Jonathan Smith (Blue Legacy)

Jonathan Smith, Chief Executive Officer / Executive Producer / Director of Media and Communications, Blue Legacy.

"An award-winning speaker and writer, Jonathan Smith is an expert in cause marketing, message management and grassroots advocacy. Prior to joining the Blue Legacy team, he served as the President and CEO of Earth911.com--a search engine and company dedicated to product stewardship and recycling. The site remains Google’s #1 result for “recycle,” “recycling,” and more than 35 top ‘green’ keywords and has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show five times in the past 12 months.

"Born in Tennessee and raised in Oklahoma, Jonathan spent most of his formative years living on a farm (that’s right: chickens, goats, cows, pigs--the whole bit); he even served as a State 4-H President and went on study Agricultural Communications and Marketing at Oklahoma State University. This background has made Jonathan a tireless advocate for sustainable agricultural practices, responsible resource management, water issues and renewable energy. He pioneered the first consumer Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) in wind-rich Oklahoma and developed WindWorks™--a brand and cooperative marketing program for a group of 26 utilities that earned the US Department of Energy’s national award in 2004.

"Jonathan started his first company at the age of 14 and with the backing of a couple of uncles, launched the Entrepreneur 500-recognized Visual Image Photography in Oklahoma City at 19. Since that time he has worked as a brand consultant, lobbyist and communications coach. He was named 2002 Communicator of Year by Oklahoma Living Magazine and has been featured in numerous publications including Entrepreneur Magazine and the Wall Street Journal. His current writing project is titled Communicating Cause™: Emotionalizing Your Brand without Politicizing Your Life."