Kathleen Rogers, President of Earth Day Network, has worked more than 15 years as an environmental attorney and advocate, focusing on litigation, community development and international issues. 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.

Susan Bass

Susan Bass is Senior Vice President of Global Programs and Operations.  Within this role Susan oversees the creation of new and supervision of existing global programs.  Prior to joining Earth Day Network Susan served as Director of Inter-American Programs for the Environmental Law Institute and co-chaired the Washington DC Bar Association's International Committee on Environment, Energy and Natural Resources.  Susan holds an undergraduate degree from Yale and a JD cum laude from Georgetown 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.

Maile Philpott

Maile Philpott is the Director of Development at EDN, and is responsible for the operations of the development office, working with EDN donors, writing and compiling drafts and proposals, and obtaining donations. Prior to joining EDN, Maile has worked with Congressman Matheson, Family Selection Coordinator for Habitat for Humanity, Event Coordinator for the Utah Hemophilia Foundation, and the Marketing and Sponsor Coodinator for the Salt Lake City Corporation, in Salt Lake City. Maile has her Bachelor's of Science in Political Science and Economics from the University of Utah.

Vivian Buckingham

Vivian Buckingham is Director of EDN's Campaign for Communities. Prior to joining Earth Day Network, Vivian Buckingham worked for the Environmental Law Institute, the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the International Program of Earthjustice and the Center for International Environmental Law in Geneva, Switzerland. She was appointed a fellow by the First Nations Institute and the Rockefeller Foundation to the Roundtable on the North American Pharmaceutical Industry and Research Involving Indigenous Knowledge. In 2002 she directed and coordinated the "Conference on Trade, Sustainability and Global Governance" (Symposium Issue, Columbia Journal of Environmental Law, Volume 27 No. 2). Before joining the legal profession, Vivian enjoyed careers in the field of public relations, in university administration and finance, and in project management for Fortune 100 companies. She received her B.A. in Political Science from Columbia University cum laude and earned her JD from Columbia University School of Law graduating as a Lowenstein Fellow, a CLEA Outstanding Student awardee and a recipient of the Alfred A. Forsyth Prize for Environmental Law. She periodically serves as a guest lecturer and is dedicated to the mentoring of students who are interested in serving in the public interest sector of environmental law.

Sean Miller

Sean Miller is the Director of Education at EDN. He is responsible for EDN’s education programs for students and our network of teachers interested in environmental issues, as well as the management of our National Civic Education Project (NCEP). Prior to joining EDN, he taught “Alternatives to Violence” courses with Mr. Colman McCarthy of the Center for Teaching Peace in DC schools, where he is a licensed teacher. He also spent a year at Nonviolence International as a Program Coordinator, mainly implementing a conference on conflict resolution in Bethlehem, Palestine. He received his BA in both Psychology and Philosophy from The College of William and Mary, and also earned two Master’s Degrees in International Peace and Conflict Resolution (MA) and Education (Secondary Social Studies concentration, MAT) from American University. He adds that he loves to fight climate change with his bicycle, “the most efficient machine ever created.”

Joshua Forgotson

Joshua Forgotson is the Director of International Programs at Earth Day Network.  In this role, Joshua develops and executes international events and programs in cooperation with local partners, facilitates communication between network members, coordinates Earth Day events and activities around the world, and is creating EDN's upcoming Water Portal with Caitlin Werrell.  Before joining Earth Day Network, Joshua taught organic agriculture and permaculture in Australia, Italy, Ireland, and the United States, while in Kyrgyzstan he taught children environmental leadership.  Joshua received his MSc in Environmental Policy from the University of Oxford, where he was instrumental in helping his college create and adopt a green building strategy.  He received his BA in psychology, summa cum laude, from the University of New Hampshire.  In addition to his native English, Joshua speaks fluent French and basic German, Italian, Malaysian, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, and Thai.

Petya Yordanova

Petya Yordanova, International Fellow at EDN, is a licensed teacher and has been a National Coordinator of Bulgaria's Eco-Schools Program for 8 years. She is a teacher and Assistant Director at Michail Lakatnick Primary School, Burgas. She has been coordinating many international projects. Petya has been working for the NGO Bulgarian Blue Flag Movement for 10 years. She also was part of the team implementing Norwegian Energy Efficiency Inc.'s Active Learning and Energy Monitoring in the School Curriculum project in Bulgaria. Petya Yordanova is a Fellow at the International Program Department and is responsible for the coordination of the Earth Day events internationally, managing and outreaching for the Green school sector, Water portal creation, researching funding, project and partnership opportunities. Representing EDN at meetings and events she will understand how NGOs in the U.S. function.

Judit Varga

Judit Varga from Hungary arrived to EDN in this November. She is an international fellow working on International Green School Campaign and the Clean Water Project with Director of International Programs, Joshua Forgotson. She received her MA degree in literary history from Catholic University of Hungary, where she got her teacher certificate too. She began her professional journalist career seven years ago. She was working as a news editor and reporter, then working for one of the daily newspaper of Budapest. Most recently she has been an editor-in-chief for Lélegzet (Breath) Environmental Magazine in Hungary. This magazine is published by Clean Air Action Group (CAAG), one of the best-known environmental NGOs in Hungary. Founded in 1988 by three local green groups, it is now a national federation of 126 NGO's. (www.levego.hu) Last year Judit was working in Brighton (UK) for Carfree Network as a volunteer project assistant. Her interests are: sustainable transport, sustainable urban development related to the global warming and climate change, protection of green areas in cities. Her special interest is theatrical arts.

Raquel Garcia

Raquel Garcia is the Communications Associate at EDN, and is responsible for supporting Earth Day Network events, programs, and outreach, as well as the development of messages and materials to the media. She arranges and participates in interviews with media outlets, coordinates events and news conferences, and assists with marketing and Earth Day Network partnerships. In addition, Raquel also maintains the EDN "Blog" and assists with content and development for both our website and Earth Day Television. Prior to joining EDN, Raquel was the Director of Communications for a municipal political party in Spain, her native country. Raquel received her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain). She is very interested in the development of sustainable public policies and strongly believes in citizens' involvement in the political process as the key to social change.

Jason Gooljar

Jason Gooljar is the Web Developer 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.

Amelia Kissick

Amelia Kissick is the Education Coordinator at Earth Day Network. After graduating from the College of William and Mary with a degree in Psychology and Business Management, Amelia volunteered with the United Nations Development Program, taught in public schools in both France and Ecuador and collaborated with Vermont Public Interest Research Group and Friends of the Earth on their environmental health campaigns. Additionally, Amelia has led a number of grassroots efforts within communities to improve waste management and prevent land from environmental degradation. Amelia's passion for the environment is matched by her love for culture, bicycling and dance.

Caitlin Werrell

Caitlin Werrell, is working with EDN's water and climate programs. Caitlin has led numerous grassroots campaigns with issues ranging from protecting old growth forests to air quality standards. She has a BA cum laude in Environmental Politics from Mount Holyoke College, with a focus on local organic agriculture and environmental justice and a MA in Water Science, Policy and Management with a focus on transboundary water policy from the University of Oxford.

Earth Day Network's International Team of Volunteers and Interns

Earth Day Network owes much of its success to its dedicated interns and volunteers. Wherever they are in the world, and in addition to all the other important work they do in their daily lives, they find the time to assist EDN in its efforts to bring the world together for one day a year to strive for something upon which we all depend: a healthy environment.

The work they do includes:

• Planning and producing Earth Day events;
• Communicating with EDN's members around the world to assist them with their Earth Day plans and projects;
• Supporting EDN staff at events;
• And creating outreach materials and communicating with the public.

If you would like to volunteer for EDN, please visit our Volunteer Center

Below is our gallery of interns and volunteers. We are indebted to them, and wish to express our gratitude for all their hard work.

2007 Interns and Volunteers

	Margherita Bebi's current volunteer work for EDN consists of translating our Organizer's Guide into her native language, Italian. Margherita studied anthropology at the Univeristy of Perugia, Italy before working from 2001 to 2006 for the Euro-Burma Office in Brussels as Liaison with European Institution and Foreign Ministries. For several years she has written articles on Asian ethnic minorities and the social and political situation in Myanmar. Margherita now lives in Rockville, Maryland, where she works as a freelance translator (Italian, English, French and Burmese).
	Sandrine Cochepain is working as an intern in the Communications department. She works on Earth Day Network marketing strategy, fund-raising and partnerships development, especially with France, her native country. Sandrine is a student at American University Washington Semester Program. Before studying in the United States, she completed a Master's Degree in Marketing in France in Audencia School of Management. In 2006, she worked 6 months as an intern in Kraft Foods as assistant product manager and 6 months at Accor, as international pricing distribution coordinator.
	Amanda Fowler is currently an intern in the Education and Grassroots departments working on civics lesson plans and religious outreach. She is in her senior year at Santa Clara University, double majoring in Political Science and Religious Studies and minoring in Philosophy. Originally from Los Angeles, California, she is spending the semester at American University's Washington Semester program studying American Politics and writing a research paper on religion in public schools.
	Jeremie Hakian currently attends American University in Washington DC under a program called Washington Semester; he is studying journalism there. He has also been studying at the University of Colorado at Boulder for two years as a philosophy major. Jeremie is originally from Los Angeles, California and has experience in film production and post-production, editing photography, and video and sound recording. Jeremie loves science, technology, and the outdoors; ultimately, he supports a self-fulfilling lifestyle by stressing the eminent mission of the environmental movement to his peers within his community and uses a bicycle as a means of transportation -- even throughout the snowy winters.
	Nadia Lazrak, originally from Casablanca, Morocco, is a twenty-two year old who graduated in 2006 from L'Institut Supérieur de Commerce et d'Administration des Entreprises, a Moroccan business school where she got a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a concentration in marketing. Since last September, she has been completing the Audencia Master in Management Program in France, in marketing. She is currently in the Washington Semester Program at American University and attends the International Business & Trade class. She worked for three months in the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Morocco as a Missions and Surveys Assistant in the Commercial Support Department. She also had two months of experience as a Project Manager Assistant in Media & Communication Group, a communication and event organization company. Nadia enjoys playing tennis, drawing, dress designing and decoration; however, she doesn't like disorder and dirtiness.
	Caroline Lewis is an intern in the Communications and Marketing Department at Earth Day Network. A California native, she moved to Washington DC to attend American University. Currently a freshman, she plans on majoring in Communications and minoring in Environmental Studies. Apart from academics, she has been singing and acting since she was 5-years-old and hopes to continue performing throughout her life. Caroline is very excited about working at Earth Day Network and hopes to contribute to saving our Earth!
	Bénédicte Martin is interning in the Marketing & Communications Department. She assists in media outreach and media relations, supports the development of marketing materials, and helps in the early preparation of Earth Day 2008. She is currently attending classes in International Business & Trade as a student in the Washington Semester Program at American University. She previously got specialized in Marketing in France at Audencia Business School, and she will get her Master's Degree in Management in June 2008. In 2006 she interned for a year as an assistant product manager at Yves Rocher, the world leader in botanical beauty care, and was in charge of two product lines.
	Meryl McDonald is currently an Intern with the Earth Day Network working in the Education Department. Her intern responsibilities include managing and outreaching for the green school sector of the education department, advocating for the construction of schools using green architecture and researching projects for students and schools around the country to get involved with the environment. Meryl is attending American University through the Washington Semester and is involved in the International Environment and Development Program, which will take her educational experience to Brazil. Her full time school is Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA and after this semester Meryl will be officially graduated from college with a major in Political Science and a minor in economics.
	Meghan Moore is a Communications Intern at EDN. She is involved in Earth Day Network's Television/Media component and policy. She is studying at American University through the Washington Semester, a study abroad program. Her home school is St. Lawrence University, where she is double majoring in Communications/Performance and Government. She plans to graduate this upcoming spring semester and hopes to continue a career in Communications within the D.C. area. She is an active member of her student government primarily focusing on environmental issues that are affecting her campus. Furthermore, she has worked for NYS Environmental Conservation and has been apart of 4-H, a Nature/Animal Awareness Club for youth based through Cornell University Cooperative Extension. Meghan hopes to spread environmental awareness through campaigning, media coverage, and advocating environmental legislation.
	Marina Simeonidis is French and Greek. She graduated with a marketing major in Audencia Nantes, a French school of Management. She currently attends American University's Washington Semester Program in the International Business and Trade department. In 2006, she worked six months for the commercial department of the French Embassy in Athens, where she conducted marketing studies on Greek food industries and equipment goods. She also worked six months in the Marketing & Communication Department of La Fnac Greece, the European leader in cultural and leisure goods, where she managed projects, sponsorships and publications. She enjoys drawing, sports, culture and travelling.
	Allie Valocchi is the Environmental Policy intern at EDN. She is responsible for attending hearings and events concerning environmental policy such as following bills through legislation. Allie is a freshman at American University and hopes to study Political Science with a focus on environmental policy.
	Jeremy Weiss is an intern with Earth Day Network focusing on education and media. He is a senior at the University of Maryland and is excited to be graduating in December of 2007. Jeremy is originally from the D.C. Metropolitan area and loves his city. From spring 2006 to spring 2007 Jeremy was an intern with the Sierra Club in College Park working on campaigns to prevent climate change and environmental destruction. He has been involved with community activism through the University of Maryland outside of the impending problem of climate change, however environmental issues is a crisis that is particularly close to his heart. As a child Jeremy appreciated nature and environmental issues, now he feels it is time to make changes to help improve the community and the environment. Since he has such strong and positive feelings for his hometown, he feels that D.C. should be a leader in environmental protection. Jeremy decided to become an intern with Earth Day Network because the organization is on the frontlines of influencing change.
	Sarah Whitney is a senior International Studies/Political Science major at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois and is currently enrolled in the Foreign Policy program at American University as part of the Washington Semester Program. A resident of Petoskey, Michigan and a true Midwesterner, this is her first time in Washington, DC. As the International Programs intern, under the supervision of Joshua Forgotson, she is privileged to assist him with various programs that support the development of an environmentally educated global community, providing citizens worldwide with the knowledge base and the consequent motivation to not only make changes themselves but to also pressure decision-makers to make the environment a policy priority.