ANDREA ROBINSON ARC's Founder and Director Andrea Robinson is the Founder and Director of ARC Sustainability, a Los Angeles- based environmental consulting firm specializing in designing and implementing sustainability programs and event planning for high-profile conventions, corporations, productions, movie studios, live events, concerts, hotels, residences and non-profit groups. ARC Sustainability produces measurable results in energy efficiency, water conservation, waste diversion, transportation minimization, supply chain productivity, food and beverage sourcing, greenhouse gas emission reductions and advises on carbon offset frameworks. In 2007 and 2008, Andrea served as the first-ever Director of Sustainability & Greening for the 2008 Democratic National Convention held in Denver, Colorado. Andrea was responsible for designing, managing, implementing, measuring and messaging the comprehensive sustainability efforts and carbon footprint for the Convention. Andrea worked closely with all DNCC Departments, Convention venues and Co-Chaired both Mayor Hickenlooper’s Energy and Waste Minimization Task Forces. She collaborated with City and State environmental programs, facilities and businesses, and produced, wrote and hosted numerous educational green webisodes, all in an effort to raise awareness and cultivate a long-term legacy of sustainability. The 2008 Democratic National Convention is considered to be the most sustainable political convention in modern American history. In 2007, Robinson managed the greening of the New York, Shanghai and Johannesburg venues for Vice-President Al Gore’s Live Earth: Concerts for a Climate in Crisis. With over two billion people participating worldwide, Live Earth 07.07.07 was the largest musical event in history. Andrea also acted as Live Earth’s International NGO Director: single-handedly building and managing relationships with over 650 non-governmental, intergovernmental and civil society organizations around the world. Using her experience working for environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, Andrea joined these international grassroots organizations together in an unprecedented collaboration towards solving the global climate crisis. Andrea was also a contributing author to the Live Earth Greening Guidelines and the Live Earth Green Artists Handbook. Over the course of her more than two decades in the environmental field, Andrea has championed renewable energy and energy efficiency policy, conservation and land use issues, endangered species and habitat protection, and created numerous waste diversion and resource recovery programs. She has contributed her time and expertise to the Clinton Global Initiative, Maria Shriver’s Women’s Conference and the environmental campaigns of Obama/ Biden, Kerry/ Edwards, Gore/ Lieberman and Representative Jerry McNerney (CA). In 2006, she worked with Madeline Albright on environmental messaging for Proposition 87, California’s alternative energy initiative. Previously, she collaborated with green pioneer John Picard on corporate sustainability and green building projects, and with Paul Hawken on the Ashes and Snow Nomadic museum. Andrea has worked extensively in the media and appeared on CNN, NPR’s ‘All Things Considered’, ABC, NBC, FOX, in the New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, Grist, and featured on the cover of the Wall Street Journal among others. She received her degree in Environmental Science from University of California at Santa Barbara with an honors thesis on Biodiversity and the United Nations Earth Summit.
BILLY CONNELLY ARC Consultant Billy Connelly has more than 18 years experience in corporate communications, marketing, business development, and sales. In addition to managing Native Energy’s corporate communications, marketing, and branding activities for seven years, Billy was responsible for closing deals and developing strategic partnerships with some of the company’s highest profile clients, including: aninconvenienttruth (the Academy Award® winning and first-ever carbon neutral documentary film); Warner Bros Pictures’ Academy Award® winning film SYRIANA; Paramount Pictures’ Academy Award® winning films No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood, 14 other motion pictures, MTV–Music Television and Comedy Central; Sundance Channel; LIVE EARTH Concerts for a Climate in Crisis; The Doors Music Company; Salesforce.com; Ceres; Annie’s Homegrown; The X-Prize Foundation; The Alliance for Climate Protection; GOOD Magazine; GreenForAll.org; LOHAS Forum; Reverb Rock; Grist.org; 2009 Green Inaugural Ball, and two 2008 U.S. presidential campaigns – Hillary Clinton and John Edwards – among many other clients and partners. His pro bono clients include: Kids vs. Global Warming and 350.org. Billy serves on the boards of the U.S. Native American Chamber of Commerce, the Telluride Power Project, the Sci-Fi Channel’s “Visions for Tomorrow” campaign, and the 2009 Greater>Than Conference.
DAVID PASCAL ARC Consultant David Pascal is an environmental sustainability consultant and served as the Director of Events and Entertainment for Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection, where he coordinated the organization’s involvement with the 2007 Live Earth global concerts. Previously, David served as Operations Director for the Global Citizen Center, a San Francisco-based nonprofit working to accelerate the region’s transition to a sustainable and just green economy. David has been a senior political campaign advisor and has served on San Francisco's Public Utilities Commission Citizens Advisory Committee, offering assessment and analysis of the Commission's management of the region's water, wastewater, and power infrastructures. David was the Committee’s first Chair and served on the Energy and Environmental Justice subcommittees. Currently, David is the lead Clean Technology and Green Business Advocate for the City and County of San Francisco. In this capacity, David is responsible for helping the City attract and retain companies whose products and services address our greatest environmental challenges. In addition, David is President and Founder of the San Francisco Carbon Collaborative, a non-profit partnership of local government, business, and environmental organizations working to accelerate the development of effective market and policy responses to climate change.
DAN THOMSEN ARC Consultant Dan Thomsen is a licensed home performance contractor (LIC # 932241) specializing in building performance testing and energy efficiency retrofitting. He is a member of The California Building Performance Contractors Association (CBPCA), a certified HERS Existing Home rater through CHEERSÒ, a certified Green Building Professional with Build It Green, and a founding member of Efficiency First, an organization dedicated to increasing the efficiency of homes. As founder of The Building Doctors, Dan offers a complete energy efficiency prescription with a “Whole House Performance Check Up” using building science and state of the art detection equipment. He designs residential treatment plans to prioritize each of the homeowner’s needs and goals while increasing the home’s overall energy efficiency and decreasing their heating and cooling costs anywhere from 20-50%. Dan received a Bachelor of Science from the College of Agriculture and Forestry at West Virginia University and a Master of Science from the School of Forestry at North Carolina State University and has also received a certificate of appreciation from The City of Los Angeles for his volunteer work with planting drought tolerant gardens.
ELIF BEALL ARC Consultant Elif Beall offers a rich and varied background in sustainability consulting, both in the production and corporate contexts. Her experience in the entertainment industry includes greening concerts and film productions. She was part of the Green Team for the 2007 Live Earth concerts, a 7 continent 24-hour concert series that, in partnership with Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection, helped to launch the movement for mass action against climate change. She has also led environmental initiatives for large studio feature film productions, as well as corporate sustainability initiatives for NBC Universal and CB Richard Ellis. Elif is a main author of the Live Earth Green Guidelines for the Live Entertainment and Events Industry (Second Edition), and is a LEED Accredited Professional through the U.S. Green Building Council. Elif received her law degree, with Honors, from George Washington University Law School with a focus on International Business.