About Denise
Even at a young age, as she transplanted pumpkin seedlings into her Grandfather’s garden, and observed tree frogs in the woods behind her home, Denise Rushing found the planet's ecosystems enchanting.
She earned a degree in environmental engineering from Stanford University and devoted her early career to clean technology. Her pioneering work in the energy industry included the launch of award winning energy efficiency and clean technology initiatives adopted by utilities around the world.
Business success notwithstanding, Denise recognized that humanity’s relationship with Earth’s living systems requires a deeper response. After earning her Masters Degree in Culture and Spirituality, she developed an ecologically-inspired approach to transforming human systems that she later documented in her bestselling book: Tending the Soul's Garden: Permaculture as a Way Forward in Difficult Times.
In 2006, she was elected to public office in Lake County and served two terms on the Lake County Board of Supervisors, where she was best known for her environmental advocacy and community revitalization efforts. In this role she led Lake County to two State environmental leadership awards and championed two of the largest public solar energy installations in California.
For decades Denise helped entrepreneurs and innovators with their business and impact strategies. Her clients have included US and international energy companies, Invensys, Trilliant and hundreds of individual heart-centered entrepreneurs. She writes on the topics of cultural innovation and ecological regeneration, and is passionate about human-scale solutions to global challenges.
Today, she is Managing Director- California for New Energy Nexus, a global non-profit organization supporting diverse clean energy entrepreneurs with funds, accelerators, and networks and whose mission is to accelerate a just and equitable clean energy future.
She earned a degree in environmental engineering from Stanford University and devoted her early career to clean technology. Her pioneering work in the energy industry included the launch of award winning energy efficiency and clean technology initiatives adopted by utilities around the world.
Business success notwithstanding, Denise recognized that humanity’s relationship with Earth’s living systems requires a deeper response. After earning her Masters Degree in Culture and Spirituality, she developed an ecologically-inspired approach to transforming human systems that she later documented in her bestselling book: Tending the Soul's Garden: Permaculture as a Way Forward in Difficult Times.
In 2006, she was elected to public office in Lake County and served two terms on the Lake County Board of Supervisors, where she was best known for her environmental advocacy and community revitalization efforts. In this role she led Lake County to two State environmental leadership awards and championed two of the largest public solar energy installations in California.
For decades Denise helped entrepreneurs and innovators with their business and impact strategies. Her clients have included US and international energy companies, Invensys, Trilliant and hundreds of individual heart-centered entrepreneurs. She writes on the topics of cultural innovation and ecological regeneration, and is passionate about human-scale solutions to global challenges.
Today, she is Managing Director- California for New Energy Nexus, a global non-profit organization supporting diverse clean energy entrepreneurs with funds, accelerators, and networks and whose mission is to accelerate a just and equitable clean energy future.