Looking for a speaker to address your neighborhood association, community group, business, or other organization? The NLC Committee on Sustainability offers a speakers bureau of dynamic, knowledgeable speakers on a variety of sustainability topics. Read through our bios and contact a speaker today!
Dan Armstrong is a Eugene area writer and local food activist. He writes novels and commentary on the environment and food security. He is also the editor of the http://www.mudcitypress.com website, which features his short stories, novels, and environmental writing. Dan is a member of the Lane County Food Policy Council, staff writer for the Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project, a member of the Oregon Author’s Guild, and co-founder of the Lane County Fairgrounds Repair Project. Dan is available for speaking engagements on the following topics: The Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project, The Lane County Fairgrounds Repair Project (http://www.mudcitypress.com/fairgorunds.html, What is Food Security?, Relocalizing Eden: A Vision for Relocalizing the Willamette Valley Food System , and Writing Novels about the Environment. He may be reached through editor@mudcitypress.com.
Carolos Barrera and his wife, Jeanne-Marie Moore, have been solar cooking, leading workshops, and demonstrating solar cooking since 1989. Carlos and Jeanne-Marie promote solar cooking as a way to save money, keep your home cooler, prepare delicious and more nutritious meals with less work, reduce global climate change and as a tool in emergency preparedness. They will show you hoe it works, demonstrates various models of cookers and provide materials and resources to make it easy to get or make your own cooker and start cooking with the free energy of the sun. Contact them at justphone@gmail.com or 541.344.5599.
Tom Bettman is a retired anesthesiologist, Master Gardener, and an instructor at the Urban Farm, University of Oregon. His speaks on topics relating to vegetable gardening and fruit trees, composting, pruning, soil life, organic practices, raised bed gardening, and lawns to food. Contact him through tomcb@earthlink.net or 541.334.5071.
Rodney Bloom (a.k.a. the Worm Guy) is a Master Recycler, Compost Specialist and compost advocate. Whether your concerns are carbon sequestration, food security or reversing environmental degradation there is an answer in compost. Rodney’s presentations are informative and his enthusiasm is contagious. Step into the world of composting and discover its many wonderful assets. Contact him through turnedearth@gmail.com.
Robert Bolman‘s current presentation, “Sustainability 101 1/2″ examines genuine, meaningful sustainability (as distinct form what people commonly call “sustainability” but which, in fact, is not at all sustainable). Robert runs down a whole list of criteria including but not limited to resource depletion, economic growth, population, manufacturing, energy, labor and the precautionary principle. In the process, Robert illustrates what a dauntingly complex, far flug ideal genuine, meaningful sustainability is. Robert gives examples of things that are sustainable and illustrates what a sustainable world might look like giving special attention to democracy, economic and human consciousness as the three biggest obstacles to achieving sustainability. Robert Bolman is founding director of Maitreya EcoVillage and can be contacted through www.maitreyaecovillage.org.
Denise Christine is the founder of the Suburban Ecovillage Project in the Bethel-Danebo neighborhood. She is a Certified Permaculture Designer, apprenticing with the Cascadia Permaculture Institute, as well as a Master Gardener and Master Food Safety/Preservation volunteer with the OSU Extension. The Suburban Ecovillage concept seeks to blend the best aspects of intentional community living, such as sharing resources and mutual support, with the best aspects of suburban living, including privacy and financial autonomy. The Suburban Ecovillage Project encourages and respects diversity. Contact Denise Christine at bethelecovillage.org.
David Kayfes A retired Register-Guard sportswriter, David became a Master Gardener and Compost Specialist in 2001. He enjoys speaking to groups about home composting, soil building and utilizing free urban resources, leaves and coffee grounds. He may be reached at 541.344.7612 or d.kayfes@comcast.net.
Anand Keathley helps you understand “The Importance of Being Compost.” Anand has worked as a medical professional and home gardening
advocate for over 25 years. Find our how to make compost easy, quick and simple. And save money, too! Anand may be reached at 541.343.3017 or eekley@efn.org
Whitey Lueck is a popular teacher whose enthusiasm for the natural world is contagious. Topics include landscaping “Nature’s way,” neighborhood redesign, outdoor lighting, and home gardening. He can be reached at 541.684.8716 or wlueck@uoregon.edu.
Sally Manifold (B.S. Zoology, M.S. Environmental Science) has worked as an environmental educator, planner, and restoration ecologist. For 12 years, she built and ran the Greenway Volunteer Program at Bellingham (WA) Parks, which removed invasive plants and replaced them with native plant habitat
along urban trails. She and her husband have lived in Eugene since June, 2008. Sally’s yard is certified as a Sustainable Landscape by OSU Extension Lane Co., and as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. She may be reached at smanifold@bespin.org or 541.344.0169.
Rene Minz is a family physician (MD) and naturopathic physician (ND) with a passion for plants. Topics include growing herbs for health and how to get the nutrition you need from the food you eat. Contact her through rminz123@yahoo.com.
Erik Muller is an Amazon Neighbor, serving on its Steering Committee and Sustainability Subcommittee. As an active gardener and dogwalker, I have since 1986 met many of my neighbors, built trust, and now hope to find ways of working together to meet needs closer to home. My primary emphasis at this time is local food. While I am not a garden adept or innovator, my skills, I believe, are aimed at creating neighborhood and collaboration. I can address how our neighbors have taken some first steps into the new ear of interdependence and thoughtful cooperative action. My speaking would best be done on a panel of other localizers and in a Q & A setting. Contact Erik at eugenesustainability@gmail.com or through this website.
Jan Spencer is a 16 year resident of Eugene. He has traveled to over 35 countries and five continents, with five years out of the country. Jan speaks about suburban property conversion– grass to garden, solar redesign, chickens, removing concrete, rain water catchment and home economics. Jan combines permaculture, urban land use, international relations, human potential and economics into what he calls ecological cultural change. He has spoken at conferences, classes, community groups and Perma Jam– a four hour property conversion seminar. Jan may be reached at 541.686.6761 or spencerj@efn.org.
David Stucky is a long time gardener and resident of the Willamette Valley. He grows a good portion of his own food, keeps bees, and backyard chickens on an incredibly small plot in the city of Eugene. He’s a decidedly non-expert on just about everything, but looks forward to opportunities to encourage others to also enjoy creating the food they eat. Contact: david.stucky@gmail.com
Craig Topham is a neighborhood leader and a Free Software advocate living in the Churchill area. Craig seeks to empower people and organizations by presenting and discussing the technologies that can be used to collaborate, communicate, and build communities. In addition to supplying the hands-on, applicable technological expertise, Craig can also provide a context for a larger discussion about technology and our personal and political freedoms.
Contact: 541.513.0321, ctopham@caneugene.org.
Sherry Wellborn lives in Amazon Neighborhood with her two children, two rabbits, and a cat. Her passion is gardening which she does in the alley, the neighbor’s garden space, and in a community garden at Alton-Baker Park. She completed Climate Masters training through the Climate Leadership Initiative in 2008. Topics include: gardening, composting, Climate Masters (reducing carbon footprint at home (energy/waste/recycling), in the yard, through food selection, and transportation choices). Contact her through sherry@familypost.com or 541.687.4889.
Jim Wilcox is the director of BikeLane Coalition and works as the marketing director for a solar installation company. He holds a Masters in Eduction. Jim offers presentations on both transportation and solar energy. His key presentation, The Elegant Solution, speaks to concerns over rising health care costs, nergy independence, the environment and how our transportation choices affect these issues. Contact him through 541.686.0876, 541.543-5986(c), or jim@bikelanecoalition.
Cindy Wise has been an OSU Extension Lane County Master Gardener since 1996 and a Compost Specialist Volunteer Coordinator at OSU Extension Lane County since 2000. Her topics include general and low water use gardening, lasagna gardening and compost. Contact her through 541.747. 5289 or compost.specialist@oregonstate.edu.
