The Green Sports Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting environmental stewardship in sports, is making changes to its own team as it looks to continue to grow.
The 4-year-old organization will announce today that two members of its board of directors will take on bigger roles:
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Justin Zeulner (left) becomes COO and Allen Hershkowitz president of the GSA.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES; MARC BRYAN-BROWN
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■ Allen Hershkowitz, co-founder of the GSA, will be named president. Hershkowitz has spent the last 26 years with the Natural Resources Defense Council, where he served as senior scientist and sports program director.
■ Justin Zeulner, a GSA co-founding board member, will be named chief operating officer. He most recently was senior project developer of campaigns for Paul Allen’s Vulcan Inc., and previously was director of sustainability and public affairs for the Portland Trail Blazers.
Martin Tull, who was the founding executive director of the organization and managed its overall operations, left the GSA in September.
The organization, which already counts nearly 300 teams, venues and universities as members, will look toward Hershkowitz and Zeulner to co-lead an expanded team into new programs and partnerships.
“Allen is a change agent who was instrumental in developing the very concept of sports greening. Justin was responsible for solidifying the Portland Trail Blazers’ reputation as one of the global leaders in advancing sustainability in sports,” said Scott Jenkins, chairman of the board of the GSA, in a prepared statement. “We look forward to expanding our capacity to help protect the environment by greening the sports industry.”
For the GSA, Zeulner said this is a prime opportunity to retool the organization in a way that allows it to continue to build on the accelerated demand it has seen. The organization launched in March 2011 with six professional teams and five venues as founding members. Now, it has members from 20 sports leagues.
In addition, it has conducted an annual summit for the last four years that discusses best practices, and has a monthly webinar series while also holding workshops throughout the year. Zeulner said the GSA will continue to build out its partnership base with other non-governmental organizations and nonprofits to further share information with its members.
“The league offices we work with are very excited and want us to expand, the international community is asking us to expand, and we see a huge college and minor league expansion in the future as well,” Zeulner said.
The co-leadership role was viewed as a natural fit, Zeulner said, as the board felt the business perspective he brings and Hershkowitz’s environmental background will blend well together. The two already were working closely together, typically talking on the phone most nights, he said.
As for the GSA, the next step is to both build upon and continue with the programs it already offers, Zeulner said. There also will be a step to help connect the international community as well, he said.
The organization, which typically has focused on natural resource conservation, also will look to build out with additional focuses on other areas of environmental stewardship that may resonate more with fans of the sports and teams it works with. For example, one such focus will be on species preservation, rallying behind the spirit of the teams and their mascots.
