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Ed Begley, Jr.
John Paul DeJoria
Freeman J. Dyson
Robert A. Freling
Larry Hagman
Mary Green Swig
Steven L. Swig
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Ed Begley, Jr., Director.
An accomplished television, screen, and stage actor, and leading
environmentalist, Ed Begley, Jr.
is best known for his portrayal of Victor Ehrlich on the television series St. Elsewhere, for which he received
an Emmy nomination every season the show aired. Mr. Begley has been acting
since age 17 when he appeared in My Three Sons. His most recent
projects include the feature films Batman Forever, Renaissance Man,
and World War II: When Lions Roared, and the new HBO series Six Feet Under. He is well known and
highly respected within the environmental community for practicing what he
preaches. He lives in a solar-powered house in downtown Los Angeles, drives
an electric car, and regularly commutes by bicycle and public
transportation. He serves on the boards of the Walden Woods Project, The
Environmental Media Association, the Earth Communications Office, and the
Environment Research Foundation. Mr. Begley has been a longtime supporter of
SELF, and joined SELF’s board in 1997.
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John Paul DeJoria, Director.
Mr. DeJoria is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Beverly Hills,
California-based John Paul Mitchell Systems,
which distributes Paul Mitchell®, the leading brand of professional salon
hair care products in the United States. John Paul Mitchell Systems has
donated millions of dollars to a variety of philanthropic causes. The
company sponsored the development of “Mana La,” a solar-powered vehicle,
in advance of the first International Solar-Powered Cross-Country
Continental Race held in Australia. Mr. DeJoria has received awards from
many organizations, including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
and the Anti-Vivisection Society (for pioneering the first nationwide brand
of salon products not tested on animals). Mr. DeJoria has served as a
Special Emissary to the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). Mr.
DeJoria has given presentations about management techniques, motivation, and
global thinking, to departments and to agencies of the United States
government, including the United States Navy and the Central Intelligence
Agency. He is an advisor to universities and colleges, including the
University of Southern California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Rice University in
Houston, Texas, and Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, where he
received an Honorary Doctorate of Law. Mr. DeJoria joined SELF’s board in
January 1999.
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Freeman J. Dyson, Director.
Dr. Dyson is Professor Emeritus of Physics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.
Born in England, Freeman Dyson came to Cornell University as a Commonwealth
Fellow in 1947 and settled permanently in the U.S. in 1951. Professor Dyson
is not only a theoretical physicist; his career has spanned a large variety
of practical concerns. In World War II, he worked for the Royal Air Force
doing operations research. Since that time he has been unable to stop
thinking about the great human problems of war and peace. In 1979, he
published Disturbing the Universe, a scientific autobiography
interspersed with meditation on the human condition. Weapons and Hope
was another meditation, attempting to understand in greater depth the
cultural role of nuclear weapons and nuclear strategies. Professor Dyson’s
most recent book, The Sun, the Genome, and the Internet, is concerned
with technology’s potentially powerful role as an agent for worldwide
social justice. He has received honorary degrees from 18 universities, and
has won many prestigious awards, including the Templeton Prize for Progress
in Religion, the Max Plank Medal of the German Physical Society, the J.
Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Prize, the Enrico Fermi Award of the U.S.
Department of Energy, and the Lewis Thomas Prize of Rockefeller University.
He joined SELF’s board in January 1998.
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Robert A. Freling, Executive Director.
In August 1994, Mr. Freling was engaged by SELF to coordinate the second
phase of a 1000-House solar PV rural electrification project in Gansu,
China. In February 1995, Mr. Freling joined SELF as its Director of
International Programs, a position in which he served until September, 1997,
when he assumed the responsibilities of Executive Director. Mr. Freling
accompanied U.S. Energy Secretary, Hazel O’Leary, on her trade mission to
China in 1995 and helped negotiate an agreement between the U.S. National
Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture
to expand SELF’s solar PV project in Gansu Province. Mr. Freling was also
responsible for developing and coordinating SELF’s solar rural
electrification programs in Brazil, China, Indonesia, South Africa, and in
the Solomon Islands. A native of Dallas, Texas, Mr. Freling received a B.A.
in Russian Studies from Yale University and an M.A. in Communications
Management from Annenberg School of Communications at the University of
Southern California. Mr. Freling is fluent in a number of foreign languages,
including Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese and Indonesian. He
joined SELF’s board in January 1999.
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Larry Hagman, Director.
Larry Hagman is most
widely known for his extraordinary Hollywood acting career. His roles
have included astronaut Tony Nelson in I Dream of Jeannie and J.R.
Ewing in Dallas. His talent extends beyond television to film, motion
picture, and stage performances. To those involved in the world of
philanthropy, Mr. Hagman is well known not only for his compassion to
individuals struggling with disease, but also for his commitment to
organizations such as the American Cancer Society, the American Institute
for Cancer Research, the Exceptional Children’s Foundation, the Dallas
Symphony Orchestra, the Boys and Girls Club, and dozens of others. Mr.
Hagman is the spokesperson for The National Kidney Foundation’s U.S.
Transplant Games, held annually to raise awareness of organ and tissue
donation. His philanthropic interests vary widely, and Mr. Hagman serves as
a director for several charitable organizations. He joined SELF’s
board in May 2000.
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Mary Green Swig, Director.
Mrs. Swig is the President and CEO of Mary Green/Mansilk, a firm engaged in the design and
manufacture of men’s and women’s silk apparel. She has been the
recipient of several industry awards for design excellence. Ms. Swig has
traveled extensively, specializing in Asia, and is regarded as an expert in
China trade. She co-authored the bestselling book, How to Be An Importer
And Pay For Your World Travel. Mrs. Swig serves on the board of the
Stephen Stills Foundation, and is a past member of the board of the American
Oceans Campaign. She is a graduate of the University of California at
Berkeley. She joined SELF’s board in May 1998.
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Steven L. Swig, Secretary.
Previously an attorney with the firm of Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk
and Rabkin, Mr. Swig is now President of
Presidio World College
in San Francisco. He is also Chairman and CEO of Swig Development Company,
a multifaceted real estate firm engaged in the ownership and management of
various property interests around the United States. He is engaged in public
interest and charity concerns and serves on various boards, including: board
chairman of Saint Francis Foundation, and board member of the University of
Oregon, the American Conservatory Theater, the American Himalayan Foundation,
the Jewish Community Federation, the American Jewish Committee, the Stephen
Stills Foundation, the American Associates of Ben Gurion University, and the
Tech Museum of Innovation. Mr. Swig joined SELF’s board in May 1998.
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