Mathis Wackernagel is co-creator of the Ecological Footprint and CEO of Global Footprint Network. He completed a Ph.D. in community and regional planning with Professor William Rees at the University of British Columbia, where his doctoral dissertation developed the Ecological Footprint concept. Mathis also earned a mechanical engineering degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

Mathis has worked on sustainability with governments, corporations and international NGOs on six continents and has lectured at more than a hundred universities. He previously served as director of the Sustainability Program at Redefining Progress in Oakland, California, and ran the Centro de Estudios para la Sustentabilidad at Anáhuac University in Xalapa, Mexico. Mathis has authored and contributed to more than 50 peer-reviewed papers, numerous articles, reports and various books on sustainability that focus on embracing resource limits and developing metrics for sustainability, including Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth; Sharing Nature’s Interest;  Der Ecological Footprint, and WWF International’s Living Planet Report.

Mathis’ awards include the 2015 IAIA Global Environment Award, being a 2014 ISSP Sustainability Hall of Fame Inductee, the 2013 Prix Nature Swisscanto, 2012 Blue Planet Prize, 2012 Binding Prize for Nature Conservation, the 2012 Kenneth E. Boulding Memorial Award of the International Society for Ecological Economics, the 2011 Zayed International Prize for the Environment (jointly awarded with UNEP), an honorary doctorate from the University of Berne in 2007, a 2007 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, 2006 WWF Award for Conservation Merit and 2005 Herman Daly Award of the U.S. Society for Ecological Economics. He was also selected as number 19 on the en(rich) list identifying the 100 top inspirational individuals whose contributions enrich paths to sustainable futures (www.enrichlist.org). John Elkington identified Mathis among the “Zeronaut 50” Roll of Honor, i.e., leading pioneers who are driving the world’s most significant problems to zero. From 2011 to 2015, Mathis was also the Frank H. T. Rhodes Class of 1956 Visiting Professor at Cornell University.

Susan Burns is co-founder and Director of Finance for Change at Global Footprint Network. Over the last decade, while serving as CEO, Susan has built Global Footprint Network into one of the leading and most respected scientific organizations in the world addressing global ecological limits. She now leads the Finance for Change Initiative, advising governments and financial institutions on incorporating ecological risk into financial risk analysis and government policy.

Prior to launching Global Footprint Network, Susan founded the pioneering sustainability consulting firm Natural Strategies, advising such companies as Mitsubishi Electric, Genencor, and Lowes. She has over 18 years of experience working with more than 50 corporations and other organizations on a variety of sustainability-related issues from forest policy to business strategy. Susan led the development of the screening methodology for Portfolio 21, the US’s first mutual fund dedicated to environmental sustainability. She has spoken widely on the subject of sustainability, human development, and corporate responsibility, having delivered keynote and other lectures at over 100 national and international events.

In 2007 Susan, along with Mathis Wackernagel, won the Skoll Award on Social Entrepreneurship. She was selected as honorable mention on the en(rich) list identifying the top inspirational individuals whose contributions enrich paths to sustainable futures (www.enrichlist.org). John Elkington identified Susan in 2012 among the “Zeronaut 50” Roll of Honor, i.e., leading pioneers who are driving the world’s most significant problems to zero. Both Susan Burns and Mathis Wackernagel are 2014 ISSP Sustainability Hall of Fame Inductees. Susan holds a B.S. in environmental engineering.

Sandra Browne has been involved with Global Footprint Network in various capacities since 2011 and brings a passion for smooth operations that support the organization’s mission. Sandra has created HR processes for recruiting and performance management, aided the creation of a revised strategic plan, and implemented systems for tracking operations and finance analytics to enable timely, data-driven decisions.

Sandra brings 20 years of experience as a business operations executive for technical and scientific organizations. She earned her MBA from UC Berkeley with an emphasis in organizational behavior and strategy. Throughout her career Sandra has focused on creating high-performance cultures that are financially stable and data-driven.

Prior to working at Footprint Network, Sandra managed company-wide operations for several consulting companies, including a multi-office transportation engineering firm and a global agile software development company. She was also the VP of Engineering for a software consulting firm, where she managed custom software development projects for enterprise clients.

Sandra’s interests include global travel and volleyball. She lives in California with her husband and two children.

Helena Brykarz is responsible for overall operations at Global Footprint Network, including fundraising and human resources. She has several years of experience successfully recruiting senior management staff for NGOs around the world and has also consulted for foundations that focus on social entrepreneurship and the environment. As Program Executive for the Goldman Environmental Foundation, Helena helped develop the world’s largest international prize for grassroots environmentalists. She researched and promoted hundreds of environmental leaders around the world. She also awarded grants through the Goldman Fund, including a human rights and environment initiative she created. Helena is a co-founder of Rainforest Alliance, served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and later worked on Peace Corps staff as a recruiter and administrator. Helena earned a master’s degree in environmental studies from Yale University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and Russian studies from the University of Rochester.

Ronna Kelly leads the international marketing and communications efforts at Global Footprint Network. Her responsibilities include overseeing our annual Earth Overshoot Day campaign, monthly newsletter, program collateral, and digital communications. She previously worked at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business as editor-in-chief of BerkeleyHaas Magazine and the school’s online newsroom. Before that she worked as a journalist for more than a decade, covering everything from city government to transportation to business at TheStreet.Com, The Industry Standard, and The Oakland Tribune. Ronna has a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and a BS in business administration from UC Berkeley. She enjoys traveling, gardening, reading, and jogging, and lives in the Bay Area with her husband, two children, dog, and two cats.

Laurel Hanscom is interested in applying meaningful metrics to promote positive change in the world. As Program Director, she is constantly searching for ways to increase the impact and relevance of Ecological Footprint research, especially through Global Footprint Network’s open data platform and sustainable development projects. In her role as Research Scientist, Laurel also contributes to the production and improvement of the National Footprint Accounts. Before joining the research team, Laurel worked in the Office of Strategic Information, Research & Planning, at Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, DC, and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador. Her two years in the Ecuadorian Amazon were preceded by a brief career as an environmental analyst at AECOM, specializing in socioeconomic and environmental justice impacts. She holds a BA and MA in geography from San Diego State University, where her research focused on climate change vulnerability and agriculture. Laurel likes long walks on the beach, efficient meetings, and diving in head first.

David Lin leads Global Footprint Network’s research team, and contributes to the production, development, and improvement of the National Footprint Accounts. Prior to joining Global Footprint Network, David earned his Ph.D. and worked as a post-doctoral researcher in the Systems Ecology Laboratory at the University of Texas at El Paso. His research focused on integrating models of ecosystem function with land cover change analysis in Arctic ecosystems. David is a native of California, and holds a BS in ecology, behavior, and evolution from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Alessandro Galli is a Senior Scientist and the Mediterranean-MENA Program Director at Global Footprint Network. As Senior Scientist, he contributes to research on the Ecological Footprint methodology and technical publications. His research analyzes the historical changes in human dependence on natural resources and ecological services through the use of sustainability indicators and environmental accounting methods. Previously, he worked as technical adviser on the Al Basama Al Beeiya (Ecological Footprint) Initiative in the United Arab Emirates with the Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS-WWF) and the Environment Agency–Abu Dhabi (EAD).

Alessandro holds a Ph.D. in chemical sciences from Siena University. He is the lead author of the Mediterranean Ecological Footprint Trends report and co-author of several publications, including 13 articles in peer-reviewed journals; the article “Global Biodiversity: Indicators of Recent Declines” published in the leading journal Science; and WWF’s 2008, 2012, and 2016 Living Planet Reports. Alessandro is also member of the editorial board of the journal Resources: Natural Resources and Management. He is also a member of the Scientific Committee of the MedSea Foundation and was a MARSICO Visiting Scholar at University of Denver, Colorado, USA, in 2011 and a visiting scholar at Cardiff University, Wales, in February 2016.

Katsunori Iha is a research economist, responsible for tracking Ecological Footprints in global supply chains through the use of the multi-regional input-output model, which also applies to sub-national and personal calculator projects. Currently, he is working on developing the computable general equilibrium for Ecological Footprint (CGE-EF) model to assess the impact of different policies on nature. His next project will be building a platform to connect interdisciplinary scholars and leaders in Asian regions that are facing sustainability challenges. He holds an M.S. in economics, specializing in environmental economics, from Okinawa International University, Japan.

Serena first connected with Global Footprint Network in 2010 during the Footprint Forum in Colle di val d’Elsa (Siena), Italy. Since then, she became a passionate Ecological Footprint researcher, focusing her work on resource and natural capital accounting methods, with a particular focus on carbon measurements and the distinction between humans’ use of stock vs. flows of natural capital. As a member of the research team, she contributes to research on the Ecological Footprint methodology and technical publications, as well as to Footprint applications at the national and local scale within a Mediterranean context. Serena holds a Ph.D. in Earth, Environment and Polar Sciences from the University of Siena.

Mikel Evans contributes to the overall production, development, and improvement of the National Footprint Accounts as well as MRIO-FA metrics. He came to Global Footprint Network by way of Paris, France, where he received two master’s degrees in applied math from the computer programming department at the Université Paris 1 La Sorbonne – Panthéon. A proud native New Mexican, Mikel has worked at all levels of institutions, from world-class research facilities and government to big business and startups, gaining invaluable knowledge about how the real world works and what makes projects move. He brings sound business intuition, a strong analytical background, and a passion for helping people and improving the way we look at questions to his work at Global Footprint Network. When Mikel is not saving the planet, he is at home or running around the mountains with his fiancée and dog.

Michael Wang is a member of the Ecological Footprint Explorer team, where he is in charge of developing the look and feel of the user interface. His primary goal is to develop statistically meaningful visualizations, while maintaining a modern design. He is a recent graduate from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he earned a degree in geohydrology. At UCSB Michael had the opportunity to not only gain valuable environmental experience out in the field, but also develop geographic information system applications in conjunction with his studies.

Judith (Judy) Sissener manages fund development planning and activities, including foundations and donors. Judy has more than 30 years of entrepreneurial and executive experience in both nonprofit and for-profit organizations. She has held CEO/Executive Director and Development Director positions at five highly successful NPOs, and co-founded two others. Judy has served on the strategy and fund development committees and the boards of directors of numerous organizations including the YMCA, OIC, US Swimming, Homeless Task Force, CleanTech Open, and Shukuru.  As principal of her consultancy, Judy secured significant major funding for multiple organizations and coached many boards of directors in funding and donor relationships. She earned simultaneous B.A. degrees in political science and mathematics from the University of Illinois. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Robert Williams manages the Global Footprint Network computer network and IT department and is responsible for the computer programming that is required to calculate the National Footprint Accounts. He is also responsible for the design, implementation and maintenance of the database systems, which hold the National Footprint Accounts data. Robert has a broad background in programming, database management and systems administration. He is also the owner of Cosmetto, an information technology (IT) consulting company, that provides custom IT services to small businesses in the Bay Area. Robert has certificates in Java and C++ programming from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a B.S. in computer information systems (summa cum laude) from Excelsior College.

Amanda Diep supports Global Footprint Network’s communication and outreach efforts and manages the organization’s website and social media channels. She holds an interdisciplinary master’s degree in weather, climate, and society from the University of Miami in Florida and a bachelor’s degree in meteorology from San Jose State University. Her prior experience includes working for the Alameda County Green Business Program, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and Everglades National Park.

Laetitia Mailhes is a writer with more than 15 years of experience in journalism and advocacy work. The Silicon Valley correspondent of the French Financial Times for 10 years, she also had her work published in business magazine Stratégies and French national daily Libération among others. She has also contributed to various radio news programs in France and Switzerland. The co-author of two books about food systems, she has written extensively in English and French about sustainability issues. Her writing has appeared on GreenBiz, Care2, MomsRising.org, and more.

A Sciences-Po Paris graduate, Laetitia earned her M.Litt. in international security and conflict resolution at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and her M.A. in international journalism at City University, London.

Rachel Roberts thrives on streamlining and organizing systems to create more meaningful financial reporting. She has been a full charge bookkeeper/accountant for a variety of small businesses in a number of different industries since 2002 and has been working in the nonprofit sector since 2009. Rachel also works part time at The Leakey Foundation and the Non-Profit Housing Association. She previously has worked seven years in the financial markets as a licensed associate and five years as an office manager. A Maine native, Rachel moved to the Bay Area in September 2010 and lives with her partner and son.

Michelle Shaffer joined the Operations Department in spring of 2016. She is responsible for supporting the day-to-day operations of the Global Footprint Network office. She also provides assistance to multiple departments, including Communications, Fundraising, Human Resources, and Research. Prior to joining Global Footprint Network, she worked for various arts and environmental nonprofits in New York City, Washington, D.C., and the Bay Area. Born and raised in Maryland, Michelle fell in love with California’s incredible outdoor destinations and put down roots in the Bay Area in 2009. Michelle holds a BA from Wagner College.

Loredana  Serban manages operations in the Geneva office. She has experience working with nonprofit organizations and the private sector in the areas of finance, operations, and program management. Originally from Romania, Loredana received a master’s in financial management and a BA in economics. She also serves as Treasurer for the Organization of Women in International Trade.

Robert Lilley has had a 40-year career as a senior executive in biotechnology, health care, and environmental fields. He is currently Chairman of Immunexpress and Chief Commercial Officer at OpGen. He is also an angel Investor and member of Terra Global Capital LLC in San Francisco. Mr. Lilley worked with the founders of the first Earth Day, April 22, 1970, and created Environmental Resources in its wake. He is a graduate of Yale University and now divides his time between Sonoma, Calif.; London; and Chamonix, France.

Mathis Wackernagel is co-creator of the Ecological Footprint and CEO of Global Footprint Network. He completed a Ph.D. in community and regional planning with Professor William Rees at the University of British Columbia, where his doctoral dissertation developed the Ecological Footprint concept. Mathis also earned a mechanical engineering degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

Mathis has worked on sustainability with governments, corporations and international NGOs on six continents and has lectured at more than a hundred universities. He previously served as director of the Sustainability Program at Redefining Progress in Oakland, California, and ran the Centro de Estudios para la Sustentabilidad at Anáhuac University in Xalapa, Mexico. Mathis has authored and contributed to more than 50 peer-reviewed papers, numerous articles, reports and various books on sustainability that focus on embracing resource limits and developing metrics for sustainability, including Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth; Sharing Nature’s Interest;  Der Ecological Footprint, and WWF International’s Living Planet Report.

Mathis’ awards include the 2015 IAIA Global Environment Award, being a 2014 ISSP Sustainability Hall of Fame Inductee, the 2013 Prix Nature Swisscanto, 2012 Blue Planet Prize, 2012 Binding Prize for Nature Conservation, the 2012 Kenneth E. Boulding Memorial Award of the International Society for Ecological Economics, the 2011 Zayed International Prize for the Environment (jointly awarded with UNEP), an honorary doctorate from the University of Berne in 2007, a 2007 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, 2006 WWF Award for Conservation Merit and 2005 Herman Daly Award of the U.S. Society for Ecological Economics. He was also selected as number 19 on the en(rich) list identifying the 100 top inspirational individuals whose contributions enrich paths to sustainable futures (www.enrichlist.org). John Elkington identified Mathis among the “Zeronaut 50” Roll of Honor, i.e., leading pioneers who are driving the world’s most significant problems to zero. From 2011 to 2015, Mathis was also the Frank H. T. Rhodes Class of 1956 Visiting Professor at Cornell University.

Susan Burns is co-founder and Director of Finance for Change at Global Footprint Network. Over the last decade, while serving as CEO, Susan has built Global Footprint Network into one of the leading and most respected scientific organizations in the world addressing global ecological limits. She now leads the Finance for Change Initiative, advising governments and financial institutions on incorporating ecological risk into financial risk analysis and government policy.

Prior to launching Global Footprint Network, Susan founded the pioneering sustainability consulting firm Natural Strategies, advising such companies as Mitsubishi Electric, Genencor, and Lowes. She has over 18 years of experience working with more than 50 corporations and other organizations on a variety of sustainability-related issues from forest policy to business strategy. Susan led the development of the screening methodology for Portfolio 21, the US’s first mutual fund dedicated to environmental sustainability. She has spoken widely on the subject of sustainability, human development, and corporate responsibility, having delivered keynote and other lectures at over 100 national and international events.

In 2007 Susan, along with Mathis Wackernagel, won the Skoll Award on Social Entrepreneurship. She was selected as honorable mention on the en(rich) list identifying the top inspirational individuals whose contributions enrich paths to sustainable futures (www.enrichlist.org). John Elkington identified Susan in 2012 among the “Zeronaut 50” Roll of Honor, i.e., leading pioneers who are driving the world’s most significant problems to zero. Both Susan Burns and Mathis Wackernagel are 2014 ISSP Sustainability Hall of Fame Inductees. Susan holds a B.S. in environmental engineering.

Daniel Goldscheider is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Paperless Inc., which aims to create an ecosystem to accelerate the digital transition and reduce the global paper output. Daniel started as Project Manager for Ronald Lauder’s RSL COM and was promoted to Director Business Development & Strategic Planning six months later. He left RSL in 1998 to co-found Aureus Private Equity (today Invision AG). Daniel subsequently co-founded Mediaguide with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Based in Zurich, Daniel serves as Member of Advisory Board of Henley & Partner and is the inventor of numerous patents.

Sarosh Kumana is a real estate entrepreneur and angel investor based in San Francisco, with over 25 years of startup and management experience. He founded and ran a leading California government foreclosure brokerage and a mortgage brokerage company for over 15 years. He is the president of PIP Inc., which owns and manages a large portfolio of animal-friendly apartment buildings in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is President of Pacific Capital Management, having made over 100 early stage investments over the past 10 years. He is a member of Sierra Angels and Health Tech Capital; a limited partner in numerous VC funds; former President of the Board of Directors of Sand Hill Angels in Silicon Valley; and a Managing Partner at The Batchery, a Berkeley-based incubator.

Sarosh has a major commitment to global sustainability. In addition to his work the Global Footprint Networ,k he sponsors and supports a number of projects in the US and around the world through his Foundation for a Sustainable Future, including education and replicating successful businesses that increase sustainability.  In San Francisco he is actively involved in civic, community, and political affairs, particularly involving housing and good government issues. Sarosh serves on the Advisory Council of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Tepper Business School, Carnegie Mellon University. Sarosh received a B.Com. from Sydenham College, University of Bombay, and an MBA from Carnegie-Mellon University.

Lynda Mansson is the Director General of the MAVA Foundation, a Swiss-based, family philanthropic foundation focused on biodiversity conservation and natural resource management.  It has three regional programmes (Coastal West Africa, Mediterranean Basin, and the Alpine Arc) and a fourth programme focused on fostering a sustainable economy.

Lynda joined MAVA as Director General in August 2010. She is responsible for defining and implementing the strategy of the foundation and leading the secretariat team Since joining the foundation, Lynda has overseen a complete reshaping of MAVA including changes at the levels of the board, staff, strategy, processes, project selection, and communications. Lynda is deeply interested in sustainability issues and led the foundation to incorporate a new programme to work on the intersection of economic growth and natural resource depletion. She is also committed to increasing the level of transparency and accountability of the foundation.

Before joining the foundation, Lynda spent 13 years with WWF International in Switzerland. She brought with her the experience of managing and directing global strategies for all aspects of office operations in the WWF Network and developing performance tools for its offices. Prior to that, she spent five years in charge of WWF leadership and organisational development. Lynda began her career as a San Francisco stockbroker and then earned an MBA from Berkeley Business School (now the Haas School of Business). Her two private-life passions are literature and travel. She is American and Swiss and has two grown sons.

Lynda serves on the Governing Council of the European Foundations Centre, is active in the European Environmental Funders Group, and acts as Chair of the IUCN Framework Partners group.

Julia Marton-Lefèvre was the Director General of International Union for Conservation of Nature until January 2015. IUCN is the world’s largest conservation/environment membership organisation. As Director General she was also CEO of IUCN’s Secretariat of over 1000 persons with offices in some 50 countries.

Prior to her eight years at IUCN, she was Rector of the UN-mandated University for Peace (UPEACE) with its main campus in Costa Rica. UPEACE is a graduate-level international university providing education, training and research on issues related to peace, conflict, and environmental security. Earlier offices held by Ms. Marton-Lefèvre include the Executive Director of LEAD (Leadership for Environment and Development) International, a programme established by The Rockefeller Foundation to bring together and train mid-career leaders from all parts of the world and from several sectors to improve their leadership skills around the issues of sustainable development.  Ms. Marton-Lefevre also served for many years as the Executive Director of the International Council for Science (ICSU) with its headquarters in Paris.  ICSU is non-governmental membership organization of national academies of science and international unions of scientific disciplines.

Her present board memberships include the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Oxford University’s  James Martin School, the Global Institute of Sustainability (Arizona State University),  the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Turkana Basin Institute,  the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

Ms. Marton-Lefevre has received the prestigious AAAS Award for International Cooperation in Science, the ProNatura award  by the government of Hungary, the  Presidential citation from the Republic of Korea, and has been honored as a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur  by the government of France and as a Chevalier dans l’Ordre de Saint-Charles by HSH Prince Albert of Monaco.

Keith Tuffley is founder and CEO of NEUW Ventures based in Lausanne, Switzerland. NEUW is an entrepreneurial impact investing company, focused on the creation and financing of new businesses which reduce the human ecological footprint and accelerate the world’s transition to a sustainable economic system.

Prior to founding NEUW, Keith spent over 20 years in finance, investment banking and the capital markets. He has advised major corporations and governments in Australia and globally on corporate strategy, M&A transactions, equity capital raisings, valuations and privatisations. Keith served as Managing Director, Head of Investment Banking, and a Member of the Management Committee and the Board of Goldman Sachs in Australia. He was also based in London with Goldman Sachs as Head of the Industrials Sector Group across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Keith is a Director of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and a Member of its Chairman’s Panel, a Director of Bush Heritage Australia, a Governor of WWF-Australia, and Co-Chairman of Galactic Unite.

Keith has completed Bachelor of Economics, Bachelor of Laws and Masters of Laws degrees at Sydney University; the Advanced Management Program at INSEAD, France; and the Goldman Sachs Non-Profit Leadership Program at Harvard University. He is currently conducting research at Cambridge University as part of its Sustainability Leadership Program.