Kristen Fulmer
Sustainability Director, Oak View Group
As founder and CEO of Recipric, Fulmer’s mission was to fuse sports and sustainability, enabling organizations like the minor league baseball team Portland (Maine) Sea Dogs and women’s soccer club Chicago Red Stars to “redefine home field advantage,” while also serving as Senior Strategist for Futerra, a sustainability consultancy and agency for positive change.
“Assessment, action and accountability will be critical trends as sustainability matures within live entertainment and sports,” Fulmer said. “We’re seeing more robust tools to help us assess how much impact we can have on people and the planet. But assessment can’t create change on its own without action, as organizations find solutions to be held accountable.”
Last month, Fulmer joined Oak View Group, VenuesNow’s parent company, to head up their sustainability initiative, GOAL (Green Operations and Advanced Leadership).
“Health, supply chain, staffing and climate change are some of this industry’s most pressing challenges,” she said. “We’re at a pivotal moment, where we must fulfill the immediate needs while also addressing the long-term risks and avoid missing innovative opportunities.”
Growing up in Durham, North Carolina, Fulmer was familiar with the power of sports, especially at Duke and UNC, and quickly learned athletics form a universal language, an opportunity to find common ground and a tool to facilitate tough conversations.
A Duke Blue Devil at heart, Fulmer studied Urban Planning at Virginia Tech, then completed a Master’s of Sustainable Design degree at the University of Texas, dedicating her career to environmental and social sustainability in built environments.
Her resume includes consulting with Paladino & Company; sustainable construction with Lendlease and sustainable operations with WeWork. Fulmer also has experience in affordable housing and collaborated across other industries, including financial services, pharma, manufacturing and technology.
“The most motivating moments for me at OVG have occurred when the passion and opportunity align and we find win-win solutions that everyone is excited about implementing together,” Fulmer said.
