2009 Rebroadcast Plenary Speakers

Bioneers brings together leading social and scientific innovators to share stories and present solutions for our most pressing environmental and social challenges. To purchase DVDs or listen to podcasts of past plenary speakers, visit bioneers.org.

This year, the following speakers were rebroadcast from the national Bioneers Conference in San Rafael, CA:

Brock Dolman

Brock Dolman is a founding member of Occidental Arts and Ecology Center and the director of their water institute. Dolman will explain the urgency to restore natural habitats and educate communities in preparation for the climate changes that lie ahead.

Kari Fulton

Kari Fulton is a Brower Youth Award winner and national campus campaign coordinator for the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative. She will describe how youth in America are fostering a more unified and inclusive environmental movement for the 21st century.

Jack D. Hidary

Hidary is co-founder of SmartTransportation.org and chair of AmericansforCleanEnergy.org. He will explore the social, political and economic implications of transitioning to renewable energies.

Sarah James 

Sarah James is a Gwich'in elder from Arctic Village, Alaska and Goldman Environmental Prize winner for her work protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She will illustrate the devastating impact climate change is having on her people and how they are responding to the crisis.

Michael Pollan

Pollan is the award-winning author of bestsellers including The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, and most recently In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. He is also a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine and former editor of Harper’s Magazine. As one of the most influential thinkers on food and agriculture, Pollan will highlight the widespread consequences of our current food system and the growing movement to change it.

Jason McLennan

McLennan is the CEO of Cascadia Green Building Council and a leading figure in the green architecture movement. He will show breathtaking examples of building designs that reduce energy by mimicking nature.

Lily Yeh

Lily Yeh is an internationally celebrated artist and the founder of Barefoot Artists, Inc. Yeh will explain how art can heal the environment as well as the hearts and minds of traumatized communities.

 
Jensine Larsen

As the founder of World Pulse Media, Larsen will share the story of her journey in building an interactive global media enterprise that empowers women worldwide to speak out and collaborate with one another to solve global issues to create a better world.

 
Arturo Sandoval

As one of New Mexico’s most prominent civil leaders, Sandoval will explore how to find the balance between ancient indigenous cultures and newer Western influences that impact land and life, to create a viable future for us all.

 
Andrew Weil M.D.

Weil is the nation’s foremost authority on holistic medicine and the author of numerous books including international bestsellers, Spontaneous Healing and Eight Weeks to Optimum Health. Drawing from his newest book, Why Our Health Matters: A Vision of Medicine That Can Transform Our Future, Dr. Weil will illustrate the critical link between human and environmental health, and transforming the healthcare system to heal the planet.

Joanna Macy

Celebrated Buddhist teacher, eco-philosopher and activist in the peace, justice, and ecology movements. Macy is the author of noted books including Coming Back to Life: Practices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World, and most recently, World as Lover, World as Self. Macy will explore the modern day "fear factor" that chains human creativity and freedom.

Mari Margil

Associate Director of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund. Margil discusses her role in the groundbreaking decision to include ecosystem rights in the new Ecuadorian constitution.

Chief Almir Narayamoga Surui

Almir is an environmentalist, political activist and tribal chief who has spent more than 15 years fighting for the survival of his Surui tribe and the Amazon Rainforest. Chief Almir will tell the story of how he connected with Google Earth and used their technology to protect his people and preserve their forests.

 
Jerome Ringo

President of the Apollo Alliance, and the first African-American to head a major conservation organization, the National Wildlife Federation. Ringo will stress the imperative of creating fair jobs that are healthy for people and the planet.

Annie Leonard

Annie Leonard has worked on international environmental health and sustainability issues for over 2 decades and has traveled to over 30 countries to investigate the factories where our stuff is produced and the dumps where it is disposed. She is now the writer and host of the internet film, The Story of Stuff. Annie currently coordinates the non-profit Story of Stuff Project, based in Berkeley, and is working on additional films, organizing projects, and The Story of Stuff book to be published in 2010.