Sean Schmidt
November 29th, 2007
Sean is the Lifestyle Ambassador and Co-founder of SSF. Sean learned his first lessons in respecting people and the environment from his grandmother, Rosie, while growing up on a small family farm in Nebraska. As the son of a zoological park administrator, Sean learned first-hand the art and science of preserving biological and cultural diversity from an early age. Sean has a unique combination of science and business credentials with degrees in behavioral ecology and conservation biology, the ability to communicate in five languages and eighteen years in the corporate world. Sean has taken part in research projects throughout the world including song sparrows and terrestrial amphibians in Washington State, investigating conservation programs in zoological parks throughout the former Soviet Union, studying snow leopard ecology in Ladakh, India and evaluating the population status of Sandhill cranes in Cuba. In business, Sean’s 14 year tenure at Seattle-based fashion retailer Nordstrom. included positions in sales, corporate human resources, information technology, and sustainable business and development. In 1995, Sean also served as international expert on Russian venture capital funds following an internship at the Foundation for Russian/American Economic Cooperation. In 2003, Sean co-founded the Sustainable Style Foundation (SSF) with good friend and Nordstrom alum Rebecca Luke. Sean began working in the human resources department at the University of Washington Medical Centers in 2005 and is now working towards a Master of Arts in Policy Studies at University of Washington – Bothell. In addition to his SSF work, Sean has founded The Smart Set and leads two interdepartmental initiatives at the UW focused on sustainability in healthcare: SAM and MESH. You can learn more about Sean on his website Sustainable Sean.