Sustainable Furnishings Council

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Board of Directors

Position Title: President

Name of Person: Jeff Hiller

Employer: PROaction Marketing Group

Body:

Jeff is a founding Board Member and current President of the Sustainable Furnishings Council, the #1 organization in green furnishings. A published writer on sustainability, he has been keynote speaker for numerous professional and academic organizations including High Point Market, Las Vegas Market, ASID, ADAC, SCAD, and NYSID. Jeff is also a Senior Partner in JB Training Solutions, a leading management skills training company, and sole owner PROaction Marketing Group, a marketing services company based in Austin, TX working with home furnishings wholesalers and retailers across the country. Formerly VP Marketing/Four Hands, a 3-time Inc 500 Fastest Growing company; owner The Arrangement, a thriving retail furniture chain; Marketing Director/Houston Rockets NBA franchise; and VP Account Director/Leo Burnett, a Top 5 national ad agency.

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Position Title: Vice President

Name of Person: Margaret Casey

Employer: World Market Center

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Margaret Casey is Director of Programming for the World Market Center Las Vegas. She has more than 15 years experience in the home furnishings industry along with extensive background in the design and production of large-scale events. Previously, Casey served as Associate Publisher for Home Furnishings Business magazine and Vice President, Events & Shows for Bay West Showplace Investors, where she developed events and trade shows for the San Francisco Design Center properties.

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Position Title: Treasurer

Name of Person: Gat Caperton

Employer: Gat Creek

Body:

Gat Caperton is the President and CEO of Gat Creek, a West Virginia manufacturer of hand-made, solid-wood home furniture. Under Caperton's leadership, the company won the Governor's Safe Workplace Award and is a two-time winner of the West Virginia Business Environmental Leadership Award. Caperton serves on the board of the WV Nature Conservancy and Natural Capital Investment Fund. He lives with his wife and three daughters in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia.

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Position Title: Secretary

Name of Person: Greg Harden

Employer: Harden Furniture Company

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Gregory Harden is president and CEO of Harden Furniture Company. Harden’s career has been established through years of experience in management positions, acting as Director for New York Design Center REIT and American Furniture Manufacturers Association. Harden is also a citizen member of the New York State Environmental Board. He enjoys skiing and is a coach with the NY Ski Education Foundation in Lake Placid.

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Position Title:

Name of Person: Steve Freeman

Employer: Room & Board

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Steve Freeman is Vendor Resource Manager of Room & Board where he has contributed to the environmentally-focused philosophies and practices of the company in his 27-year career. As a lifelong Minnesota resident, he has been inspired to preserve the environment. Freeman enjoys canoeing in Northern Minnesota, showing his Keeshond dogs at AKC shows with his wife, and working on his 5 acres of woodland.

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Position Title:

Name of Person: David Mahood

Employer: Sustainable Hospitality, NEWH and Olive Designs

Body:

David Mahood is the V.P. Sustainable Hospitality, NEWH, and the Principal of Olive Designs. He is a sustainable manufacturing consultant to the hospitality industry, lecturer on the topic of sustainable hospitality, and a contributor to publications dedicated to sustainable furnishings. He also serves as a sponsor of the Nexus Green Building Resource Center, located in Boston, MA.

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Position Title:

Name of Person: Mark Comolli

Employer: Rainforest Alliance

Body:

Mark Comoli heads up the Rainforest Alliance's forestry marketing program which includes SmartSource, sales and market development. He leads a team focused on making significant impacts in sustainable forestry through educating and engaging the paper and packaging, furniture green building industries around the world. Mark has global contacts within the certified marketplace and unmatched knowledge of how to construct durable certified value chains. He attended Oregon State University and Pennsylvania State University.

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Position Title:

Name of Person: Cristina Loth

Employer: Stanley Furniture

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Cristina is Vice President Engineering at Stanley, with responsibility for Facilities, Environmental, Product and VA/VE Engineering. Previously she served as Operations Manager for the Herman Miller Company, Geiger International. She was educated at Purdue University.

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Position Title:

Name of Person: Mike Italiano

Employer: Market Transformation to Sustainability (MTS) and Capital Markets Partnership

Body:

Mike Italiano is President and CEO for Market Transformation to Sustainability (MTS) and Capital Markets Partnership. He founded the Capital Markets Partnership, MTS, U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Risk-Based Corrective Action (RBCA) Leadership Council, and American Society of Testing & Materials (ASTM) Committee E50 on Environmental Assessment. Mike has been responsible at over 200 waste sites for expert testimony, litigation, cleanup, settlement, and scientific and technical analysis. He lives in Washington, D.C.

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Position Title:

Name of Person: Christina Nicholson

Employer: Williams-Sonoma Group

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Christina joined Williams-Sonoma, Inc. in 1999 in the Direct Marketing Department focusing on email and online marketing. While working in marketing she returned to school four years ago to study Sustainable Design at U.C. Berkeley which led to her current role at Williams-Sonoma, Inc. as Director of Sustainable Development. Prior to her time at Williams-Sonoma, Inc. she held a position as a Financial Analyst at Gap Inc. Direct. Christina earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from The Ohio State University.

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Position Title:

Name of Person: Bernadette Upton

Employer: EcoDecor Inc.

Body:

Bernadette Upton, F ASID, LEED AP, CAPS, is principal for EcoDecor Inc., an eco-friendly interior design and furnishings firm, resource and educational center, in Palm Beach, Florida. A lecturer and consultant specializing in environmental interior design since 1982, Upton is also a professional member of ASID and Past President for the Florida South Chapter. She was a founding member of the National ASID Sustainable Design Council, and the first interior designer in Florida to become LEED Accredited with the USGBC. She is a member and certifier for Florida Green Lodging and the Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC). She is an ASID Fellow.

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Position Title: Founder

Name of Person: Gerry Cooklin

Employer: South Cone

Body:

Gerry Cooklin founded the Sustainable Furnishings Council to transform the home furnishings industry and to help preserve the world’s forests. As founder and CEO of South Cone, a FSC certified residential furniture manufacturer, and Peruvian non-profit organization PaTS, which promotes sustainable forestry and encourages community members to become artisans and business people to create a sustainable living for their families, Cooklin finds himself in a unique position to influence manufacturers, retailers, conservation institutions, trade press, suppliers, and others to promote sustainability in the residential furniture industry. Cooklin is a strong naturalist and lover of the outdoors. He lives in Lima, Peru.

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Staff

Position Title: Executive Director

Name of Person: Susan Inglis

Employer: Sustainable Furnishings Council/From the Mountain

Body:

Susan Inglis is Executive Director and a founding member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council. She has led SFC to work with industry leaders to establish criteria to gauge the sustainability of furniture products and practices; develop programs for educating all sectors of the industry; and gain over 500 members in its short lifetime. Inglis is also founder and owner of From The Mountain, a company that develops, sources, and manages production of hand-made goods and furnishings. Inglis is an active member of WithIt, which recently awarded her the 2009 WOW Educator Award. She lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

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