Nancy Zavada - The Accidental Founder Who Changed the Events Industry

Nancy Zavada is the founder and president of MeetGreen, a sustainable event agency that has spent over 30 years helping organizations design and deliver events that are both environmentally responsible and genuinely exceptional.Nancy grew up on the Oregon Coast, where recycling wasn't a trend but a way of life. She never set out to start a company. She was simply an event planner who noticed something she couldn't unsee: a single five-day conference for 2,500 people would generate 31,000 styrofoam cups destined straight for the landfill. That moment didn't just bother her. It moved her. She made one different ordering decision, told everyone about it, and never looked back. That's the kind of founder Nancy is. Not the type chasing product market fit, but the type whose values simply outgrew the room she was in.What followed was 32 years of building MeetGreen into a firm that serves clients from 300-person workshops to 60,000-person global conferences across Singapore, Brazil, Denmark, and beyond. Nancy shares the practical wisdom behind her approach: find the champion in every room, lead with education, and always make the business case. She also offers a beautifully simple piece of advice for young sustainability professionals: don't try to take on the world. Pick one thing. Get really good at it. Then pick the next one.Episode in a glance00:10 Meet the Woman Who's Been Greening Events Since Before It Was a Thing03:16 31,000 Styrofoam Cups in One Week: The Moment That Started It All06:03 Before It Was Called Sustainability: Pioneering Green Meetings in 199408:57 Still an Accidental Founder After 32 Years: The MeetGreen Origin Story13:13 How COVID Forced the Events Industry to Finally Catch Up16:15 Pick One Thing, Get Really Good at It, Then Pick the Next OneAbout Nancy ZavadaNancy Zavada is the Founder and President of MeetGreen, a firm dedicated to providing sustainable event management and consulting for some of the world's most recognizable brands. With over three decades of experience, Nancy is a recognized leader in the industry, helping organizations reduce their environmental footprint while maintaining high-quality attendee experiences. She is an Oregon native, a lifelong environmentalist, and a passionate mentor to the next generation of green event professionals.Connect with Nancy Zavada and her workEmail → [email protected] → Nancy ZavadaCompany Website → MeetGreenSend us a message!