Advisory Board
Anna Lappé
Anna is a public speaker, author, and advocate for better access to local, climate-friendly food. She co-founded the
Small Planet Institute and the
Small Planet Fund with her mother, Frances Moore Lappé.
Frances Moore Lappé
Frances is a noted author, activist, and environmentalist. She founded the Oakland-based non-profit
Food First: the Institute for Food & Development Policy, as well as the
Small Planet Institute and the
Small Planet Fund.
Jim Mason
Jim is a writer and attorney. He is the author of
"An Unnatural Order: the Roots of Our Destruction of Nature and co-authored
"The Ethics of What We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter" with philosopher Peter Singer, among other works.
In Memoriam:
Wangari Maathai (1940-2011)
Professor Maathai, the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, founder of
The Green Belt Movement.
Executive Director
Based in New York, Brighter Green is directed by
Mia MacDonald, a public policy analyst and writer who has worked as a consultant to a range of international non-governmental organizations—including the Ford Foundation, the World Wildlife Fund, the Green Belt Movement, the Sierra Club, and Save the Children as well as several United Nations agencies, among others—on issues of environment, gender, sustainable development, women's rights and gender equality, reproductive health and population, and conservation and animal protection. She has published many articles in popular and environmental media, authored a number of policy papers and reports, and has contributed to four books, including Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai's best-selling autobiography,
Unbowed. She is a Senior Fellow of the
Worldwatch Institute and has taught in the human rights program at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and the environmental studies program at New York University. She serves as a director on the board of
Farm Sanctuary and chairs the board of the
Green Belt Movement International - North America. She received a Master's Degree in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a B.A. with honors from Columbia University.
Blogs by Mia MacDonald
Program Associate
Caroline Wimberly is a Program Associate at Brighter Green. She began her work at Brighter Green as an intern in February 2011. She graduated from Duke University in 2007 with an AB in Art History and minors in Psychology and Religion. She moved to New York City in 2008 to attend the French Culinary Institute, not only to strengthen her culinary skills, but also to learn about the food industry. She also worked for a year as the event planner at Artisanal Bistro. She is devoted to animal welfare issues, as well as sustainable agricultural practices and fair food pricing, and recently became vegan. She hopes to encourage more people to adopt a whole foods, plant-based diet, as well as educate people about the animal agriculture industry.
Blogs by Caroline Wimberly
Associates
Sangamithra Iyer is a writer and a licensed professional civil engineer who holds a Bachelor's degree from The Cooper Union, a Master's degree from UC Berkeley, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Hunter College. She served as the Assistant Editor of
Satya magazine and a co-producer of the Women's Collective monthly radio program on the Pacifica Station WBAI. She has volunteered at primate rescue and rehabilitation sanctuaries in the U.S. and in Africa. Her writing explores issues related to animals, agriculture, and social and environmental justice. Selections of her work can be seen at
Satya magazine,
The L Magazine,
The Philadelphia Weekly and
SolveClimate.com. She is the co-author of two Brighter Green policy papers, "
Skillful Means: The Challenges of China's Encounter with Factory Farming," (PDF) and "
Veg or Non-Veg? India at the Crossroads" (PDF). Sangu is interested in tracking the global rise of meat, egg, and dairy consumption and its environmental and social implications. She currently works in public service on watershed protection and water supply infrastructure.
Blogs by Sangamithra Iyer
Simone G. de Lima is a biologist and Professor of Developmental Psychology at the
Universidade de Brasília, Brazil. With a background in activism for democracy, inclusive education, human and animal rights and the environment, she founded and is the director of
ProAnima, (Associação Protetora dos Animais do DF- The Association for the Protection of Animals of the Federal District). At the
Universidade de Brasília she teaches and develops projects related to the inclusion of children with atypical development and has collaborated with CDS (Center for Sustainable Development) on Human-Animal interaction themes. In addition to collaborating with Brighter Green, Simone worked with a number of non-profit and community initiatives in the U.S. while living for three years in the Washington, D.C. area, including the Tacoma Time Bank and the
Washington Animal Rescue League.
After graduating from
Bournemouth University in the U.K. with a master’s degree in Film and Broadcast Management,
Eve Feng became a professional camerawoman and producer for environmental and animal welfare-related television programs. Her enthusiasm for preserving the environment led her to become more involved in the issues and to explore how best to communicate them. She made a natural transition to media and communications consultant for a number of international organizations, businesses, and conferences. These include the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the
Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences,
Shanghai Suerte International, PETA, the
T. Colin Campbell Foundation, and the
"Forks Over Knives" documentary production team, among others. Eve worked on various media events at United Nations climate change summits in 2009 (COP 15) and 2011 (COP 17), including with Brighter Green, with a particular focus on the impacts the livestock industry has on global warming and sustainable development. Eve’s passion is creating awareness about the urgency of climate change as well as bringing together businesses, organizations, and grassroots groups and individuals from different backgrounds to work on issues of environmental protection, ethics, and equity. Eve splits her time between her home country, China, and the U.K.
Blogs by Eve Feng
Former Associates
Justine Simon
Stella Zhou
Interns
Jessika Ava has been involved with animal rights advocacy for several years. With a background in biology, she has recently switched her career path in wildlife conservation to join forces with others working for the plight of farmed animals. Her main interest lies in the globalization of intensive animal agriculture and her experience spans the U.S., India, and Nepal, where she did work with Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organizations and Street Dog Care. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and is currently working on her Master in Public Administration specializing in Nonprofit Management at Portland State University. She shares her home with a much-loved, 3-legged dog.
Blogs by Jessika Ava
Lauren Berger is a Program Intern for the
East African Girls' Leadership Initiative. She graduated from Barnard College at Columbia University in 2011, majoring in English with a minor in Psychology. She spent the last two summers teaching at
Shanti Bhavan Children's Project in Tamil Nadu, India through
Artists Striving to End Poverty. She is also a Hebrew school teacher at Kane Street Synagogue in Cobble Hill. She is interested in women's rights and empowerment, particularly in the developing world.
Suzanne Lipton is a Research and Communications Intern at Brighter Green. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 2009, majoring in Art History with a minor in French. She started a lunch counter bakery in Ann Arbor's Sparrow Market. She volunteers at the
Gowanus Canal Conservancy in Brooklyn and works as a pastry chef at Lot 2 in Park Slope. She is interested in issues surrounding global food policy and sustainability.
Previous Interns
Julie Ojiambo
Vidushi Sharma
Roz Palmer
Alli Tamboline
Vikas Desai
Rachael Helschein
Hannah Foster
Claudel Leveille
Piyali Syam
Jesse Carollo
Whitney Hoot
