Elizabeth Appel
As an attorney, I recognize that laws are a necessary backbone of environmental protection, but I strongly believe that community-based initiatives are the key to proactively facing all types of environmental challenges—-ranging from litter, to expanding landfills, to global warming. Since its establishment 30 years ago as a litter control agency, ACE has grown to help the Arlington community confront new challenges and promote sustainable living. I’m honored to have the opportunity to share both my urban planning and environmental law expertise to help ACE continue on this mission and make Arlington a model in sustainable communities.

Jennifer Bagnell Stuart
As a resident of the South Arlington Columbia Heights neighborhood since 2004, and with two kids attending Arlington Public Schools, I appreciate the importance of ACE’s grassroots efforts to engage Arlingtonians to better the environment. I would like to see ACE continue to cultivate its core constituency of green volunteers, and at the same time expand its outreach to people who don’t understand, don’t care, or don’t have the time or resources to assume their role and responsibility in being a responsible steward of our environment. I am pleased to offer my professional expertise in program planning, evaluation and consulting in the nonprofit sector, as well as my extensive experience in technology project management, to help ACE achieve even greater impact.

Charles Edwards
Serving an ever-growing community, it is important that ACE continues to cultivate a multi-pronged approach in its effort to defend the environment. When my involvement with ACE began, the many facets of environmental protection in which members are able to contribute was immediately impressive. I have tried to apply this same principal of a diverse tool kit to myself. In my short career of service, I’ve had the opportunity to labor around the country on projects bridging recycling, education and invasive species removal. I see joining the ACE board as an opportunity to apply the skills I’ve learned and expand my involvement in the local community. I feel privileged that my path has lead me to ACE.

David Garcia
Our world is in transition more than at any time in human history. And it's precisely because our world is changing so quickly that our local communities and institutions (both public and private) are beginning to see the need to create a culture of transition. Having worked and lived in nine different countries during the past 18 years, I’ve witnessed the severity and complexity of the challenges that our world faces. Now that I have returned home to Northern Virginia, I feel drawn to connect with my community of Arlington and help us all transition into a more environmentally sustainable lifestyle. I feel ACE is an important source of leadership and support to its residents in doing this and I’m excited to also assist its efforts to engage the rich and culturally diverse segments of its community to eco-friendly lifestyle changes.

Lisa Gomes-Casseres
I've had an interest in environmental protection since I was a little girl, and I have made environmental protection my career. I spend my days working on national environmental issues, and I wanted to get involved on a local level as well. Even in the seven short years that I've known Arlington, I've seen significant changes as the County becomes more developed. While I believe the growth is manageable, it should be done with a close eye on protecting our natural resources. I believe that ACE has been highly effective at educating Arlington residents and policymakers on the importance of protecting our environment. I'd like to help continue that tradition, and increase the positive impact that ACE can have locally by reaching a larger portion of the population, being a stronger voice on important policy issues, and joining forces with other local organizations.

Glenn Hoffman
Having gone to college in the shadow of Three Mile Island, I learned early on the impact our technology can have on the environment. I also learned how much impact a well-organized group of citizens can have on preserving our environment. I have consulted and worked directly for many grassroots based nonprofits and have seen first hand the positive results of neighbors working hand-and-hand. Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment gives me the chance to take concrete actions in my community. ACE is a great local institution and as a resident of Arlington for the last 20 years, it makes me feel good to contribute back to the community.

Takis Karantonis
I have been actively involved in environmental outreach since the mid-1980s, while still a student. This basic interest soon evolved into an academic and professional commitment as an environmental economist and consultant. I learned to appreciate ACE’s invaluable contributions while leading the efforts of the historic neighborhood in which I live (Arlington Village, Columbia Heights) to become more sustainable and green. As a member of the Board my primary goal is to empower Arlington’s green volunteers which is ACE’s core mission. I care deeply about environmental education in our schools, about the inclusion of our very diverse minorities in protecting and preserving our common natural environment, and about harnessing the extraordinary potential of Arlington’s entrepreneurs and businesses in order to become a world class sustainable community.

Colleen Morgan
I have been an environmental attorney for nearly 25 years. While I’ve worked on national environmental programs and supported many other community’s sustainability efforts, through Leadership Arlington I’ve re-committed to contributing more directly to the community that I have lived in for 15 years. I also hope my personal experiences – watching and participating in my home town’s (Portland, Oregon) efforts to be a model in sustainability – can contribute to my adopted town’s continued progressive leadership in being the most sustainable community in the region. I have witnessed the reach of ACE and would be proud to be of any service I can.

Michael Murtha
I have a vested interest in preserving Arlington’s environment as a resident of the county since 1945, a past chair of the Arlington Planning Commission and a current member of the county’s Environment and Energy Conservation Commission, and through my efforts as a co-chair of the Task Force on the Physical Environment for the Commission on Arlington’s Future, a member of the Task Force on Arlington’s Future: A Vison for the 21st Century, and co-founder of the Arlington Community Sustainability Roundtable. In addition, I have parallel professional interests as vice president and co-founder of the Community Sustainability Resource Institute and my past work with the National Institute of Building Sciences, the National Building Museum, and the Association for the Study of Man-Environment Relations. I am currently working on a book, tentatively titled “Sidewalks Are For People: How Your Neighborhood Can Become a Sustainable Village,” which contains many of the elements of ACE’s Green Living Challenge.

Linh Ong
“Think Globally, Act Locally” is where it all starts. Arlington is my home and I believe that protecting and preserving this awesome community and its natural environment must have priority. When I established my sign and graphics company Pure Media Sign Studio, I learned not only to offer my clients greener alternatives but found the greater impact to be in educating other businesses in the sign industry about how to grow a greener clientele. As a member of the Board, I would focus on working with Arlington’s business community to be more involved in travelling on ACE’s path towards a clean and sustainable community.

Heather Schaefer
I have always believed it is important to be involved in community matters and have had a passion for environmental issues for some time, specifically water and pollution control. It is my mission as a Board member to spread the word about the environment, whether it's recycling, using green products or helping out at the local level. I believe that ACE is an important part of our community and I am excited to be a part of it.

Bart Yablonsky
My interest in healthier living started shortly after college when I began working for Fresh Fields, which later merged with Whole Foods Market. When looking for a business to build together with my wife, Paige, I wanted to stay with an environmentally conscious venture. Natural Body provided the perfect opportunity. My commitment to healthy foods broadened to healthy beauty aids and then to building green and understanding how vitally important it is to reduce our carbon foot print, reduce energy use and recycle in everything we do. I want to help other small businesses learn how to make better choices for the environment and teach our clients how important it is to leave free of chemicals and preservatives.