Who We Are

Victoria Bogdan [Associate Director]

Victoria above the ocean

Victoria joined GreenPress in January 2010. She sees online communities as extremely valuable tools to share information and spur constructive debates. Her experience includes working with The Nature Conservancy, a science-based conservation organization. She is also active with a program that help kids develop problem-solving skills as they learn about futurist topics.

Victoria graduated with a degree in International Relations and later took biology classes at Berkeley. In her spare time she is trying to learn ceramics, dance more, and hike a least once a week.

Q&A
Favorite place to explore: Marin County, California. The coastal bluffs are beautiful, and I’ve seen whales from just standing on the beach!

Favorite landscape: Coastal

Green fact, issue, or tip I bring up a lot: Conservationists can be powerful forces for responsible development in the state of California, but not as much in other parts of the country. Particularly, natural gas extraction in areas like Appalachia is moving fast without consideration to the harmful effects that fracking fluid (what they inject under the ground) is having on watersheds. Any development, be it natural gas or timber or solar, needs to happen with a thought to its impact on habitat and human use.

What I was for Halloween last year: I tried to be a mad scientist, but instead I looked more like an owl.

Brian L. Kahn [Associate Editor]

Brian goes hiking

Brian L. Kahn likes to write. He also likes the environment. It makes sense, then, that he ended up here at GreenPress as part of the new editorial team. Previously, Brian worked as an environmental educator with both the National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service. He also worked the Red Cross, advising them on climate change communication strategies. Currently, he writes at Justmeans.com, working on their climate change section.

He did his undergraduate coursework at Hampshire College, graduating with a degree in anthropology and photography. He also holds a M.A. from Columbia University in Climate & Society. Beyond writing and the environment, Brian’s other interests include skiing, politics, cooking, and youtube videos of cats.

Q&A
Favorite hiking spot: Redwoods State and National Parks up in Humboldt County. This locale is also home to my favorite swimming hole so it’s also doubly exciting to visit.

Favorite landscape: The mountains. In winter. Preferably with skis pointed downward.

Green fact, issue, or tip I bring up a lot: More than half the US population lives within a day’s drive of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Perhaps not coincidentally, it’s the most visited National Park in the system.

Guilty pleasure: Aside from cat videos on youtube, Doritos.

Cynthia Thomson [Associate Editor]

Cynthia in the sunshine

Cynthia joined GreenPress as an Editorial Blogger in January 2010. Professionally she has experience working for environmental organizations in both administrative and project management roles. In her most recent endeavor, Cynthia spent time in Fiji and the Cook Islands with the Red Cross Climate Centre examining the effects of climate variability in the Pacific region. Cynthia continuously strives to understand and effectively communicate the science behind environmental issues.

Cynthia received a BA in Geography from the University of Ottawa (2002) and an MA in Climate and Society from Columbia University (2009).

Q&A
Favourite place to hike: The Gatineau Hills in Ottawa

Favourite landscape: Tropical

Green Fact, issue, or tip I bring up a lot: Increasing sea levels are occurring not only from the melting of surface glaciers but also due to thermal expansion. Thermal expansion is the dimensional change in volume in response to a change in temperature. In other words, warmer water takes up more mass than colder water. Thus, as ocean temperatures increase, due to climate change, the mass they occupy will also increase creating a rise in sea levels.

Favorite Frozen Yogurt Toppings: Pineapple, pomegranate and white chocolate.

Eddie Tejeda [Director]

Eddie with music and nature

Eddie grew up in Brooklyn, New York. In 7th grade he took a field trip to small cabin in the woods of Minnesota and fell in love with the outdoors. He vowed never to live in a city again. After breaking that promise on numerous occasions, he found the perfect balance of nature and city life in San Francisco.

Eddie graduated from Hampshire College in 2004, where he concentrated his studies on the social impact of the digital divide and wrote his senior thesis on developing algorithms for power efficient microprocessors.

In 2005 he worked at a small think tank called the Institute for the Future of the Book and has since led the founding various online communities on issues that interest him. Including this one!