Joan Bryna Michelson, MBA is an award-winning, creative, business and communications leader, public speaker and reporter/producer, focused on the clean energy- sustainability sector and elevating the visibility of women. She has generated millions in revenue and branding for top companies, government agencies and non-profits, and worked with top media organizations – while focusing on the clean energy issue and bringing more women into the spotlight. In 2015, she was nominated for a White House Champion of Change award by the Department of Energy, and was a C3E Award finalist.
Joan produces and hosts the acclaimed radio-podcast-video series Green Connections RadioTM (GCR), chosen by USA Today in 2015 as one of the top six podcasts, especially for business travelers. She interviews innovators and leaders in the clean energy-sustainability space across sectors and features mostly women.
A hallmark of Joan’s success is her ability to develop innovative strategies and partnerships. For example, she drove “best year ever” growth at Chrysler’s Global Electric Motorcars (GEM) through creative, strategic and integrated marketing communications initiatives (e.g., digital, video, media, government, events) and partnerships with leading organizations in target markets, which were so successful, they were adopted by the parent company as well. “Wins” include: positive Page One coverage in The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, top coverage in Time magazine, Consumer Reports, and The LA Times, on CNN Money, CBS News, "The Today Show," the top pick on Yahoo!. Her communications/marketing clients include: the U.S. Department of Energy and Clean Energy Alliance, Earth Day Network, Global Environment Fund, Northbridge Energy Partners, and environmental consulting firm Marstel-Day.
Joan also helped generate millions in revenue for financial services/management consulting firms, American Express and Deloitte, where she reinvented their business development approaches, created internal and external alliances, developed and produced events, launched new services and into new markets, and served as Managing Editor of multiple publications – all while increasing the visibility of women and responsibility.
A dynamic public speaker, Joan has been a speaker and/or moderator at many events, including: SXSW Eco, the Clean Tech Open SE, National Institutes of Health. U.S. Naval Academy, VERGE, National Council for Science and the Environment’s Conferences, CalSTART HTUF, National Association of Women Business Owners, Executive Women in Government, Women Impacting Public Policy, Zonta International (world’s oldest women’s organization), Media Rise Festival, and the Small Business Administration, as well as chambers of commerce and university events.
Joan’s journalism work includes: Huffington Post blog, Greenbiz, WTOP-FM, CBS News’ "60 Minutes," ABC News, "The Crusaders" and specials on NBC, TheAtlantic.com, The Washington Post, The New Economy, Life & Style magazine, and a column on leadership for a regional business journal, in addition to Green Connections Radio and others. She also penned an excerpt on networking and innovation in FlatWorld Navigation by Kimberly McDonald Chandler (Kogan Press, 2015), and an excerpt on women in government leadership in If Women Ruled the World (Inner Ocean Publishing, 2005), and has a non-fiction book forthcoming in 2017.
Other awards of hers include: Broadcasters Association, International Association of Business Communicators, the American Marketing Association, and the Public Relations Society of America. She has been an Adjunct Professor in the Communications and Journalism Department of Columbia Union College in Maryland, and is actively involved in the community, focused on sustainability, the press and women.
A Bachelor of Arts in English from University of California Los Angeles (2 years at George Washington University), a Master of Business Administration from Bernard M. Baruch College, City University of New York in the executive program, and various post-graduate studies - including in leadership/management at Harvard Business School, New School University, and The Aspen Institute - round out her portrait so far.
As an interesting aside: Michelson is a descendant of three prominent siblings: Albert A. Michelson was the first American scientist to win the Nobel Prize (physics, 1907), Charles Michelson was FDR's White House Communications Director/Press Secretary; and Miriam Michelson literally kept the women’s suffrage movement on the front page as a reporter for the San Francisco Call and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
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If Women Ruled the World
Inner Ocean Publishing [2005] -
Huffington Post, Regular Contributor
The Huffington Post -
GreenBiz, Contributor
GreenBiz -
What Will It Take to Get More Women in Green-Energy Jobs?
The Atlantic [April 27, 2013] -
Tips for finding a green job
WTOP [January 23, 2013] -
Green Connections Radio
Green Connections Radio -
Green Expert
WTOP -
LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn -
Flat World Navigation: Collaboration and Networking in the Global Digital Economy