Center for Energy Efficiency & Sustainability

Roger Ballentine, President of Green Strategies Inc., is an internationally-recognized expert and thought leader on how private sector leaders can incorporate environmental and sustainability strategies into business practices in ways that enhance competitive advantage and deliver value to customers, shareholders and stakeholders. He has advised U.S. Presidents, corporate CEOs, and private equity investors on the intersection of policy drivers, energy market dynamics and best business practices. Roger has served on the board of directors for more than a half of dozen public and private corporations and is a Venture Partner with Arborview Capital LLC.

George Bandy, Jr., a global sustainability leader, has spearheaded comprehensive sustainability concepts and practices for multinational corporations, universities, and NGOs. He proactively identifies opportunities to position environmentally, economically, and socially responsible solutions for communities, organizations, and clients, collectively demonstrating sustainability leadership for a brighter future.

Currently, George serves as the first Chief Sustainability Officer at Andersen Corporation, an international window and door manufacturing enterprise employing 12,000 people at more than thirty manufacturing facilities, logistics centers, and company owned retail locations. Andersen is a private company headquartered in Bayport, MN.  At Andersen, he will work closely with a cross-functional team across research, development and innovation, operations, strategic sourcing, government relations, marketing, community relations and sales to advance the firm’s sustainability strategy.

Notably, George recently led Amazon’s journey towards a more circular economy, developing a strategy that ensures the finite materials managed by Amazon remain in technical or biological loops, potentially positioning the company as the Earth’s most circular-centric company.

George is highly sought after as a presenter on key sustainability topics, including the business of sustainability, biophilic product/design, circular economy, the emergence of climate-positive supply chains, health and wellness in the built environment, and innovative smart and healthy products and communities.

George Bandy, a prominent sustainability leader, has received numerous accolades for his contributions to the green building industry. In 2020, he was recognized as a Living Future Hero, a prestigious honor bestowed upon individuals who have made significant strides in sustainable practices. Additionally, in 2018, Bandy was awarded the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership Award and the inaugural Green Step People Award. Bandy’s career highlights include his tenure as the former Chief Sustainability Officer for Mohawk Industries (2016-2020). Prior to this role, he served as the Vice President of Sustainability for Interface (1999-2016). Notably, Bandy also held the position of Sustainability Officer for the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston (1994-1999).

In 2023, Bandy was appointed as the Chairman of the Board for Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), an esteemed organization that independently recognizes excellence in green business industry performance and practice globally. He also serves on the Trane Technologies Advisory Council for Sustainability and the Cradle-to-Cradle Products Innovation Institute Board of Directors.

Bandy’s expertise extends beyond his professional achievements. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Morehouse College and is LEED Accredited Professional certified by the USGBC. As a native of Opelika, Alabama, Bandy’s dedication to sustainability has made him a respected figure in the industry.

Marian Chertow is associate professor of industrial environmental management and has been director of the industrial environmental management program at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies since 1991. Her research and teaching focus on industrial ecology, business/environment issues, waste management, and environmental technology innovation.

Prior to Yale, Marian spent ten years in environmental business and state and local government. She is a frequent international lecturer and has testified on waste, recycling and other environmental issues before committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. She serves on the founding faculty of the Masters of Science in Environmental Management Program at the National University of Singapore where she teaches “Business and Environment” and is a visiting professor at Nankai University’s National Center for Innovation Research on Circular Economy in China.

Stuart L. Hart is Professor in Residence at the University of Michigan’s Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise. Hart was the founder of the Erb Institute’s dual master’s program in the early 1990s and then went on to hold faculty positions and launch centers for sustainable business at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management. Most recently, Hart was Professor and Steven Grossman Endowed Chair in Sustainable Business at the University of Vermont’s Grossman School of Business where he was co-founder and director of the school’s new Sustainable Innovation MBA Program.

A Fortune 500 consultant, Hart is one of the world's top authorities on the implications of environment and poverty for business strategy. His over 100 articles and nine books have received more than 50,000 Google Scholar citations. His article “Beyond Greening: Strategies for a Sustainable World” won the McKinsey Award for Best Article in the Harvard Business Review for 1997 and helped launch the movement for corporate sustainability.  Hart’s best-selling book, Capitalism at the Crossroads, is amongst Cambridge University’s top 50 books on sustainability of all-time. His forthcoming book, Beyond Shareholder Primacy: Remaking Capitalism for a Sustainable Future, will be published by Stanford Business Books in 2024.

Mary Jane Melendez is a future-focused ESG leader distinguished by her track record of results and ESG thought leadership. Best known for developing innovative strategies that translate science and risks into business opportunities and social impact. She is a catalyst for quantifiable and qualitative improvement creating a competitive advantage. She works with teams across the globe to drive business resilience. Mary Jane is deeply intentional about building a culture that connects her team’s work to a larger purpose. She has been instrumental in shaping General Mills’ sustainability and global impact strategies and leads the company charter to Stand for Good.

Mary Jane currently serves as Chief Sustainability and Global Impact Officer at General Mills. She has reshaped global sustainability and philanthropy strategies unlocking unique value for multiple stakeholders. She was instrumental in the development of an innovative governance structure, establishing a new global impact corporate function, and building a long-range investment/accountability strategy to drive business and planetary impact. She engages deeply with the investor community and provides strategic updates to the Board and C-Suite.

Committed to lending her expertise and leadership to support related professional and community organizations, she currently serves on the Executive Committee of The Conference Board’s Sustainability Council, WRI’s Corporate Consultative Group, the Board of the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation and the University of St. Thomas Opus School of Business Strategic Advisory Council. She earned her MBA and bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas.

Katherine Sierra is an expert in sustainable infrastructure and climate change in developing economies, and provides advisory services to public and private sector organizations on these topics. Katherine is also a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, focusing on climate change and energy. Until June 2010, she was vice president for sustainable development at the World Bank, where she served for more than thirty years. She oversaw the bank’s global environment, infrastructure (including energy, transportation and water sectors), urban development and agricultural activities. She also led the World Bank’s climate change strategy – including creation of the $6.5 billion Climate Investment Funds and management of $2.5 billion in Carbon Finance funds. She was the Bank’s spokesperson on climate change, and represented it at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change high level meetings and at the G-8 and G-20 on climate and environment issues.

Katherine is a frequent speaker on the issues surrounding development and climate change. She has considerable country experience in East Asia, including managing the urban and environment programs for China, and in Latin America. She has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of California; a Master’s degree in city and regional planning from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s General Managers Program.

Dr. Vermeer is an Associate Professor of the Practice at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, where he leads the Center for Energy, Development, and the Global Environment (EDGE). EDGE works at the intersection of global environmental and societal challenges and business strategy through education, research, and collaboration. His latest work is on climate strategy and ocean innovation. 

At Duke, Vermeer co-leads a national initiative called ClimateCAP, focused on integrating climate change into the business school curriculum. He is also co-founder of the Oceans@Duke initiative, which brings together diverse experts to develop innovative solutions to the world’s ocean sustainability challenges.

Vermeer joined Duke from The Coca-Cola Company, where he led the company’s Global Water Initiative. He plays a leading public role in advocating for sustainable development through speaking, research, and institution-building.

Andrew Winston is a globally-recognized expert on megatrends, sustainable business, and how to build companies that profit by contributing to a thriving world. Named by Thinkers50 as one of the top 50 management thought leaders in the world, his strategy books have sold over a quarter million copies in 15 languages. His bestsellers include Green to Gold – which Inc. Magazine included on its all-time list of 30 books that every manager should own – The Big Pivot, and Net Positive, which was co-authored with renowned CEO Paul Polman and selected by the Financial Times as one of the Best Business Books of the Year. Andrew writes regularly for the Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review, including the HBR cover story, “The Net Positive Manifesto” and the HBR’s “Big Idea” story, “Leading a New Era of Climate Action.”

His views on strategy have been sought after by the world’s leading companies, including 3M, DuPont, J&J, Kimberly-Clark, Marriott, PepsiCo, Trane Technologies, Unilever, and Walmart. He has been quoted in major media such as Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, Time, BusinessWeek, New York Times, and CNBC.

Andrew is also a highly sought-after, dynamic, and inspiring speaker, reaching hundreds of audiences around the world. He delivers an entertaining message of practical optimism: the world’s challenges are great, but business has the tools, resources, and creativity to solve them and build a thriving world. He has spoken on five continents, bringing his inspiration to leadership meetings of the top executives of multinationals, to large industry conferences, and to high-profile events like the World Innovation Forum and TED.

Andrew’s work is based on significant business experience and education. His early career included advising companies on corporate strategy while at BCG and management positions in strategy and marketing at Time Warner and Viacom/MTV. He received his BA in Economics from Princeton, an MBA from Columbia, and a Masters of Environmental Management from Yale. He lives in Greenwich, CT with his wife and two sons.

Terry F. Yosie has served in executive level management positions and provided strategic counsel for national and multi-lateral governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and leading universities. His range of expertise has included business strategy, climate change, global plastics waste, economic development strategies, environmental protection, governance, emerging issues analysis and risk assessment. He currently serves as a Columnist for GreenBiz.com, a member of sustainability advisory councils for The Dow Chemical Company and Trane Technologies and serves on the external advisory board of the William K. Reilly Center for Environmental Policy at American University. He presently is a member of a US National Academy of Sciences committee advising the Environmental Protection Agency on priority emerging issues and technologies. 

Dr. Yosie’s executive level positions have included:

• Director, EPA Science Advisory Board
• Vice President, Health and Environment, American Petroleum Institute 
• Executive Vice President, Ruder Finn Consultants 
• Vice President, Responsible Care Initiative, American Chemistry Council 
• President & CEO, World Environment Center

Dr. Yosie has authored more than 100 professional publications and is the co-author of several books on environmental management and sustainable development, including a history of the US Environmental Protection Agency. He has served on numerous boards and advisory committees for the US government, the United Nations, and the US National Academy of Sciences. He has lectured at many of the world’s leading universities, has appeared on all major US television networks and the BBC, and periodically testifies before the US Congress. 

He received his pre-law degree in 1974 from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and his Doctorate in History and Social Sciences from Carnegie Mellon University in 1981. Each university has granted him its Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award.

He was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania and resides in Washington, DC.

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Mike Jarnagin is the Vice President of Environmental, Health and Safety for Trane Technologies. His overall scope includes manufacturing, sales and services operations, which includes approx. 40,000 employees globally. Mike’s EHS involvement includes 27 years of EHS experience including global responsibilities in various manufacturing and service operations to include automotive, energy and private sectors. Mike's experience includes machine guarding, regulation guidance & interpretation, program creation/implementation, and wastewater treatment. Mike has been managing business level EHS programs for the last 20 years, with continued history of building sustainable teams and building risk reduction strategies to drive injury reductions and reducing overall workers compensation costs.

Jarnagin holds a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management from Tusculum University and Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Milligan University.

Jarnagin’s hobbies and personal interests are many and varied. Working on the family farm and spending time with family. Horseback riding, hiking, running and bike riding along with boating and water sports. A special joy is watching his children become adults and start their careers.

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