Nancy J. Zavada, CMP
Principal of MeetGreen & Co-founder of GMIC

Nancy is a leader, innovator, and entrepreneur in the meeting planning and events industry. She began her career in the industry in 1978. Founding the firm in 1994, Nancy has a strong background in coordinating logistically complex meetings for the scientific, health care, and high tech communities.

Internationally recognized as a leader in the environmentally responsible meeting and event management field, Nancy served on the Live Earth Global Green Team and was named one of "The 25 Most Powerful People in the Meetings Industry" by MeetingNews Magazine in 2003 and 2008. She is cofounder of the Green Meeting Industry Council, a Past President of Meeting Professionals International - Oregon Chapter, and was twice awarded Planner of the Year. Nancy is coauthor of "Simple Steps to Green Meetings and Events." Her blog, "Pretentious Musings of a Meet Green Martyr" shares resources, tips, ideas and funny stories about the life of a green meeting planner.

What is your role at MeetGreen?
Founder and Principal of MeetGreen. Everything from visionary to taking the recycling to the curb

What past work and other experiences do you bring?
My past work experiences are the reason I started the firm. I worked for an incredible mentor and entrepreneur early in my career. I learned about taking risks and being impeccable in my work. Believing that is how all business was done, I moved on to several firms which offered more variety in the conferences and events we produced. But while at both those firms, I was admonished for "giving too much service" to the clients. I never understood how too much service was a bad thing but felt it was possible to give incredible service AND make a living. It turns out it is.

What special talents do you bring to MeetGreen?
Initially my ability to translate the vision of technology clients into significant attendee experiences was my hallmark. My inner geek loved working with these clients who became the early adopters of sustainable initiatives collaborating to use technology to minimize the conference's environmental footprint. As the company grew I soon learned that people like to follow leaders because they are engaged in the outcome--not just because the leader is in a position of authority. Building a company means building trust--trust from clients, colleagues, and industry peers.

What is the best compliment you have received from a client or attendee?
That our firm has an impeccable reputation for quality, integrity, and service.

What is the high point of your job?
That my passion for the Earth and my passion for this industry combine and allow me to make a real difference.

What do you like to do in your free time?
I like to spend my free time in nature and I like to learn.

What inspires you?
The people I work with everyday-they are adventurers!

Amy Spatrisano
Principal of MeetGreen & Co-founder of GMIC

Amy is a principal of MeetGreen and has an international reputation in the sustainable meeting and event management field as a leader, visionary and innovator. With over 22 years in the meetings industry her passion for bringing the sustainable conversation and practice to others is evident in the training and speaking she's done both nationally and internationally.

Amy has been named one of "The 25 Most Powerful in the Meetings Industry," acknowledged as one of the "Growing Green Leaders" and included in the list of "Eco-Leaders", been award the Meeting Professionals International Oregon Chapter Supplier and Planner award. She is co-founder of the Green Meeting Industry Council and co-author of "Simple Steps to Green Meetings and Events."

In addition, Amy was part of the Live Earth 2007 team and chaired the APEX Green Meetings and Events Practice Panel work in partnership with ASTM to develop green meeting standards for the meetings industry. Amy is also a member of the working group for the Global Reporting Initiative's Event Organizers Sector Supplement.

What is your role at MeetGreen?
I'm a principal and champion the marketing and business development.

What past work and other experiences do you bring?
I have a B.S. degree in Business Management and I've worked in the meeting industry from both the supplier and planner side before I even knew it was an industry. In the past decade I've used my experiences to help enroll and engage organizations and individuals to implement sustainable practices. I've worked with the meetings communities within major destinations to develop creative solutions and win-win-win scenarios to environmental and social challenges.

What special talents do you bring to MeetGreen?
: I always find the question about what someone's talents are difficult to answer. I do have a knack for negotiating, looking at a "no" as an invitation to something else, and connecting people to each other. Call them talents? Maybe, maybe not, yet they are the resources I've used to help grow this company's reputation for innovation and forward thinking sustainability solutions.

What is the best compliment you have received from a client or attendee?
My favorite bit of recognition was after a particularly challenging experience of implementing a comprehensive recycling program for the first time in a venue. One of the chairs of the organizing committee, Ross, sent me a t-shirt with the phrase and logo to match "dumpster diving champion." I loved it and I still have it.

What is the high point of your job?
I love moments where I know I am collaborating with people to create life changing experiences. This can range from helping a facility that never recycled to reach a 76% recycling rate in just one day, to working with our staff to on projects they're excited about, to seeing organizations we've trained taking sustainability to the next level.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Free time...hmmm… Hanging out with family and friends is my priority. Being around or in the ocean is one of my favorite things. Having adventures, laughing, dancing and soothing baths are also up there on the free time preferred to do list.

What inspires you?
My parents are my foundational inspiration. I'm inspired by people who are able to make a difference in the lives around them while having it seem effortless, enjoyable and fun. I'm also moved by the champions I've met along the way whom embrace sustainability, run with it, and create the most unexpected results.

Mary Cameron, Director of Conference Management

What is your role at MeetGreen?
What my title means is that I'm a Project Manager and I also coordinate the other Project Managers. So I manage specific client projects the same way the other project managers do, and also work with all the project managers to assure they are getting the help they need to manage their projects, and to assure nothing is falling between the cracks on their projects.

What past work and other experiences do you bring?
My first meeting planning job was about 26 years ago, as Education Coordinator for a large dialysis program in Portland. I've worked for a large corporation; a meeting planning company that specialized in business theater; an energy association; a print & promotional company; and even had my own meeting planning company. So between all of those, I've done everything from wee little meetings up to huge big budget events and so many things in between. I've learned from each one of them, and still do from those I'm working on now.

What special talents do you bring to MeetGreen?
I'm one of those highly organized people that can't help but make lists, and am always looking for the right form to make our tasks easier to accomplish. And I have a tendency to see the bright side of things. I've been known to observe (frequently) "The good news is…" even when things might seem to be discouraging.

What is the high point of your job?
Standing in the back of the room listening to attendees as they are departing at the end of the event and getting to eavesdrop on their positive comments to each other as they depart. Often the attendees have no idea who we are or what we do, but they appreciate the end results!

What is the best compliment you've received from a client or attendee?
"This is the best (conference, event, whatever) I've ever been to."

What do you like to do in your free time?
Solve puzzles, do crafty things, hang with my cats (oh yea, and my husband, too!)

What inspires you?
(I'm going to change that "What" to a "Who"…) His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet and his philosophy that we are all the same and all want the same things as human beings - to be happy.

Britta Ehnebuske, Registration and Events Specialist

What is your role at MeetGreen?
Technically my job title is Registration and Events Specialist, but like most of us here at MeetGreen, I'm a bit of a renaissance woman. I manage the online registration system for our clients and work to create successful special events and receptions that leave our clients and attendees with lasting memories.

What past work and other experiences do you bring?
I went to a small liberal arts college, Southwestern University, in Texas and majored in Communications, with a minor in Spanish. I worked with SXSW, the music, film, and interactive conference in Austin, TX and helped them to manage the thousands of volunteers that provide much of the staffing for the conference. It's funny--I went into that job expecting to get my feet wet in the music industry and came out with a passion for event planning instead.

What special talents do you bring to MeetGreen?
I bring the fresh perspective of a younger generation to the meetings industry, and I often help our team think outside the box or get them excited about embracing new technologies. I'm also a well-organized person and quite an efficient multi-tasker.

What is the best compliment you have received from a client or attendee? Recently, one of my detail-oriented clients let me know what a good writer she thought I was. The fact that I had earned her trust to write communications for our attendees with little more than a glance from her was a true compliment.

What is the high point of your job?
My highpoint comes onsite as I watch the first attendees arrive and I start to see the months of hard work all culminate into a successful event where I get to problem solve, think on my feet, and see our team work together like a well-oiled machine.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Having moved up to the Pacific Northwest from Texas just a few years ago, I still can't seem to get enough of this beautiful part of the world and revel in being outside! Portland is such a vibrant city and there's always something fun going on here.

What inspires you?
Making an honest connection with another human being. I love being reminded that we all experience the same set of emotions and have many shared experiences.

Carole Garner, CMP, Project Manager

What is your role at MeetGreen?
I am a project manager and I serve as the leader on a project as well as the main communication conduit between various stakeholders. My main takss are to manage logistics, ensure tasks are completed in a timely manner, manage client expectations, and ensure that the project stays on time and in budget.

What past work and other experiences do you bring?
I received my BA from the University of Oregon, and am semi-literate in Spanish. I've worked in all departments in hotel, owned an event planning business, and have been a planner for about 10 years.

What special talents do you bring to MeetGreen?
I think I am able to find a solution to nearly any issue, challenge, task, or difficulty that is acceptable to all invovled. I find the challenge of diplomacy to be a natural fit for me and I embrace it with good humor and a positive attitude. The fact that I truly have found something that I love to do ends up shining through my work.

What is the high point of your job?
I love a lot of things about what I do--particularly the travel and getting to work with a diverse range of people and an ever-varying set of tasks. I really like having the opportuntiy to be involved in something special, creating unique experiences for people, understanding what motivates people and organizations and helping to fulfill those goals through an event.

What is the best compliment you have received from a client or attendee?
I've been told that I make hard things look easy, effortless, and fun.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Chase my kids around. Travel. Eat good, but simple food and drink great wine. Talk to my husband. Horseback ride.

What inspires you?
Making connections with others, the orchestration of meeting planning, the challenge of inspiring and nurturing others to be the best of who they are.

Beverly Garzon, Office Manager

What is your role at MeetGreen?
Office Manager, so I keep the office well-stocked and running smoothly. I also take care of invoicing clients, paying bills, as well as handling human resources.

What past work and other experiences do you bring?
About 25 years' experience in all areas of accounting. I worked in the corporate world until 1994 when I started contracting with small businesses and non profits. I've also dabbled in small business myself; I owned a video production company in Tampa, FL for five years and now make goat milk soap products that I sell at a local farmers market and a few retail stores.

What special talents do you bring to MeetGreen?
I'm a QuickBooks expert. I've used that software since it's inception and groan loudly when I have to use another general accounting software.

What is the best compliment you have received from a client or attendee?
When someone says, "but you're too much fun to be an accountant!"

What is the high point of your job?
When I get an especially complex invoice out the door and the client pays it in full without any futher explanation needed from me.

What do you like to do in your free time?
I like to do crossword puzzles, read, hike, go camping, cook, and hang out with friends and family.

What inspires you?
A beautiful sunset, the Oregon coast, a well written book or short story, or a beautiful piece of art.

Della Green, Client Development

What is your role at MeetGreen?
I seek out new potential clients, contact them to determine interest, and if there is some, come up with a plan of how we can work together.

What past work and other experiences do you bring?
I've either worked as a sales person or managed sales teams since 1991, starting out in hotels, then moving to CVBs, and now with MeetGreen. I have a BS in Business Management from Westminster College in Salt Lake City.

What special talents do you bring to MeetGreen?
I connect easily with people, and work to create genuine relationships that allow them to feel comfortable while considering doing business with us.

What is the high point of your job?
I love finding people who want to take their meeting's sustainability level higher, but just don't know how. Even if they don't end up working with us right away, just having the conversation is often rewarding enough in itself.

What is the best compliment you have received from a client or attendee?
I once had a client tell me I'm the ideal sales person because I check in once in a while, but never make myself a pest.

What do you like to do in your free time?
I love to be outside - walking, biking, cross-country skiing, gardening, and front porch sitting with my dog Jack. I'm also an avid traveler, whether it's down the road to New York, Salt Lake City to visit friends, San Francisco and California's wine country, or going home to small town Nevada.

What inspires you?
Nature, passionate people, my husband.

Brett Lyon, Client Services Specialist

What is your role at MeetGreen?

What past work and other experiences do you bring?

What is the high point of your job?
I enjoy collaborating with a team of people all working to achieve a common goal. We do this every day at MeetGreen.

What special talents do you bring to MeetGreen?
Working in the non-profit sector I developed an ability to creatively stretch a tight budget and work collaboratively with many different types of people. I enjoy working on a team and am able to see how individual components of complex events are related to one another.

What do you like to do in your free time?

What inspires you?

Cija Black, Technology Manager

What is your role at MeetGreen?
I started as the Registration Manager but I am now the resident geek (Technology Manager). I work with all things technical that effect the day-to-day operations of the company; trouble shooting software & hardware problems for staff, doing research and making recommendations on tech purchases, updating our website and wiki, managing clients in our green calculator and managing softtware development for our products.  I am also closely involved in our marketing efforts...in my free time ;)

What past work and other experiences do you bring?
I have a BA in Art with an emphasis in Conceptual Design/Multi-Media, which is a fancy way of way of saying internet design, before it became the internet. I have spent many years working on the administrative side of higher education; registration, scheduling, project managing and have always kept my hands in technology to some degree everywhere I have worked.

What is the high point of your job?
The high point of my job is helping someone though a challenge, particularly when they couldn't see a solution for it at the beginning. It is really rewarding to see.

What special talents do you bring to MeetGreen?
I am really good at taking in the big picture of a project, seeing where our strengths are and also seeing where we need clarification in the process. I am all about communication and how to improve it.

What is the best compliment you have received from a client or attendee?
One of the best compliments I received was from one of our very uber-techie clients that impressed with the wiki we had built. I was responsible for the design, structure and buildout.We also had the creator of the wiki concept compliment us on our company's implementation of the wiki, a very high honor indeed!

What do you like to do in your free time?
I love to watch geeky documentaries, sappy love stores and independent films on Netflix. I love to have intense conversations and just generally appreciate the world at large.

What inspires you?
I am inspired by the chance to solve a problem. The icing on the cake is if those problems involve the need to improve communication among our team. My goal is to make things run more smoothly, to make process intuitive and ideally easier.

Rebecca Mebane, Project Manager

What is your role at MeetGreen?
I am a project manager working on several conferences in different capacitiesfrom logistics to food and beverage, from A/V, to exhibitor and sponsor fulfillment. I am also enjoying the opportunity to get move involved in green consulting work.

What past work and other experiences do you bring?
I began my career with a trade assocication and worked in a number of different departments, giving me a quite a diverse work background. Eventually I was hired as a registrar in the Convention Department and worked my way up, which is how I entered the meetings industry. I was then hired Director of Conferences & Meetings at the National Recycling Coalition and later had the opportunity to join the MeetGreen team.

What is the high point of your job?
Knowing I am making an impact on this planet. One of my favorite quotes is by Robert Clemente: ''Any time you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don't, then you are wasting your time on Earth.''

What special talents do you bring to MeetGreen?
I'm quite organized and have several years experience in the environmental field as I worked for the National Recycling Coalition for over 12 years. While there is much about recycling that I don't know, I did learn a lot while at NRC.

What is the best compliment you have received from a client or attendee?
"We don't need to worry about that, Rebecca has it covered"

What do you like to do in your free time?
Cook, read, garden, play tennis, go camping, visit the beach

What inspires you?
Knowing that a few people can make a difference and seeing what we are able to accomplish.

Shawna McKinley, Director of Sustainability

What is your role at MeetGreen?
I manage our green consulting projects. In addition I leverage the sustainability solutions we develop for individual clients into products others can benefit from, such as our tool, Best Places to MeetGreen. I ensure all our projects align with our independently certified BS 8901 Sustainable Event Management System.

What past work and other experiences do you bring?
I began as the General Manager of Oceans Blue Foundation, where I created the first tool for measuring green meetings. I was then hired as the Executive Director of the Green Meeting Industry Council before coming to MeetGreen. I remain active as a volunteer chair on several boards and author various papers on sustainable events and tourism.

What special talents do you bring to MeetGreen?
I started my career as an environmental educator and advocate, who came to work in the event industry. It's a unique path compared to other meeting professionals that I hope brings a lot of integrity to MeetGreen's sustainable meetings work.

What is the high point of your job?
I love being able to help people who are passionate about sustainability express their values in their day job. I also love it when I watch someone who didn't feel so commited to sustainability turn around their thinking to emerge as a champion for it once they see the results.

What is the best compliment you have received from a client or attendee?
"It's clear you love what you do!"

What do you like to do in your free time?
Anything but be on an airplane! Usually I find myself bumbling around Vancouver's North Shore mountains or plucking my harp.

What inspires you?
Knowing that one person doing one thing really does make a difference.

Vanessa Adelmann, Online Product Development (Consultant)

What is your role at MeetGreen?
I am the online tool headmistress, and I'm in charge of keeping all our online applications up and running in tip top shape.

What past work and other experiences do you bring?
I have 10 years of project management and application development experience in the meetings, healthcare, manufacturing and sustainability industries. I have a bachelor's degree in Biology from Occidental College.

What special talents do you bring to MeetGreen?
Patience and the ability to translate business world ideas and concepts into geekspeak and back.

What is the high point of your job?
I enjoy watching new tools come to life, the process of something that starts as ideas and sketches turning into something useful that provides value and helps events to be greener.

What is the best compliment you have received from a client or attendee?
It's always good to hear things like, "You're a miracle worker. I don't know how you do it," when I fix technology malfunctions with my "magic wand."

What do you like to do in your free time?
Dancing (in its many forms, but mostly ballroom) fills up the vast majority of my non-techie life. In the few other spare moments I have I enjoy traveling, hiking and being near the ocean.

What inspires you?
The amazing people in my life.