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Robert Newcomer, Esq. is a commercial litigation, environmental and business law attorney with more than fifteen years of experience advising business entities and individual entrepreneurs in clean/green technology and social enterprise areas on a broad range of legal and strategic business issues, including entity formation and governance, contracts, intellectual property, litigation and risk management.  He combines his personal interest in social and environmental responsibility with his professional skills to help clients who seek to make the world a better place.
Mr. Newcomer is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP) and serves on the Sustainable Building Taskforce for Sustainable Atlanta and the Sustainability Taskforce for Atlanta BeltLine.  He is a member of U.S. Green Building Council Georgia Chapter and the Urban Land Institute – Atlanta District Council, where he serves on the Management Committee, Advisory Board and as Chair of the Technical Assistance Program Committee.  Mr. Newcomer helped establish and still serves on a number of non-profit boards, including the Green Chamber of the South, whose mission is to promote sustainable business practices through education, business development and collaboration, and girltank Foundation, whose mission is to empower young women social-change entrepreneurs globally, and WACSI Environmental Education, Inc.  Mr. Newcomer also serves on the board of a 2nd generation family business providing residential and commercial door products and services nationwide.
Mr. Newcomer received his J.D. from Duke University School of Law, where he graduated cum laude and served as an editor of the Duke Environmental Law and Policy Forum and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Management from Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment.
Mr. Newcomer is an avid trail runner and randoneur.

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In September 2001, Stephanie refocused the direction of her marketing communications agency, (The) Communication Works, to assist nonprofits in recovering from the aftereffects of 911. The agency began to work on meetings and events executing fundraising and development campaigns for Georgia Ovarian Cancer Alliance, Athletes for a Better World, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Keep Atlanta Beautiful, and others.
During her work with Keep Atlanta Beautiful, Stephanie learned about Mayor Franklins initiatives for the greening of Atlanta and was inspired to do her part in making Atlanta the Green Capital of the South. As a result, Stephanie founded GreenBusiness Works.
“Sustainable business practices is important to me because of my increasing awareness of climate change and the effect of greenhouse gases on our environment. Concerned, I began looking at the choices I could make to reduce my carbon footprint. After making simple lifestyle changes such as increasing the use of mass transit, composting and recycling, I began to assess my professional life. What changes could we make in our internal operations of the company and how could the company make an impact in the community? With our experience in the marketing communications and event production industry for more than 25 years, it became apparent that we could add another line of business to the 8 year old company, and thus, GreenBusiness Works began.”
To literally walk my talk, I gave up my car Earth DAY of 2010 and write a blog… GOING AWOC… Atlanta WithOut a Car!
Stephanie served on the inaugural board of the Green Chamber of the South and is a volunteer for the Georgia Chapter of the United States Green Building Council as the sponsorship committee chairperson, an ambassador for the Zero Waste Zones (ZWZ)  and a liaison for the Emerging Green Builders. She lives in Ansley Above the Park, a vertical community in Midtown, Atlanta, volunteering as co-chair of the AATP Green Team. She enjoys playing tennis, hiking, golf, horseback riding, and any activity with her five nieces, 3 nephews and her two incredibly adorable great-nephews.

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The Swedish American Green Alliance (SAGA) is a sustainability exchange for Swedish and American researchers, entrepreneurs, policy makers, journalists, legislators, activists, industry leaders, academics, NGOs, and more. SAGA makes connections, cultivates partnerships, and celebrates the ongoing story of progress toward a sustainable future.

Mark Francis Brzezinski was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 18, 2011 to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Sweden.  Mr. Brzezinski has had a distinguished career in both public service and the private sector.  Most recently, he has been a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of McGuireWoods law firm, specializing in anti-corruption law.  In this capacity, Mr. Brzezinski has helped U.S. companies comply with laws regulating the way business is conducted overseas.  At the same time, he has been very active in promoting broader public knowledge about the challenges of overseas corruption and ways law can be used to address it.

Mr. Brzezinski served as a Director on the National Security Council in the White House from 1999 to 2001.  During this time he coordinated interagency policy formulation and advised the President and the National Security Advisor on issues relating to Russia, Eurasia and the Balkans, including regional democracy promotion, international public law, war crimes accountability, and was responsible for public diplomacy relating to the region.  He helped lead U.S. policy implementation in relation to NATO enlargement and in response to the Kosovo conflict.  He also coordinated presidential summits in Russia and Ukraine.  From 1996 to 1999, he was an attorney at Hogan & Hartson law firm, where he assisted U.S. companies to expand their businesses around the world and to create economic opportunities in developing countries.  From 1991 to 1993, he worked in Poland as a Fulbright Scholar, where he researched and wrote about the country’s constitutional transition.

Mr. Brzezinski is a member of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and the Council on Foreign Relations.  He is the author of The Struggle for Constitutionalism in Poland and of numerous articles on foreign policy and law.  He holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College, a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and a Doctorate from Oxford University.

He is married to Natalia Brzezinski, a Huffington Post blogger and freelance writer, and they have one daughter named Aurora Emilie.

Ambassador Jonas Hafström presented his Letter of Credence to the President of the United States of America on September 18, 2007.  Ambassador Hafström arrived in Washington, DC following three years as Ambassador of Sweden to Thailand, also accredited to Laos, Cambodia and  Burma /Myanmar – a position he had held since 2004. From 2000 to 2004 he was  Deputy Director for Consular Affairs and Civil Law at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm. For three years (1991-1994) he served as foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Carl Bildt. Between 1987-1991 and 1994-2000, he was foreign policy adviser to Carl Bildt in his position as leader of the opposition.

Jonas Hafström joined the Foreign Service in 1979. Shortly thereafter he worked as Press Secretary to the Minister of Justice 1979-1981. His first posting was as First Secretary at the Embassy in Teheran from 1982-1984. He then spent the following two years as First Secretary at the Embassy of Sweden in Washington, DC.

Ambassador Hafström also served as a member of the Swedish Defense Committee 1998-99.

Born in 1948, Jonas Hafström is a graduate of the University of Lund and holds a degree in law. During his college years, he was President of the Student Union in Lund. The following two and a half years he served as District Clerk at the District Court in Nyköping. Jonas Hafström is a Non-Commissioned Reserve Captain of the Swedish Army and served as  Aide D’Camp to the Swedish Commanding Officer in the United Nations Peace Keeping Operations in the Middle East in 1977. He received the “Jonas Weiss Memorial Award” in 2005 and The Seraphim Medal from His Majesty the King in 2008 “for meritorious contributions during the tsunami catastrophe in Southeast Asia”. Ambassador Hafström and his wife Eva have three children

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David Miska, director of Environment, Safety and Health (ESH) for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Marietta is a firm believer in striving for excellence. Do not just settle for simply knowing what you know and doing what you do. Develop good work ethics and be an influence on others instead of being a leech. Don’t be contented of just delivering what is expected of you; take it to the next step. And once you’ve exceeded expectations, go back and review where you can course-correct next time. Share your experiences. Do not be embarrassed by your failures but in turn mentor others so they do not make the same mistakes.

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David Miska is director of Environment, Safety and Health (ESH) for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics site in Marietta, Ga. In this role, Miska has overall responsibility for all ESH programs and compliance activities in Marietta, which includes site environmental programs, Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and customer compliance, health and wellness and worker’s compensation. Miska also provides ESH support to ensure ESH-compliant programs at the Meridian, Miss., and Clarksburg, W.Va., plants. Miska came to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in 2011 and has worked for Lockheed Martin in different capacities since 1994. He received his bachelor’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University in Fire and Safety Engineering with a minor in Environmental Health and his master’s degree in Safety Management from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Miska also is a former volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician.

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Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster David Coucheron encourages us to realize & analyze where we want to be and work very systematically in that direction. But at the same time, work for something that we love to do. That way, you have fun while doing what you love most and it doesn’t feel like work. Always strive to find ways to enjoy whatever it is that you do.

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Originally from Oslo, Norway, Concertmaster David Coucheron began playing violin at the age of three. Mr. Coucheron joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as Concertmaster in September 2010.
Mr. Coucheron earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, his Master of Music from the Juilliard School, and his Master of Musical Performance from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, studying with teachers including Igor Ozim, Aaron Rosand, Lewis Kaplan, and David Takeno.
Throughout his career, Mr. Coucheron has worked with conductors such as Robert Spano, Alan Gilbert, Michael Tilson Thomas, Simon Rattle, Mstislav Rostropovich, David Zinman, Roger Norrington, Simone Young, and Charles Dutoit, and performed as a soloist with orchestras including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra (Maxim Vengerov conducting), the Sendai Symphony Orchestra, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. He has played solo recitals at the Oslo Chamber Music Festival, Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall (London), the Kennedy Center, the Olympic Winter Games (Salt Lake City, Utah), as well as in Beograd, Serbia, and Shanghai, China. Mr. Coucheron’s chamber music performances have included appearances at Suntory Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Oslo Chamber Music Festival, and Alice Tully Hall. His recordings with sister, and pianist, Julie Coucheron, include “David and Julie” (Naxos/Mudi), and “Debut” (Naxos).  Some of his awards and recognitions are first prize at the Concorso Internazionale di Musica “Citta di Pinerolo” Competition in 2009 (Turin, Italy), first prize at The Princess Astrid Competition in 2002 (Trondheim, Norway), and Third Prize at the Manchester International Violin Competition in 2005 (Manchester, U.K.).
Mr. Coucheron plays a 1725 Stradivarius.

This Inside the Winners’ Circle special presentation also features , for the first time, two guests co-hosts, Joyce’s son Alex Bone & good buddy Brett Jones. They ask David the questions sent in by the 6^th grade orchestra students of Pinckneyville Middle School under the tutelage of the school’s Orchestra Director Lauren Pittman.

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Sound advice from two super successful pillars of the community and members of Green Chamber of the South. Bernie focuses on our ability to listen. It is not enough to just hear what the other part is saying. Always strive to understand what the other party needs and help each other in finding win-win opportunities for both sides. Robert encourages us to seek and work with people who are doing something they love. People who are passionate with what they do are the most successful people.

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Kevin Link, Senior Vice President Marketing at HTI, warns us to never be complacent with what we already have. Instead, always find a way to be different, to stand out and outsmart the competition.

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Kathy Nguyen, Senior Project Manager at Cobb County Water System, believes that leveraging partnerships & relationships breeds success. Progress is made faster with the help of others, not just yourself.