL)

meehan_melissa@hotmail.com
Melissa Meehan was born in Ohio, but grew up in Connecticut and attended college at  Boston University where she graduated in 2003 magna cum laude with a degree in public relations and a focus in environmental science. She currently works at Hill & Knowlton, a world-wide public relations agency in down town Tampa. Melissa has been an ardent climate activist ever since she took a moving course titled, "Critical Thinking about Environmental Futures" from Professor Steven Steele. Melissa also had the privilege of working as a media intern at Harvard Medical School's Center for Health and the Global Environment with Eric Chivian and Paul Epstein, two dedicated climate scientists.

Ezra Millstein (FL)

ezra.millstein@wwfus.org

Ezra Millstein joined World Wildlife Fund in July 1999, as Florida Climate Officer for the WWF Climate Change Campaign.  He works primarily in South Florida to raise awareness of the issue of climate change.  Recent efforts include the release of a new WWF report on the economics of global warming solutions in Florida, and a grassroots campaign in the Florida Keys.  He previously worked as a program assistant at Grassroots International in Boston, MA.  Prior to that he was a program coordinator for a statewide consumer energy cooperative at the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation in Burlington, VT.  In 1994-95 he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Swaziland, Africa, working on environmental education.  He holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Policy from the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources, and a Master of Arts in International Development from Clark University.  He has studied, lived and traveled in Africa, Asia, Central America, North America, Europe and the Middle East.

John Noel (TN)

JohnhNOEL@earthlink.net

John Noel, a businessman and an environmentalist, was past President of the Nashville Board of Realtors and recipient of the Realtor of the Year Award. He was founding member of the Tennessee Housing Development Agency and founding chairman of the Downtown Franklin Association revitalizing Franklin, Tennessee’s downtown area and awarded the coveted Heritage Foundation Award.

Currently, John serves on seven local, state, and national boards, including Tennessee Forest Council, Tennessee Conservation Voters, the Climate Institute in Washington D.C., and is the current President of the regional Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) and the Tennessee Environmental Endowment Fund.

John led the successful environmental coalitions of Tennessee and North Carolina to clean up the 100 year polluted Pigeon River and also led the recent front page precedent setting Spencer, Tennessee stream degeneration case, which was feature in National Geographic Magazine and halted the destruction of the world class Rumbling Falls Cave.

John has been active in preservation of land through conservation easements. His partnership, Parnassus, saved approximately 3,000 acres of land deemed globally rare by the Nature Conservancy. He is a known speaker on Global Climate Change. His international environmental work has him sharing company with such international figures as Jacques Cousteau, Baroness Thatcher of England, and the Minister of Construction in China. 

Micah Walker Parkin (LA)

mwalker@all4energy.org

Micah is the Program Director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy, a
non-profit organization, which promotes consumer protection and sustainable energy policies, including action on climate change.  She is also the Chair of the New Orleans Group of the Sierra Club.  In both of these capacities, she is very active on climate change issues in Louisiana, presenting to students and organizations and named to represent the Delta Chapter of the Sierra Club on a Climate Change Study Commission that her organization advocated for at the Louisiana Legislature.  She lives and works in New Orleans, LA, which the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) called 'North America's most vulnerable city to the effects of climate change'!

Dr. Sharon Spray (NC)

sspray@elon.edu

Sharon Spray, born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, developed a deep love of outdoor recreation and the natural environment.  She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Montana and then a M.A. and Ph.D. from The Claremont Graduate University in Southern California.  She is currently an Assistant Professor of Political Science and Environmental Studies at Elon College in Burlington, NC where she teaches classes on national politics and environmental policy.

Mark van Soestbergen (FL)

mark@icbe.com

Mark van Soestbergen, Gainesville Florida, first became involved in carbon sequestration in 1990 while developing an emission reduction scheme for Shin-Idemitsu, a Japanese oil distributor.

In 1994, he founded the Carbon Bank to market Carbon-Zero-Fuel products and worked with Wildlife Fund Thailand, OISCA, and Thailand's Population Development Authority to build capacity for the project.

In 1995-96, he consulted on the Felidhu Solar Power Development Project with the Maldive Electric Board for a Japanese PV manufacturer. Mr. Van Soestbergen has participated in regional and national climate change workshops, such as the EPA's Climate Change Partners Conference, the ICCC Earth Technologies Forum, and GERT, and has led discussions on the topic of carbon trading at the Florida Solar Energy Center and the University of Florida Law School.

He has been developing the legal framework and inventory aspects of the International Carbon Bank and Exchange (ICBE) since 1998. The objective of the ICBE is to provide individuals and organizations a web-enabled platform to profile, track and trade GHG emissions and reductions.

Caitlin Winans (SC)

caitlinw@scccl.org

Caitlin Winans is the South Carolina National Issues Coordinator for the National Environmental Trust, and is  responsible for leading the NET’s South Carolina global warming campaign. A major part of this program is public education and awareness which has a strong focus on college and high school populations.

Winans is a former campaign staffer with a great deal of public speaking and organizing experience. Winans has been working for various political and nonprofit groups for more than nine years and is comfortable speaking to groups of all sizes on a wide variety of subjects.

Winans graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. She then went on to work with various community organizations including the Democratic Party, the League of Women Voters, the  Chamber of Commerce and two community revitalization groups. Her community involvement led her into politics. At the age of 24, Winans ran for City Council.  That began her political campaigning career which grew from working on city races to county and from county delivered speeches, and organized and made arrangements for (advanced) events. She had the opportunity to work on every aspect of campaigns from going door-to-door to creating strategy.  In June of this year Winans had the opportunity to begin national work with the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League. This opportunity has allowed her to work more directly on the issues that she has indirectly been trying to affect for years.

Join/Contact

To join the speakers network or to arrange for a presentation by a volunteer speaker to your campus, faith community or other group, please email the Green House Network, or call 503-342-6863.