Tentative Speakers

Dr. Noel Brown

Dr. Noel Brown is President of Friends of the United Nations. Previously, he served as the Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), North American regional office. Dr. Brown also currently serves as Chairman of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism and is Vice Chairman of the International Council of the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations.

He is a founding member of the Aspen Global Change Institute and the International Council for Local Environment Issues, is Chairman of the Rene Dubos Center for Human Environments, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Global Rivers Environmental Educational Network, the Climate Institute, the Earth Communications Office, the Rainforest Alliance, Global Education Associates, Trust for the Americas, and other environmental and educational organizations.

Leon Panetta

Leon Panetta has served as a Congressman, Director of the Office for Management and Budget where he balanced the Federal Budget, and White House Chief of staff under President Bill Clinton.

He founded the Leon & Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy where he and his wife are Co-Directors. He is the Chair and Commissioner of the Pew Oceans Commission. He has served on the Board of Directors or Chaired the following companies and organizations: Bread for the World, National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, New York Stock Exchange, Close Up Foundation and Fleishman-Hillard.

Mayor Jeremy Harris

Mayor Jeremy Harris served for more than ten years as the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, the 12th largest city in the United States. He retired from politics in January, 2005. Prior to becoming Mayor, Harris was Honolulu’s longest serving Managing Director, a position he held for nine years. Under Mayor Harris’ leadership Honolulu achieved worldwide recognition, including the 1st Place Gold Award for Large Cities-International Award for Livable Cities in 2004 and No. 1 City in the U.S. for Use of Technology in Delivering Government Services.

Mayor Harris also earned national and international acclaim along with several awards. He was honored with the City Livability Award for Exemplary Leadership and the Outstanding Achievement Award for Sustainability at separate U.S. Conferences of Mayors. Harris holds a Masters of Science in Population and Environmental Biology, specializing in urban ecosystems, from the University of California, Irvine, and is the author of a new book, The Renaissance of Honolulu, The Sustainable Rebirth of an American City.