Founder & Co-CEO
Kenny Ausubel is an award-winning social entrepreneur, author, journalist and filmmaker. He is the Founder & Co-CEO of Bioneers, a nationally recognized nonprofit dedicated to disseminating practical and visionary solutions for restoring Earth’s imperiled ecosystems and healing our human communities. He launched the annual Bioneers Conference in 1990 with his producing partner and wife Nina Simons, Bioneers co-executive director.
Kenny serves as executive producer of the Bioneers plenary series airing on Free Speech TV and Link TV. He acted as a central advisor to Leonardo DiCaprio's feature documentary, The 11th Hour, and appears in the film.
Kenny co-founded the national company Seeds of Change in 1989 and served as CEO until 1994 to restore “backyard biodiversity” into the food web through marketing organic, biodiverse heirloom seeds to gardeners.
Kenny has written three books and edited two volumes of the Bioneers book series. For the past four years, Kenny has served as executive producer and principal writer of the award-winning radio series, Bioneers: Revolution from the Heart of Nature.
Since the 1970s, Kenny has published articles on topics ranging from alternative medicine and environmental health to social justice and politics. His writings have been published most recently in online media including the Huffington Post, Orion and Alternet and in magazines such as Utne, Explore, Alternative Therapies and Tikkun.
Co-Founder & Co-CEO
Nina Simons is a social entrepreneur and Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Bioneers. Previously, she served as president of Seeds of Change and as director of strategic marketing for Odwalla. In addition to advancing practical social and environmental strategies, Nina has an enduring interest in the leadership of women and girls, which has long been reflected in Bioneers’ conference programming and media. Nina is co-editor of Moonrise: Power of Women Leading from the Heart, and co-teaches Cultivating Women's Leadership, a six-day intensive forum for women entrepreneurs, donor activists and other nonprofit practitioners.
In 2002, Nina produced a retreat for diverse women leaders called UnReasonable Women for the Earth, to envision a broad progressive women’s movement with environmental restoration at its heart. The gathering served as an incubator, resulting in the formation of CodePink: Women for Peace. Together with her husband and partner Kenny Ausubel, Nina was named an Utne Reader Visionary in 1996. They received the Robert Rodale Award in 2003 for their work in bringing the emergent field of Ecological Medicine to public awareness. Kenny and Nina received the Green Cross Millennium Award for Community Environmental Leadership in 2006. Nina serves on the board of the David Brower Center.
VP, Advancement
Peter Mattair joined Bioneers in 2003. From 1991 to 2003, he served as the program officer first and then the executive director of a national foundation making grants to protect and encourage traditional arts. He went into that body of work inspired by his experiences as director of the Music of the Americas program at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, where he was also development director.
Peter started his career as a publicist with Paramount Pictures in New York City, where he was privileged to assist the studio historian. He was an early volunteer with Gay Men's Health Crisis, New York’s and the world's first AIDS education, service and advocacy organization. Peter has served on the Santa Fe Arts Commission and as a board member of the New Mexico Association of Grantmakers, which he helped to found. He feels deeply honored to have been president of the board of Many Mothers, an organization in Santa Fe providing support to any family with a newborn child. He currently serves on the advisory council of Art for Healing, placing donated works of art in medical, healing and hospice facilities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.
VP, Finance
Jeffrey Vasterling joined Bioneers in 2000. He spent his youth in the Midwest and has an education in Anthropology and Psychology. He has previously worked as a professional in the healing arts and as an office manager in a small doctor's office.
For 19 years, Jeffrey has lived in the same house in Santa Fe, New Mexico with his best friend, Susan. He's a gardening and outdoor enthusiast, and he loves movies.
VP, MarCom & Media Development
Kate Hunter – Bio forthcoming.
