President and Founder

Emily Kahn

Emily is President & founder of Green Fern Events (GFE) — Texas’ leading producer of zero-waste conferences and events. She is respected as an expert in her field with a combined 15 years of experience in event management, clean energy and sustainable business. She develops forward-thinking strategies that are rooted in the fundamentals of environmental stewardship and economic sense, and she produces events with proven outcomes that demonstrate significant benefits of sustainable efforts.

A native of Roanoke, Virginia, Emily’s formative years were spent exploring the natural beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  She earned a bachelor’s degree in cross-cultural communications at Lynchburg College and a master’s degree in sustainable destination management/event management at George Washington University. She further broadened her horizons while studying and traveling abroad. She saw firsthand the devastating results of man’s unchecked impact on the environment, and it was during this time that she realized “going green” isn’t an option — it’s an imperative. It was a clarion call for Emily, which came at a time when sustainability was barely a whisper on the wind of public debate. 

Emily founded Green Fern Events in 2009 with the goal of developing a holistic model for successful and sustainable events. The company is compliant with ISO20121 Standards for Event Sustainability, APEX/ASTM Environmental Sustainable Meeting Standards as well as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) for event organizers.

Jamie Adair

Jamie has over 10 years of experience in project management, engineering, and video production. She attended Texas Tech University where she earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering.  As the new Events and Exhibits Manager for Green Fern Events, Jamie is responsible for managing overall logistics and vendor relations for an annual 3-day conference with over 1,000 attendees. Her talents include, high-touch customer service, providing strategic solutions for overall planning, vendor and contract management, as well as exhibit booth sales. She is a natural problem solver and great communicator who truly enjoys connecting with others.  Jamie calls Austin, TX home and has lived there for 17 years.  In her spare time she can be found spending time in nature with her two children, practicing and teaching yoga, and listening to live music.

Irene Dooling

Irene has thirteen years in financial management, program management, and event delivery. Since 2013, Irene has assisted GFE in the production of numerous zero-waste events as well as business operations for the company.

As VP of Finance for DC-based nonprofit, Partners for Livable Communities, Irene managed all vendor and customer relationships, including all Accounts Payable/Receivables, contracts, maintenance, and follow-up. She maintained an effective and efficient fiscal management system that ensured the availability of financial resources to meet program, general operating, and development objectives. In addition, she prepared and monitored cash flow, annual budget, and financial reports for approval by the Board, standardized budget preparation for all project proposals and approved all program budgets.

Prior to her position in finance at Partners, Irene was Director of Public Programs where she coordinated all conferences, award programs, and small meetings including content, production, logistics coordination, liaising with speakers and attendees, on-site management, and post-event follow-up.Irene holds a BA, in Economics (Focus on Small Business) from Colorado College.