About Us

Our mission is to develop people’s capacity to address social, economic and environmental challenges in order to create healthy and sustainable societies.

What We Do

EFI researches global, regional and local sustainability issues and strategies being used to address them. Based on that research we create and provide educational programs, resources and learning tools for higher education, business and government that increase understanding of the social, economic and environmental challenges and build capacity to create solutions. Our programs have been used in graduate, undergraduate, professional and continuing education in the United States and Africa for individuals in fields ranging from business, health care, government, community development and art to natural and life sciences, environmental studies, agriculture and engineering .

Why We Do It

There are multiple, parallel challenges confronting our world today. Globally, cultural groups are becoming more adversarial, the gap between rich and poor is widening and the health of the natural environment is deteriorating. The growth of the human population from over 7 billion today to 9 billion by 2050 is accelerating these increasing cultural tensions, income disparities and rates of natural resource consumption. To reverse these trends and support the earth’s growing population, improve living standards and preserve the natural resource base on which we all depend will require a 400% to 1000% improvement in how effectively we use the resources we have. Global change on that scale over several decades will take innovation on an unprecedented scale and require rethinking and reinventing every aspect of how we live and work. For higher education and business, that means providing education and training that increases recognition and understanding of the challenges and develops individuals who have the skills and knowledge to tackle them.

Meet Our Team

We are a small, dynamic team of committed experts, consultants, and students based in Richmond, Virginia and Washington, DC. Click on the tabs below to learn more:

Staff

 
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Board of Trustees

 
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Advisors

 
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Consultants

 
William A. Godfrey

William A. Godfrey

President

Bio
Denney Turner

Denney Turner

Research Associate

Bio
Terry Sherman

Terry Sherman

Treasurer

Bio
Corey Jenkins

Corey Jenkins

Technology Director

Bio
Brian Toibin

Brian Toibin

Education & Research Partner

Bio
William A. Godfrey

William A. Godfrey

President

Bio
Terry Sherman

Terry Sherman

Treasurer

Bio
Mickey Edwards

Mickey Edwards

Board Member

Bio
Cary Jamieson

Cary Jamieson

Board Member

Bio
Charles B. Swaim

Charles B. Swaim

Board Member

Bio
Frank Genzer

Frank Genzer

Emeritus Trustee

Bio
Robert D. Kuzelka

Robert D. Kuzelka

Emeritus Trustee

Bio
LeRoy S. Troyer

LeRoy S. Troyer

Emeritus Trustee

Bio
Peter Adriance
Former NGO liaison, National Spiritual Assembly
of the Baha’is of the U.S.

Edward L. Bakewell, III
Chairman, Bakewell Investment Company;
President, Hypertat Corporation

David Blockstein, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist,
National Council for Science and the Environment

Robert M. Clarkson
MBA Program Manager, School of Business
Virginia Commonwealth University

Paul F. Costello
Chief Operating Officer
Spider Management Company

William H. Daughtrey
Former Entrepreneur-In-Residence,
Dominion Resources Innovation Center

Rebecca Evans
Campus Sustainability Coordinator,
Ithaca College

Ira Feldman
Founding & Managing Director,
Sustainability Curriculum Consortium

Peter Galuszka
Journalist and Author, Galuszka Associates

Jennifer Greene
Director, Water Research Institute of Blue Hill

Ergun Gurpinar, Ph.D.
Professor, Faculty of Political Science,
Department of Environmental Planning, Istanbul University

Charles W. Harris
Former Chair and Director of Research
Graduate School of Design, Harvard University

Donald Huisingh, Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Cleaner Production
Senior Scientist Emeritus in Sustainable Development,
Center for Clean Products & Clean Technologies,
University of Tennessee at Knoxville

Eleanor LeCain
President, The Breakthrough Way

Scott P. Losee
Research Partnerships Manager,
The University of Queensland

Gitile J. Naituli, Ph.D.
Professor of Business Management and Dean,
Faculty of Business Multimedia University College of Kenya

Akpezi Ogbuigwe
Former Head, Environmental Education and Training Unit
United Nations Environment Programme

James A. O’Hara, III
Former Director, Health Promotion Policy
Center for Science in the Public Interest

Noah Salameh al Khmoor
Director, The Center for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation

Debra Rowe, Ph.D.
President, U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development and Professor of Psychology,
Sustainable Energies and Behavioral Sciences,
Oakland Community College (Michigan)

Tom Toles
Editorial Cartoonist, The Washington Post

Donate    |   Volunteer

At EFI we are committed to helping people become agents of positive change.  Your contribution of treasure, talent or time would be wonderful. We are seeking volunteers who are interested in conducting research in the 25 areas of sustainability (see our 25-issue matrix); we need designers and illustrators; and we also need social media-savvy folks interested in learning the ropes of fundraising online.

 

We have teams in Washington, DC and Richmond, VA, but we also have a robust platform for remote collaboration if you are located beyond.

Send a note to volunteers@environicfoundation.org or call us at 804-360-9130.

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