About the Founder-Amy Todisco
Listen to Amy sharing an hour's worth of
green living tips, including how to start a green business, on the
recent Go Green Summit. To listen, click
here.
On Tuesday, December 9th,
Amy was a guest on Diane Brandon's Internet Radio program, Vibrant
Living.
Who's Amy Todisco?
The short version:
Amy Todisco, an early pioneer of green living
(over 16 years), is the owner of www.greenlivingnow.com,
a unique organic and natural product online store. She's also featured
as an "Environmental Expert" on the Ecomall
website ("Ask Amy"), on former National Public Radio
host, Laurie Howell's The Green
Scene Internet radio program, and was an featured expert on
the Earth Day Network newsletter. She's also the owner of Catalyst
4 Change Life Coaching, where she offers one-on-one telephone coaching.
Amy specializes in empowering and supporting women to create the
business of their dreams. She's just released her first ebook in
her Greener Life Guide Series, it's called Organic
Food On A Budget.
In March of 2003, Amy was featured in a Burlington,
VT/Plattsburgh, NY Channel 5 (Hearst Argyle station) news piece
about toxins in the home. It aired during "Sweeps Week"
on several Hearst Argyle stations across the country. (To see
transcript, please go here).
She began her work as a community activist in
MA in 1995, where she created community educational events, founded
and co-founded several nonprofits; served as Executive Director
for two nonprofits; provided presentations on household toxics;
consulted with private and public schools; churches, community groups,
local boards of health, and the MA State Department of Public Health;
written on the topic of household toxics for newspapers, newsletters
and websites; and been interviewed on TV, radio and cable TV.
She's a member of the Coming Clean Network
of environmental health focused nonprofits, a founding fellow of
the EcologoTM Procurement Think Tank, and a mentor for the Green
Flags Healthy Schools Network for Center for Health Environment
and Justice. "Green (nontoxic, earth friendly) living"
has been her passion for many years, and she loves to share information
with others so that they too can become more informed consumers.
Amy is a life and wellness coach,
something she loves and has been doing for many years without realizing
it. Unlike therapy, coaching is based on the premise that everyone
is creative, resourceful and whole. And, that they know the answers
to their questions. A good coach listens deeply and asks powerful
questions. They help the client clarify goals, uncover blocks to
achieving them, help determine a step by step approach and be accountable
to someone for their agreed upon actions. It makes change so much
easier and more long lasting. As someone who lives her life according
to her values, Amy feels that the perfect client is someone who
also wants to create a life that embodies their values. It's just
more fulfilling and magical that way. There's a good chance that
you landed on Amy's site for a reason. Perhaps you're looking to
live a greener healthier life. Or, maybe you want to make some important
changes in your life and could benefit from Amy's coaching. Do you
want true love? Start your own business? Reduce clutter and stress
in your life? Become more physically fit? Learn more about Amy's
life coaching here.
Check out Amy's four-legged family members here.
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Amy's work in the media:
BlogTalk Radio, Vibrant Living, radio
interview, 12/08
Go Green Summit, Interview with green
living expert, Amy Todisco
Environmental News Network, "How
Green is that Product?" (6/18/08)
The Christian Science Monitor, "How
Green Is That Product?" (6/16/08)
The Seven Days Newspaper article, The
Green Clean (5/07/08)
On The Green
Scene Internet Radio program
VPIRG Forum: Exposed: Vermonter's
Care about Toxins In Our Homes (10/25/07)
Amy's green living consulting work was featured
on Channel 5 News in Burlington, Vermont,
Channel 2 News in Houston, Texas,
and other Hearst Argyle Television
stations during "Sweeps Week" 11/09/03.
Click here
to read the transcript.
(Wondering why the transcript for the show is
on the Houston Hearst Argyle TV station website,
and not the Burlington, VT one where it originated?
Oddly, I couldn't find a link on the Burlington
Vermont station's website to that show, so I used
Houston instead. Weird, huh?)
Ecomall, Ask
An Expert
Marblehead
Magazine, 3/97
The longer Version:
I've been shopping in natural food stores since
I was a teen. A little unusual, I know, but my mom was an Adele
Davis (nutrition guru) follower, and we lived in NYC. My mom, sister,
and I even went on a brown rice fast when I was 14 years old. I
also worked in two health food stores, and began my quest for information
on how to live a healthy life. I'll admit it; I'm an information
junky. Love to read,
love to question everything, and love to find solutions to problems.
Back when I was pregnant with my daughter, I
was browsing through the book rack at a new health food store. One
little book practically jumped off the shelf, and the contents of
that book changed my life! It was called, The Nontoxic Baby (sadly
no longer in print). I was shocked to learn that the everyday household
products I'd been using for years, such as shampoo and dish soap,
contained toxic chemicals. And what was worse, these chemicals are
NOT tested for health effects, and certainly weren't good for my
baby-to-me, or me.
Like most mothers-to-be, I wanted to protect
my innocent baby from all preventable risks. That's when my quest
to find truly safer household products began. Out with the old,
and in with the new. First, I changed everything we used in our
home. Then I went to work on my local community and beyond. I went
from being a polarity massage therapist to an activist, almost overnight.
When I learn something that will help others, I can't help but share
that information.
One of the first things I did was create an
Earth Day celebration devoted to non-toxic, earth-friendly living.
We had informative speakers (e.g. organic gardening
and nontoxic cleaning), live demonstrations (e.g. sheep sheering
and wool spinning), and tables of information (e.g. solar energy
and organic foods), live music, a raffle, and organic food for sale.
It was the first of it's kind, was very well attended, and inspired
an environmental movement in the town of Marblehead, MA in 1997.
Next, I Co-founded the Marblehead Cancer Prevention
Project (MCPP) to examine the potential environmental causes of
the unusually high cancer rates in town (breast, skin and leukemia).
We commanded the attention of the local board of health, and the
State Department of Public Health, which agreed to launch a "study"
on the cancer problem. Though not much was learned through the state
study, we were successful in prompting the local board of health
to enact a "Health Statement on Pesticides" in which they
committed themselves to reducing and phasing out the use of pesticides
on all public lands and in public buildings. I definitely noticed
a reduction in homeowner use of pesticides. It became "uncool"
to have a yellow pesticide warning sign on your lawn. The Board
also created stricter paint removal laws.
Through letters to the editor, two large educational
forums with nationally known speakers, smaller evening presentations
and workshops (e.g. organic lawn care, dangers of cell phone towers),
and more, the town became better educated and active on several
environmental issues. One of the satellite groups that launched
after the Earth Day celebration, Healthlink,
is still very active today, and have
had many successes.
Then we moved to the beautiful green mountain
state of Vermont, and I was hired to create and run a new environmental
nonprofit. After about a year, I left to start my own nonprofit,
the Consumers' Healthy Home Center. My goal was to raise enough
money to hire independent toxicologists, Anderson Labs, to test
a variety of household products for their inhalation health effects-the
stuff that creates indoor air pollution. I wanted to develop a "safe"
list of products that had been tested and found not to produce any
health effects. Unfortunately, we're all the test subjects, since
the manufacturers aren't testing their products before they hit
the shelves.
I was (and am) particularly annoyed with companies
that pretend to be "nontoxic", "organic" and
"natural", while using many of the same toxic chemicals
as conventional companies. How is a conscientious consumer supposed
to know which companies to trust and buy from? Educating fellow
consumers on how to make wiser, more informed choices about household
products (one area we
can control) is my passion. That's why I wrote my first ebook, Organic
Food On A Budget. For more information on that, go here.
It seemed rather crazy to start a new
nonprofit at a time when more established nonprofits were losing
big chunks of funding, but I persevered-- for awhile. We did make
it into the finalist stage for a $60,000 Echoing Green Fellowship
(top 3% out of nearly 1,000 worldwide applications), but in the
end I guess I was unable to convince some of the judges (former
owner of a large conventional paint company and some conventional
doctors) that toxic chemicals in household products really could
cause ill health and needed to be addressed.
All of these experiences led me to create
Green Living Now™. Back in MA, I had been
doing consultations with people who were looking to live a greener
life. When we got to the part where I would recommend alternative
products that I had
researched, screened and used, the question of where to get them
always came up. I wanted to fill that need, so I created the online
store.
I had always wished for a green living fairy
godmother who had done all of the research for me, and could tell
me what the best products were to use. And, she had to use them
too, or I wouldn't trust her advice. The "walk the talk"
thing is
really important to me. Since I couldn't find her, I became her,
sort of. Well, I'm no fairy Godmother (too young and no wand), but
I have done all the research, and I am happy to be able to share
it with you, as well as products that
my daughter, our animal friends and I use. If you're a green living
enthusiast, and/or an information junky too, you'll love my free
newsletter and newsletter
archives (over 70 articles on green living).
My experience section:
See above in the short version.
Have a question? Email me: amy@greenlivingnow.com
What People Are Saying about
Green Living Now™and Amy Todisco:
I feel like I just got a breath of fresh air. I stumbled upon
your website a few minutes ago and I couldn't stop reading. Thank
you for putting up so much important info on your site. A few weeks
ago I was looking on the Internet for organic shampoos and soaps
after learning about all the harsh and dangerous ingredients in
most shampoo. After learning about the ingredients in most products
and some of the other reasons those chemicals are used for, I was
shocked. I'm trying to learn everything I can so I can live as green
as possible in the future. I definitely have a lot to learn and
hope your website will teach me.
Thanks!!!!
Kristy S., Elk Grove, CA
"I like that you never hesitate to answer
any questions
openly, truthfully and promptly! I LOVE AND
APPRECIATE WHOLEHEARTEDLY YOUR
HONESTY AND placing being toxin free over
'competition and being pricey' [with other sites]."
-Serena, Orange County, CA
" I have explored
your site, WONDERFUL, I'm QUITE
impressed! …I'll be making an order…Regarding the article
[Is That Shampoo Really Organic?]
OUTSTANDING!!
Humorous, knowledgeable, easy to read.
Shelly C.
Cottonwood, CA
"I love your newsletter.
It is so informative
and interesting. You have been really busy,
I can see from the information you so wonderfully
compiled. All I can say is WOW, what a GREAT
newsletter. Thanks."
Natalie G.
Swampscott, MA
" Amy, your columns are fantastic-it is
a true
"value add" for your customers…I like the simplicity
of the concept: one box of equipment = nontoxic kitchen.
I think there are a whole bunch of consumers out there,
like my brother and me, who want to do the right thing
but they feel it is too complicated a process-your
'one stop' concept is an additional value. If I had to
go about collecting the products myself, it would not
have happened."
Dave Caldwell, CT
"Your site is attractive,
well organized, and easy to navigate.
It should be a winner."
Dr. Julius Anderson
www.Andersonlabs.com
W. Hartford, Vermont
"Bob and I were delighted
to review your
newsletter and we congratulate you. Bob calls
it a 'solid performance'-- a huge compliment.
I found it to be informative, extremely well
written, and I really liked the tone--authoritative
and yet, at the same time, almost breezy.
Definitely user friendly. Terrific job!"
Marcia & Bob Longman
New York, NY
"Hey, I love your
site! And your concept. I will be
referring my non-organic-living friends to your website."
Marynna K.
Atlanta, Georgia
"Amy Todisco's service
is invaluable. It's scary to
read the fine print about the health effects of the
products and pesticides disguised as "country fresh".
Amy's easy going manner and valuable expertise
leave you breathing easier, literally!"
Laurie Howell
Former National Public Radio Host, and host of
The Green Scene Radio Report
"There is no question
in my mind that Amy is committed
to this work and to those who will benefit from it. She
has demonstrated her commitment to public health and
to minimizing the risks posed by any number of toxic
threats in the years since I've known her."
Paul Burns
Executive Director
Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG)
(Organization mentioned for identification purposes only)
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