Asheville’s new director of entrepreneurship steps into spotlight with Wednesday talk

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Josh Dorfman, who was hired in April to develop and nurture Asheville’s entrepreneurs, steps into the spotlight Wednesday with an Asheville Green Drinks talk at Green Sage Cafe. The event starts at 6 p.m.

Dorfman is well known from his award-winning reality TV series The Lazy Environmentalist. He’s also the author of two books aimed at helping consumers reduce environmental impacts, and he had a daily SiriusXM radio show. Dorfman’s talk on Wednesday will center on his Lazy Environmentalist work.

But I’m most interested in what moves Dorfman will make to grow and promote Asheville’s entrepreneurs as Director of Entrepreneurship Development at the Asheville Chamber of Commerce. Close listeners of Dorfman’s talk on Wednesday about his own experience might pick up some clues.

Here’s more about Dorfman:

Josh produced and hosted the award winning reality TV series, “The Lazy Environmentalist” on the Sundance Channel for several years, published two books that aim to enlighten people about better consumer decisions that can reduce our environmental impacts, and delivered a daily radio show on SiriusXM. Josh currently works as the Director of Entrepreneurship Development at the Asheville Chamber of Commerce. More details on the event can be found here on the AGD website: Socializing starts at 5:30. The event runs from 6-7PM.

Josh’s long and varied history in helping consumers make better choices will provide the background for this Green Drinks presentation and discussion. He founded a furniture company, Vivavi, in New York City that was named by Inc. Magazine as “one of the top 50 companies driving the green revolution.” Some of his other efforts include being the national spokesperson for Brita’s FilterForGood campaign to reduce bottle waste (which won awards for strategic communication), VP of Marketing for GoodGuide-a provider of social, environmental, and health impacts of products for consumers, and Site Leader of VineMarket.com, an on-line retailer focused on natural and organic foods. Josh has been featured as a speaker on green industry topics across the nation, was recently inducted into the Green Industry Hall of Fame, served on Newsweek Magazine’s Global Environment and Leadership Advisory Committee, and holds an MBA from Thunderbird, The School of Global Management and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.