Planet Partnership » Our Staff

Our Staff

Planet Partnership® pride’s itself on it’s team approach to all projects and the partnership we practice with each other. Our staff comes from varying backgrounds with a diversity in business and sustainability experience, but the common thread among them is the passion they have for shaping a more sustainable world.

Roberta Fernandez, President and Founder

Roberta is recognized as a leading and passionate voice for sustainability through education, personal responsibility and action. She was one of the first 50 volunteers to be selected and personally trained by Al Gore to present his acclaimed climate change message to the public. Roberta also helped train over 1,000 additional presenters in her role as Senior Mentor for the Climate Project, and this inspired her to join the sustainability movement. An entrepreneur for more than 20 years, Roberta’s accomplishments in education and business were many, from being a Certified Financial Planner for American Express, to founding The Montessori Children’s House of Hyde Park in 1996, serving as Director for 11 years. Roberta’s ability to see the need for sustainability education across many areas is evident in the five divisios of Planet Partnership®, where she seeks to reach organizations, individuals, and students through innovative and creative ways.

“There are many important things going on in the world, but if we don’t have a planet that can support and sustain us, not much else will matter for future generations. Planet Partnership strives to spread that message of sustainability to as many as possible, because we’re all in this together – and it’s going to take all of us, working towards that common goal, to turn things around.”

Andy Owens – Director of Education and Creative Projects

Andy has worked with Sea World Adventure Parks as a member of the curriculum design team, was a member of the master planning team for the Orlando Science Center, Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom, and at MOSI as Director of Education. He also worked as a member of the concept team at the Naples Botanical Garden in Florida, and it was during that time that he began his studies in the field of Ethnobotany. He had the opportunity to study with Dr. Paul Allen Cox, one of the world’s leading ethnobotanists. He also works with the National Science Foundation on a research project to study how families learn in in-formal learning environments.

“ I am very passionate about education and creating learning opportunities that combine culture, science, and intergenerational aspects. Planet Partnership provides a forum for me to use these skills in a powerful way to make this a better place for future generations.”

Leslie Laney – Sustainability Specialist

A Florida native, she worked for Sam’s Club for sixteen years. It was there that she uncovered her true passion, sustainability. She assisted with the pilot of PSP (Personal Sustainability Practice)as the regional sustainability coordinator for the company, in which associates were educated about the effects of their daily actions on the world. They learned how to take sustainable practices into their homes, help the environment, and save them money in the process. Leslie created and led community programs that helped organizations such as The Centre for Women and Knights Elementary School, and organized sustainability fairs at the clubs that allowed members to drop off their electronics for recycling and learn about home energy audits from the local utilities. She coordinated the “Play your Part” campaign which provided an opportunity for corporate vendors to educate members on their sustainable products. Leslie comes with a broad range of experience in creating successful partnerships with organizations, businesses, utilities and governments in order to promote sustainable initiatives. She brings a wealth knowledge of sustainability initiatives from the large corporate sector.

Leslie says, “Although working for a large corporation gave me the ability to impact things on a large scale, I felt that this was not my true calling. With the experience that I have working in corporate America, as well as dealing with small businesses on a daily basis, I felt that I could put my skills to work helping other companies and business grow their triple bottom line: People, Profit, and Planet. With that said, I have left corporate America and joined forces with Roberta here at Planet Partnership to pursue my passion – the education of sustainability!”

Claudia Lewis - Sustainability Specialist

Claudia is a psychologist, conservation biologist, and an environmental educator with 20 years of diverse experience in the environmental education and sustainability fields. She has been interested in the field of sustainability since she was a graduate student at the University of Florida, where she conducted her thesis research in the Colombian Amazon rainforest with the ultimate goal of devising a sustainable development plan for the region as well as an environmental education program. Her experience in the environmental education field includes writing environmental curricula with a focus on sustainability, developing and teaching environmental education programs, and designing and reviewing evaluation tools. She is also a nationally certified interpretive guide and trainer. Over the last 10 years, she has designed multi-million dollar exhibits and produced interpretive materials for a variety of organizations.

Claudia says, “Joining Planet Partnership was a wonderful opportunity for me to become part of a team of dedicated and talented individuals, who are at the forefront of the movement to effect the change this world needs. Planet Partnership offers me the opportunity to utilize my knowledge and experience to empower businesses and community to make the move toward sustainability, one that education alone can’t achieve.”

Bruce Walling – Director, Ideal Student Initiative®

Raised in Florida, Bruce worked in the employee benefits business for over 30 years, providing group health, life and disability benefits for all sizes of American businesses. After retiring from the benefits business, he started a successful promotional products marketing business working with some of America’s largest corporations providing successful recognition campaigns. Being a strong advocate of civic and business organizations, he has sat on many boards of directors including several chamber of commerce and education foundations along with professional boards. It is his desire to serve that brought him to Planet Partnership® and the Ideal Student Initiative®.

Bruce says, “There is nothing more important than helping young people develop the skills they need to face the challenges
they face in the 21^st century: Sustainability, global climate change, conservation of our natural resources, and learning to work together to help solve these issues. I hope to lend my business experience, marketing skills and my “can do” attitude to the implementation of the outstanding programs Planet Partnership provides.”

Brad Neff – Director, Ideal Ideal Island®
Government Specialist

For more than 15 years Brad has been providing consulting, executive coaching and strategic planning services to corporate and non-profit clients. He educates clients on best practices, regulatory compliance, and the reduction of wasteful activities. Brad helped lead the real estate industry to adopt online, electronic transactions equipped with electronic signature capabilities. This reduced dependence on a paper-based business model that required large volumes of documents to be couriered to and from multiple locations during a single transaction and then be physically stored onsite somewhere. Additionally, he has designed and served as lead product and development manager for software programs that run locally and in online cloud environments. His lecture series teaches businesses to be more effective in harnessing new and evolving tools and technologies. This makes Brad a natural addition for the Planet Partnership® team.

Jennifer Petta – Director of Business Development
Jennifer is an accomplished sales and marketing executive. Her career spans employment and consulting with Fox News Corporation, Post-Newsweek, Hearst Argyle and Cox Communications. She has trained sales teams in business development, account management, and developed internal sales initiatives. In her tenure as a sales trainer, she helped generate over 20 million dollars in incremental revenue for her clients.

Jennifer says, “I’m passionate about everything I do. Aligning with Planet Partnership brings more meaning to my work. I still play a consultative role with my clients – only the education is on how to grow their bottom line in a more socially responsible way. It’s very exciting to communicate to a business how to become more efficient and more profitable by incorporating sustainable practices into their overall business strategy. ”