Green Hands USA: America Volunteers

GREEN HANDS USA TEAM

CATHERINE BILLON, Founder
 
Catherine Billon has spent 20 years devising and launching new businesses in media and entertainment companies such as Time Warner, Discovery Channel, Columbia Tri-Star, National Geographic Television and two Internet start-ups.  She founded Green Hands USA out of the desire to connect people, ideas, and information around a movement of positive social and environmental change. Although lately she's been focused on building Green Hands USA into the leading eco-friendly sercices company, she hopes to get back to skiing in the mountains of Colorado some time in the distant future.

She graduated from Brown University and Columbia Business School.

RUSTY CORISTINE, Founder

Rusty Coristine is an accomplished industry leader with 30 years experience in media, digital, mobile and entertainment. Rusty specializes in new product development for multi-media properties and advertising sales management.

His experience includes serving in senior executive positions at Time Warner including: Executive Vice President of the AOL Time Warner Local Partnership Group, Corporate SVP & General Manager of Six Flags Theme Parks Promotion Network, responsible for all local and national sponsorship sales, Vice President, Promotions at Time Warner Entertainment and Director of Entertainment Marketing, People Magazine.

Coristine later served as President of NCE (Niven-Coristine Entertainment), a partnership with film and television producer David Niven, Jr. NCE specialized in national fund-raising and public relations events for non-profit organizations, including UNICEF. Working with Sir Roger Moore, their efforts helped produce the 50th Anniversary Show for UNICEF at the United Nations General Assembly.

Rusty has been involved in environmental issues for several years with "Save the Bay" in his native state, Rhode Island and was responsible for writing and passing the Narragansett Bay Oyster Restoration Act, legislation which helps restore the shellfish population and produce a cleaner saltwater ecosystem for Narragansett Bay.

Rusty began his career in the media department at Grey Advertising before joining Playboy Magazine, Rolling Stone Magazine and Billboard Entertainment in promotion and advertising sales positions. He is an original Co-Founder of Zoove, a Mobile Marketing Technology Company employing StarStar dialing. 

Mr. Coristine is a graduate of Bryant College.

TIMOTHY J. SMITH, Vice President, Community Relations

Timothy J. Smith has been a member of the Rhode Island business community for more than 20 years. Tim’s successful business background includes positions in Sales and Marketing, Business Development and Management. Over the years, Tim has been a positive participant in his local business community’s events and an active member and supporter of his local Chamber of Commerce.

Tim is also an active member in many important community organizations such as Save the Bay, The Potter Animal Rescue League, Hugs and Halos and The Mt. View Beach Cleanup. With a passion for environmental issues and a love of working and interacting with people, Tim joined Green Hands USA to support and assist local communities and organizations all across the country to achieve their important environmental goals.

Tim has lived his entire life in Coastal Rhode Island. He lives with his wife Catherine and their two dogs Lubin and Sunny.  They are quite a sight when they are all out and about on their daily stroll in their local state park.

JOHN R. PLATT, Editorial Director

John Platt is an accomplished journalist and editor and the Editorial Director of Green Hands USA.  John has worked as a freelance writer and marketing consultant, focusing on environmental issues, cutting-edge technology, entrepreneurship, and, yes, cartooning for more than 10 years.  He also writes about endangered species for Scientific American and green technology for several other publishers.

John has published more than 100 short stories and poems in anthologies and magazines around the world. He is also an occasional cartoonist, with several mini-comics, a web comic, and a few gag panels under his belt.  John lives on the coast of Maine where he spends his spare time in the great outdoors, or, on rainy days, inside drawing cartoons.

WILL NICKLIN, Technical Advisor
Will Nicklin has 20 years experience helping companies grow by leveraging technology. Having started as a developer, Will moved on to bridge IT with business in the commerce, publishing and health industries, most recently as VP Technology at Matria Healthcare (through acquisition of Miavita, Inc - where he was a member of the founding management team). A desire to return to the adventures of startups and a keen interest in the environment led him to join Green Hands USA. To keep balance outside work, Will likes to keep up his karate practice and explore ways to put sustainable living into practice back at his family home in rural Virginia.

Company 52
Company 52 is an interactive agency that creates branded experiences. They specialize in custom software solutions that are tailored for each client's unique needs, helping clients succeed by envisioning and deploying creative content, community, and commerce solutions that people love to use.