Co-Creator

Ethan Summers is an Emmy-awarded digital artist with over 30 years of experience in visual effects for feature film, educational software design and science visualization. His expertise in these areas is an ideal complement to forward his ConnectedUniverse.org vision of communicating world-changing ideas in science and technology.

Co-Creator

Eric Thiermann is an Academy Award-nominated short doc film producer and cinematographer, founder of Impact Creative in Santa Cruz. He has lensed hundreds of environmental and socially relevant documentaries during the past 40 years. His fascination with filmmaking and game design converged with Earth Island.

Game executive with ~30 years industry experience responsible for PD, BD and P&L for game studios. Previous employers include Disney, EA, Sony, Midway, Electronic Arts. Also active in startup and HCI research fields. Currently growing Cosmic Foundry www.cosmicfoundry.io to focus on web2 & web3 gaming.

Michael Parisi has worked as an Artist/Designer/Producer on over 15 commercially published video games, for companies like 3DO, Atari/Accolade and Liquid Development. His self-published STEM game for mobile, Isopod: The Roly Poly Science Game, has over 60k downloads, was featured by Apple as well nominated for the prestigious CYBILS Children's Literature award.

Gary Griggs is a Distinguished Professor of Earth & Planetary Sciences at the UCSC. His research, teaching, writing and lectures have been focused on the coast of California and include coastal processes, hazards, and the impacts of and responses to sea-level rise. In 1998 he was given the Outstanding Physical and Biological Sciences Faculty Award at U.C. Santa Cruz, and the Alumni Association honored him with a Distinguished Teaching Award in 2006. The California Coastal Commission and Sunset Magazine named him one of California’s Coastal Heroes in 2009, and in 2010 he was elected to the California Academy of Sciences. Gary chaired a committee in 2017 recommended by Governor Brown to update California’s sea-level rise projections. In 2016 he was appointed to the California Ocean Science Trust. Gary is also a member of the California Ocean Protection Council’s Science Advisory Team and served as chair of California’s 4th Climate Assessment Committee on Coasts and Ocean. Gary has written 13 books.

RONNIE D. LIPSCHUTZ is President & Co-director, Sustainable Systems Research Foundation, Santa Cruz,. He is Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He holds an SM in Physics from MIT and a PhD in Energy & Resources from UC Berkeley. He has been engaged in resource-related work since 1978.

He is host of “Sustainability Now!,” KSQD 90.7 FM & KSQD.org in Santa Cruz, California. He has been Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in the Department of Politics, Univ. of California, Santa Cruz -1990-2020. Also at UCSC he was Provost of Rachel Carson College - 2012-2018, Chair of Politics - 2014-2016, Co/Chair, Santa Cruz Faculty Association - 2014-16, Director/Co-director, Center for Global, International & Regional Studies - 2000-2014. He was Velux Visiting Professor, Dept. of Business & Politics, Copenhagen Business School - Fall 2011, Visiting Professor of Politics & International Relations, Royal Holloway University of London - Sept. 2009- March 2010.

Trained scientist and MBA, working at the interface between science/ technology and policy. Extensive experience working with the university, national lab, and military research communities and federal and state government relations. Conceived of, and brought through to adoption, legislation at the state and federal levels. Launched a PhD level Fellowship program in the California State Legislature. Responsibilities have also included development of multi-discipline, multi-institutional research collaborations and research consortia. Expertise includes regional economic development, early stage management of a university research park (land acquisition, planning, development, incubator development), and military base conversion. I am committed to increasing effective communication and partnerships between academia, industry, local communities, and the policy sector to support the complex needs of society. Elected as a Fellow to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2010.

Martha Kaufeldt, M.A. is a popular presenter at education conferences and conducts motivational workshops and seminars for teachers, parents, and corporate groups internationally. Martha has a master's degree in human behavior and development. She works to translate the latest educational neuroscience research into classroom and workplace applications. She encourages leaders and educators to orchestrate work and learning within a safe, secure, sustainable environment, aligned with how human brains learn best and are most productive. Kaufeldt is also a strong advocate for project- and place-based curriculum, environmental education, the integration of social skills, and opportunities to develop emotional health.

A curriculum designer & social strategist, Nancy Glock-Grueneich develops solutions-centered learning resources for the use of change makers seeking to support the “climate-concerned” in becoming the “climate-engaged”. She works with others, internationally, intergenerationally and across sectors, to connect and focus the climate movement in service of effective self-governance, resilience and a livable future. Her experience spans developing the TV series, The Future We Need & How to Get It; a Harvard doctorate in Philosophy and Education; 15 years overseeing curriculum and staff development for the then108 colleges of the California Community College system; and varied work in and with other countries and at different social levels.

An American social psychologist and professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her research has focused on topics related to social justice, particularly affirmative action, as well as gender equality and relative deprivation. Before joining the University of California, Santa Cruz, she taught at Yale University and at Smith College. In 2005, she received the Kurt Lewin Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. As Cowell College Provost, Faye Crosby received the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society of Justice Research.

Nada Miljkovic is a multi-disciplinarian educator, entrepreneur, and artivist (artist/activist). She teaches entrepreneurship, digital storytelling, and the ethics of emerging technologies. She has traveled the world with the Stanford Precollegiate International Institutes, particularly in Latin America. Nada is CEO and co-founder of GetVirtual, a service-learning program that gives students real-world experience helping businesses get online. She is currently the President of the Board of two non-profits United Services Agency, E.A.R.T.H Lab SF and former Chair of the Board of Directors for the Arts Council of Santa Cruz County. She is a TEDxSantaCruz organizer and KSQD community radio host.

Wendy Martyna earned her Ph.D. in Psychology at Stanford in 1978, and for several decades was a Professor of Psychology and Lecturer in Sociology at the University of California at Santa Cruz. She is a writer and public speaker, and has led workshops on Death and Dying, Storytelling, Creativity, and Personal Development, both in the U.S. and the U.K, and has served as consultant, editor, organizer and board member for a number of social justice organizations over the years. Some of her work can be found on her website: wendymartyna.com.

As a filmmaker, Mark’s diverse experience ranges from indie features, to screenplays optioned by major entertainment industry producers and studios, to social justice documentaries, to commercials, promos and sizzles for Fortune 500 companies. As an educator, Mark founded the Urban Oasis Film Academy to help the at-risk youth of Los Angeles discover their gifts and give voice to their stories. In 2016, Mark launched a cinematic arts pathway and annual student film festival at Los Angeles’ premier public arts high school. He currently is adjunct professor of screenwriting and digital storytelling at Peninsula College in Port Angeles, Washington.

Founder/Creative Director, Awake Media

Director, Center for the Study of the Force Majeure

Executive Director & Co-Founder, Romero Institute

Counsel Counsel & Co-Director, Lakota Law

Chief Counsel, President & Co-Founder, Romero Institute

Production Designer

Water & Climate Action Manager, Sustainability Office, UC Santa Cruz

Marine Biologist, Founder OceanExplorer.org

Writer, Ecology/Spirituality

Santa Cruz Children’s Learning Museum

Kennan & Karen Ward, Nature Photographers

Writer, Theater Director

Director of Public Relations, ROKU TV

Community Volunteer living on unceded Uypi tribal land

Ecosystem restoration and regenerative agroecology

Solar energy specialist/Environmental Educator

Former CEO RPC Industries, B & H Systems

Feature Film Producer/Director, Animator

Faculty, Environmental Sciences, De Anza College

Nature Connection Guide, Singer, Writer

EcoArtist, Founder-ArtMill, Fulbright scholar, Fellow - UCSC Social Practice Arts Research

Producer/DP, Lens Fire Films

Filmmaker/Editor.

Silicon Valley strategist/creative producer

Partner/Creative Director, Impact Creative

Multimedia Senior Director, Stanford University

Brower Youth Award Winner / Environmental Filmmaker

Clinical Therapist, Licensed Mediator, Psychology Professor (retired)

Manager, Emporio Rulli

Senior Marketing Specialist, UBIQ

Video Producer/Educator

Therapist, Earth Dialogues blogger

Photographer, Videographer, Dancer

CEO of Forest Design LLC

Botanical creative for Adaptive and Divergent Landscapes

Career Counselor, Founder, Santa Cruz University

Founder - TEDX Santa Cruz, Counselor and Digital Media Cabrillo College (retired)

Software developer and inventor, Sound Designer, Climate Activist

Author and Educator

Phd (hon), Energy Field Activist, Certified Qigong Teacher, Coaching & Energy Healing

CEO, Somerset Enterprises (retired)