wanted a book that would sit
comfortably between Tim Gunn’s
Guide to Quality, Taste & Style and
The Lucky Style Guide, and do be-
lieve we accomplished that be-
tween the patience and vision of
the graphics design team and
photographers.
You are an eco-model, activist
and authority on all things sustain-
able in fashion and beauty, can
you talk about that a little for me?
I originally came into the fashion
industry as a covert-model - a wolf
in sheep’s clothing so to speak. I
was in university and looking for in-
novative ways to communicate
sustainability. My environmental
research kept pointing me to
something much bigger than the
science lab. I originally thought I’d
partner with other personalities,
models and celebrities to help de-
velop cool environmental pro-
grams, but many people in the
space couldn’t manage to do it
because their “work” conflicted
with their values - meaning they’d
have to fly out and film a movie for
six months or they’d go and model
for a company that was-less-than-
impressive socially and environ-
mentally. The collar didn’t match
the cuff. I thought, “Geez, if I can
bring in my values and raise the
bar - use my expertise, image and
passion to create change, then
why not?” Two of my partners and
I run a mad cool strategic commu-
nications and brand manage-
ment firm (SJR) that assists
companies and organizations on
sustainability issues, market re-
search, public relations, risk man-
agement, and the like. The best
clients for me are ones that I can
represent both in front of the cam-
era as well as behind-the-scenes.
I’m a very hands-on-person. I like
to be involved and know that you
need to be fully immersed in a
project for it to be successful. I
know we can truly make things
better if we put our minds, hearts,
and some sweat equity into it. 
What made you decide to be-
come an activist and what is your
biggest project in this regard at
the moment?
You know, it’s quite simple really. I
love nature. I love being out in na-
ture; I love what nature brings to
people; and I believe in healthy
ecosystems and a healthy quality
of life. I really found myself at a
young age in the world around
me. I immersed myself in Native
American history, knowledge and
culture - and do believe all of my
advocacy and activism stemmed
from there.
I have a few biggies in the fire in
terms of launches. I’m collaborat-
ing with Payless on the launch of
their green shoe and accessories
line, Zoe & Zac, which launched in
April 2009. It’s a fun project and an
incredible learning experience for
everyone involved. They’ve been
great partners. They allow me to
push the envelope and we’re tak-
ing what we learn to see how we
can use sustainability as a source
of innovation across the other
lines.
I’m also helping re-launch Portico
Home. They’re whole home textile,
bath robe, linen and towel lines
are certified organic which hit the
market in June 2009.
On another front, I work with a
partner—Allan Schwarz—out in
Mozambique on nearly two dozen
sustainable forestry programs in
Mozambique. Locals are trained
to do forest enrichment planting
and make the highest-valued
products out of the forests, which
include high-end furniture, kitchen-
ware, jewelry/accessories, and a
newly launched personal care
product line.
Lastly, has been a move more into
media. I work closely as a corre-
spondent with Discovery Net-
work’s Planet Green and have
filmed a number of shows. It’s
been really amazing - climbing
250 feet in the air on the belly of a
wind turbine, swimming in the Pa-
cific Trash Vortex - an area of trash
twice the size of Texas in the Pa-
cific Ocean; learning about biodi-
gestors on cow farms; shooting
with Tommy Lee and Ludacris for
Battleground Earth. I’ve also done
work with MTV’s Real World this
past season, taking the cast
around through their pimped-out
green house. I have a couple
other programs and projects in the
work, but I can’t spill the beans
quite yet.
This past spring, I worked with En-
ergy Action on PowerShift 09 in
D.C., which is the largest lobby
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