Adam Zellner, right, and Alden Hathaway, center, senior vice president of Sterling Planet Inc., a renewable energy business in Georgia, listen as Alex Cicelsky, left, one of the founders of Kibbutz Lotan, welcomes members of the Project Interchange group.
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March 17, 2009
Gov. Jon Corzine’s former policy counsel is back from his first trip to Israel with fresh perspectives on sustainability policies in the Jewish state.
“It was incredibly enlightening,” said Adam Zellner, president and CEO of the New Brunswick-based Greener By Design, of his late-February trip. “We have now a much better understanding of the techniques Israeli companies have been working with — especially in relation to solar and water.”
Zellner, who formed his company early this year after retiring from a one-year stint as the governor’s director of policy, was one of 11 experts in renewable energy invited to participate in a trip that coincided with the Eilat Energy Conference in Israel.
Project Interchange, an American Jewish Committee initiative dedicated to giving U.S. policymakers a firsthand experience of Israel, hosted the trip.
During the weeklong visit, Zellner and his fellow travelers spent time in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Arad, and Eilat; not the least of the trip’s benefits was simply interacting with the others energy experts, he said.
Participants included representatives of state governments, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, and energy businesses.
One highlight of the trip was a visit to Kibbutz Lotan in Israel’s Arava Valley — a kibbutz dedicated to creative ecology, renewable water supplies, and sustainable living, according to Zellner.
“It was phenomenal — the incredible amount of sustainable techniques they’re using,” said Zellner, a specialist in managing environmental assets and energy use. “If we could take that and expand on it, there are incredible applications in the United States. I can’t tell you how impressed I was.”
For Zellner, the centerpiece of the trip was attending and participating in the Eilat Energy Conference, which focused on such issues as renewable energy, solar power, and water-reclamation techniques.
“I had the pleasure of speaking at one of the panels on renewable energy policy,” he said. “Different speakers were coming from all over the world. It was great. I met with a variety of business people to talk about opportunities here in the United States — and specifically in New Jersey — and to introduce the company… and to see if there are synergies between our companies, so it was phenomenal.”
Now that he’s back home, Zellner said, he looks forward to the rewarding work of following up on the contacts he made in Israel. The trip also opened the way to business opportunities between Israel and the United States, he said, especially as the Obama administration moves to make green living a priority.
“There has been the planting of many seeds,” Zellner said. “I think with Israel as a partner, we’re going to find some great business opportunities together.
“Also, this gives me the opportunity to work with American Jewish Committee in whatever capacity I can to help connect Israeli business with America business,” he added. “The more we can do to create stable economies, the better it is for Israel and the United States.
Report on AJC trip
ADAM ZELLNER will keynote the annual dinner of the American Jewish Committee’s Central New Jersey Chapter with a report on his Project Interchange trip to Israel.
The dinner is set for Tuesday, June 2, at 7 p.m. at Greenacres Country Club in Lawrenceville.
During the evening, Richard Fishbane of Princeton Junction will be installed as president of the chapter.
In addition, the chapter will present “green” awards to three regional leaders on energy issues — Pam Frank of Lawrenceville, director of sales and marketing for the Sun Farm Network in Flemington; Karen Nathan of Princeton, founder and director of Olivine LLC, a company devoted to living “green”; and Robert Aresty of Princeton, CEO of SOLEC: Solar Energy Corp. in Ewing, which manufactures heat reflecting and absorbing optical coatings for the building, roofing, and manufacturing industries.
American Jewish Committee, the Sun Farm Network, and Environment New Jersey are cofounders of the New Jersey Coalition for a Sustainable Energy Future, a coalition of businesses, organizations, and nonprofit agencies dedicated to implementing New Jersey’s Energy Master Plan.
For reservation information, contact Ferne Hassan, AJC’s assistant regional director, at 973-379-7844 or hassanf@ajc.org.
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