Principals
What impressed me most about the finished product was that it was not just a laundry list of shortcomings and recommendations, but a thoughtful insight into all levels of our operation providing us with specific actionable steps to lead us forward… I was greatly impressed by their professionalism and the results and recommendations they presented… I highly recommend both Steve and Heidi to any potential clients.
—David Sullivan, General Manager, Pan Pacific Hotel, Seattle.
Given Steve and Heidi's understanding of and relationship to the lodging and tourism industry, and their demonstrated ability and effectiveness, I urge you to seriously consider Calyx Sustainable Tourism as the most appropriate choice for your green project.
—Jan Simon Aridj, President and CEO Washington State Hotel & Lodging Association
STEVEN GERSMAN
Steven Gersman is a graduate of Hotel Institute Montreux, a Swiss hotel management school. He has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration, and a dual Masters in Organizational Communication and Training & Development. He has worked in the hotel industry as well as serving as an independent environmental consultant to the industry.
By managing the whole experience of making or improving the transition to green hotel or convention center status, Steve relieves the General Manager and Executive Team of much of the time and complexity involved, putting it all together in one complete package.
Steve is very customer focused; ensuring project and program deliverables meet customer expectations. He is thorough in meeting his commitments and responsibilities, and in my personal experience working with him, he consistently met timelines and exceeded expectations… Steve is good at seeing the big picture yet managing the details to ensure a balanced focus. He asks insightful questions and challenges the status quo — personally & professionally… On a personal note, Steve is a delight to work with — witty, intelligent, humorous and caring — all of the things that make for a great work environment. He was a terrific team partner and someone that could be counted on to bring a new look at things.
Lisa J. Altman-Hirsch, Colleague at a former employer
Steve brings to the table years of management and organizational experience. He is skilled in areas of organizational development (OD), project management, training and development (T&D), organizational communications, performance management linked to environmental goals, and continuous quality improvement. He is focused on measurable outcomes with ongoing monitoring and improvement.
Steve has incorporated many of the techniques that earned him recognition into his work on sustainable tourism. He has designed an award winning, online performance management system, and has provided change management support designed to help employees deal with five mergers in as many years. Steve was featured in Training, a respected trade journal, for developing a uniquely innovative new hire orientation program. He is a skilled facilitator who has conducted executive retreats, problem solving groups, and quality improvement projects.
Over the years, his work has saved millions of dollars for organizations, increased efficiency and productivity, and motivated employees and executives alike.
He is a member of the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC) and has been invited to join the hospitality committee of the Convention Industry Council (CIC) and ASTM, a standards setting organization (formerly the American Society for Testing and Materials). They are working on creating standards for green meetings. He has also conducted green hotel assessment work, developed a statewide survey of environmental practices in hotels, and created a program for the Washington Hotel & Lodging Association (WSH&LA) called "Greening Washington's Lodging Industry."
Outside of his work, Steve has performed in leadership positions for a number of non-profit organizations including Leadership Tomorrow, a joint venture of The Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce and The United Way. Its mission is "to develop effective community leaders who work to strengthen our region."
HEIDI SIEGELBAUM
Heidi Siegelbaum started her environmental career as in-house legal counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's industrial chemical and biotechnology program where she provided policy, regulatory and legal guidance to a large federal regulatory program. Here she honed her negotiation, contract and analytical skills that continue to serve her well. Previous to that, she had worked on several farms, attended cooking school at L'Academie de Cuisine, and worked in hotels in addition to holding positions with Wall Street law firms, Congress, and non-profit agencies helping battered women.
Aligning her deep passion for food and travel with environmental issues, she started working on sustainable tourism and hotel greening in 1996. Since then, she has provided program, policy and training to the tourism industry through many projects.
She was a staff member of the Puget Sound Partnership where she conducted public meetings and analyzed all external comments provided to the Partnership's draft final recommendations. She also developed and analyzed Puget Sound Communication and Educator networks, the results of which were used to create the implementation network across the Sound.
Heidi consistently demonstrated other skills/characteristics that make her an invaluable team member, bringing organization and creating productive, cross-disciplinary approaches.. [she] is perhaps the most adept information researcher that I have worked with in my 20 years at EPA. Heidi works on the issues that she chooses because they are important to her, and she is committed to the success of the work that she undertakes. Heidi has been an outstanding colleague, and as a past director of mine would have described, simply top-notch.
Michael Rylko, Puget Sound Basin Technical Coordinator, United States EPA, Region 10
Heidi led the Puget Sound Georgia Basin Ecosystem Indicators Workgroup for over four years which led to the culmination of two reports, the most recent of which is an on-line suite of nine indicators that describe the story of British Columbia and Washington's shared basin ecosystem. She is considered a national expert on transboundary indicator development and reporting. She was also the senior analyst for performance measurement for the Washington State Department of Ecology and guided performance management and measurement development across 11 departments, including finance and administration.
She was asked in 2007 to write for American Public Media's ® Greenwash Brigade and specializes in greenwashing and vetting products and companies for legitimate green practices and policies. Heidi continues to write for this blog with three other individuals nationwide. Please see the Resources page for a link.