Who We Are and What We Do
Fund Founder Biographies
Alexander Gillett was born in Carroll, Iowa, graduated from Carroll Public High School, and went on to college where he graduated from Cornell University and the Law School of the University of Iowa. He took graduate work at Iowa in technical theater.Alex is a veteran of the U.S. Army serving from 1963 to 1967 in the Army Security Agency as a Russian linguist. He was honorably discharged following service in the Aleutians on airborne and island platforms.
Alex became a real estate property manager at Iowa City's premier apartment complex. He moved to Philadelphia and managed a nationwide portfolio of apartment projects, first for an insurance company, then for a real estate investment firm.
In 1989, he left the real estate business because it had become completely financialized (during the savings and loan debacle of the late 1980's). He started his own contracting firm, specializing in rehabilitation and repair.
He became a Barrymore nominator in 1994 and served several one year terms attending plays in Philadelphia and nominating performances and productions for the city's prestigious award for excellence in theater.
Alex joined the Green Party in 2000 to work for the candidacy of Ralph Nader. He became active in the Green Party of Philadelphia and was elected to the City Committee. He served several years as treasurer during which he established fundraising efforts which put the party on a stable financial footing. He served as delegate to the state party and two terms as a national delegate.
Christina M. Valente is a native Philadelphian. She graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and Villanova Law School. Christina has served as a law clerk to a Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge and as a Senior Assistant Regional Counsel at the Environmental Protection Agency Region III. While at EPA, she handled major Superfund cases and hazardous waste cases, winning large settlements for cleanup of hazardous sites.
After leaving EPA, Christina was of counsel at a small Philadelphia firm, where she practiced in a variety of administrative law fields. Her government service and private law practice gave her considerable insight into how governmental agencies function and how legislative politics shapes governmental policy.
For the past twenty years, Christina has taught environmental law and policy and technology regulation at a number of Philadelphia-area universities including Villanova and Temple Universities. She is the co-author of two textbooks, one on environmental law and the other on education law. She formerly chaired the Green Party of Philadelphia. As a former Green Party candidate, she learned first-hand how difficult it is for the average citizen to run for elected office in Pennsylvania.
Groups that share our values
We would like to link to groups with strong green values that we support.Green Party of Pennsylvania
