TV SHOW GUEST 01.21.2014 ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE HOMES AND BUSINESS Teri Kent has lived in Charlottesville for over 13 years. She’s a single-mom of Ian, 10 year old 4th grader at Agnor Hurt Elementary, and Garrett, 12 year old 7th grader at Burley Middle School. Teri’s passion for the environment started as a girl playing in the sand at Myrtle Beach, then in the Pacific Ocean Santa Barbara, California for the elementary-school years and then in the Rocky Mountains (outside of Salt Lake City, Utah) where she attended college at the University of Utah.
After moving to Charlottesville and starting a family, this stay-home mom decided she had to do something for the environment at the local level, so she took a night class on web design, started talking to a couple of friends who could help, and made an online resource called Better World Betty.
Teri’s personal desire to reduce, reuse, recycle in her own life transformed into a larger vision for our community: creating a non-profit organization “Better World Betty.” The whole concept of Betty came from recognizing that people WANT to do the right thing, but they are busy with their day-to-day lives and need some help. That’s where Betty comes in. The organization has been dedicated to providing people and businesses the information and tools they need at the local level to make a difference in the environment since 2008.
Teri tirelessly pursues her vision with passion, leadership, enthusiasm, and plenty of playfulness. “Betty” brings a fresh, out-of-the-box approach.
Once Teri dressed up as Betty Crocker, placed a stuffed Earth onto a pizza platter and passed out “green recipes” on UVA grounds.
She and a handful of volunteers ran a 30 day “B.R.A.G.” campaign where Betty Recognizes Acts of Greenness, passing out buttons to people who were “caught” doing sustainable behaviors like carrying their reusable grocery bags.
She volunteered at the biggest single recycling day ever recorded in Virginia – electronics recycling at Crutchfield.
She and her team of Betties recently cooked up a “home menu” of fun ideas for increasing eco-living in homes throughout Charlottesville. Their goal is to reach 2,000 households.
This holiday season Teri and 8 Better World volunteer elves made Christmas tree ornaments detailing where folks can recycle their tree locally.
Sometimes she can be found digging out compostables or recyclables and putting them in proper containers, as recently her team’s efforts helped collect 1,115 pounds of compost at TEDx Charlottesville.
106 businesses took part in the Better Business Challenge and saw thousands of dollars in annual savings from using less energy, water, and producing less waste.
Teri writes and speaks on a variety of topics both formally and informally — from green renovations to recycling do’s and don’ts. She’s on 1061 the Corner every other Friday and write regular eco-columns for Cville Weekly and a monthly “Ask Betty” column in Cville Weekly on topics ranging from how to be a greener pet owner to what to do with your old toothbrush instead of landfilling it.
Recent accolades:
New Belgium Beer Company chose Better World Betty as their primary beneficiary community non-profit to be their partner for the Clips Beer and Film Night.
Better World Betty was recently awarded a foundation grant for $25,000 for the Better Business Challenge.
“I enjoy coordinating projects and events, generating new ideas, and getting people inspired and excited take action toward building the healthier, more sustainable Charlottesville we all envision.”
Teri Kent
Founder/Program Manager, Better World Betty
Commercial Outreach Coordinator, LEAP
608 Ridge Street
Charlottesville, VA 22902
434.466.5157
www.betterworldbetty.org
@cvillebetty
www.cvillebetterbiz.org