Los Angeles-based celebrity chef Bryan Au specializes in eco-friendly, vegan cuisine. Au says veganism is now a “secret of the past,” with many celebrities, from Oprah to Mike Tyson, all eating their healthiest. Now his book, Raw Food in Ten Minutes, is helping to teach everyone to eat healthy and green. Au coined the term “Eco Green Cuisine” because all of his recipes are raw and organic — meaning that there is no heating energy used, no pollution and no chemicals. It is simply tasty, healthy food. “You don’t have to be completely vegan to get the benefits,” Au explains. “When you say ‘vegan,’ it turns people off. You can eat what you want, but eat more raw, organic cuisine — add it to your diet, and you’ll get the health benefits. You’ll feel so amazing that you’ll want to go further with it.”

Maikhanh Nguyen is the founder and Executive Director of Connect the Dots, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that helps green other nonprofit organizations and their buildings and office spaces. Connect the Dots’ efforts focus on reducing the amount of energy, water and waste that these organizations create. Though Nguyen’s background is in information technologies in the private sector, years of watching e-waste, printer toner and paper pile up helped her to realize her eco-mission. “Our approach is in our name — connecting the dots,” Nguyen says. “We’re about connecting to existing resources. One donation to [Connect the Dots] can have a ripple effect — taking multiple organizations down the green path.” Podcast: Play in new window | Download (49.5MB)