BIOS

Josh Bernstein
Explorer, Author and Wilderness Educator
Discovery Channel

Explorer, author and wilderness educator Josh Bernstein officially joins Discovery Channel in April 2007 to host and produce specials and series focusing on subjects from anthropology and archaeology to environmental issues. For the last 3 years, he has hosted the hit adventure/ archaeology series “Digging for the Truth” on The History Channel.

Bernstein has almost 20 years of wilderness survival experience and environmental advocacy under his belt.  Since 1997, he has served as president & CEO of BOSS, the Boulder Outdoor Survival School, the oldest and largest survival school in the world.

In addition to his work for several environmental organizations, Bernstein is an active member of The Explorers Club, The Royal Geographical Society, and The American Museum of Natural History.

He has appeared as an expert on survival and survival training on several national news programs, including NBC News, ABC News, CBS News and the Today show.

When not traveling or leading BOSS courses, Bernstein lives between a yurt in Southern Utah and an apartment in New York City. Born and raised in New York City, he is a graduate of Cornell University, majoring in Anthropology and Psychology.

More information can be found at www.joshbernstein.com and www.boss-inc.com.

Jonah Bloom
Editor
Advertising Age

Jonah Bloom is the editor of Advertising Age, the world’s leading marketing and media publication. In this role he oversees editorial operations for Ad Age across all platforms, including its print and online editions.

Jonah joined Ad Age in September 2002 from PRWeek magazine, a national weekly based in New York reporting on corporate communication, branding and public affairs. He helped to launch PRWeek in 1998 as news editor and went on to become editor-in-chief. He also has considerable experience reporting on the media industry in Europe, having founded and been the editor of Campaign Media Business, a national weekly covering planning, buying and selling of media in the U.K.

Jonah’s other roles have included magazines editor on journalist’s weekly Press Gazette, news reporter on VNU’s Accountancy Age and reporter on weekly print and packaging journal PrintWeek. In 2002 Jonah edited the HarperCollins book “Top Companies in Marketing & Media.” His stories have been published in several national dailies in the U.K. including The Financial Times and The Guardian.

Abbey Klaassen
Editor
Ad Age Digital

Abbey Klaassen is Ad Age's Digital Editor, responsible for covering the fast-evolving digital media and marketing space. She produces a weekly e-mail newsletter and section in the print edition of Ad Age that delves into the myriad new forms of digital media and their effect on how marketers engage consumers. Since joining Ad Age two years ago, Abbey has also covered  cable TV, radio and out-of-home advertising. She's a regular guest on national TV and radio programs. Prior to Ad Age, Abbey worked for MSP Communications in Minneapolis.

Mike Lawrence
EVP, Corporate Responsibility & Crisis/Issues Management
Cone

Mike Lawrence, an Emmy-award winning journalist with more than a quarter-century of experience in print and broadcast news, serves as Cone's executive vice president for Corporate Responsibility and Crisis/Issues Management. Lawrence is also a media strategist and mentor for Cone staff actively involved in media relations for both Cause Branding and Brand Marketing clients.

Lawrence offers clients a wealth of experience in issues management, where the ultimate goal is to protect and enhance brand reputation among key stakeholders. Specific expertise includes: issue research, monitoring and analysis; risk assessment; crisis planning and incident management, program strategy and development, and crisis communications. Lawrence’s areas of experience include: food safety, product recalls, product contamination, unionization/strikes, staff cutbacks, employee HR risks, environmental issues, retail customer service issues, consumer/investigative media reports and more. His crisis prevention and issues management work for the maker of Crayola Crayons won two national awards in 2001. Current clients include CVS/Pharmacy and Outward Bound.

Rob Michalak
Director of Social Mission & Public Elations
Ben & Jerry's

Rob Michalak is Ben & Jerry's Director of Social Mission & Public Elations. Rob is on the senior leadership team at Ben & Jerry's known as "MOM" -- Managers of the Mission. Rob's role at Ben & Jerry's is to energize and direct the progressive side of the Company based on the values articulated in its Social Mission. This is Rob's second time around at the Vermont-based ice cream company. He served as Ben & Jerry's "PR Czar" in the company's halcyon growth years from 1989-1998. Rob came back to Ben & Jerry's in his new role in June, 2006. In between his first and second tours at Ben & Jerry's, Rob co-owned a production studio that produced media for companies that practiced caring forms of capitalism. Rob's earliest professional years were spent in radio and television news.

Mark Norman
Chief Executive Officer
Flexcar

Mark Norman has responsibility for overall operations of the company as well as strategic planning. Norman has nearly 20 years of executive experience, with most of it in the auto industry.

Prior to joining Flexcar, he served as Chairman, President and CEO of DaimlerChrysler, Canada, where his "customer-first" philosophy and focus on operational excellence were cornerstones in the division's success.

Previously, Norman was Vice President of Sales and Marketing Operations, where he was responsible for sales and production planning, consumer and dealer incentives, regional marketing, and distribution.

Prior to DaimlerChrylser, Mark served in various other positions in sales, marketing, manufacturing, and business development.

David Perry
Senior Vice President, Mountain Division
Aspen Skiing Company

David Perry joined Aspen Skiing Company as Senior Vice President in August 2002. With nearly three decades of experience in the mountain resort industry, David’s career has covered the spectrum from marketing to real estate to mountain operations and heli-skiing.

As Aspen Skiing Company’s Senior Vice President, David is charged with growing the company’s business, working with industry and community partners, and overseeing the mountain division.

Prior to joining Aspen Skiing Company, David served as President and CEO of Colorado Ski Country USA, the trade association representing the Coloradoski industry. David was the eighth person to serve as president of the organization during its 37-year history. He led the organization for two years and during his time at Colorado Ski Country USA he aggressively pursued new business development strategies for Colorado’s mountain resorts.

A native of Canada, David spent 25 years working in the Canadian ski industry prior to moving to the USA. His positions varied from ski instructor and coach at Banff/Lake Louise to marketing manager and vice president at Intrawest Corporation’s flagship resort Whistler/Blackcomb. During his final years at the resort following the merger of Whistler/Blackcomb under Intrawest, David initiated a successful growth marketing strategy that resulted in a 30 per cent increase in skier visits over a three-year period. David was one of the principal architects of Whistler/Blackcomb’s phenomenal growth and success.

David, 52, and his wife Kathy have two mountain girls, Sierra, 11 years old, and Tiana, nine. David skis and snowboards.

Jane Root
President and General Manager
Discovery Channel & Science Channel

Jane Root is responsible for the operations and management of the largest cable network in the U.S, including production, programming, marketing, new media, communications, and research. She joined the Discovery Channel in June 2004, and later took over Discovery Times Channel, The Science Channel and The Military Channel. Since Root’s arrival, Discovery Channel has successfully launched some of its highest rated series, including Deadliest Catch, Man vs. Wild and Dirty Jobs. In addition, Ms. Root has led the network in the critically acclaimed specials Flight that Fought Back and Supervolcano both which garnered the highest ratings the network has seen in several years. Ms. Root brings more than 20 years of experience in television production and journalism to the network.

Prior to joining Discovery, Root was the controller of BBC TWO where she spearheaded the creation of some of the world’s most distinctive and popular television programs. During her tenure, she led the network to a series of prestigious achievements including winning “Channel of the Year” twice at both the Edinburgh Television Festival in 2003 & 2004 and the Broadcast Awards in 2004. Root achieved these and other accolades by spearheading the creation of award-winning original series and specials such as the Golden Globe and Peabody Award-winning series The Office, Great Britons, Coupling, Little Britain, Top Gear, The Gathering Storm, Weakest Link, What Not to Wear, I Love the 1980s, Extras, Supervolcano among many others.

Prior to taking the reins at BBC TWO, Root was one of the BBC’s primary liaisons with independent television production companies. Her actions during this time led to the creation of hit series such as The Naked Chef - and the discovery of it’s world-renowned host Jamie Oliver.

Previously, Root was joint managing director of her own independent production company, UK-based Wall To Wall Television, which she co-founded. In addition to producing shows for British audiences, Wall to Wall’s programs and series had international appeal, and programs such as PaleoWorld, A Baby’s World and Body Story and many others that aired around the world including on the Discovery Channel and TLC in the U.S.

Prior to founding Wall To Wall, Root was a freelance journalist and film critic for publications such as The Guardian, New Statesman and a range of film and women's magazines. She has also contributed to several books on film, lectured in film studies, and managed a film distribution company.

Marjorie Schussel
National Manager, Corporate Communications
Toyota Motor North America, Inc.

Marjorie Schussel is national manager, corporate communications at Toyota Motor North America, Inc., the parent company of Toyota’s North American operations. Schussel joined Toyota in 1993 to oversee its U.S. corporate marketing efforts. Under her leadership, Toyota has launched a number of successful advertising campaigns that have helped establish the company as a respected member of the American business community. Her accomplishments have been featured in dozens of national media outlets including CNN, Fox News, The New York Times and The Associated Press. Marjorie has also been responsible for national and local corporate philanthropy including the Toyota USA Foundation. Programs launched during her tenure include The Toyota Family Literacy Program, one of the premier educational programs in the country for Hispanic and other immigrant families.

Susanne Sonderhoff
Marketing Manager, HP Corporate, Social and Environmental Responsibility
Hewlett-Packard Company

Susanne Sonderhoff is Marketing Manager for Corporate, Social and Environmental Responsibility (CSER) at HP. In this role, Susanne is responsible for driving HP’s global environmental marketing strategy and programs, working with each of HP’s business units and functions, as well as with NGOs and other stakeholders to tell the story of HP’s leadership in environmental sustainability. Susanne also leads company-wide marketing communication efforts, working across press and analyst relations, advertising, and executive and online communications, as they relate to corporate, social and environmental responsibility. For several years, Susanne published HP’s award-winning annual Global Citizenship Report on the company’s global social and environmental impact and progress. This has given Susanne extensive insight into all aspects of corporate responsibility in one of the world’s largest companies, subsequently enabling her to drive the company’s first cross-functional sustainability strategy session.

Kevin Wall
Founder
Live Earth

Live Earth will bring together more than 150 of the world's top musicians for 24-hours of music from 7 concerts across all 7 continents.  Kevin Wall founded SOS to trigger a mass-scale movement to combat our climate crisis.

Wall is an Emmy Award-winning producer whose career has ranged from helping produce more than 300 concerts for artists like Bob Dylan to serving as Worldwide Executive Producer of Live 8, which brought together one of the largest audiences in history to combat poverty. He is the CEO of Control Room, which produces and distributes live music concerts on the Internet, radio, television, mobile phones, at retail stores and in theaters.

Wall was Vice-Chairman of a global Internet consulting firm, where he led the strategic acquisition and organization of 42 companies to build a venture with 3,000 employees and 38 offices. He is a co-founder of a venture capital fund currently invested in the semiconductor, software and convergence sectors.

Carol Yang
Vice President, Corporate Marketing
Timberland

Carol is Vice President, Corporate Marketing, responsible for directing overall brand strategy and marketing communications for the Timberland® CasualGear category worldwide. In addition, in her role as the head of the Marketing Shared Services function, she is responsible for guiding and directing overall Timberland brand strategy and communications; and through her Shared Services team, provides functional expertise and best practice guidance across several marketing functional areas.

Before assuming her current position, Carol served as Timberland’s Senior Director of Marketing, Asia Pacific where she directed Asia’s marketing strategy and planning; and led the team to open Timberland’s flagship retail store in Ginza, Japan. Prior to joining Timberland, she spent two years with American President Lines (APL), the world's 5th largest shipping company, as Vice President, Global Marketing where she led work to establish and deploy customer segmentation to improve overall service levels. Before APL, Carol held a variety of both regional and global marketing positions over a 13-year time span with Procter & Gamble in Asia. This included a 3 year assignment in Japan where she held regional and global strategic planning roles for one of P&G’s personal care categories; and also led Japan marketing planning and execution.

Carol received an Honors degree in Business Administration from the National University of Singapore.