Tensie Whelan | Director, Center for Sustainable Business at New York University Stern School of Business

Tensie brings expertise in business ethics, sustainable business, and environmentalism. During her tenure at Rainforest Alliance, she increased the organization’s budget from $4.5 million to $50 million; ensured that 17% of the world’s tea, 14% of the world’s cocoa and 5% of the world’s coffee was certified by the Rainforest Alliance; and increased the visibility of the Rainforest Alliance seal from zero to nearly 45%. Under her leadership, the organization recruited 4,000 companies and nearly 5 million producers and their families in more than 60 countries.  Professor Whelan has been working in the environmental field for more than 25 years. Her published works include one of the first books on ecofriendly tourism, Nature Tourism: Managing for the Environment. She has been recognized as one of the “100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics” by Ethisphere and was awarded the James Beard Foundation Leadership Award in 2012.