Fourth Economy Pioneers are individuals that are providing leadership and results in their respective areas of interest. They are extensions of the Fourth Economy team and we have structured relationships to allow for their involvement in our projects.
Lynn Colosi
Transportation Pioneer
Lynn Colosi is our public transportation pioneer and will be supporting Fourth Economy’s development efforts by linking transit and multimodal solutions to sustainable land use strategies. In 2003 Lynn and her partners started Clear View Strategies, a public transportation consulting firm working primarily with transit agencies, municipalities, developers and other consultant specialists. Lynn has been in the transit industry for 21 years, having worked 14 of those years at Port Authority of Allegheny County. Her more notable work includes transit and funding solutions for Eastside Development, a $200+ million mixed-use development around East Liberty Busway Station in Pittsburgh’s East End and the “Future Investment in TOD”, a a step-by-step work book that planners can use to determine whether TOD is an effective method for planning and developing sites around transit or transit station areas.
Lynn is a graduate of CORO Women in Leadership 2003, has a BA in Communications / Journalism from Duquesne University and an MA in Labor Relations from St. Francis University.
Rebecca L. Flora, AICP, LEED AP BD+C
Sustainability Pioneer
Rebecca L. Flora, is a D.C. based consultant whose work focuses on the creation of “Sustainable Societies” through facilitated planning processes and knowledge exchange that is supported by her expertise in sustainable development. Prior to starting her own consulting practice, RLF Collaborative, Rebecca was the Senior Vice President of Education and Research at the U.S. Green Building Council. While at USGBC she led the transformation of the education and research programs of USGBC creating new business models and methods in response to fast changing market needs globally. Her transformational leadership and entrepreneurial approach was also well established during her years at the head of the Green Building Alliance (GBA) in Pittsburgh. As GBA’s, first executive director she led many initiatives that established the Western Pennsylvania region as an earlier pioneer and leader in the green building movement. During her 11 years with GBA she worked on many LEED projects and served as the LEED AP for the world’s first green convention center; she led the creation of the Green Building Products Initiative – a program created to grow Pennsylvania’s green economy; and, was instrumental in the development and approval of Pittsburgh’s Climate Action Plan. Her work prior to GBA was solidly based in community development, as executive director of the South Side Local Development Company and project manager for the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh. In these positions she was directly involved in over 200 acres of brownfield redevelopment along Pittsburgh riverfronts and led the revitalization of the South Side neighborhood through National Main Street and affordable housing development programs. Rebecca has served on multiple boards and committees including serving as USGBC Board Chair in 2008 where she co-led the organization’s strategic planning process. She has served as an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College and was one of the first USGBC LEED Faculty members. She is a widely recognized thought leader that is often requested to speak at national and international events and provide commentary to the media and other public forums.
Rebecca holds a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Science from Plattsburgh SUNY. She also holds several professional certificates, including The National Development Council’s Economic Development Finance Professional certification, GBCI’s LEED Accredited Professional and the American Institute of Certified Planners. She has received several recognitions and awards, including being named an “Environmental Hero for 2004” by Interiors & Sources magazine, as one of “The Top 50 Cultural Forces in Pittsburgh” by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, AIA Pittsburgh’s Leadership Award and Carnegie Science Center’s Environmental Award in 2009.
Jeremy Kalin
Market Intelligence Pioneer
Jeremy Kalin is our first Pioneer and will be supporting our sustainable development efforts and market intelligence. Jeremy is a retiring Minnesota State legislator who is also launching a new consulting company called Eutectics Consulting. Kalin is completing his second term in the Minnesota House of Representatives where he gained national recognition for his work on clean energy policy. As Chair of the national Coalition of Legislators for Energy Action Now (CLEAN), Kalin has worked closely with the Obama administration, national clean energy advocates and clean tech innovators.
Kalin holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota, a graduate education in architecture, and a Juris Doctorate from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, MN. Kalin was named a “Legislative All-Star” by Fresh Energy and has been called “one of the Legislature’s rising stars” by the Minneapolis StarTribune. Kalin has spoken at the National Press Club and the United States Senate, and frequently speaks to national clean energy conferences.
Tom Kristofco
Business Optimization Pioneer
Tom Kristofco specializes in strategic planning, business optimization and sale, business continuity planning and management consulting services. As founder and CEO of Business Continuity Concepts, Tom offers more than twenty-five years of management experience in the start-up, growth, optimization, and sale of technology, software, and service business enterprises.
Prior to establishing Business Continuity Concepts, Tom founded and served as the CEO of Blair Technology Group, a business continuity planning and technology management consulting firm, which was acquired in 2005 by Paradigm Holdings (PDHO).
Tom is an honors graduate of Saint Francis University of Pennsylvania and holds the designation of Certified Public Accountant. He is a frequent presenter and author in the areas of strategic planning, optimization and sale of business enterprises, business continuity program development, and data breach incident response planning.
Jeffrey Sanders
Land Use Pioneer
Jeff Sanders is the owner of Community Planning & Consulting, LLC in Green Bay, Wisconsin. For the past 18 years, he has worked as an environmental/land use planner assisting Wisconsin communities in achieving their long-term planning goals. Jeff specializes in sustainable development, conservation design, public participation, green infrastructure, watershed restoration, and Tribal land use law.
Mr. Sanders has authored more than 50 local comprehensive plans, subdivision ordinances, and zoning ordinances…most focused on the incorporation of sustainability into local land use policy. During the late 1990s he managed the $21.8 million Duck Creek/Apple-Ashwaubenon Creeks Priority Watershed Project, one of the most successful watershed restoration efforts in Wisconsin’s history. Jeff is a professionally trained facilitator who has led more than 400 strategic planning meetings around the state.
Sanders graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay with degrees in Urban & Regional Studies and Environmental Policy & Planning. He is currently completing his Masters degree in Environmental Science & Policy. Jeff has lectured at a number of universities in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and has spoken at more than two-dozen conferences around the Great Lakes region. He is a past President of Sustainable Green Bay.
Jocelyn Sheppard, Ph.D.
Strategy Pioneer
Jocelyn Sheppard facilitates the creation, planning, and execution of new ventures and initiatives. As Principal Consultant at Red House Consulting, Jocelyn provides feasibility studies; business plans and proposals; strategic and operational planning; and project and event planning for clients in the business, nonprofit, and government sectors.
Prior to founding Red House Consulting, Jocelyn was a program manager at the National Technology Transfer Center where she designed and managed commercialization feasibility studies for new technologies belonging to commercial, federal, and academic clients. The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory credited her reports for helping to secure the interest of potential investors and licensees in JPL technologies.
Jocelyn holds an M.L.S. and a Ph.D. in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She earned a BA in Comparative Literature from the University of Virginia. She has written articles and presented workshops on market and industry research, technology transfer tools, and effective writing.
Joseph Vranich
Relocation Pioneer
Joseph Vranich is an Executive Coach who specializes in business growth and relocation. He has addressed business issues on ABC, BBC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, Japan Broadcasting, MSNBC, NBC, NPR and PBS. After one of his speeches on the subject of businesses leaving California for business-friendly states, California Assemblyman Dan Logue said, “I wish we could hire him to work in the governor’s office to redirect this ship before it washes upside down.”
His contributions to organizational growth include serving as a coach to the CEO of an early-stage entrepreneurial venture, board member of a technology licensing company, and advisor to a new national think tank to be based in Virginia.
He has served as a public policy consultant to international customers, as CEO of an international trade association, as a crisis communications spokesperson in cases that generated national media coverage, and as a board member of the Professional Coaches and Mentors Association.
