Co–Executive Director & Green Business Program Director

Susy Borlido

Susy moved to Los Angeles in 2001 after obtaining her BA in Environmental Studies and Resource Management from the University of Toronto. In addition to her Co-Executive Director role, she is the Director of the Green Business Programs at Sustainable Works.  Susy is a GBCI TRUE Advisor and a California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA) Certified Professional in Sustainable Resource Management.

During her tenure at Sustainable Works Susy has assisted over 1,000 companies with greening their bottom line.  She was a key player in the development and launch of several municipal Green Business Certification Programs including Santa Monica (2001), Culver City (2017), and West Hollywood (2024).  Today, under the guidelines of the California Green Business Network, Susy leads the administration and business engagement for many LA area incorporated cities to help them reach their Climate Action goals.  

For over 2 decades, Susy has coordinated and co-produced the Santa Monica Sustainable Quality Awards (SQA) to recognize businesses in the Santa Monica area that are successfully putting sustainable practices into action. Her Green Business programming expertise provides the SQA with many strong business candidates each year. 

Susy led various grants to engage Los Angeles businesses in green initiatives. Her Green Business teams also lead the zero waste initiatives for every Sustainable Works community sustainability event.   

Susy received two Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce Chairman’s Awards and City council commendations for her accomplishments in helping foster sustainable business communities.

Co–Executive Director & Community Sustainability Program Director

Gina Garcia

Having moved from the East Coast to Santa Monica over 35 years ago, Gina considers herself a native. In addition to her current roles as Co-Executive Director, Community Sustainability Director and Buy Local SM Manager, she has worn many additional hats since she began her journey with Sustainable Works in 2007. Her first roles were as Outreach Volunteer and Workshop Instructor. In early 2009, she became the Coordinator of the Student Greening Program and supervised its expansion into the Los Angeles Community College District breaking participation records at Santa Monica College. In August 2010, Gina transferred to the Residential Greening Program as its Director, a position which allowed her to bring issues of sustainability to a broader segment of the Los Angeles Community. When the Residential Greening Program transitioned to the Community Sustainability Program in 2013, Gina began the coordination of city-wide community events, producing over 45 events to date. Gina became Co-Executive Director of Sustainable Works in July 2014, executing the mission and managing the overall operations and growth of the organization. As an Advisory Board Member of Climate Action Santa Monica (CASM), a local grassroots organization dedicated to empowering the community into action on climate change, Gina has the opportunity to connect with and learn from another local nonprofit. She draws inspiration from her family and strives to be a model for her two daughters. She holds a BA in Speech & Theater from Montclair State University and a certification in Horticulture from UCLA.

Green Business Program Senior Account Executive I

Tamsyn Hunnewell

Tamsyn Hunnewell has over a decade of experience in environmental management and consulting with an emphasis on water, waste and energy systems. Tamsyn is a WELL and LEED Accredited Professional who has assisted on green and healthy building project teams.  She is also a GBCI TRUE Advisor and California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA) Certified Professional with expertise in zero waste and sustainable resource management.
Since her arrival to Southern California in 2006, she has been involved with Sustainable Works, starting out as a volunteer before her role with the Green Business Program. Since then, she has greened over 200 companies, successfully helping them integrate comprehensive sustainability strategies and policies, and fostering strong business community leaders. A graduate of Syracuse University with a degree in environmental engineering, Tamsyn worked for several years as an environmental engineer on billion dollar transportation-related projects in New York City. She has also consulted with local organizations such as, Tree People and California Climate Registry. Prior to Los Angeles, she lived in New Zealand where she assisted the work of several environmental
conservation non-profits, including the World Wildlife Foundation’s Climate Change Initiative.

Green Business Program Account Executive

Ivannia Perez-Schlamm

Originally from Chile, Ivannia is a bilingual English/Spanish professional who is on a mission to live a life that supports the natural environment and improves the lives of others. A believer that education is a strong pillar for change and personal improvement, Ivannia feels Sustainable Works’ mission is a perfect fit for her passion to make a difference in todays and tomorrow’s world.  Ivannia’s career spans from sales and customer service management to marketing and advertising. In addition to a Bachelor’s Degree in Food Engineering from the Catholic University of Valparaiso in Chile, Ivannia completed the Recycling and Resource Management (RRM) Certificate of Achievement Studies from Santa Monica College. She is a USGBC LEED Green Associate and certified TRUE Advisor from Green Business Certification, Inc and consistently keeps up to date with subjects related to the industry.
In 2020, Ivannia joined the Equity committee of the California Green Business Network and helps administer the Buy Local Santa Monica campaign. In addition, she supports the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce’s annual Organization of Women Leaders (OWL) annual event.

Board Chair

Vicki Liao

Vicki has 10 years of business development, sales and strategy experience in the media and entertainment industry. She is passionate about sustainability and an advocate for environmental education. She currently serves on the Greener World Board at Sony Pictures studio, which is responsible for planning initiatives to educate employees on sustainability and environmental issues. Additionally, as the co-head of Sony’s employee garden, she launched a learning program in partnership with Sony’s Daycare and Employee Resource Groups to teach sustainable gardening.

In her free time, Vicki enjoys gardening, biking around downtown LA and reading sci-fi books. She holds an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a BS in Business Administration from UC Berkeley. 

Board Member

Edward Pakdaman

Edward is the founder of Process Green, a merchant services business that provides sustainable funds to non-profit organizations. He travelled the world and learned about global issues which left a lasting impact on him and continues to inspire his work today. 
 
After working at the U.S. Department of Commerce, supporting cleaner air mandates for the 2008 Olympics, Edward became deeply passionate about sustainability. In 2008 he worked at Sustainable Works in the Business Greening Program helping businesses adopt sustainable practices and has applied his passion to his work as the founder of Process Green. Edward continues to work towards supporting environmental causes and has developed a business that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for deserving causes. 

Board Member

Zadra Rose Ibañez

Zadra Rose Ibañez began her career in the banking and pension industry before moving into non-profit administration. As Director of Operations for an educational non-profit, Ms. Ibañez has over a decade of experience in fundraising, operations, communication, and non-profit management and currently serves in an advisory capacity for several NPOs in California and New Mexico.
Zadra holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Colorado State University and a certification in Global Sustainability from UCLA. She remains a strong advocate for sustainable practices and is a member of USGBC.