About Us - Management Team

© Robert Glenn Ketchum

Management Team

MS. ROSEMARIE CALVERT is a sales and marketing professional with 30 years of consumer and trade publication and custom communications experience with a special emphasis on market development, sales and territory management, strategic planning, idea development, positioning, media management and new business development. She has held executive and sales management positions on more than thirty-five national and international magazines as Group Publisher, Publisher, Editorial Director, Sales Manager and Publisher’s Representative with Primedia, McGraw-Hill, Reed-Elsevier, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Society of American Military Engineers, plus others. As Vice President of Marketing for McMurry, Calvert managed the organization, structure and implementation of the national marketing plan for the country’s largest healthcare magazine. As Group Publisher for Staples’ Dividends magazine and the Personal Communications Industry Association’s (PCIA) Newaves magazine, she was responsible for business development agreements with Microsoft, Intel, MasterCard and Sprint, thus creating ancillary programs, partnerships and sponsorships. While at the American Journal of Nursing Company and the Wildlife Conservation Society, Calvert achieved growth rates of 75 percent by targeting new revenue streams. Calvert’s 11 years as a Federal/DoD contractor/consultant was the impetus to her founding the Center for a Better Life (CBL) in 2007, which is focused on informed decision-making for holistic sustainability. She is currently the Publisher/Editorial Director of livebetter, its 250,000 subscriber-based national magazine. CBL and livebetter boast a long list of world-renowned scientists and photographers, high-ranking federal executives, political appointees and military commanders as its supporters.
E-mail: rcalvert@centerforabetterlife.com.

MR. ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM is a world-renowned conservation photographer, environmentalist and author. For 40 years his imagery and books have helped define contemporary color photography while his dedication to the natural world has earned him international acclaim and numerous awards. The latter include: the United Nation’s Outstanding Environmental Achievement Award, the Josephine and Frank Duveneck Humanitarian Award, the Robert O. Easton Award for Environmental Stewardship, Audubon’s 100 people who “shaped the environmental movement of the 20th Century” and American Photo magazine’s “100 most important people in photography.” Ketchum has always felt “compelled” as an American artist to use his imagery, exhibitions, lectures and issue-directed book publishing to address the political realities of habitat protection, natural resource management and the preservation of wild lands, which he has done with extraordinary success. He is perhaps most recognized for his work in the Tongass, which is credited with helping to pass the Tongass Timber Reform Bill of 1990. This significant legislation established five major wilderness areas and simultaneously protected more than one million acres of old-growth trees in the largest temperate rainforest in the world. Often supported by major foundations and individuals as diverse as actor Robert Redford and William E. Simon, former Secretary of the US Treasury, Ketchum has used his art to broaden public perception while, at the same time, contributing a distinctive body of fine print work to contemporary color photography. His prints are in numerous collections including New York’s Museum of Modern Art, Washington, D.C.’s National Museum of American Art, Los Angeles’ Museum of Contemporary Art and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, to name a few. In addition, Ketchum’s lifelong dedication to public service is evidenced in his founding the Advocacy Arts Foundation and serving as board member or councilor to the Alaska Conservation Foundation, the American Land Conservancy and the Alaska Wildlife Alliance. Previously, he was Curator of Photography for the National Park Foundation for fifteen years.
E-mail: rketchum@centerforabetterlife.com.

MR. ALEX BEEHLER was the Principal Deputy to the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and Environment) under the Bush Administration. He supported the Deputy Under Secretary with management and oversight responsibilities for military installations worldwide as chief sustainability officer, as well as cultural officer of the Department of Defense (DoD). Areas of responsibility included: compliance with environmental laws, conservation of natural and cultural resources, pollution prevention, energy and environmental technology and solutions, as well as international military agreements and programs pertaining to environmental security and humanitarian assistance. Beehler brought together DoD components to confront the threats posed by increased reliance on foreign oil, greenhouse gases, population growth and competition for resources. He launched the emerging contaminants program; increased green products procurement by 25 percent; integrated risk management into systems acquisition for improved life-cycle analysis; initiated the DoD buffer zone program; worked with international host nations to resolve environmental concerns; partnered with states, other federal agencies and organizations to preserve watersheds and to ensure water quality. By integrating sustainable practices into operations, acquisition of materials and weapons systems and use of resources, he strengthened operational capacity, reduced operational costs and enhanced stakeholder well-being. Beehler’s previous positions include: sustainability advisor to Koch Industries, US Department of Justice senior environmental enforcement litigator and special legal advisor, US EPA General Counsel and legal counsel to the US Senate Judiciary Committee. Beehler has a J.D./L.L.B. from the University of Virginia School of Law and an A.B. from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, where he was a Rhodes Scholar Semi-Finalist.
E-mail: abeehler@centerforabetterlife.com.

COLONEL GORDON BRATZ, US ARMY RET., has 40 years of senior management experience in mass communications and public relations in the military and with private industry. In his early career, Bratz served as Assistant Professor and Director, English Honors Courses, at both the US Military Academy and the US Air Force Academy. Later he was Assistant Executive (Media Operations) to General Alexander M. Haig, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), in Mons, Belgium. Following this, Bratz became Chief of Public Information, Allied Command Europe, SHAPE, where he arranged and conducted media activities in 16 NATO nations. He was promoted to Deputy Director of Public Affairs, European Bureau, US Department of State and then to Executive Officer and Director of Special Projects, Office of the Chief of Public Affairs, Office of the Secretary of the Army, Pentagon. In addition, Bratz spent several years as Editor, Soldiers magazine, directing a staff of 18 and a budget of nearly $2 million to provide worldwide coverage of Army activities. In his post-military career, he was the Director of Communications for the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) and Editor-in-Chief of their national publications and online media – The Military Engineer magazine, SAME’s Newsletter, SAME’s Annual Directory and www.same.org. Bratz created and orchestrated the non-profit’s first-ever communications program for its 40,000 private industry and military engineers in 142 chapters worldwide. Most recently, Bratz has arranged national technical programs of speakers and panels on public and private infrastructure security policies, programs, methodologies and technologies for The Infrastructure Security Partnership (TISP), a coalition of government departments and agencies created immediately after the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

MR. BADER C. GIGGENBACH is an attorney at law and founding partner of Brewer & Giggenbach, PLLC, in Morgantown, West Virginia. His legal practice is concentrated in the area of litigation, with an emphasis on civil, commercial, employment, domestic, insurance and criminal law. He received a B.A. in political science in 1991 and a J.D. in 1994, each from West Virginia University. Giggenbach is a member of the Monongalia County Bar, the West Virginia State Bar Association, the West Virginia Association of Justice and the Monongalia County Planning Commission, the latter serving on its West Run District Advisory Committee. He is admitted to practice before the state courts in West Virginia in addition to the U.S. Districts Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Giggenbach has been a Legal Aid of West Virginia board member since 2002, and has also served as a Monongalia County Ballot Commissioner. He is on the Political Science Department’s Advisory Committee at West Virginia University’s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. As a practicing sustainable advocate, Giggenbach is working with neighbors and citizens to form the non-profit West Run Watershed Association, Inc., which will treat acid mine drainage affecting this Monongahela River tributary. In addition, he and his partners formed Green Mountain Development, LLC, which gives real estate and home purchasers green alternatives to traditional development and construction. Green Mountain focuses on sustainable development by utilizing green methods of site work, as well as environmentally sensitive construction.

Advisors

MS. DARLENE KETTEN, Ph.D. is a marine biologist and neuro-anatomist specializing in functional analyses and biomedical imaging of sensory systems. She received a B.A. in biology from Washington University, an M.S. in biological oceanography from MIT and a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University (jointly awarded) in neuroanatomy, behavioral ecology and experimental radiology. Her work is a blend of modern biomedical imaging, forensics and biophysical models of hearing in both marine mammals and humans. Ketten currently holds joint appointments as a Senior Scientist in Biology at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and as an Assistant Professor in Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School. Her training includes specialty courses and accreditation in Otopathology at Harvard Medical School and Neuroradiology, Veterinary Pathology and Forensic Pathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. She serves as a specialty lecturer on inner ear imaging, anatomy and CT/MRI diagnostic imaging for head and neck trauma for the American Medical Association. As the world’s foremost expert on marine mammal ears, Ketten travels extensively worldwide to perform beached whale necropsies. Her expertise is continuously requested on numerous boards, panels, committees and briefings such as at NATO’s Intergovernmental Conference, for the Brazilian government and with Advisory Panels for both the US House of Representatives and the US Senate. Ketten’s visiting faculty appointments and invited specialty lectures have taken her from the University of Hawaii to the National Institutes of Health to Denmark’s Odense Universitet. Her expert opinion has even been enlisted by National Geographic in one of its televised specials on blue whales.

MR. JOHN C. GORDON, Ph.D. is Pinchot Professor Emeritus of Forestry and Environmental Studies at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, where he was Dean from 1983-1992. Before that he was Head and Professor, Department of Forest Science, Oregon State University, Professor of Forestry at Iowa State University, and Principal Plant Physiologist at the Pioneering Project in Wood Formation, USDA Forest Service, Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Gordon has a B.S. in forest management and a Ph.D. in plant physiology and silviculture from Iowa State University, and he has been a Fulbright Scholar in Finland (University of Helsinki) and India (Bangalore). His primary expertise is in the biological basis of forest productivity, the management of research and forest policy. Gordon is senior editor of the primary book on biological nitrogen fixation in temperate forest ecosystems and researches the interaction of carbon and nitrogen fixation in forests. He has led several national-level assessments, including those on research and resource management in national parks, forestry research for the National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences, and American Indian forests and forestry. Gordon served as a member of the Congressionally mandated Scientific Panel on Late Successional Ecosystems and was co-chairman of the Seventh American Forest Congress. He has extensive consulting experience with public and private organizations, which includes forest product firms, the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme. Gordon has authored or coauthored over 100 publications, and has overseas experience in a variety of places to include India, Pakistan, China, Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina, Finland and Scotland.

MR. LEWIS E. (ED) LINK, Ph.D. is a Senior Fellow in the R.H. Smith School of Business and Senior Research Engineer in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maryland. Link is an expert in engineering research, federal water resources project evaluation and risk mitigation policy. As a result, he was appointed Director of the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET) by US Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Commanding General Carl Strock in 2005 following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. From 1996-2002 Link was Director of Research and Development and Chief Scientific Advisor for the USACE. Prior to this assignment Link served as the Director and Technical Director of the US Army’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in Hanover, New Hampshire and Fairbanks, Alaska. This facility is the principal federal center of expertise for cold regions engineering research serving both the Department of Defense (DoD) and civilian agencies. Link has served as the Assistant Chief of the Corps at the Coastal Engineering Research Center and has been active in research, which has led to publishing more than 90 technical papers and reports. He has served on or chaired advisory boards and technical committees for NASA, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Society of American Military Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, NATO, the DoD and various universities. Link earned a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, a M.S. in Civil Engineering from Mississippi State University and a B.S. in Geological Engineering from North Carolina State University and has been to Antarctica and the South Pole twice for research purposes.