Martin Kearns is an innovator in the field of netcentric campaigns and advocacy. He is also Co-Founder and Executive Director of Green Media Toolshed. He has pioneered integration of network-centric principals to the field of civic organizing and social change work. He is designing software and services targeted to create value at the multi-organizational and movement scale. He is the catalyst behind MobileActive, a global network of activists who use cell phones for civic action and engagement. Kearns is currently working on MediaVolunteer, the first peer-produced, massively distributed research project designed to help advocates and citizens engage the media. Previously, Kearns also successfully founded the Georgia River Network, a group dedicated to preserving Georgia's rivers. Kearns worked on local, state and national political campaigns. He is a dynamic speaker and is often found at communications, technology and organizing strategy venues supporting progressive civic engagement. He volunteers on the Advisory Board of the New Organizing Institute. He spent three years working at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Kearns has a Bachelors of the Arts from LeMoyne College and a Masters in Environmental Science from Yale University. Kearns spent two years as a Jesuit International Volunteer in Kingston, Jamaica teaching computers at St. George's College and working with inner city youth. He is a runner, hiker and fisherman. He and his wife Maryann are raising their three children in Silver Spring, MD. Kearns writes a daily blog,
Network-Centric Advocacy : Advocacy Strategy for the Age Connectivity.
Michelle Kohn joined the Green Media Toolshed team in August 2008 as the Office Assistant. Michelle is responsible for the administrative day-to-day activities of the organization. Before joining Green Media, Michelle was a summer intern at the National Park Foundation, which raises money for the National Parks. Prior to the National Park Foundation, she worked at the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program in Beltsville, Maryland, where her primary role was to work on publications to educate farmers and others interested in up to date sustainable agriculture practices. Michelle was an Animal Sciences major at University of Maryland in College Park and a College Park Scholar. Though she originally planned on studying to be a veterinarian, she soon realized a passion for the environment. During her years at Maryland, Michelle took advantage of opportunities to work at Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in South Africa for a summer as well as study in Belize. She is originally from Palm Beach, Florida.
Bobbi Russell has more than 10 years of communications and media strategy experience. She joined Green Media Toolshed (GMT) in 2000 during its first year of operations as the Director of Media Services and Marketing and in 2005 became the Associate Director. Bobbi manages the membership and training programs for GMT and works with a growing community of more than 195 environmental organizations. She specializes in helping groups define and improve their online presence through the use of new technology. Bobbi also develops "train the trainer" programs for GMT's technology partners and provides coaching for these organizations. She is in charge of GMT's organizational operations which includes financial management, fundraising, and staff management. Prior to GMT, Bobbi worked as a Program Coordinator at Environmental Media Services, focusing on marine, land conservation and energy issues. She started her career as an environmental reporter for several newspapers in western Pennsylvania, specializing in mining and land use issues. Bobbi further gained interest in public outreach through her work at Mote Marine Laboratory and the Clarion River Basin Commission. She earned a Bachelor's degree in English and minor in Environment and Society at Clarion University of Pennsylvania. She has an MBA from George Washington University, with a focus on nonprofit management. Bobbi enjoys hiking and boxing and lives in Alexandria, VA, with her partner Dave and their two dogs.
Nina Schwartz joined Green Media Toolshed as the Membership Coordinator in March 2008. Nina coordinates all aspects of membership operations, and especially focuses on building the membership base, creating new online training courses, and developing new program initiatives. Prior to her work at GMT, Nina worked with the policy team of Earthjustice, a non-profit environmental law firm, where she focused on clean water and species threatened by climate change. She began her media career at the National Audubon Society in Washington, D.C., where she compiled media for policy projects and aided in the administration of lobby activities. Nina received her B.A. in History and Environmental Studies from Carleton College in Northfield, MN, where she led initiatives in campus activism and served as an assistant in the Department of Residential Life. She completed her coursework with a semester studying advanced Spanish at the University of Salamanca, Spain, and a summer teaching English in rural China.