BuzzWord || Team


	We put together teams of experienced professionals to meet your needs. Our team members include:
	Leah V. Haygood Leah V. Haygood is founder and president of BuzzWord. She has more than 20 years of experience in the environmental, sustainability and corporate responsibility fields. Since founding BuzzWord in 1999, she has served as the main author of Ford Motor Company’s award-winning sustainability and corporate citizenships reports, led the writing team for Chevron’s 2004 to 2006 corporate responsibility reports, and worked with several other U.S. and international companies to develop and implement sustainability and reporting strategies. From 1997 to 1999, Leah worked with Business for Social Responsibility’s environmental program and BSR member companies on supply chain environmental issues and environmental challenges affecting the apparel industry. Leah served as director of environmental planning and programs for Waste Management, Inc. from 1992 to 1997. She was a principal architect of Waste Management’s process for planning, goal-setting and performance measurement under its environmental policy and developed the company’s first annual environmental report and five subsequent reports. Before that, she was an associate and project director with the RESOLVE Program on Environmental Dispute Resolution at the World Wildlife Fund and Conservation Foundation. She also worked for the State of Connecticut promoting renewable energy. Leah is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Barnard College and holds a master’s degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
	Valerie Lee Valerie Lee has worked in the corporate responsibility field for more than 10 years and has experience working with a broad range of companies on corporate responsibility strategy development, reporting, stakeholder engagement, and other governance and accountability issues. Most recently, she helped author Ford Motor Company’s 2006/7 Sustainability Report. From 2002 to 2005, she served as Chevron’s corporate responsibility coordinator where she led the company’s reporting efforts, including the issuance of its first report in 2003. In her role at Chevron, Valerie also had responsibility for helping to develop and deploy strategy and policy on the full spectrum of corporate responsibility issues. Prior to joining Chevron, Valerie spent five years at Business for Social Responsibility. Before joining BSR, Valerie worked in the social investment arena. Valerie studied economics and sociology at Boston College. She lives in London, England.
	Alison Dimond Kardos Alison is an accomplished marketing and communications professional with a deep personal and professional commitment to environmental issues. Her work focuses on developing profitable strategies for improving environmental performance and encouraging positive environmental action. She is experienced in sustainable business strategy, with particular knowledge in the fields of sustainable mobility, climate change, sustainable land use and environmental communications. She has an MBA from University of Michigan’s Ross BusinessSchool and a MS in Resource Management from the UM School of Natural Resources and Environment. Her recent communications projects include developing and implementing communications strategies for Ford Motor Company, National Bio-Diesel Board, and Michigan League of Conservation Voters. In addition she recently spent two years on site at Ford Motor Company coordinating a “white-space” sustainable mobility project including developing new business model opportunities and overseeing consumer segmentation study based on values, attitudes, and purchase behaviors associated with consumer perceived benefits of sustainability.
	Jennifer Thomas-Larmer Jennifer Thomas-Larmer has been providing editorial services to corporate and nonprofit clients throughout the United States since 1996. Jennifer specializes in helping leaders craft articles, books, and reports for publication; editing documents penned by multiple parties; and writing detailed summaries of conferences and workshops. She has substantive expertise in environmental and energy policy, agricultural biotechnology, and consensus building. Previously, Jennifer worked as a facilitator with the Keystone Center in Washington, D.C., where she mediated policy dialogues on environmental and energy policy issues. Jennifer has co-edited three books on dispute resolution-related topics. She holds an M.S. in environmental policy from the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment, and a B.A. in environmental science from Principia College.
	Robin Estrin Robin Estrin has more than 15 years of professional writing and editing experience in journalism and corporate communications. Since 2002, she has provided consultancy services to dozens of clients, including law firms, financial institutions, accounting agencies, Fortune 500 companies and non-profits. With her roots in journalism, Robin has contributed to the sustainability reports for several major multinational companies, including Ford Motor Co., Smithfield Foods and Eli Lilly. She has also developed a niche writing, editing and providing public relations services for professional services firms. Robin’s reporting career included six years with The Associated Press, where she covered everything from major breaking news stories and business features to educational analyses and human interest pieces. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from Amherst College, magna cum laude, and a master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.