Wilderness Kids Alexandria is a new non-profit organization in Alexandria, Virginia, offering life-enriching experiences in nature to teenagers from under-resourced families in Alexandria.

Soul Degree creates adventure-based, wilderness-centered retreats for men who have an itch to scratch, who want to (re)connect with the natural world, with joy, and with a community of like-minded men seeking new insights and new friendships. (www.souldegree.com)Program: Researched and identified new program partners. Drafted virtual programming strategy as result of Covid 19. Developed and Co-Led virtual programming. Will serve as Guide when pandemic allows retreats to continue. Liaised with retreat sites, developed logistical plans, and outlined organizational manual. Finance and Operations: Developed business and strategy plan and financial forecasts; liaised with attorneys on LLC formation; solicited insurance for organization; identified transportation and catering solutions. Established agendas for and led team meetings.Marketing: Contributed to blogs at www.souldegree.com/blog; strategized on social media and other outreach strategies.

Sample of work:-Conceptualized, researched and wrote 20 scripts for educational videos geared to middle school and high school students about the geography of the world’s regions.-Advised financial management app start-up. Consulting on customer acquisition strategy. Writing blogs, video scripts, eBook, and web content. Designing new tools for app.-Served as Treasurer for yoga studio and cafe. Providing financial analysis, forecasts, and reporting. Prepared all documentation for SBA PPP loans and other Covid support programs.-Researched and presented foundation and other funding prospects for/to a Michigan non-profit.-Edited web content for an educational consultancy.-Edited and made story and character suggestions for comedy screenplay.

Co-Director and Executive Producer of Eco-Teens Save the World!, an award-winning feature-length family film starring Corbin Bernsen and Shirley Jones. • Wrote and directed film with educational components on wildlife, the civil rights movement, climate change, and renewable energy.• Created multimedia climate change/renewable energy lesson plan for grades four to eight, which accompanies the film.• Designed equity investment plan and raised $300K from investors and $11,000 from the Virginia State Film Office.• Managed relations with investors, unions, state film office, corporate partners.• Recruited and managed cast and crew, including five senior crew members, a dozen principle actors, and additional cast and crew of over 100.• Negotiated contracts with talent, crew, and distributor, including RedBox. Achieved distribution via Ammo Content and Amazon.• Led social media campaign and obtained press coverage. 3 examples here: http://bit.ly/OTWHNews, http://bit.ly/EcoWHNews, http://bit.ly/RichmondTDEco • Awards include Best Feature at the Boston International Kids Film Festival and the Louisville International Festival of Film; Audience Choice Award at the Alexandria Film Festival; and Official Selection at the Washington West Film Festival and the Richmond International Film Festival. (At the time, the film was titled "On The Wing").Currently in development of "American Icon," the story of a former hoops phenom who was sexually abused by his high school coach.Additionally, have written, directed, and produced an award-winning short play as well as a documentary short telling the stories of formerly incarcerated women.

As co-founder and co-owner of Carrotseed, a distributor of reusable shopping bags and plant-based plasticware, I managed all aspects of the business:• Developed and carried out sales strategy to restaurants, event planners, community service organizations and others.• Developed and managed partnerships with manufacturers of shopping bags and compostable restaurant and catering supplies in the US and abroad.• Created and led interactive Earth Day educational activities for grade school students.• Created discussion points and guided questions for students to share with their parents in discussing earth stewardship.• Maintained financial records; Managed all financial, legal and inventory responsibilities.• Envisioned, designed, and developed content for website and led other marketing efforts.• Attended conferences and tradeshows and ran promotional booth at such events.

Taught 6th grade math and science at a unique public charter school serving low-income families in Baltimore. • Developed and taught lesson plans on climate change and renewable energy, as well as hands-on lessons with plants in a greenhouse.• Taught unit on ecology of and protection of the Chesapeake Bay, in coordination with local experts, including immersive experiences on the Bay itself, stewardship activities, and oyster dissection.• Developed curricula for and taught Spanish and Entrepreneurship classes; in the latter, I prepared middle school students to sell a book they had written on the life of abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

Founded and ran outdoor school that served hundreds of American teens from all walks of life.• Set vision for organization and worked with Board and senior staff to develop strategic plan and short- and long-term goals across program, marketing, HR, and fundraising.• Oversaw Program Director in the process of curriculum development, creating a unique experiential program focused on teens learning about nature, our diverse American culture, and themselves. • Directed development of 3 key program documents: 130 page Curriculum Manual featuring 40 activities; 70-page Staff Manual including Emergency Management, Job Descriptions, and Field Operations; a 65-page “Readings for Inspiration” book. • Developed, and oversaw development of, program and marketing partnerships nationwide.• In partnership with Warren Wilson College, developed metrics for program success and implemented evaluation plan, determining how our students were progressing toward our goals.• Hired, trained, and managed team of Program Directors, Teacher and Field Managers. Co-designed and co-led annual teacher training.• Led organization to accreditation by Association of Experiential Education.• Led development efforts to support $300K budget, including individual donor appeals, foundation grant applications, event planning, corporate partnerships. Advocated publicly on behalf of the organization.• Led PR efforts, including a feature piece in the Washington Post (linked at bottom of this section). Created marketing materials: brochures, website, promotional video (sample: http://bit.l/3DLifeAdv).• Recruited board members and led board meetings.• Created budget management system and tools.

Coordinated efforts of over 200 leading environmentalists working around the globe, increasing their communication, drawing out and publicizing their best ideas, and encouraging their cooperation through conferences, articles, networking, best-practice sharing and more.• Wrote and edited articles for Changemakers Magazine.• Contributed to successful fundraising proposals to Ford Foundation and other organizations.• Organized environmental conferences in New Delhi, India and in San Francisco.• Served as communication focal point for leading environmentalists around the world, networking them with each other and building a virtual community.• Managed budget and one staff person.

Prepared loan proposal for two sustainable development projects in Brazil, addressing factors related to finances, market demand, supply-chain, competition, and operations.• $250,000 loan for a fruit pulp factory owned and run by indigenous groups in northeastern Brazil. • Conducted extensive market research on the consumer fruit pulp market across Brazil, including price and quality characteristics of competitors. • Developed operations plan, capital budget, operations budget, sales and marketing budget, and revenue projections into a complete financial, operations, and marketing plan. • Submitted proposal to bank, earning a quarter million dollar loan for the indigenous organization to carry out the project.• A $250,000 loan for a micro-solar utility project in the Brazilian Sertao. • Assessed operational and capital costs for villagers to run small solar utilities in rural areas of northeast Brazil. • Created revenue projections, P&L Statements, balance sheets, and cashflow projections for the utilities. • Wrote a financial and market report with terms for a $250,000 loan to create the utilities, resulting in the Bank making the loan to the non-profit organization.

In charge of entire World Bank Health and Education on-the-ground operation in Mongolia, managed two pilot projects for the Bank related to Mongolian healthcare and education reform.• Worked with senior members of the Mongolian government, including the Minister of Education, the Minister of Health, the Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister, and leading members of Parliament.• Managed the work of subject matter experts in healthcare and education.• Studied and drew upon best practices in countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and others, transitioning their own health and education systems after communism.• Developed complete, multi-year financial models for both pilot projects and trained senior ministry staff to understand the financial modeling.Project 1• Transferred a poorly performing public hospital to private management, while leaving the hospital under public ownership. • Created quality management systems to ensure that quality of care could be monitored and would not decline under new management. • Proposed mechanisms for increasing revenue and savings, maintaining a model of universal care, improving patient care, and not negatively impacting low income Mongolians.Project Two• Transferred a public university out of the public sector and into the nascent non-profit private sector. • Drafted non-profit legislation in coordination with the Prime Minister's office. • Created the terms of a transfer of the college from the State to a private non-profit. • Ran training sessions to explain the nature of a non-profit organization and law governing non-profits.

Researched microfinance programs in the Lima region and created a proposal for VIDA to start their own program in areas of need in the region.

Managed a series of projects for the CEO, including: • Wrote an article published in Quality Progress Magazine discussing ISO 9000 and the then new NAFTA. • Organized a conference on NAFTA and ISO 9000 attended by, among others, the Trade Representatives of the US, Canada, and Mexico. • Led the effort to get SAM ISO 9000 certified by documenting and improving the companies existing processes.

As the youngest Assistant Field Officer in the Hong Kong office, I represented UNHCR in the Pillar Point Refugee Camp and later at Whitehead Detention Center. • Coordinated efforts of NGOs working in the camps, including Save the Children, Medicins San Frontiers, and others.• Served as the liaison between NGOs and the Hong Kong Government.• Developed plan for recreational programs, counselling and other services to deal with heroin problem at Pillar Point.• Liaised between social workers and wardens regarding issues of domestic violence, asylum-seeker safety, suicide attempts, and gang activity.• Consulted with individual asylum seekers and refugees to have their specific needs met.