Team
M.R. Rangaswami
Founder
M.R. Rangaswami is the founder of the Corporate Eco Forum. He is CEF’s catalyst, critic and cheerleader. MR brings the same energy, enthusiasm & impact to the sustainability arena that he brought to his career as a 25-year veteran of the software industry, co-founder of SandHill Group, and founder of the acclaimed Software & Enterprise Conferences. He is also the Founder of Indiaspora a Forum for 100 influential leaders from the India American community.
P.J. Simmons
Chair
P.J. has worked for over two decades as a trusted sustainability analyst, strategist, and bridge-builder. After serving as a researcher on environmental affairs at the National Security Council (1993-1994), he founded and directed the Environmental Change & Security Program (ECSP) at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and subsequently held senior staff positions at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. P.J. is author (with Dan Esty) of The Green to Gold Business Playbook: How to Implement Sustainability Practices for Bottom-Line Results in Every Business Function (2011). He served twice as the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Deputy Chair for Energy & Climate Change and led the energy and environmental team for the inaugural CGI-University. He received his B.A. in political science (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) from Tufts University, his M.A. from Johns Hopkins SAIS, was a Fulbright scholar, and holds a Certificate in Conservation Biology from Columbia University. P.J. is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Amy O’Meara
Executive Director
Amy O’Meara joined CEF in 2011 and currently serves as Executive Director. Before joining CEF, Amy was Senior Manager for Environment and Energy at the Clinton Global Initiative, advising corporate and NGO members on commitments related to clean energy, corporate sustainability, green mobility, and waste management. Previously, she was Policy Director for Business & Human Rights at Amnesty International USA and on the Corporate Community Engagement Team at Pact Worldwide. Amy has provided technical and research assistance to nonprofits and companies in a wide range of industries on cross-sector partnership development, stakeholder dialogue, social responsibility and sustainability. She holds a Masters Degree in International Educational Development from Boston University.
Devon Edwards
Associate Director
Devon is CEF’s Associate Director and also serves as Editor of the CEF Weekly Briefing. He received his B.S. in Sustainability with an emphasis in urban dynamics from Arizona State University (ASU) in 2014. As a student, he helped manage a cross-functional team to develop ASU’s zero waste strategy for its athletics facilities, which achieved 88% waste diversion at on-campus stadiums. Devon also served as a project manager and executive board member of “GreenLight Solutions,” an ASU student-driven sustainability consultancy that works with small businesses to develop sustainability strategies. In addition, he held the role of operations analyst at SHFT, a lifestyle platform founded by actor Adrian Grenier to convey a more sustainable approach to the way we live through film, design, art, and food.
Christine Virsunen
Events Director
Christine brings over two decades of experience in managing meetings, events and large-scale productions for major corporations as the founder of Encore Productions. She works meticulously to incorporate the highest standards in green meeting design and practices at all CEF events. For logistical information relating to CEF events, including travel and accommodations for the annual meeting, please contact Christine directly.