Speaker: Jean Ponzi, Green Resources Manager for EarthWays Center, a division of Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis.
Topic: St. Louis Green Business Challenge
In this position, Jean responds to public inquiries with resources, referrals and information on sustainable practices, products and services. As a Resource Advisor to the St. Louis Green Business Challenge, a program of the St. Louis Regional Chamber, Jean has since 2010 coached over 190 companies to efficiently integrate sustainable policy and practice into everyday business operations. She is often the face and voice of EarthWays Center in print and electronic media coverage.
Jean served as a Residential Green Building Advocate for the region, from 2007-10, on behalf of the US Green Building Council-Missouri Gateway Chapter and the St. Louis Homebuilders Association. She has also worked extensively in our community’s K-12 schools.
She represents the City of St. Louis on the executive board of the St. Louis-Jefferson Solid Waste Management District. She has written for GreeanBiz.com, Home Energy, Grist and Missouri Resources magazines and many local publications, in addition to contributing an environmental column, Earthworms’ Castings, to The Healthy Planet Magazine since 1997.
In 2021, Jean was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Missouri Waste Control Coalition.