Wally Baker is Chairman of the Green Tech
Foundation an educational start-up think-tank that promotes “connecting
the green dots” of jobs, technology, and the environment.
The role of economic development in
influencing and defining the Los Angeles region's well-being has been
shaped, in no small measure, by Wally's leadership. Through his
open and creative approach to discerning and addressing needs, Wally has
been a consultant to many international trade and infrastructure
projects of state and national significance.
He has advised a
who's who list of organizations which are vital to the viability of
California's infrastructure and economy - Metrolink, the Ports of LA and Long Beach,
International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Alameda Corridor East,
Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and the 5-County Transportation
Commissions in Southern California. He has compiled a powerful
portfolio of knowledge in the areas of economic development, green
technology, goods movement, ports, transportation, and project finance.
Baker is retired from the Southern
California Gas Company and in 1998 became an executive with the Los
Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC). While at the LAEDC, he
worked with the four past Governors’ of California in founding the
Southern California Leadership Council - enabling business leaders from
6 Southern California Counties to address public policy issues critical
to the Southern California economy and quality of life. The Green
Freight Initiative was their first accomplishment. Wally was more
recently a Co-Founder of the GreenXchange Global Marketplace and Expo.
He is currently spearheading a new campaign,
“Connecting the Green Dots”. This program is designed to raise awareness
and to link our crucial green challenges with partners from labor,
academic, environmental and business organizations.
A Vietnam veteran, Wally served in the U.S.
Army, 101st Airborne Division. As a paratrooper, he received the Bronze
Star and other commendations for meritorious service.
He and his wife, Marla, reside in Hacienda
Heights, and they have two grandsons.
