Trevitt
Schultz |
Trevitt first heard about biofuels during the summer of 2002. Two of his good friends and future bus partners went to a demonstration where a bus was converted to run on vegetable oil. Months later, as the US prepared to invade Iraq, the connections between war and oil had become painfully obvious and Trevitt could no longer ignore the fact that as long as he continued driving on petroleum, he was part of the problem. Buying a bus, converting it to run on vegetable oil and driving around the continent doing educational outreach about biofuels became a positive, direct action that put meaning back into his life. Trevitt uses and promotes biofuels because they lower emissions, they are renewable, they are produced domestically, they are economical, he can make them himself, and he doesn't need to give any money to big oil corporations in order to fuel his life. Trevitt uses biofuels because it feels good. Trevitt has a degree in business finance from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Before being propelled into this current project by the recent US aggression in Iraq he was in the MBA program at Sonoma State as well as preparing to take the CPA licensing exam. Trevitt has had successful careers in photo finishing and accounting. He also loves to cook, especially fried foods! Read an interview with Trevitt for the Pacific Sun. |
Jason Novak
|
From engineering to education, Jason comes to the Unifried team with diverse skills and interests. With a degree in electrical engineering from Santa Clara University, 2 years of experience manufacturing telecom equipment with Hewlett-Packard, and 4 years of outdoor education experience at the Web of Life Field School, his innovating mind blends uniquely with his love for people, education, and adventure. What brought him into the biofuel movement? "I was looking for a technology that is available today, and that I can share wholeheartedly with others knowing that it will improve our environment and our communities. Not only do biofuels reduce air pollution dramatically, they unite communities by localizing production, connecting consumers to the resources and people who produce their fuel." Jason traveled on a segment of the Unifried tour last year, has assisted with several SVO conversions, and helped to set up and run a biodiesel processing station in Santa Cruz. When not touring, Jason can be found trekking in the mountains or playing with children, young and old. |
Devin
O’Keane |
Devin first learned about biodiesel in spring of 2000. He was so fascinated by the idea of making his own renewable, clean burning fuel that he decided that if he ever bought a car it would be diesel and he would make his own fuel out of grease. Several years later Devin has logged over 35,000 miles of biodiesel in his Mercedes 300TD and over 6,000 miles in his Dodge Ram pick-up, all on homemade fuel. He is opposed to war over resources, he wishes to do his part to help the Earth and he supports a local, green economy. These are the reasons Devin founded the Chico Biodiesel Collective and is currently working with the Butte County Air Quality Management District to improve emissions in his area. He is committed to sharing his biodiesel brewing skills with everyone. This is one reason Devin is traveling around the country and world conducting public education and outreach workshops. He wants to be part of the solution to local, national, and global energy needs. Devin has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Policy and Behavior from the University of Michigan. |
Janice
Ledgerwood |
Janice has a Master of Fine Arts degree and was recently an adjunct faculty member at the University of Southern California where she taught Printmaking and Design Fundamentals. While there, Janice transformed Printmaking, a medium with a very poisonous history, into a non-toxic art form through the use of new technology developed to reduce and/or eliminate the use of toxic chemicals in printmaking processes. As an artist, Janice combines computer technology with traditional art media, and has shown her work in numerous group and individual exhibitions, including most recently, LA Projects at De Parel Space, Amsterdam, Purdue University in Indiana, and John Wayne Airport in Orange County, CA. Her work has a decidedly socio-political direction and addresses issues such as consumerism, corporate greed, and environmentalism. Believing art to be a vehicle for social change as well as individual expression, Janice is hard at work producing a documentary about Unifried and the biofuels movement. When not sitting in front of her computer editing video footage, Janice enjoys hiking and camping, especially near hot springs! |
Emily
Nella |
Emily woke up to the urgency of political activism on September 11th, 2001, when she was living in New York City. Since then, she has worked as an organizer on two different college campuses: Sarah Lawrence College where she earned her B.A., and City University of New York at Hunter College through NYPIRG (New York Public Interest Group). She has been engaged in forest defense activism in the Pacific Northwest, the anti-sweatshop movement, the fight for Higher Education access for all, oil dependency activism, and peace and anti-war activism. For ten years of her life, she was immersed in the world of theater and performance. She especially enjoys participating in creative and joyfully subversive acts of dissent and/or raising consciousness. This fall, she discovered that a focus on biofuels would perfectly incorporate her passions for sustainability, community empowerment, and anti-war and peace activism in a proactive way. She loves merging art with activism and believes it is the hope for our future. |
Moe
Beitiks |
Moe Beitiks dances, writes, gardens, reads and digs. She grew up in San Francisco. She studied theater at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She was a Fulbright Scholar in Scenic Design to Latvia. Her accordion-playing pensioner Latvian landlady taught her how to barbecue shashlik, and why it's good to plant onions in the strawberries. She's been looking for a stronger connection to land ever since. |
Ben Jordan
|
Benjamin P. Jordan, P.E., Technical Consultant, provides civil engineering expertise for sustainable ecological design projects including water conservation, biodiesel production and permaculture education. He has extensive experience in the design and construction of municipal and residential utility infrastructure, biodiesel market development in San Francisco and sustainable community development projects. Before establishing an ecological design and education firm, Mr. Jordan worked for four years for private engineering consultants and has certifications in green design, composting education and tank inspection. Mr. Jordan holds a California Professional Civil Engineering License and a B.S. degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan. He is the founder of Healthy Fuels, a non-profit organization that promotes sustainable and environmentally sound biofuels. Read an interview with Ben Jordan for the San Francisco Chronicle. |
| Kerry has always had a strong passion to make a positive impact on the world. Educating about biofuels is an important and exciting way of continuing on that path. Kerry loves to learn. Her favorite classroom is under a canopy of trees. Working as an environmental educator for the Marin County Outdoor School, traveling, and attending college full time has allowed Kerry opportunities be both a student and a teacher. Herbs, gardening, yoga, cooking and biofuels are subjects of study that Kerry has a particular interest in gaining and sharing knowledge about. Kerry will be attending the University of California at Santa Cruz this fall to obtain a degree in environmental studies with an emphasis in sustainable agriculture and ethno botany. | |
Ben
Abraham
|
Leisure Man's schedule is so full of leisure acitivities that it would be a shame to disrupt him to write a biography. However, reliable sources tell us that Ben is an outdoor educator with Marin County Schools. |
Rhonda
Sandhu
|
Rhonda enjoys bringing awareness to the present moment. Her love for Holistic bodywork has given the gift of being grounded in the here and now. A background in Photography and Marketing has given insight into the many ways the world can be perceived. Her perception is that the body-mind awareness and the bio-fuel movements are perfectly manifested in this time, for significant change to take place. Working on her-self and facilitating classroom dialog around Somatic Psychology, Communications, Neuromuscular Therapy and SVO/Bio-Fuel are just about as fun as hanging out with Dingo the Dog! |
| Mara is fueled by respect and admiration for nature as well as a drive for social justice. She is determined to be part of the solution and wishes to empower communities to become healthy and self sufficient. Her vision is to create a sustainable community that supports local artisans by facilitating fair exchanges of culture, art, and appropriate technology. She was born in 1979 in Oaxaca, Mexico to an American mom and a Mexican dad. Mara attended a bilingual school in PuertoVallarta, Mexico and moved to Northern California to attend California State University, Chico. She has recently earned a degree in Business Administration & Marketing, with an emphasis in environmental ethics. On Unifried, Mara has found that making your own fuel from waste veggie oil is not only feasible and fun, it can also be a catalyst for building self-sufficient communities. | |
| Hannah can usually be found with her hands in soil or compost-- farming, gardening, or teaching kids about agriculture. She likes nothing more than eating leafy greens straight from the garden. Her interest in creating positive alternatives to environmental and social problems led her first to sustainable agriculture, and now to biofuels. She also enjoys silkscreening radical agriculture propaganda T-shirts. | |
| Kevin was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. He spent 5 years climbing, hiking, kayaking and playing in and around Santa Barbara while attending UCSB. He graduated in 1997 with a Film Studies and Communications Degree, and returned to L.A. to work in film, video and television production. With experience in both scripted and reality production as a camera person, he has been shooting footage for our Unifried documentary during portions of the New England section of our tour. He discovered biodiesel, SVO and all their wonderful reasons for wider exposure through the veggiebus.com and biodiesel.org websites prior to joining his cousins Mara and Trevitt on the tour. Grease is good! | |
| This Santa Cruz native joined the Unifried Biofuel Caravan as a part
of his long term goal of taking over the world using and formenting an Undauntable Spirit of Adventure. Between frequent and delicious Monkeybuckets and climbing trees in truck stops he sings the praises of biofuels as alternatives to profound dismay. |
|
Heather Hobbs |
Heather
enjoys teaching environmental and outdoor education to urban
youth. She
is often found salsa dancing, doing yoga in the
sun, swimming outside or eating fresh, organic veggies. Heather
is passionate about traveling and loves learning about foreign cultures,
dances and holistic health. While on the Veggie Bus she hopes
to inspire individuals and communities to think creatively and
to make socially responsible, environmentally sustainable decisions. |
The Crew from the Unifried Biofuel Tour 2003:
Melissa Hardy |
Steve O'Shea
|
Andy O'Shea
|
John O'Reilly |
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