John C. Warner, Co-Founder & President
John is a founder of the field of green chemistry and is widely considered one of the world’s leading experts in designing safer products and processes. He received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts Boston and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Princeton University in Medicinal Chemistry. He then lead a research group at the Polaroid Corporation for 9 years before returning to the University of Massachusetts as an academic where he spent 9 years educating the next generation of professionals in green chemistry. John has recently launched an independent research institute, The Warner Babcock Institute, aimed at working closely with industries to provide green chemistry technologies for the marketplace. Along with the Warner Babcock Institute, John co-founded the non-profit Beyond Benign and serves as the chair of the Board of Directors for the organization. John has won numerous awards for his contribution to academia and to green chemistry, including the 2004 Presidential award in science mentoring. John is the author of over 150 papers and a holder of numerous patents for green chemistry technologies with applications ranging from electronic and polymeric materials to pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. He is co-author of the seminal book titled Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice (Oxford University Press, 1998). John is the editor of the new journal Green Chemistry: Letters and Reviews.
Amy Cannon, Co-Founder & Executive Director
Amy holds the world’s first Ph.D. in green chemistry from the University of Massachusetts. She received her undergraduate degree in chemistry from Saint Anselm College. She has worked at the University of Massachusetts Lowell as an Assistant Professor of green chemistry and is currently a faculty member and the coordinator of the new green chemistry program at Cambridge College. Amy has industrial experience working as an analytical chemist for the Gillette Company and as a scientist for Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials. She directed the outreach and community education efforts at the Center for Green Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. She was awarded the Kenneth G. Hancock Memorial Award in Green Chemistry in 2004 for her work on titanium dioxide semiconductors and their application in dye-sensitized solar cells. Her interests are in green chemistry education and research around safer green chemistry alternative technologies. Amy serves on the Editorial board of the new journal Green Chemistry: Letters and Reviews.
Rachel Pokrandt, Director of K-12 Curriculum and Training
Rachel received a BA in Theatre Studies and British Literature from Manchester University, U.K. After falling in love with the mountains she moved to Colorado where she has now lived for 20 years. Rachel taught high school for 6 years, community college for 2 years and has been developing curriculum and running teacher training programs through The Keystone Center and now Beyond Benign for the past four years working with organizations like Pfizer, DuPont, Agilent Technologies, Boeing and NASA on Science education programs.
Marge Anderson, Director of Educator and Business Initiatives
Marge is a graduate of the University of Connecticut and spent 29 years in infectious diseases research for Pfizer Inc in Groton, CT. While in the lab, Marge chaired the teacher professional development committee for the SMART! (Science and Math Are Really Terrific!) outreach initiative and held the position of SMART! Program Coordinator for more than eight years before retiring in December 2007. She was also Advisor for the Explorers global education outreach program of the Pfizer Foundation in New York. She is a Board member of the Connecticut Academy for Education. Her current interests include partnering of international educators and businesses to produce cutting-edge programs that address both the standards-based needs of teachers and the business need s of industry.
Brooke Carson, K-12 Curriculum Specialist
Brooke has been a teacher at Summit School district in Frisco, Colorado since August 2005. Prior to that she was the Director of Teacher Training at The Keystone Center where for 8 years she grew programs from one yearly institute to 8 year round curriculum projects. She has presented curriculum and information to NSTA participants, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Shaping Our Summit, and the Colorado Association of Science Teachers. Prior to that, Brooke taught 6, 7, & 8th grades at Angevine Middle School in Lafayette, Colorado. Brooke holds a BS in BS and an MA in Space Travel.
Greg Sloan, K-12 Curriculum Specialist
Greg has been teaching middle school science in Terre Haute, IN since 1992. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Education from Indiana University and a Master's Degree in Administration and Supervision from Indiana State University. Greg has developed and facilitated basic math and science courses for the employees of the Pfizer plant in Terre Haute. He has worked on developing hands on activities to address the Indiana State Standards for the State of Indiana. Greg has also facilitated workshops in his district in order to help elementary teachers implement more science into the curriculum and has had activities published by Prentice Hall in the supplemental booklet; "Student - Centered Science Activities for the Midwest".
Teri Natoli, K-12 Curriculum Specialist
Teri is a high school science teacher from Waterford, Connecticut. She received her undergraduate degree from Queens College and her master's from New York University. Prior to her teaching career, Teri worked at Sloan-Kettering Institute as a Senior Research Technician in Human Cancer Serology. She tried her hand at pharmaceutical sales and even worked in a test kitchen of a food magazine before finding her true passion in the classroom.
Opportunities
Student Fellowships and Mentoring Program
Beyond Benign is proud to announce the launch of its new Outreach Fellowship program for college undergraduate and graduate students. As a Outreach Fellow, you will learn about green chemistry and receive educational outreach training from Beyond Benign staff. You will travel to local K-12 schools twice a year to talk about green chemistry and perform hands-on demonstrations with the students. Upon successful completion of the fellowship, you will have the opportunity to attend Beyond Benign’s Annual Outreach Fellowship Banquet, where you will meet other Outreach Fellows and researchers in the field of green chemistry. You also become eligible to receive financial sponsorship to an educational conference of your choice. Begin building your green chemistry network and be a part of disseminating green chemistry to your community. Sign up to become a Beyond Benign Outreach Fellow and help make the world a better place.
Educator Credits and Licensure Program
The goal of this course is to introduce green chemistry to the science educator, giving them the tools needed to teach green chemistry concepts to students in a classroom or laboratory setting. Green chemistry is a revolutionary science, grounded in the fundamentals of chemistry, which seeks to merge knowledge of environmental hazard with the chemical and materials sciences. This course will bring the educator to an understanding of the principles of green chemistry.
John Pyers, Director of Community Outreach & Communications
Prior to his career in chemistry, John garnered a decade of business management experience. He received his B.S. in chemistry from the University of Massachusetts Boston under the guidance of Dr. John Warner. After working as the Director of Laboratories at UMass Boston, John joined Dr. Warner at the Center for Green Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He brings a wealth of green chemistry knowledge through his experiences in facilitating at the Center and through developing green chemistry educational materials. John will help lead green chemistry education and outreach efforts at the Beyond Benign Foundation as a program manager.
Raksmey Derival, Program Manager
Raksmey received her B.S. in chemistry from Suffolk University where she gained experience in green chemistry outreach program development. Raks was awarded an NSF REU Fellowship to perform bio-organic chemistry research at the Ohio State University. She spent a year working with Dr. John Warner and Dr. Amy Cannon at the Center for Green Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and has recently moved to Beyond Benign as a program manager. Raksmey brings extensive experience in developing green chemistry educational and informational materials for outreach, training and education.