About REV®
What we do
REV integrates the best of sustainability with behavior change to accelerate business impact.
We provide a unique hybrid of education, expert resources, and individualized consulting that empower organizations, municipalities, and institutions to create positive change in their business and broader community — enhancing employee engagement, saving money and resources, reducing risk, and building resiliency.
REV’s flagship Sustainability Circle® program, and resulting 5-year sustainability action plan, give you the confidence to engage and inspire stakeholders and employees, implement initiatives, and help drive a mindset of efficiency and sustainability into the culture of your organization.
History
REV was founded by business leaders with deep personal passion and decades of experience in the world of business and sustainability. When he launched Just Desserts 40 years ago, REV CEO Elliot Hoffman was at the forefront of a new movement toward socially responsible business. The success of that brand, along with others from that time — Ben & Jerry’s, Stonyfield Farm, and Seventh Generation to name a few — proved that social responsibility and sustainability make good business sense.
With this background and his experience as co-founder of the business advocacy group, New Voice of Business, Elliot piloted the first Sustainability Circle in 2010. Since then, over 300 companies in California and the Midwest have participated in Sustainability Circles.
A Passion for Sustainable Business
We believe that business must be a force for positive change. Call us crazy, but we really do get excited about helping our clients get measurable results from their sustainability initiatives. We’ve seen what happens when organizations gather together to learn, create rich relationships, and share ideas. It stimulates new thinking, illuminates opportunities, and motivates action. It’s the reason we created Sustainability Circles®.
There is no question that climate change is a reality that poses an enormous risk to business, the economy, and our quality of life. Yet given the wisdom, imagination, and technological resources we now have at hand, few times in history offer the opportunity to shape our world’s future as profoundly as we can today. What is needed is a shift in mindset and behavior and the widespread acceptance of sustainability as a compelling and wise business strategy.
People of REV
Executive Team
Elliot Hoffman, CEO
As founder and CEO of REV, Elliot builds on his passion for creating a new business movement for positive change in our nation and world, continuing his commitment to bringing the power and creativity of business to address the core challenges and opportunities of our time. REV strives to accelerate the marketplace transformation to a new mindset of sustainability, energy efficiency, resource productivity and climate resilience by providing sustainability education and supporting tools to businesses, organizations and communities.
Elliot has been a business and community leader in the San Francisco Bay Area for nearly 30 years. He was co-founder and CEO of Just Desserts, one of the most highly respected brands in the SF Bay Area, employing over 300 people. From the early 1980s, Just Desserts was a pioneer in sustainable business practice, installing energy saving equipment, heat recovery systems, and initiating energy saving solutions that resulted in behavior change among the staff. He is also a co-founder of New Voice of Business, a pioneer in small business advocacy in the San Francisco Bay Area and nation. New Voice is a national movement of business people dedicated to creating a sustainable economy and society by mobilizing the power and creativity of business and business people around the core issues of our time.
Elliot is a previous board member and chair of the Presidio Graduate School, one of the few accredited U.S. programs offering MBAs in Sustainable Management. He is a former board member of the SF Chamber of Commerce and Business for Social Responsibility. Elliot Hoffman and REV were profiled in the Jan/Feb 2016 issue of Conscious Company Magazine. The full article can be accessed here.
Rory Bakke, Chief Sustainability Officer/VP Product Development
Rory Bakke became the CSO of REV in 2013. She is responsible for strategic planning, product and curriculum development. As VP Product Development, she leads the design and development of REV’s Sustainability Circle and new product experience, including the curriculum.
Rory also founded Sustainable Concepts Studio, where she acts as a Sustainability Advisor to companies, public agencies and not-for-profit organizations who work to become organizational leaders in social and environmental performance. Rory is an environmental policy and stakeholder engagement expert and led a strategic alliance between Underwriter’s Laboratories (UL) and The GreenBiz Group that developed (2009 – 11) the first enterprise level, global sustainability standards for both manufacturing and services sectors. In the Fall of 2013, she completed the first Large Company Sustainability Impact Assessment for B Lab which has been adopted by over 200 companies since being introduced into the global marketplace in early 2014.
Her additional experience includes senior management roles for StopWaste.Org (Alameda County Waste Management Authority) and Santa Clara County, where she developed cutting-edge public-private partnerships that provided statewide models of industry – environmental – government collaboration for environmentally sound solutions to toxics and waste reduction issues; and as a Sustainability Advisor to Sprint-Nextel. She is also a Technical Advisor to the Global Institute for Sustainability Ratings.
She holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Policy from Claremont Graduate University; a Certificate in Integrated Waste Management from University of California Extension, Berkeley; an Executive Degree in Sustainable Business Management from the Presidio School of Management; and has been a Public Affairs Fellow with the CORO Foundation. In 2001, she received the Governor of California’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award for developing the StopWaste Business Partnership, and in 2002 she received Acterra’s Business Environmental Award for Environmental and Sustainability Education for creating the same program.
Rory takes pride in being a pragmatic advocate for sustainable business who excels at empowering leaders to use social and environmental performance to improve their organizations and our world. She resides in Novato where she hikes, plays classical piano and sings jazz standards to balance her work as a sustainability change-agent.
Jennifer Sant'Anna, Vice President of Operations
Jenny Sant’Anna brings a strong mix of entrepreneurship, civic engagement, sustainability, and technology background to her role as VP of Operations for REV. Jenny co-founded a first generation mobile software company, SoftMagic Corp. (acquired by Puma Tech) where she served as VP of Operations. She also co-founded the consulting group, UIX Global, a firm focused on urban innovation and civic engagement. Jenny has over 25 years of management experience working with employees and volunteers including serving on a private school Board of Trustees as Finance Chair and on a school parent association board as Co-President. Jenny holds a B.S. in Education & Social Policy from Northwestern University and an MPA in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School.
Miles Hoffman, Product Development Program Manager
As the Product Development Program Manager, Miles oversees the content and tools existing within REV’s various product offerings. Miles initially joined the REV sales team in 2013 and, after successfully launching the company’s first few Sustainability Circles, joined Rory in developing the suite of products designed to drive sustainability both in organizations, and across communities. Miles works extensively with local expert speakers, customers, and REV coaches to ensure participants have the resources necessary to approach sustainability planning and execution. Miles is also always looking for partners to bring the most relevant and progressive technologies to our customers.
Miles holds a BA from The George Washington University as well as an MBA from Trinity University in Washington, DC. He has extensive experience in both business and federal government, and lives with his wife, Josephine, and puppy, Cali, in Oakland, CA.
Coaches & Staff
We’re a committed team with over 250 years of combined experience in sustainability. Our network of 60 people includes 26 MBAs, ten with other Master’s degrees, and two Ph.Ds. A passion for business and sustainability unites us, but our backgrounds are rich and diverse — from engineering and environmental studies to psychology and screenwriting. And don’t forget baking — Elliot’s chocolate cake tops our list of faves.
