Trusted advisors
GoodGuide benefits from a world-class group of science advisors, including scientists and academicians working at the cutting edge of environmental, social, and health issues. We also receive invaluable advice from a select group of technology advisors from some of the most respected companies in Silicon Valley.
Science advisors
Dr. Ann Blake
Environmental and Public Health Consulting
Dr. Ann Blake is an independent consultant working with governments, occupational health, public health and environmental advocates to find viable alternatives to toxic chemicals in manufacturing and consumer products. Dr. Blake's work covers toxics reduction strategies from product content screening and environmentally preferable purchasing to drafting local, national and international legislation and chemicals policies. Prior to consulting, Dr. Blake worked for nine years at the California Environmental Protection Agency's Department of Toxic Substances Control as a hazardous waste inspector, local agency trainer, and Pollution Prevention Coordinator. Dr. Blake has a B.A.from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, and a Ph.D. in molecular genetics and neural development from the University of Oregon.
Dr. Rhonda Evans
ELM Research
Dr. Rhonda Evans is Managing Director of ELM Research. Dr. Evans oversees advanced financial and industry assessments and strategy development for ELM. Her industry expertise encompasses financial services, information technology, healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, logistics, government, and defense. Evans writes and lectures frequently on investment research and financial services trends. Evans graduated Magna Cum Laude with Honors from Bryn Mawr College and received a PhD in Sociology with a focus in International Political Economy from the University of California, Berkeley. Evans has received numerous awards, including fellowships from the MacArthur Foundation and the Institute for Global Conflict and Cooperation.
Dr. Archon Fung
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Professor Archon Fung is Associate Professor of Public Policy at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. His research examines the impacts of civic participation, public deliberation, and transparency upon public and private governance. Recent books include Full Disclosure: The Perils and Promise of Transparency (Cambridge University Press, 2007, with Mary Graham and David Weil) and Empowered Participation: Reinventing Urban Democracy (Princeton University Press, 2004). Current projects examine democratic reform initiatives in electoral reform, urban planning, public services, ecosystem management, and transnational governance. He has authored five books, three edited collections, and over fifty articles. Fung received two S.B.s and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Dr. Arpad Horvath
UC Berkeley
Professor Arpad Horvath is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley. He has Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Civil Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Diploma in Civil Engineering (Structural Engineering major, Construction Engineering and Management minor) from the Technical University of Budapest (Hungary). Dr. Horvath is an international expert in Life-Cycle Assessment methods. His research has focused on the environmental implications of the construction, electronics, and various service industries, life-cycle assessment modeling using environmentally augmented economic input-output analysis, and environmental performance measurement. Dr. Horvath is the director of the Consortium on Green Design and Manufacturing (CGDM).
Dr. Alastair Iles
UC Berkeley
Professor Alastair Iles is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Iles studies science, technology, and environment, with a focus on how technologies – ranging from chemistry, energy systems, environmental health monitoring, to information technology - affect society and the environment. He received his PhD in Environmental Law and Policy from Harvard University, and previously studied Law at the University of Melbourne, Australia.
Dr. David Levine
Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley
Professor David Levine is the Eugene E. and Catherine M. Trefethen Professor of Business Administration at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also Chair of the University’s Center for Health Research and Chair of the advisory Board for Scientific Evaluation for Global Action. Dr. Levine’s work has emphasized organizational learning (and failures to learn), and means to promote continuous improvement in public policies. Levine has taught at the Haas School since receiving his Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University. Levine has also had visiting positions at the Sloan School of Management at MIT, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Council of Economic advisors.
Dr. Rachel Morello-Frosch
UC Berkeley
Professor Rachel Morello-Frosch is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Health and the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Morello-Frosch's current research advances scientifically rigorous and publicly transparent analytical methods to identify disparities in environmental hazard exposures and health status for key population groups. She has conducted extensive research on the race and class determinants of the distribution of health risks associated with air pollution. Dr. Morello-Frosch was previously an assistant professor at Brown University, and received her PhD in Public Health from UC Berkeley.
Dr. Peter Evans
UC Berkeley
Professor Peter B. Evans is one of the world's most distinguished sociologists of development. He is the Marjorie Meyer Eliaser Professor of International Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, and Co-Director of the Global Metropolitan Studies Program. Dr. Evans is the author of Embedded Autonomy, Bringing the State Back In, and Dependent Development. He received his PhD from Harvard University, and has held faculty positions at Brown University (1970-1987), the University of California at San Diego (1986-1990) and the University of New Mexico (1987-1990). Dr. Evans has also served as the Eastman Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford, has been a Guggenheim Fellow, and a Fellow in the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. Dr. Evans is an advisor to the Center for Global Development in Washington, DC and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Greg Norris
Sylvatica Consulting
Dr. Greg Norris is the founder and President of Sylvatica Consulting, and a Program Manager for the United Nations’ Environment Program’s (UNEP) global Life Cycle Initiative, directing the Program on Life Cycle Inventory Analysis. He teaches graduate courses on LCA and Industrial Ecology at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), and is an editor of the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. Greg is also the founder and executive director of New Earth, a global foundation for grass-roots sustainable development. Greg has developed several software tools to assist analysis and decision-making related to Life Cycle Assessment and sustainable enterprise. Recent research integrates socio-economic pathways to human health within the LCA framework and develops a human need-based approach to sustainable consumption analysis.
Caitlin Merlo
MPH, Registered Dietician
Caitlin is a registered dietitian and received her Masters degree in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley. For the past 7 years, Caitlin has worked in a variety of settings on issues related to food and nutrition at both the individual and community levels. Caitlin believes that eating well and being physically active create a solid foundation for good health. "I am passionate about helping individuals address their nutritional needs and health concerns. In addition to individual nutrition counseling and education, I feel that creating an environment that promotes access to healthful foods and opportunities for physical activity is essential for encouraging healthy behaviors and eliminating existing health disparities." In her free time, Caitlin enjoys traveling, hiking, swimming, and trying new foods.
Technology advisors
Mike Cassidy
CEO LocalPoke
Mike Cassidy is the CEO of LocalPoke. Mike has previously been the Co-Founder and CEO of three successful start-ups: Xfire, Direct Hit, and Stylus Innovation. Xfire, a gaming platform with over 2 million users in 100 countries, was acquired by Viacom for $100 million. Direct Hit, an Internet search engine whose customers included MSN, Lycos, and AOL, was acquired by Ask Jeeves for $500 million. Stylus Innovation’s flagship product was the award winning computer telephony software Visual Voice. Mike studied jazz piano at the Berklee College of Music, and received a BS and MS in Aerospace Engineering from MIT, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Joel Truher
Former Engineering Director, Google
Joel Truher is the founder and CEO of Joel's Garage. He was previously an Engineering Director at Google, Chief Architect at Shopping.com, EVP at Epinions.com, and CTO at Lycos. He has a MS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford, and a BS from UC Santa Cruz.
Dr. Jeff Heer
Stanford University
Jeffrey Heer is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University (effective Jan 2009). He researches human-computer interaction, information visualization and social computing. His work has resulted in novel visualization techniques for more effectively exploring data, software tools to simplify visualization creation, and collaborative visualization systems that leverage the insights of multiple analysts. He is also the author of the prefuse and flare open-source visualization toolkits. Jeff completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley.
