Our Team
Nicole Hansen
President | n.hansen@greengalaxyent.com
Nicole Hansen is the Founder and President of Green Galaxy Enterprises (GGE), a renewable energy consulting business focused on building partnerships among green technology companies, governments, educational institutions, and nonprofits. These efforts include media, marketing, and event production for green companies including publicity and product placement.
In 2008, she produced Save It by 10-year-old Nikos Spiridakis with Executive Producer Marshall Herskovitz. The video for 1Sky starred Tony Goldwyn and Dimitri Spiridakis, and debuted on YouTube at #2 for non-profit videos. It ran on CNN and MSNBC during the 2008 Presidential Debates, and appeared on the Weinstein Company's 2009 DVD releases such as The Reader and Zach and Miri.
In June of 2009, Nicole produced the Renewable Energy Conference and Awards Gala at the United Nations, sponsored by the Honduran Permanent Mission to the UN, with notable speakers and honorees including Dr. Arthur Nozik of NREL, Dr. Daniel Nocera of MIT, as well as billionaire John Paul DeJoria. She partnered with the Los Angeles Entrepreneurs' Organization to raise funds for renewable energy initiatives and to green their 2009 Business Entertainment Charity event. Nicole was also responsible for securing donations of FTL Solar tents and providing them to Global Green partner CineInstitute and the Street Kids of Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake.
Nicole has appeared as a panelist supporting the need for renewable energy at the 2009 Earth Day screening of Fuel with Josh Tickel and as a panelist for Breathe LA in 2010. She’s spoken at the 2009 Ideation Conference and for ProVisors on her work to bring renewable energy solutions to Haiti. Nicole also serves on the Advisory Board of the Global Social Change Film Festival and Institute and the planning committee for the first annual SBCLA Awards. She publicly advocates for the use of renewable energy technologies to help stem the rise of developmentally delayed children impacted by environmental toxins.
Alastair Shearman
Technology Officer | a.shearman@greengalaxyent.com
Alastair Shearman assists with marketing, events, and the design, review, and publication of documents essential to the organization and its clients. In 2009, he also served as the Technical Coordinator of scientists and helped produce the first Renewable Energy Conference and Awards at the United Nations. At Columbia University, Alastair co-developed new operating rules for the Upper Delaware River system, incorporating climatic forecasting, wavelet analysis, and hydrological modeling to better meet the needs of all stakeholders. Funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, his team's research was developed further and published in the Journal of the American Water Resources Association, where he is listed as an author. His work on the Delaware River was preceded by practical applications of running numerous models with the OASIS simulation, to better meet the needs of the fisheries downstream of the reservoirs in New York, funded by the Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, and Columbia University. Alastair also worked for the Web Team at the Earth Institute, designing an entirely new site with background programming. At college, he managed the largest political group on campus, the Columbia Political Union, and served as an administrator at Columbia University IT. As a child, he did work as a voice actor that included a small role in Family Guy. He holds a Bachelors of Science from Columbia University's School of Engineering and Applied Science, having majored in Environmental Engineering, with a concentration in Water Resources and Climate Risks, and a minor in Economics.
Maria Bertrand
Director of Media and Events | m.bertrand@greengalaxyent.com
Maria Bertrand started her career as a model in Montreal Canada, travelling all over the world to exotic places, working with top photographers, models and producers. She has appeared in magazines such as W, Vogue, Chatelaine and Elle as well as commercials for Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, Comcast, Coppertone and Audi. She has appeared in films alongside actors George Clooney, Gerard Butler, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.
Maria, not content with being just another pretty face, became interested in set design and event planning. She headed up the events division of the David Myers Group, producing thematic events with specialized cocktails, menus and decor for companies such as Luis Vuitton, Hot Topic, Walt Disney Company, Nickelodeon, Jimmy Kimmel, NBC and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Maria’s passion for nature is reflected in her flair for sustainable garden design and floral arrangements. She has run the LA Marathon as well as the 2011 San Francisco Marathon to benefit the Maasai Foundation, a charity that works to protect the legendary ecosystems and astounding biodiversity of East Africa through conservation that directly benefits local Maasai communities.
Partners
Jeff Garrison
Jeff Garrison, founder and president of FiscallyGreen, has dedicated his expertise and company resources to helping principals modify their enterprises to become both eco-appropriate and profitable. Clients include not-for-profit and government entities in a wide range of industries. His work centers on business plans, financing, forecasting, budgeting, general accounting, tax issues, systems and control, board governance, and cultural impact.
Jeff also wishes to reach out to any type of entity, be it public, private or not-for-profit, whether they have interest in sustainability or not. He has vast experience in various industries, including apparel and many other consumer related enterprises, high-tech, healthcare, restaurant, hospitality, travel and tourism, manufacturing, and real estate. Jeff applies cost-benefit applications to his clients in assisting them with achieving their goals by providing CFO consulting, debt restructuring, forecasting and cash-flow management while managing their local, state and federal tax situations.
Jeff’s experiences and proficiencies include the presidency of Stonefield Josephson, Inc. a large regional CPA firm, from 2002 to 2010 (now Marcum LLP via a merger) where he managed the approximately 200-person firm with five offices in California and Hong Kong. Consulting projects included Guess Jeans, Lucky Brand Jeans, DC Shoes, Smith & Wesson Guns, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, BMW of North America, Oakland Raiders, Rica Foods (the largest vertical chicken processor in Central America), energy companies, hazardous material company business plans and B2C e-commerce.
Darren Moore
In 2006, Darren’s founded an “eco-logical” business, Ecovations™ , to support the use of sustainable building practices and lifestyle choices. Ecovations Lifestyle Inc has grown into an alternative building methods and materials innovator. In 2008, Darren became the co-host of a television show, Alter Eco on Discovery Communication’s new channel Planet Green. This lifestyle documentary show created and presented by Adrian Grenier centered on living responsibly, including the first LEED Certified re-constructed home in California.
Since then, Darren has been involved in various lifestyle and building related shows as a contributing producer and on-camera personality. Coco Eco Magazine is a new paperless high fashion and lifestyle green magazine for women. Created for the savvy and stylish ecoista, Coco Eco Magazine embraces living consciously without sacrificing style and grace. He’s also Ed Begley’s personal renovation contractor.
Dawna Shuman
Dawna Shuman brings over twenty years of inspired public relations experience as the owner of LightHouse Public Relations.
The company is a boutique PR agency in Los Angeles, specializing in eco sustainable and cause-related projects that enhance and impact the quality of life. Through global awareness events including expos, award shows, documentaries and red & green carpet-hosted events, they benefit non-profit and environmental agencies. Lighthouse PR also represents progressive thinkers and lifestyle pioneers including authors and green clients with a strong expertise in bridging the gap between alternative and mainstream media.
Green carpet events includes "Age of Stupid" (PowerUP Canada - Vancouver, 2009), "11th Hour" (ForestEthics - Hollywood, Vancouver), "Crude" (Amazon Watch - Hollywood) and "Fuel" (Los Angeles).
Recent campaigns include Greenpeace International securing celebrity support for their "Facebook Unfriend Coal" Campaign, the Downtown Rally for Mayor Villlaraigosa and the City Of Los Angeles with Tim Robbins, James Cromwell, Mimi Kennedy, LA Mayor Villaraigosa, five congress people and Greenpeace Canada's Campaign - securing Canadian celebrities to the oppose the Keystone XL Pipeline and Canada’s tar sands industry.
Dr. Justin L. Adams
Dr. Justin L. Adams is currently a Director in Chang & Adams Consulting, a premier political and public policy consulting firm based in Sacramento. Justin is a seasoned political economist who brings a combination of theoretical and practical expertise in public policy as well as fiscal and economic analysis. From 2007 to 2009, Justin was the Director of Economics at Forward Observer, a political consulting firm, where he oversaw the development of all of the firm’s fiscal and economic studies. From 2001 to 2007, he was an associate economist at the RAND Corporation, where he specialized in domestic and international economic development, defense economics, and the economics of public-sector organizations. Prior to RAND, he held research and managerial roles in California state government. From 1994 to 1997, he served as a staff economist at the Office of Planning and Research under Governor Pete Wilson; as an assistant for policy development at the Department of Housing and Community Development; and, as a special assistant in the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) where he managed the department’s $200 million Administration program. Justin received his Ph.D. in business from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 2000. He also received his A.M. in political science and his A.B. in economics and political science from Stanford University.
Gina Durante
Gina Durante is the Founder and Principal of Green Path Consulting, a San Diego-based management consulting firm that advises private-sector clients how to incorporate sustainability into their business strategy and operations, and how to position themselves to capitalize on opportunities in the emerging clean tech market. Operating at the intersection of business, technology, and environment, Ms. Durante’s professional experience and educational background make her uniquely suited to help companies understand the implications of climate change, clean technology, and sustainability and profit from these trends. Prior to founding Green Path Consulting, Gina was a Market Analyst for DRI Energy, the solar energy subsidiary of a large roofing concern headquartered in Irvine, California. In this role, she provided in-depth sales & marketing support, project cost estimating tools, and solar industry market intelligence to executive management. Before DRI Energy, Gina was a consultant at L.E.K. Consulting, a management consultancy specializing in market research, managing analysts on short, intense market research cases for private equity and corporate clients. Prior to L.E.K. Consulting, Gina worked for Hewlett Packard on a variety of projects, from product and service offering development to developing market research for U.S., European, and Chinese markets for new partner-delivered IT service offerings to small and medium businesses (SMBs). Gina also has experience in the public sector and with regulatory compliance. Ms. Durante holds degrees from Stanford University (B.S., Biological Sciences), Yale University (Master of Environmental Studies), and the University of California, Los Angeles (MBA—the Anderson School at UCLA).
Advisory Board
Eda Benjakul
Eda Benjakul is a master of product placement and productions, most recently serving as the Tradeout Manager for Expedition Impossible. She has also worked on product placement for Face Off, Marcel's Quantum Kitchen, Your OWN Show, and HGTV Design Star. She is a pioneer in the entertainment commerce space in the 1990s as a member of the start-up teams of IZ.com (an online broadcast entertainment program allowing viewers to purchase items featured within the entertainment program) headed by entertainment heavyweights Scott Schwartz, Scott Sternberg, Rob Kenneally and ReplayTV. Eda also developed the integrated branding on the original Apprentice television program produced by Mark Burnett Productions for NBC. Her producing credits include Chef Hunter, Bachelor Pad, There Goes the Neighborhood, The Marriage Ref, Let's Make a Deal, Big Shot Live, The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, The World's Funniest! She holds an MBA from New York University.
Dr. Carl Liggio
Carl has a bachelors, masters and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University and a Masters in Systems Analysis and Economics for Public Decision Making from the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering also from The Johns Hopkins University. He previously worked for Orion Power Holdings as a pricing and operations strategist, performing quantitative analysis, asset optimization and commercialization. Orion was purchased by Reliant Energy where he was briefly a market analyst. He left Reliant to start Meissa Consulting LLC, a consulting company specializing in operations management consulting. In 2006 he joined US Power Generating Company where he was the Director of Commercial Strategy and Alternative Energy Programs. At the time USPowerGen had no energy management infrastructure in place. Carl was instrumental in building the asset management desk and its business processes. At USPowerGen he was an asset manager for the New York City portfolio, and later supported the asset management desk, analyzing operations, developing and validating bidding and commercial strategies, and developing tools to manage the commercial operations. Carl currently sits on the board of advisors to the New York Association of Energy Economics.
Marshall Herskovitz
Writer, director, producer Marshall Herskovitz has enjoyed a distinguished career in the separate worlds of film and television. He attended Brandeis University and then the American Film Institute, where he and Edward Zwick met in 1975 and formed their long and successful creative partnership.
Following AFI, Herskovitz wrote and directed for several television series, including Family and The White Shadow, until he teamed up with Zwick to create the explosive television movie Special Bulletin in 1983, for which Herskovitz won two Emmys -- for best dramatic film and best writing for a dramatic film -- a Writers Guild Award, and the Humanitas Award.
In 2003, Herskovitz co-wrote and produced The Last Samurai, directed by Zwick and starring Tom Cruise. He and Zwick most recently produced Blood Diamond in South Africa, which Herskovitz also co-wrote. Herskovitz lives with his two daughters in Los Angeles. An active environmentalist, he has served on the board of several organizations committed to preserving America’s precious natufal resources. He is President Emeritus of the Producers Guild of America.
An active environmentalist, he is the founding member of 1Sky and has served on the board of several organizations committed to preserving America's precious natural resources. Read "Marshall Herskovitz: World War II the Key to America's Energy Future" in Forbes.
Jason Zelin Legal Advisor
After nearly thirty years as a lawyer (transactional and litigation), business executive and producer in the entertainment and media field, I recently joined the mediation panel of ADR Services, Inc., where I am a full-time mediator for business disputes, with an emphasis on entertainment, media and technology matters.
I began my career as a business litigator specializing in First Amendment and trade secret matters, then moving to Warner Bros as an attorney. In the mid-eighties, I co-founded and managed the West Coast office of Vestron Video, the largest independent home video distributor in the world at that time.
In the nineties, I was at the forefront of the new media revolution as I served as the COO and Executive VP of Brilliant Media Inc, a media/technology company which developed Peter Gabriel’s award-winning CD-ROM, Xplora.
At Village Roadshow Pictures (The Matrix, Analyze This), in addition to serving as Executive Vice President of Business Affairs, I also was the Executive In Charge of Production for the film A Walk on the Moon and was the Executive Producer of the television series The Aquanauts, for The Discovery Channel.
At Miramax Films, I was Senior Vice President and Co-Head of the Acquisitions Department for all film product.
As President of Miracle Entertainment, I developed a slate of films such as Killing Pablo (based on the N.Y. Times bestseller), Six Bullets From Now (developed with Ridley and Tony Scott), Shinobi (a co-production with Janet Yang) and Underground (developed with Will Smith's company).
In 2002 I was signed to a first-look production deal with the Yari Film Group to produce the film Killing Pablo.