Kris Willey, Woman of the Green Generation

Women of the Green Generation held their first meeting in June of 2009. Kris Willey felt inspired to start a sustainable networking group for women because she had been attending green events for the past 2 years and suddenly realized that the majority of people she was connecting with were other women. When she mentioned this idea to some of her girl friends in green business, the response she received was an enthusiastic and resounding “YES!”

Women of the Green Generation creates a space where women can share their ideas and passions for solving environmental and social problems with economically viable eco-solutions.  The purpose is to provide a space for professional women to support each other. This can be done by means of sharing resources, business referrals, patronizing each other, sharing knowledge and experience, supporting sustainable community projects & non profits and the by the simple act of volunteering to help each other when help is needed.

Members consists mainly of women who either own or work for green businesses, but the group is not limited to green business women only, in fact they actively encourage other women to get more involved in sustainable business practices or think about creating products or services that reflect the sustainable paradigm of  “good for you good for the planet.”

WOTGG is dedicated to helping women find success in the green business space. Their mission is to inspire, educate, motivate, share resources, and connect with other individuals and organizations that are actively engaged in sustaining our planet and working towards positive transformation.

Their are hosting their Annual Summit at Evo-South in downtown Los Angeles on June 12th, 2010.

You have members all over the country, but you’re mostly based in Los Angeles. How does the business of LA influence the direction WOTGG is taking?

Los Angeles is a great place to be if you really want to connect with others who are actively engaged in the green or environmental movement. But what I have come to realize is that many women that are involved in green business need a place to be able to connect with other women and for various reasons; for support, for inspiration for business leads, to share knowledge and so on.

Tell us about some of the events you are planning, and the audience you’re trying to reach.

Well, on Saturday June 12, 2010, WOTGG will celebrate our first year anniversary with a one-day event. Over 300 women and 50 green businesses will participate in a event will that touch, move and inspire those who feel called to actively participate in a much-needed evolutionary transformation of the individual self, society and our environment.

The event will feature inspiring and powerful women who are passionate thought leaders, visionaries and drivers in making a difference and a contribution to our current environmental threat, economical crises, and social systems.

Speaker topics will include; women who are finding success in the green business space, health and wellness, eco fashion and beauty, greening your passion, getting down to e-business and more!  (Visit website for all details: www.womenofthegreengeneration.com)

LA is a City the world over known for its film industry, yet today, a good portion of that industry revolves around violent video games and the sex trade. How do you reach out to these professionals and help them catch up to the greening of America, and do you even try?

This is a tough question to answer, because I personally have not even been able to connect with these type of businesses yet. Our goal to is to help existing green businesses succeed, but hopefully by setting an example and showing other companies a new paradigm to work out of, we can then influence them to make positive change. Remember Gandhi’s quote, “Be the change you want to see in the World.”

I’m looking at this from a male perspective. There’s an old saying: “What Lola wants, Lola gets!” which means that much of the world goes round inspired by the desires of women. Armies have fought over their whims. Men are too often blamed for military conquest, but in a sense, if there wasn’t a commitment to protecting mother and child, and now the Earth itself, I think we’d rather just hang around and let the time go by. How does WOTGG view its role in the grand green scheme of things? Do you have a relationship with Mothers For Peace and other such organizations?

WOTGG is still relatively a new organization so we have not had a chance yet to connect with organizations such as Mothers for Peace; one of the groups we have connected with has been “Yoga Gives Back” which provides micro loans to women in India and other impoverished countries.

In the grand scheme of things I feel what is starting to take place is a rising of the Divine Feminine energies. This may sound abstract and strange to some people, but the “Mother” energy has been squashed over the past 100 years, especially here in the Western world. Women have had to take on “male like attitudes and qualities” in order to succeed in the business world; not to mention the forming of huge corporations and consumption of oil and plastics and toxic materials have further suppressed the feminine qualities all because we have completely devastated Mother Nature.

In many indigenous cultures, women have to push the men out of the hut to go hunting. It’s not just up to men to stop playing with toys, it’s also up to women to stop associating these toys with male attributes, then these toys would lose their appeal, they’d lose their symbolism. We’d move on to something else to impress. And yet, today, more women are wanting to join the military and play GI Jane. How do you feel about that? Where is it all going? Are male drawn comic books to blame for a woman’s need to identify with Wonder Woman?

I think because women have been told for so long that we can’t do certain things, or at least we can’t do the same things that men are allowed to do, what happened over the past 100 years is we started to buck the currents and demand equal rights. I think it is safe to say, not just for women, but for the human race in general, we always want the things that we can’t have. I am not sure where it is all going and I don’t see anything wrong with women wanting to play GI Jane, but I think what will eventually happen is women will start changing their minds about the type of careers they want to be involved in and our roles in society.

I feel we will want to be more involved in things that we are truly passionate about and want to have success with our endeavors that is equal to men in business.

One of the things we do at Electrifying Times, is stage pin-up shoots with electric cars, using the tried and true to shift male attention away from gasoline. The strategy is working, since nowadays, some say you haven’t arrived in LA unless you drive a Prius, or better yet, a Tesla! Human nature isn’t going to change! Won’t the lure always be there? Don’t things need to be sexy to attract attention?

Sex always sells and not just for men but for women too. But I think the image of what is sexy is always changing. Sexy does no have to be limited to pictures of a half naked woman or man hugging a beautiful horse or straddling a Harley Davidson. Green and eco friendly can be sexy too – This may sound a bit dorky to some readers, but I personally think that rain forests are very sexy. I have been to a real rain forest in Costa Rica and the experience really turned me on, not in the same way that maybe a handsome man would, but you get the point. But as far as the strategy of ad companies, this will definitely take some time to change. I think when consumer’s attitudes towards the type of advertising they are exposed to changes, then the ads will change ~ right?

Right! In mythology, you have Gaia, and you have the Green Man, they compliment each other. They come at stewardship of nature from a different perspective. How do you relate environmentalism with feminism?

Everyone has heard the term “Mother Earth” women in general, are naturally more sympathetic to Planet Earth and many of us are feeling threatened right now by what is currently happening on a global scale. Women are also usually the decision makers for the family and I am seeing more and more women who want their children to have something to look forward to in the future; other than rising tides from global warming, plastics in our ocean, toxic chemicals in our air, so called “incurable diseases” and foods that have been heavily doused with pesticides and GMOs. So women right now are leading the way in the environmental movement at a grass roots level. At least that is what I have been seeing.

During World War 2, Americans were urged to start victory gardens, to help with food production. Then after the war, all caution was thrown to the wind, with chemical agriculture. Today, small organic farms are springing up all around us with markets everywhere, like in Europe, and the rest of much of the world. It took us this long to realize our mistakes, how disconnected we had become from the fruits of the land. We can decrease smog with alternative fuels, increase oxygen and remove CO2 with more trees and vegetation, redesign our neighborhoods with new urbanism, especially in LA where things are so sprawling. How do you get all the different communities in LA involved, how to you cross ethnic barriers? How do we get to green low riders?

I think one way we can accomplish this is for each community to have someone who can be an “Ambassador” a person that “rallies the troops” so to speak.  Sadly most people feel that they don’t have the capacity to be a leader. I think taking the first step is always the hardest, but after you have taken the first step things begin happen and when things start to happen we find the courage and momentum to continue on. Every community or neighborhood should have a leader who can inspire and motivate others to get involved in creating sustainable communities. And maybe it starts within your own family and friends and then expands from there.

Tell us more about Evo-South. What makes it such an extraordinary building in the heart of downtown LA? How did you get involved with them, and can a building in fact, have a mission?

Evo-South is the only “LEED silver certified” eco luxury high-rise in down town Los Angeles. For those who don’t know what LEED means – LEED is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Basically this means that the Evo-South building has been built in accordance to specific environmental guidelines. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED provides building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. To learn more about these guidelines you can visit the US Green Building Council at www.usgbc.org.

Evo boasts stunning city views, designer amenities, a roof top pool, private gym, and a helipad for those who like to fly around town in their helicopter. And to top things off Evo is conveniently located 2 blocks from the Staples center in waking distance from all that down town Los Angeles has to offer – such as world famous restaurants, music halls, nightclubs, movie theaters, the Urth Cafe (my favorite place to get a cup of organic coffee) and so much more!

I got involved with EVO because they were looking to partner with a green organization that could produce some events at their space. Thanks to my friend Daniel Vanderbark of Dezine, LA. He recommended WOTGG to Evo and the rest is history.

I want to thank you for your time, and for your patience with my confused approach to things. Is there anything you want Greenloop readers to know? What can they do, and how can they get in touch with WOTGG?

With the current global threat and economic downfall the time is ripe for the possibilities of forming new partnerships, teams and intentions of coming together for the prosperity, health and sustainability of individuals, businesses, projects and causes in our immediate neighborhood and globally.

Ultimately we are preparing to usher in a new paradigm of working and co-existing together in this beautiful place we call Earth, by becoming conscious stewards of our planet, our communities and our own self.

We welcome suggestions and would like to encourage more women to step up and manifest successful green businesses and products and become leaders in their communities.

(Promo video for Evo-South)

Readers can contact Women of the Green Generation at: info.wotgg@gmail.com

or visit their website at www.womenofthegreengeneration.com