At a glance
- Vice President, On the Ground board (13+ years of board service)
- Founder of Green Island, a Traverse City eco-retail store
- Former Executive Board member, Oryana Community Co-op
- B.A. International Relations; M.A. International Business Management
Sean Burns
Vice President, On the Ground Board of Directors
Traverse City, Michigan
Sean Burns has worked professionally for more than 25 years promoting environmental and social responsibility, and serves as Vice President of the On the Ground board of directors — a role he has held for over a decade.
He founded Green Island, a Traverse City eco-retail store built around products made the “right way,” with emphasis on both the people and the planet behind them. The store was profiled in the retail trade press as an early example of a business making sustainability the organizing principle of its merchandising rather than a product category within it. Sean's professional experience also includes international brand strategy management and business development work, including a period as Director of Business Development at IdeaSphere, Inc.
Alongside that work he has spent many years in nonprofit and cooperative governance, serving on boards dedicated to community sustainability and social equity — among them the executive board of Oryana Community Co-op, northern Michigan's natural foods cooperative, and the board of Traverse City New Tech.
His practice is built on a B.A. in International Relations, a Master's in International Business Management, and a certificate in Sustainable Business Strategy.