Francis DellaVecchia is recognized as the founder of the Joyful Activist movement, having coined the term to describe the volunteers who participated in his campaign to become the mayor of Los Angeles in 2001. His Joyful Activist Playbook: Transforming Outrage into Outrageous Fun is due to be published in mid 2012. DellaVecchia uses inspiration, humor and joy to make a powerful and positive difference in all that he does. Partnering with Whole Foods Markets Venice, he created the Joyful Activist Club, which sends scores of volunteers to...

From Academy Award® and Emmy® nominated director/producer Leslie Iwerks, Pipe Dreams uncovers a story unfolding in the heartland of America: farmers and landowners fighting to protect their land, their water, and their livelihood in what has become the most controversial environmental battle in the U.S. today- The Keystone XL Pipeline. Routed from Hardisty, Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast, this tar sands pipeline is set to cross the country’s largest freshwater resource, the Ogallala Aquifer, and the fragile Sandhills of Nebraska, posing...

What does it take to reform school food programs and provide healthful, tasty meals to our nation’s kids? Cafeteria Man takes a candid look at chef Tony Geraci’s ambitious efforts to kick-start school food reform in Baltimore’s public schools, a large urban district that serves 83,000 students.  Responding to student protests about the terrible food being served, Baltimore hired Geraci as Food and Nutrition Director of the city’s schools.  Chef Geraci hatched a sweeping, multi-faceted plan to...

Steven Parrett is a native Oregonian who has been managing natural resources, with people, for the past 18 years.  Steve has a degree in Geology from Southern Oregon University and has worked for all levels of government, in private consulting, and for several non-profit conservation groups.  Steve is also a Kinship Conservation Fellow and a founder of the conservation investment company NATURE RETURNS.  He has worked extensively with people who make a living from the land and has come to the conclusion that "...