May Green Drinks with Atlanta McIlwraith

It's the last Green Drinks gathering of the season until September -- I hope to see you there!

This month's Green Drinks features Atlanta McIlwraith, Senior Manager of Community Engagement at Timberland.
We'll meet at Two Ceres Street on Thursday, May 17th at 6:00 with Atlantaspeaking at 7:00.

McIlwraith has served on Timberland’s Corporate Social Responsibility team for the past seven years.  At Green Drinks, she will touch upon Timberland's overall CSR agenda while also discussing how community engagement and volunteering can benefit the community, employees, and your business.  Atlanta has worked in the CSR arena for over 15 years and will be happy to engage in a dialogue about the challenges and opportunities in the ever more crowded CSR space.

Atlanta McIlwraith started her professional life as a political organizer – first for an electoral campaign and then for Public Citizen’s CongressWatch, a national consumer advocacy organization based in Washington D.C..  She then took her organizing skills to the for profit world as National Public Affairs Manager for The Body Shop.  In that role she managed the company’s public awareness and action campaigns that launched in stores nationwide.  With a BA in Political Science from Duke University, Atlanta later earned her MBA from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School where she was concentrated her studies in Marketing and Sustainable Enterprise.  After business school, Atlanta served as an Associate Program Manager for Population Services International’s AIDS prevention programs in West Africa.   She then worked as an independent consultant for Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility and for a number of micro enterprises in mid-coast Maine. 

In her current role as Senior Manager of Community Engagement for the Timberland Company, Atlanta serves on the Corporate Social Responsibility team and manages the company’s Path of Service™ employee volunteer program, strategic community investments, and the Global Stewards program to ensure the company’s service and CSR agendas play out with consistency and impact worldwide.

April Green Drinks - 4/19 at 6:00 PM

The April Green Drinks will take place on Thursday, April 19th at Two Ceres Street. Our networking starts at 6:00, and our speaker, Karina Quintans presents at 7:00.

How becoming active in the community can be as easy and enjoyable as having a cup of coffee, a pint of beer, or a glass of wine!

Karina Quintans will share insight and her experience on what it means to be "civically engaged", and her path to trying to "make a difference" in the world.

Quintans draws on a variety of experiences and relationships to inspire community engagement since moving to Portsmouth in 2007. She has served four years (and counting) as the Neighborhood Organizer for the Islington Creek Neighborhood Association coordinating her neighbors on issues such as traffic and safety, crime prevention, zero waste and sustainability. She has also served on the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Committee on Sustainable Practices, the Steering and Management Committee for the Sustainable Portsmouth Project, is the current Sustainability Chairperson for Share Our Strength Seacoast, and the Director of Zero Waste Portsmouth.

Karina Quintans is a self-employed consultant working with domestic and international businesses and non-profits. In addition to her consulting work, Quintans has at least 15 years of experience organizing, developing, and implementing projects focused on social, cultural, environmental and civic issues.

What is Green Drinks?

Green Drinks is a great opportunity to meet new people, catch up with old friends and learn about topical green issues. Each month's the event hosts a new guest speaker who leads a discussion about an eco-issue.

Networking begins at 6:00, with a short presentation by the guest speaker around 7:00, followed by more networking and opportunities to meet the guest speaker. Green Drinks generally meets on the third Thursday of each month at Two Ceres Street.

To learn more about the history of Green Drinks visit www.greendrinks.org or contact tim@timgaudreau.com.

March Green Drinks on Thursday 3/22 with Eric Orff

Thursday, March 22 at Two Ceres Street. Networking starts at 6:00, speaker goes on at 7:00.

This month:

From too hot trout and lobsters to ticked off moose and flooded out ducks extreme and wacky weather is impacting New Hampshire's fish and wildlife and our economy. Join veteran wildlife biologist Eric Orff on a look at the impacts of climate change on our lives. Eric has been a consultant to the National Wildlife Federation since his retirement from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department in 2007. Eric has four decades of experience as a biologist with this state's fish and wildlife. Learn what you can do to change the future for our grandchildren and wildlife.

and it's worth checking out Eric's bio:

Eric was born and raised most of his earlier years in Maine. In 1962, Eric’s family moved to Londonderry, NH, a quiet farming community at that time.

He graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1972 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Management. Eric is a certified wildlife biologist. He was a wildlife biologist with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department from1976 to his retirement in June of 2007. From 1983 to 2007 he owned and operated a nuisance wildlife control business, part-time, out of his home with his family, called Bat and Wildlife Control Specialists. His specialty was non lethal control of bats. He was frequently called “NH’s batman”.

He was the New Hampshire Fish and Game Departments’ furbearer biologist for most of his career and was the Region 3 Regional Wildlife Biologist, covering the southeast area of the State from his office in Durham from 1988 to his retirement. Beginning in 1978 he was the departments’ first black bear biologist for over two decades and earned the title of “NH’s bear-man” as well.

In September of 2007, shortly after his retirement from the Fish and Game Department he was recruited by the National Wildlife Federation as a consultant to educate this state’s citizens about the impact of climate change on our fish and wildlife. He also works toward helping our federally elected officials to understand the impacts of air and water pollution on this state’s fish and wildlife.

Eric believes that education is the key to understanding wildlife and has been an active writer and lecturer for nearly four decades. He has published hundreds of articles related to fish, wildlife and habitat conservation. His free-lance monthly articles are distributed to several publications. Eric has provided hundreds of informative lectures to fish and game clubs, conservation organizations and other engaged citizens for nearly four decades. A Google search of the name “Eric Orff” provides references to over one thousand articles or interviews he has done for the press on wildlife related subjects. Eric developed and distributed several hundred monthly 60-second radio public service announcements (PSA) to over fifty stations across the state from 1997 to 2007 for the Fish and Game Department. The focus of the PSA’s was to develop interests by the public in the fish and wildlife of the state. Eric contributed significantly to the Fish and Game Departments’ monthly on-line “Wildlife Reports” as well as the fall “Hunting Reports”. He also maintains his own web site with weekly “NH Nature Notes” atwww.nhfishandwildlife.com.

Eric serves on the Board of Directors of the New England Outdoor Writers Association (NEOWA), the New Hampshire Wildlife Federation and the Friends of the Suncook River and served on the board of the Bear-Paw Regional Greenway Conservation Group for years. In 2007 Eric was recognized by the New England Chapter of the Wildlife Society with the Societies “Professional Achievement Award”. In 2006 the Nashua Fish and Game Club presented Eric with “An Outstanding Biologist” award. In 2004 Eric received the Dick Cronin Sportsman of the Year award from NEOWA for his contribution to the sportsmen of New England. He has been a member of the Londonderry Fish and Game Club since 1965 and served on the Epsom Conservation Commission for over 15 years. He has also served on the University of New Hampshire Thompson School Forest Technology Advisory Committee for over a decade.

Eric tries to learn something new about fish and wildlife every day, by observing nature.

January 19th, Green Drinks @ Two Ceres Street with Mimi White

The January 19th Green Drinks will feature Mimi White, poet laureate of Portsmouth from 2007-09.

Networking and green drinking starts casually at 6:00 and our speaker usually starts at 7:00 -- though this month we'll try to start a little bit earlier.

I look forward to hearing from Mimi as shares some poetry as well as her point of view about climate change, things that she can't necessarily say in a poem. Mimi is very active in environmental circles, in particular with the Rye Energy Committee.

Mimi has worked for over twenty-five years with students of all ages to help them create original and authentic work, be it poetry, memoir or non fiction writing. Mimi White has worked in a variety of settings including schools, libraries, prisons, residencies for the elderly, and universities. She has been a member of the faculty at the University of New Hampshire, Northern Essex Community College, and Lesley University. Her poems have been published in dozens of journals. They include Poetry, Harvard Review, West Branch, The Seattle Review, Yankee and Rivendell. Her book of poems, "The Last Island" was published in 2008.

November Green Drinks: 11/17 with Randy Bryan

November 17th, Green Drinks @ Two Ceres Street with Randy Bryan of ConVerdant Vehicles

Join us for an evening of conversation about green topics and networking -- third Thursday of each month.

Networking and beer drinking starts at 6:00. Guest speakers talks at 7:00.

Randy Bryan of ConVerdant Vehicles will talk about plug-in cars, electric conversions and new ideas. (http://www.converdantvehicles.com/)

October 20th, Green Drinks @ Two Ceres Street with Christopher Ring of Greenovations

It's time to kick off a new season of Green Drinks. Summer is over & it's time to get back to work!

Join us for an evening of conversation about green topics and networking -- third Thursday of each month.

Our October Green Drinks will feature Christopher Ring of Greenovations. Networking begins at 6:00, followed by Christopher at 7:00. Thursday, October 20th.

Christopher will share his experience in sustainability, understanding of green products, certification labeling and unravel myths while comparing green to conventional products.

Over the course of his working life Christopher Ring has worked in various aspects of the building trade from house painting to landscaping to building the shells of energy efficient homes. (I was also a ski-bum / waiter and an investor, but that seems irrelevant). Most recently prior to Greenovations Ring was a high school English teacher. That profession took him from New Hampshire to Colombia and eventually to Vienna, Austria where he followed his passion for conservation and environmentalism by studying building design and techniques at the Vienna University of Technology. At the same time he was mentored by one of Austria’s leading HVAC engineers on energy efficiency. Greenovations is the amalgamation of his passion for the environment, his knowledge of building, and his experience as an educator, which he considers the vital role of a business such as his.

May Green Drinks

Join us for Green Drinks on Thursday, May 19th at Two Ceres Street. Networking starts at 6:00 and speaker goes on at 7:00.

After a bit of networking, our guest speaker, Jeff Donald will provide an overview of Seacoast Eat Local's plans for the year, including publishing the latest edition of Seacoast Harvest, hosting the Heirloom Harvest Barn Dinner, helping to pilot a SNAP/EBT program at the summer farmers' market in Dover, and planning for next winter's farmers' markets. He will also discuss ways that everyone can support local agriculture and eat locally all year long.

Jeff Donald has served on the board of Seacoast Eat Local for 5 years. Much of his work with Seacoast Eat Local has focused on helping to publish Seacoast Harvest by calling farms, coordinating volunteers, and now soliciting donations and sponsorships. He is also a regular volunteer at most of the group's events, spending a lot of Saturday's at the Winter Farmers' Markets. He lives on Stout Oak Farm in Epping with his wife Kate and works at the NH Center for Nonprofits. He can be reached at jeff@seacoasteatlocal.org