| Rebecca Harrell Tickell | |
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at AFI Dallas Film Festival, March 2010 |
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| Born | Rebecca Reynolds Harrell March 2, 1980 Lancaster, Ohio |
| Occupation | Actress Filmmaker Singer Environmental Activist |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Spouse | Josh Tickell (2010–present) |
Rebecca Harrell (born 2 March 1980[1]) is an actress, producer, musician and environmental activist.
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Harrell had a starring role in the Christmas film Prancer. She garnered a nomination for a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture.[2] Movie critic Roger Ebert highlighted Harrell's performance, saying "what really redeems the movie, taking it out of the category of kiddie picture and giving it a heart and gumption, is the performance by a young actress named Rebecca Harrell, as Jessica. She's something. She has a troublemaker's look in her eye, and a round, pixie face that's filled with mischief. And she's smart—a plucky schemer who figures out things for herself and isn't afraid to act on her convictions".[3]
Harrell appeared in other films—most recently Sugar Creek—before putting her acting career aside to focus on environmental activism.[4] Harrell has been interviewed on The Today Show, by The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post.[5]
Traveling across the country with husband Josh Tickell, Harrell educates people on different environmental issues, focusing on solutions, mainly algae-based biofuel.[4] Their production company, Green Planet Productions, makes feature length films and also specializes in video-centered campaigns for eco-minded companies and organizations.
Harrell produced Tickell's documentary film Fuel, which won the 2008 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary and was shortlisted for the Academy Awards.[6] The film also won awards from the Sedona, Santa Cruz, Clarion, AFI Dallas, and Gaia film festivals.[7] She also wrote and performed the song "Drive" for the film, which was shortlisted for a 2009 Academy Award for Best Original Song.[8][9] In an interview about the film, Rebecca said: "...One great thing about FUEL is that we want to take people away from blaming others and stop [them from] saying one method is so much better than the others, and to encourage companies to partner."[10]
Her book, "Hot, Rich and Green...The Secret Formula Women are Using to Get Rich and Save the Planet,"[11] gives a fresh perspective on the role women are playing in reshaping the environmental movement. "She may have penned Hot, Rich & Green, but Rebecca Harrell Tickell is her book’s message incarnate. Aside from working with hundreds of women (from CEOs of major nonprofits to entrepreneurs) to help them realize their green business aspirations, Rebecca is also half of one of Hollywood’s hottest green power couples with her husband, director Josh Tickell."[12] Her book, Hot, Rich & Green, is described on her website as "offer(ing) profound value to its readers – it teaches women starting with only a desire to get into business for themselves and make a difference – exactly how to create and profit from businesses in the green space. The lessons in the book come directly from actual successes and failures of women who have lived the simple formulas presented in this book."[13]
Harrell and Tickell drove the first car powered by a blend of algae gasoline across America. The car was dubbed the "Algaeus" and got 150 miles per gallon because of its extended battery pack and plug. The gasoline engine was unmodified. "We really view it, not to sound grandiose, as an Apollo mission for algae and renewable fuel" Harrell told Scientific American.[14] With their convoy of alternatively powered vehicles, they drove across the country educating people about different green energy solutions.[15] Harrell and Tickell hope that the vehicle can prove to consumers that green fuel solutions are on the horizon. “Up until now the environmental movement has been reactionary. We have no discourse about energy,” Tickell said.” And we want to shift that.”[16]
Harrell co-founded and co-directs The Veggie Van Organization, a national non-profit organization with the vision of "clean air, clean food, and clean water for all, through shifting waste streams into energy streams". The non-profit is dedicated to education around sustainable energy. Harrell created the world's first ever open source national green educational curriculum.[17] Sir Richard Branson and Steve Howard participated in the launch of the green curriculum during New York City's Climate Week.[18] Through her work in the nonprofit sector, she has spoken to and trained over 10,000 teens and teachers throughout Southern California in the art of fundraising and positioning. Rebecca also works closely with highly esteemed organizations such as Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots program, the United Nations and the Virgin Group.[19]