Chris and Tirza have consistently been on the forefront of innovative work in sustainability during their combined fourteen years working in the field. Through practical applications and in-depth studies in seven countries on four contents, they honed their skills and entrepreneurial acumen.  Projects include:

• organized first Bioneers satellite forum in Southeastern US, bringing together leaders from all sectors for dialog and learning exchange during a three-day event (2005, 2006).
• creating the first standard for fair trade in services, FairSource®, and the integrated quality standard ResponsibleIT, and piloting these standards with ifPeople.
• founding the first Argentine network of civil society organizations working on Corporate Social Responsibility, and in the process, cofounding Red Puentes, an international network which now includes over forty member organizations in eight countries. Also provided grant development (resulting in over €1 million of grants), technology, and strategic consulting services to the international network (2003-2004).
• a bilingual (English, Spanish) collection of thirteen of the most important business tools for Social Responsibility, analyzed for applicability to Latin America and for use by civil society organization (2003). 
• the first study of environmental justice in New Zealand, combining political, geographic, and economic perspectives on the location of polluting facilities in Auckland and its impact on minority races and poor citizens (Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, 1999-2000).
• the first comparative study of Brownfield redevelopment in the United Kingdom (London, Glasgow, Belfast) to discover insights on how contaminated land could become part of sustainable urban redevelopment (Mellon Undergraduate Fellowship, 1998).
• a study of the sustainability of water infrastructure projects in Egypt with a focus on policies that promoted longterm buy-in from stakeholders (Janus Fellowship, 1999).

Experienced with real-world sustainability challenges and managing projects with high levels of uncertainty, Chris and Tirza have proven the ability to balance dedication to longterm goals with short-term flexibility, engage and motivate others, and rapidly organize around opportunities.

Since 2001, their sustainability work has focused on the role of business in society. As the largest, most distributed institution, business is agile and quick to seize opportunities. Chris and Tirza saw the opportunity to help businesses align with the principles of sustainability to develop new competitive advantage and sources of innovation. They focus on the synergy between business best practices and the creation of economic, ecological, and social value. They have worked with dozens of businesses and non-profit organizations, from Small and Medium Sized Enterprises to multinational companies. In 2003, Chris and Tirza founded ifPeople while working in Argentina as a way to both serve enterprises pursuing sustainability as well as to be an exemplary case of sustainability in business.

Key to both launching the business and growing its client base is the extensive network of relationships with many thought leaders in the US, Europe, and South America.  Since the creation of ifPeople in 2003, Chris and Tirza have had a strong presence in the sustainable business community. Through publications and presentations, FairSource and ifPeople have been featured in several international conferences covering innovation, sustainability, and human rights and entrepreneurship, including events by UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, GreenFestivals, FutureCommons (Insitute for the Future), Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, Engineers for a Sustainable World, Sustainable Innovation, Fordham University, and more. Through such activities, Chris and Tirza have rapidly expanded their professional networks while also generating greater market awareness for ifPeople.

Tirza and Chris's leadership is strongly based in skills of systems thinking, dialog, vision, and problem solving. Their “soft” skills are completed by strong formation in science and math: both studied science at Rice University in Houston, TX (Chris graduate cum laude in Physics, Tirza in Biology and Environmental Engineering).