John Neville, president and founding board member, has been involved creatively in sustainable development and communications for more than 30 years.  He has helped organizations with sustainability systems, business communications and management practices, leadership development, and diversity enhancement. John has conducted corporatewide sustainability performance assessments and strategic environmental information planning, produced EHS programs for compliance and beyond compliance training, created environmental annual reports and newsletters, codified and encouraged corporate culture programs, written TQEM plans, and prepared ISO and EPA communications. Currently, John is USGBC LEED-AP and provides sustainable systems consulting and communications services to municipalities and businesses and is a frequent guest speaker.  He serves on the board of the Coconino County Sustainable Economic Development Initiative, co-chairs the Sustainable Tourism Team, works on the sustainable metrics team and the policy, communications and development team. He is an emeritus board member of the Arizona Solar Energy Association. In addition, John consults with the Verde Valley Wine Consortium, is on the leadership team of the Sedona Water Wise Alliance, and assists with green and charitable efforts in his community.  The home he designed in Sedona has received four awards for excellence in sustainable building, conservation and low impact living. John and his wife, Jawn McKinley, were recognized by business groups and the City of Sedona for their efforts in fostering sustainability and leading water conservation activities.

William Eaton, vice president and founding board member, is a musician and instrument maker who records with the Native American Label, Canyon Records, and is a co-founder and director of the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery.  In his early life he was drawn to the Sonoran desert, another solitude, another silence, another infinity beyond society.  Spending several years living within the landscape, sleeping under the stars, gathering edible plants, herbs and seeds he contemplated the interconnectedness of the more-than-human world, which would later fuel and inform his interest in ecology.  Eaton lives in Sedona, with his wife Christy and two children, where he is active with several organizations that promote environmental education and stewardship: Vision Sedona and Keep Sedona Beautiful.

Lita Loesch-Cox, treasurer and founding member, has been in the interior design and home furnishings industry for twenty-five years. Her work has taken her all over the United States and various parts of the world. In 1995, Lita started working with clients who were diagnosed with “Multiple chemical sensitivity.”  These clients became the turning point for Lita and her work as an interior designer. She now strives to help clients select all finishes and furnishings that are green, sustainable and create healthy interior spaces. Lita also has an extensive background in Feng Shui, the Chinese art and science of placement and balance in ones’ environment. She has studied with Chinese masters in China and around the world. Lita’s knowledge of Feng Shui with the incorporation of green, sustainable and healthy products creates a most harmonious and positive environment for all of her clients. She is on the board of the Verde Valley Regional Economic Organization and headed up the marketing team for the Verde Valley Wine Consortium.

Larry Bean, Leadership Team, is currently serving as Midwestern Regional Coordinator of eight State Energy Offices under the economic recovery program. He spent nearly 22 years as the head of Iowa’s energy efficiency and renewable energy programs.  During that time the state developed a national reputation for its programs in wind energy, biomass energy, animal confinement waste management and ethanol.  He developed and implemented a mechanism for a $300 million private sector investment in public sector energy efficiency improvements that saves approximately 50 million taxpayer dollars per year.  Larry taught biology and environmental science at a Midwestern college for 10 years. He has been chairperson of the board of directors for the National Association of State Energy Officials, the Iowa Rural Development Council, the National Governor’s Ethanol Coalition, the Center for global and Regional Environmental Research at the University of Iowa, the Iowa Energy Center at Iowa State University, the State Advisory Board to the U.S. Congress and Department of Energy and others. His home in Arizona combines energy efficient design and construction with both hot water and photovoltaic solar systems.

Ron Epperson, Business Development, is currently president of Intellectual Energy LLC, a management and intellectual property consulting firm with a special focus on assisting renewable energy and clean tech companies with IP strategy, licensing, valuation and business planning. In addition, Ron is managing director of American Portfolio, Inc., a boutique advisory firm that provides consulting services to companies regarding capital formation for clean tech, renewable energy and life science companies. He is on the board of the Verde Valley Regional Economic Organization assisting with renewable energy development, serves as treasurer to Valley Forward and is an advisor to the Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technologies.

John Grahame, Partnerships and Connections, is currently the coordinator for the Sustainable Economic Development Initiative in Coconino County. He has long been involved in sustainable community efforts and contributed to the Flagstaff Regional Growth Management Plan. He was one of the founders of the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition and the Friends of Dry Lake (to be the site of a wind farm), was project manager for the Land Use History of the Colorado Plateau, and is an avid birder. John has a strong background in media design and production with a long resume in the television industry.

Brian Lane, Chair Water Team, was born and raised in North Brookfield, Massachusetts and has lived in Sedona, Arizona for many years now. An artist, writer, and paralegal he lives with his wife, La Quita on a small ranch in the Red Rock Loop area which runs predominantly on photovoltaic solar energy. An avid hiker and backpacker, Brian wrote The Hikernut's Grand Canyon Companion. He was the first president of the Arizona Watershed Consortium, secretary for the Red Rock Rural Community Association, a member of the Interim Planning Committee for the Verde River Basin Partnership and a former co-chair of the Arizona Green Party.  

David Vette, Chair Membership, is a results oriented leader with 30 years experience in sales, marketing, and management. He has successfully owned and operated several businesses in the construction, environmental, and personnel arenas and has assisted in the start-up of multiple joint ventures. Since moving to Sedona, Arizona, he has concentrated on real estate investing, construction, and management consulting. Along with several partners, he is currently developing 34 acres along Hwy. 260 in Camp Verde. Included in the project will be a concrete block plant producing light-weight interlocking blocks. The balance of the property will be constructed as a sustainable business park. The buildings will be designed and built in a sustainable fashion and the businesses housed at this facility will be those that either manufacture or distribute sustainable products.