I have gone to great lengths to ensure that the featured speakers for EcoTuesday do one very important thing: tailor their subject matter specifically for our audience, focusing on how their success is relevant to US.

Jen Boulden (co-founder of the hugely successful green living site Ideal Bite), our featured speaker for January, will be no different.

Jen recently sent me a sneak peak of her talking points, and I’m incredibly impressed.

And incredibly relieved… she was one of the few speakers I had not met prior to her invitation. I’d never even spoke to her on the phone. All arrangements were made via her publicist.

Being a publicist myself, I respected the process for the speakers that have them, but it made me very nervous. I needed a feel for her sincerity and charisma, her style and tone. Would she really follow my ironclad rule of never speaking to just promote yourself or your product? Would she give valuable information relevant for our group? These are the qualities I look for outside of just an impressive resume in the sustainability space.

To add to my stress, since she was slated for January, I was well aware that she would be setting the tone for 2010 EcoTuesday Los Angeles. I needed to get this woman on the phone!

Thankfully, once we finally connected, all concerns were alleviated.

Not only is her resume incredibly impressive, but also her earnestness to make her presentation valuable to EcoTuesday came through loud and clear.

She was immediately interested in knowing more about our attendees, and took a genuine interest in being able to tailor a talk for us. What she has accomplished in her life is very impressive, but what impressed me ever more was her dynamic tone. When you meet her this month her blend of passion and competency will surely impress you, beyond just her background:

Jen Boulden is a true pioneer in the green business world. She co-founded Ideal Bite in 2005 to cater to the untapped “light green consumer” market, and grew the company to over half-a-million subscribers to the daily eco email before selling the venture to The Walt Disney Company in 2008. Jen has appeared on shows such as Good Morning America, The Today Show, Martha Stewart and The View, and has authored articles for publications ranging from Fast Company to The Huffington Post. A graduate of William & Mary, Jen received a “green MBA” from George Washington University, where she recently was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award.

She's going to discuss how and why you should be excited as ever to make strong 2010 goals and how to seize this time in history to work for you. She entitled her talk:
Preparing Ourselves and Our Businesses for Green 2.0:
Lessons from the past; Insights for a meaningful future.