Who we are

Kathleen Rogers

Kathleen Rogers, President of Earth Day Network, has worked more than 20 years as an environmental attorney and advocate, focusing on public policy, international law, litigation, and community development. Under Kathleen's leadership, Earth Day Network has taken the lead in defining the "new environmentalist" of the 21st century, transforming EDN into a dynamic team of year round activists that is reaching out to new constituencies, including young people and people of color, and integrating civic participation into each of our programs and activities.

During her tenure as Chief Wildlife Counsel for the National Audubon Society, Kathleen directed several programs including its international trade, migratory species and biodiversity policy initiatives. While with National Audubon, Kathleen was Environmental Representative on the United States Delegation-Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). She was also responsible for bringing the first citizen complaint before the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, the tri-national agency formed to oversee North American environmental issues.

Kathleen has held senior positions with the Environmental Law Institute, Piedmont Environmental Council, two U.S. Olympic Organizing Committees, and the United Nations Conference on Women. She has also worked for Garth Associates in New York City and the Beveridge & Diamond law firm. Kathleen was editor in chief of the law review at the University of California-Davis, and clerked for the Honorable John Pratt at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

In June 2008, Kathleen was featured as Power Player of the Week on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.

Susan Bass

Susan Bass, Senior Vice President, Programs and Operations, has worked for over twenty years as an environmental attorney and public interest lawyer, focusing on capacity-building, public participation, human rights and international issues. Susan also worked for law firms in New York and Washington, D.C. as an attorney specializing in corporate, banking and securities law.

During her tenure as Director of the Inter-American Program at the Environmental Law Institute, Susan presented educational workshops and events for judges, prosecutors, congressional representatives and citizen activists in over a dozen countries in the region, produced research and policy reports on cutting –edge sustainable development issues and supervised a Visiting Scholars program. She also served as an Environmental Representative on the United States Delegation for the negotiation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, Technical Advisor to the Organization of American States for the development of the Inter-American Strategy for Public Participation, and Consultant to the International Mining Minerals and Sustainable Development project.

Susan worked as a volunteer attorney with the International Human Rights Law Group receiving a Pro Bono Service Award in honor of her efforts and interned with the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Susan graduated cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center and served on the Georgetown Law Journal and graduated cum laude from Yale University.

Art Edelstein

Art Edelstein, VP of Development, has 20 years of professional experience in fund development for environmental organizations. Art was a co-founder of the Hoosier Environmental Council, Indiana's largest environmental organization. During his tenure as HEC Development Director the organization's annual fund grew from $60,000 to $1 million. At HEC, Art established a diversified array of programs that included: major donor, foundation grants, direct mail, workplace giving and planned giving. Art also managed events with the Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Pacers. While at HEC, Art served as a member of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management Advisory Board and the Indiana Ground Water Taskforce. Art was also a member of the Indiana Earth Share board of directors and represented HEC at board of directors meetings of PAN, a national canvassing network. As a volunteer, Art was Vice Chair of the Hoosier Chapter of the Sierra Club and Chair of the chapter's SCCOPE committee, the Sierra Club Committee on Political Education, a federal PAC. Art has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Minnesota. He has been awarded Certificates of Achievement from The Fund Raising School, San Rafael, California and the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Lisa Swann

Lisa Swann, Vice President of Communications and Marketing, has devoted the last 18 years to environmental communications work for national nonprofit organizations. She has also served as Press Secretary to U.S. Senator Robert Stafford and U.S. Senator James Jeffords. She has published many oped pieces and worked on communications for the Earth Day celebrations on the Mall in Washington DC in 1995 and 2000. She has been a television news reporter and anchor and prior to joining EDN, Lisa was Communications Manager at the National Wildlife Federation.

Lisa graduated Magna Cum Laude from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts and started her career with the Youth Conservation Corps at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Sean Miller

Sean S. Miller is the Director of Education at Earth Day Network (EDN). He oversees EDN’s education programs and policies for students, educators, and our network of over 25,000 teachers interested in environmental issues, as well as the management of our National Environmental Education and Green School Campaigns. Mr. Miller also represents EDN to the Energy Action Coalition, where EDN is implementing the Campus Climate Challenge’s model of success on 1,000 campuses into the K-12 setting. Prior to joining EDN in 2006, he taught with the Center for Teaching Peace in D.C. schools, where he is a licensed teacher. Additionally, Mr. Miller was the Program Coordinator at Nonviolence International working to create educational materials for students and facilitating an international conference on conflict resolution in Bethlehem, Palestine. He received his BA in both Psychology and Philosophy from The College of William and Mary, and earned two Master’s Degrees in International Peace and Conflict Resolution (MA) and Education (Secondary Social Studies concentration, MAT) from American University. Mr. Miller’s interdisciplinary background affords him and EDN the opportunity to successively manage such a diverse range of topics. He adds that he loves to fight climate change with his bicycle, “the most efficient machine ever created.”

Sean is a national fellow with the TogetherGreen Conservation Leadership program at the National Audubon Society and has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, and Slate among others discussing education and the environment.

Jeani Murray

Jeani Murray is the Global Director of Earth Day 40 where she oversees the campaign to commemorate the the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. A longtime political operative, communications strategist and manage, Murray has served as a Chief of Staff on Capitol Hill, worked on four presidential campaigns, managed numerous campaigns, been the Executive Director of a state Democratic Party and most recently was the National Field Director at the American Civil Liberties Union where she harnessed online campaign tools along with traditional direct lobbying and grassroots strategies to move critical legislative issues for the ACLU and inspire support for constitutional priorities among its coalition partners, 54 affiliates and more than 500,000 members and supporters across America. She coordinated all federal field strategies and activities and created the organizations’ first national grassroots training program.

Murray has more than 15 years of political, communication, advocacy and management experience. She served as the executive director of the Iowa Democratic Party, where she and her team helped win the state for Al Gore’s presidential campaign and facilitated the creation of the party's premier web-based voter file and mobilization tool – the Voter Activation Network. She also oversaw the creation of the Democratic Party’s first Palm-Pilot canvass. As one of the first members of Howard Dean’s presidential campaign, Murray served as Iowa state director, supervising a staff of 150 with 20 satellite offices, coordinating media activities and conducting voter outreach. Murray also managed congressional campaigns, having raised more money than any congressional challenger and Democratic candidate in Iowa history at that time. Prior to that, Murray served as Iowa Representative Leonard Boswell’s communications director and then as his chief-of-staff in the U.S. House of Representatives. Additionally, she ran Boswell’s first re-election campaign, which was the first successful re-election of an Iowa Democrat to the House of Representatives in nearly a decade.

Murray attended St. Ambrose University as an undergraduate and the University of Iowa’s Graduate School of Journalism. While in graduate school, she was a member of Americorps serving as domestic violence outreach worker.

Nate Byer

Nate Byer is the Deputy Director of Earth Day 2010. Prior to joining Earth Day Network, he was an Account Executive at GMMB, a strategic communications and advertising firm focusing on political campaigns and progressive causes. Nate was an integral part of the GMMB Obama Team during the President’s primary and general election bids and he has also worked on numerous issue-oriented projects ranging from environmental protection efforts to domestic and global health initiatives. Prior to joining GMMB , Nate managed Senator Lou D’Allesandro’s successful State Senate race in Manchester, NH. He was a founder and director of BeyondPartisan.org and has been a researcher for both the Political Asylum Immigration Resource and the New England Innocence Project. While living in Scotland, Nate was the special assistant to Member of Scottish Parliament Bill Aitken. He has also lived in Rwanda, where he worked with the NGO Streets Ahead Children’s Association. Nate graduated from the College of Social Studies at Wesleyan University with a focus on political and social theory.

Jennifer Resick

Jennifer Resick, Communications Manager, handles media relations, Earth Day TV content development and a variety of media and marketing partnerships for Earth Day Network (EDN). Prior to joining EDN, she spent more than six years at Ketchum Public Relations, developing and implementing strategic communications plans for consumer, food and healthcare clients, such as ConAgra Foods, GlaxoSmithKline, The Clorox Company and Mattel. She has media trained celebrity and executive spokespeople, securing and preparing them for successful interviews with high-profile broadcast and print outlets.

Jennifer is also passionate about food and regularly writes for her blog with focus on food and restaurants in Washington, DC. She holds a Master of Arts in Professional Writing from Carnegie Mellon University. There, she also earned a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing with a minor in Film and Media Studies.

Jason Gooljar

Jason Gooljar is the Director of IT & e-Activism at Earth Day Network. A native New Yorker, Jason first got involved with political and civic issues in 1998 during his senior year in high school. At the time he was an intern and learned about the workings of local government in Westchester County, NY. Since then, he has worked as a paid staffer on two state senate campaigns and one gubernatorial campaign in NY. He was also a member of the first class to be trained in online organizing by the DC-based non-profit the New Organizing Institute in the winter of 2006. Jason holds an Associates degree in multimedia development and management. His future goals include going back to school to study political science or a public policy-related area. He deeply cares about non-profit organizations that work towards bettering society and wishes to remain working in this area.

Brenna Holzhauer

Brenna Holzhauer is Earth Day Network’s Education Coordinator. She assists in the continuation and creation of EDN’s education programs and materials, and communicates with our worldwide network of over 25,000 individuals and partners interested in environmental education and issues. Brenna has a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and a Masters in the Art of Teaching in Museum Education from The George Washington University. Some of her previous experience includes working in the Education Department at the Milwaukee Public Museum, the Reservations Department at Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin, and the Public Programs Division of the United States Botanic Garden, where she helped to coordinate a large-scale exhibition on Sustainability for the 22nd Century. Brenna has a passion for life-long learning, and a deep interest in nature and the environment, which is fueled by her love of any activity that involves being outdoors.

Beth Oppenheim-Chan

Beth Oppenheim-Chan is Earth Day Network’s Development Associate. She assists the development staff with their fundraising efforts and outreach. Beth has a Bachelor of Arts in Metropolitan Studies and Hebrew from NYU, and a Masters in the Science of Urban Affairs & Planning from Hunter College. Some of her previous nonprofit work includes fundraising at The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine on New York’s Upper West Side, as well as Tel Aviv University. Beth is extremely interested in environmental issues, particularly related to sustainability and environmental consciousness in the food supply.

Shelley-Ann Porte

Shelley-Ann Porte joins the Earth Day Network team as Executive Assistant and Office Manager. Before working at EDN, she was a Research Assistant at Prasad Consulting & Research, a New York based consulting firm for non-profits, and a Teaching Assistant at New York University. Shelley is responsible for general office activities and oversees all aspects of human resources functions, which include staff support, accounting operations, benefit administration, and records management. She also serves as a liaison for the President to the internal and external community. Shelley attended Seton Hall University, where she obtained a B.A. in Diplomacy and International Relations and minors in French and Asian Studies in 2008. In 2007, she studied abroad at Cité Internationale Universitaire in Paris. Another native Floridian, Shelley is deeply interested in the environment and sustainability, especially eco-efficiency and natural resource protection.

Beth Larson

Beth Larson is Earth Day Network’s International Education Coordinator with a focus on partnerships and outreach. Her role includes national and international partnership development to broaden the reach of EDN’s Education and Earth Day 40 initiatives. Prior to EDN, she was the Director of the Education and Outreach department at Meridian International Center where she managed a variety of programs to harness community resources, train teachers and utilize technology platforms to provide educators with international education resources. She also coordinated and lead delegations of U.S. and Korean university students on cross-cultural exchange programs for the U.S. State Department.

Beth holds a Master of Arts in International Training and Education from American University, where she designed and taught a graduate course on Reform in the Public School System. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, French and Translation from James Madison University. In addition, she serves on several leadership bodies in DC including the WPAS Women’s Committee, and she has been a panelist for international education conferences, such as NYU Steinhart and the Washington Consortium. Beth spent 12 years in Europe, including time working with elementary immigrant students as an ESL teacher in Besancon, France. She is passionate about harnessing the power of environmental education and international partnerships to build peace for future generations of global citizens.

Raul Cazan, International Fellow

For two years, Raul was the Editor-in-Chief of the only Romanian environmental magazine, Green Report, a product among few of the kind in Eastern Europe. Beyond his Law degree from the University of Bucharest, Raul’s interests revolve around environmental journalism and communications, enhancing topics surrounding the politics of climate change and food security. Raul holds two Master’s Degrees in political science and development from the Central European University Budapest and University of Trento, Italy. He collaborated with the World Wildlife Fund - Danube Carpathian Program, founded the Slow Food Bucharest chapter and acts as an environmental law consultant in Brussels. His latest project consists of setting-up an open virtual platform, named 2Celsius.net, regarding climate change and the green economy in Central and Eastern Europe.

Jessica Myhre

Jess Eliot Myhre is Earth Day Network’s Green Schools Fellow. She creates and provides resources for schools nationwide looking to make their school buildings, schoolyards, and larger communities more sustainable. She graduated with a B.A. in American Studies from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. At college, she helped found the Wesleyan landscaping committee, sang in a bunch of bands, and served on her major’s student committee. She is passionate about sustainable and equitable development, environmental justice, music, and ruthlessly massacring car culture. As a native Floridian, she is interested in Florida studies and Floridian history.

Martin Fitzgerald

Martin Fitzgerald is Earth Day Network ED40 Campaign Assistant. He is responsible for operations and logistical support for the 2010 Earth Day Campaign. Before coming to Earth Day Network, Martin was an Executive Assistant at University of Maryland, Center for Vaccine Development and worked on the development of the H1N1 vaccine. His past experience includes working in the office of Rep. Michael Michaud, the Maryland General Assembly Committee on Environmental Matters and Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Martin graduated summa cum laude from George Washington University with a B.A. in Political Science and Public Policy, including a semester in Dublin, Ireland, to study Peace and Conflict resolution in the Northern Irish Conflict. He is committed to making the environmental movement the cause of the 21st century, and enjoys being part of the team that makes the 40th anniversary of Earth Day the beginning of a new age of environmentalism.

Emily Hartman

Emily Hartman is Earth Day Network’s Communications Associate. Prior to joining Earth Day Network, Emily served as a senior associate at Burson-Marsteller, a global communications firm, helping to execute effective ally development strategies and public health communications plans for a variety of healthcare clients. She has helped arrange a number of press events and media trained executive spokespeople. Emily is also very passionate about helping improve the environment and surroundings of communities in need. Prior to working at Burson-Marsteller, Emily served as a social worker at Bethany Children’s Home working with at-risk youths and their families in and outside of their homes. She continues to work with children through her volunteer efforts at Horton’s Kids, a tutoring and mentoring organization that provides wrap around services for children in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Emily also holds a Master of Arts in Public Communication from American University.