Meet The Girls Gone Green
Julie Watkins, Executive Director
Julie Watkins is a green reporter and meteorologist with the CBS and FOX affiliate in Jacksonville, Florida. She has worked in the broadcasting industry for over 15 years and has always taken an active role in local environmental and animal welfare groups. The combination of her concern and dedication serves to improve the treatment of our air, water, animals and each other.
Julie covers various news topics including the controversial sport called fox penning and its subsequent banning in the state of Florida and how people can go green in the afterlife. If you have a story idea please email Julie at jwatkins@actionnewsjax.com.
She emcees various events including animal shelter fundraisers, vegetarian festivals, Earth Day celebrations and any event that heightens awareness about the benefits of reducing and reusing. She hosts talks in schools, conventions and luncheons and is always willing to discuss green matters.
Julie feels having access to as much information as possible is the best way to make informed decisions on one's own health and the health of the planet. She hopes that the information she shares will help everyone live a healthy and happy life!
Julie covers various news topics including the controversial sport called fox penning and its subsequent banning in the state of Florida and how people can go green in the afterlife. If you have a story idea please email Julie at jwatkins@actionnewsjax.com.
She emcees various events including animal shelter fundraisers, vegetarian festivals, Earth Day celebrations and any event that heightens awareness about the benefits of reducing and reusing. She hosts talks in schools, conventions and luncheons and is always willing to discuss green matters.
Julie feels having access to as much information as possible is the best way to make informed decisions on one's own health and the health of the planet. She hopes that the information she shares will help everyone live a healthy and happy life!
Jen Graham, Event Coordinator
Jen Graham is a vegan and holds a Master's Degree in Social Work. She feels animals as well as people can be marginalized so she commits her time to helping. She easily sees the connection between how we treat animals to how we treat people and she works hard to improve the lives of both. She enjoys doing outreach in the community on green, health, and animal rights issues. Jen loves to bake vegan treats and is always looking for new yummy recipes. Once you try one of her vegan cupcakes you’ll notice just how good vegan desserts can taste!
As Event Coordinator, Jen helps to organize all of our member events and our monthly Girls Gone Green event, A G3 Affair. She is also on the planning board for two of The Girls Gone Green’s biggest annual
events, Northeast Florida Veg Fest and No Meat March. You can catch Jen around town tabling many local events and passing out information on the organizations’ mission and commitment to the environment, animals and health. Her enthusiasm and optimism is contagious and she is a great addition to The Girls Gone Green.
As Event Coordinator, Jen helps to organize all of our member events and our monthly Girls Gone Green event, A G3 Affair. She is also on the planning board for two of The Girls Gone Green’s biggest annual
events, Northeast Florida Veg Fest and No Meat March. You can catch Jen around town tabling many local events and passing out information on the organizations’ mission and commitment to the environment, animals and health. Her enthusiasm and optimism is contagious and she is a great addition to The Girls Gone Green.
Cate DiCarlo, Campaign Coordinator
Cate DiCarlo believes she was born to be vegan and to stand up for animals and the environment. Her love of animals likely stems from her Grandpa who took in stray animals, fed raccoon families her whole life, and saved spiders instead of squashing them. Cate has always shunned dairy and eggs, especially the unpleasant, “cheese-y” smell of cheese. When she was 15 years old, she banished red meat and pork from her diet without ever looking back.
In 2003, Cate’s “bleeding heart” for animals led her to sign up for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) as a volunteer. They sent her an issue of their magazine, Animals Times. There was an article about the cruelty chickens endure in slaughterhouses. Sickened by what she read, she stopped eating chickens that very day. And just that swiftly, she became vegan! No longer was she merely a “picky eater.” She fit into a category AND had a name for it -- VEGAN!! A true Aha! moment.
Going vegan was like falling down the rabbit hole. Cate became more and more aware of the truths about our food and ecology, as well as the impacts we all make. With her eyes wider and mind more open, she became deeply aware of her connection to all living things.
Cate had a completely vegan pregnancy in 2008, and now plays, gardens, cooks, and chases her sweet growing vegan boy around all day. She writes, whenever she gets the urge, about being a green, vegan mom @ veganearthmama.blogspot.com. She couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the super awesome Girls Gone Green and can’t wait to make big, bold changes in Jacksonville -- and beyond -- with these amazing women!
In 2003, Cate’s “bleeding heart” for animals led her to sign up for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) as a volunteer. They sent her an issue of their magazine, Animals Times. There was an article about the cruelty chickens endure in slaughterhouses. Sickened by what she read, she stopped eating chickens that very day. And just that swiftly, she became vegan! No longer was she merely a “picky eater.” She fit into a category AND had a name for it -- VEGAN!! A true Aha! moment.
Going vegan was like falling down the rabbit hole. Cate became more and more aware of the truths about our food and ecology, as well as the impacts we all make. With her eyes wider and mind more open, she became deeply aware of her connection to all living things.
Cate had a completely vegan pregnancy in 2008, and now plays, gardens, cooks, and chases her sweet growing vegan boy around all day. She writes, whenever she gets the urge, about being a green, vegan mom @ veganearthmama.blogspot.com. She couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the super awesome Girls Gone Green and can’t wait to make big, bold changes in Jacksonville -- and beyond -- with these amazing women!
Brandy Carvalho, Marketing Manager
Brandy is a nonprofit professional with more than 10 years of experience in fundraising, program development and marketing for local and international organizations. She has worked for conservation and community organizations, as well as in innovative education endeavors. Currently, Brandy serves as the Executive Director for a private school, focusing on distance learning programs for grades 6-12. She is developing curriculum focusing on environmental and community awareness.
Brandy studied Public Relations and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Florida, holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Florida Gulf Coast University, and is currently pursuing a Master of Natural Resources degree. She has completed additional training through Harvard Kennedy School in Nonprofit Management; UF's Florida Naturalist Program; and was an inaugural member of the Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida's Nonprofit Emerging Leaders Program.
Brandy has a simple guiding principal in life, "The Golden Rule." She believes this includes all things in life, including our environment, animals and each other. Every living being deserves the chance to thrive and feel joy in their life.
Brandy studied Public Relations and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Florida, holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Florida Gulf Coast University, and is currently pursuing a Master of Natural Resources degree. She has completed additional training through Harvard Kennedy School in Nonprofit Management; UF's Florida Naturalist Program; and was an inaugural member of the Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida's Nonprofit Emerging Leaders Program.
Brandy has a simple guiding principal in life, "The Golden Rule." She believes this includes all things in life, including our environment, animals and each other. Every living being deserves the chance to thrive and feel joy in their life.
Jennifer Iovanovici, Volunteer Coordinator
Jennifer has been a nature and animal lover from a young age, and a vegetarian for ethical and spiritual reasons since 2001, struggling with being vegan off and on.
Jennifer began a gradual transition to vegan again in the fall of 2011 and saw 2012’s No Meat March campaign as the perfect time to make it official and has been 100% vegan ever since. It was then that Jennifer was introduced to The Girls Gone Green and she knew that she wanted to be more involved in advocating for animal, environmental and health issues than simply having a personal philosophy and making a dietary change. Jennifer played an instrumental role, along with JaxProtest founder Adam Sugalski, in convincing the University of North Florida to ban circuses from its campus.
Jennifer is currently working on her Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and believes that developing supportive relationships is critical to long-term happiness and fulfillment. She credits Jacksonville’s dedicated vegan community for helping her stay positive and wants to make sure that there is support available for those wanting to make the transition to more ethical and mindful living as well. Jennifer understands all too well the dark reality of why she and many others are vegan: the images of cruelty are traumatizing, and she is always available to lend a supportive and encouraging ear.
Jennifer began a gradual transition to vegan again in the fall of 2011 and saw 2012’s No Meat March campaign as the perfect time to make it official and has been 100% vegan ever since. It was then that Jennifer was introduced to The Girls Gone Green and she knew that she wanted to be more involved in advocating for animal, environmental and health issues than simply having a personal philosophy and making a dietary change. Jennifer played an instrumental role, along with JaxProtest founder Adam Sugalski, in convincing the University of North Florida to ban circuses from its campus.
Jennifer is currently working on her Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and believes that developing supportive relationships is critical to long-term happiness and fulfillment. She credits Jacksonville’s dedicated vegan community for helping her stay positive and wants to make sure that there is support available for those wanting to make the transition to more ethical and mindful living as well. Jennifer understands all too well the dark reality of why she and many others are vegan: the images of cruelty are traumatizing, and she is always available to lend a supportive and encouraging ear.
Heather Borders, VegHealthyJax Coordinator
Astronaut trainer turned passionate plant-based lifestyle and nutrition educator, Heather Borders transitioned to a plant-based diet in August 2011 to lower cholesterol without medication. After seeing her (and her hubby’s) cholesterol plummet, there was no looking back! Heather wants to help make the transition to a plant-based lifestyle easier for people.
In August 2012, Heather was selected and certified by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM, www.pcrm.org) to be the Food For Life Instructor for the Jacksonville area. She teaches general plant-based cooking and nutrition classes, and those specific to kids, cancer, diabetes. She invites everyone to visit the Food for Life Jax Facebook page to share time-saving ideas for making a plant-based lifestyle a day-to-day reality and delicious recipes.
Heather created VegHealthyJax, a community initiative that aims to make eating healthy while dining out in the Northeast Florida area possible and convenient. The VegHealthyJax team offers promotional opportunities to restaurants who serve whole food, plant-based dishes. If you are interested in being a part of this initiative, please join VegHealthyJax on Meetup.
Heather has degrees in engineering, business, a certificate of Plant-Based Nutrition from eCornell, and is currently taking nutrition & dietetics courses at the University of North Florida.
In August 2012, Heather was selected and certified by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM, www.pcrm.org) to be the Food For Life Instructor for the Jacksonville area. She teaches general plant-based cooking and nutrition classes, and those specific to kids, cancer, diabetes. She invites everyone to visit the Food for Life Jax Facebook page to share time-saving ideas for making a plant-based lifestyle a day-to-day reality and delicious recipes.
Heather created VegHealthyJax, a community initiative that aims to make eating healthy while dining out in the Northeast Florida area possible and convenient. The VegHealthyJax team offers promotional opportunities to restaurants who serve whole food, plant-based dishes. If you are interested in being a part of this initiative, please join VegHealthyJax on Meetup.
Heather has degrees in engineering, business, a certificate of Plant-Based Nutrition from eCornell, and is currently taking nutrition & dietetics courses at the University of North Florida.
