Lynn Balinas, President
Lynn Balinas brings more than 25 years of experience in marketing, sales, public relations and strategic planning to Hondo Green. Before joining The Hondo Group, Balinas served as president of the highly successful business-to-business marketing firm Charleston Orwig, implementing a marketing plan that grew the agency’s annual income from less than $1 million to over $7 million and distinguished the company as a 2005 B2B Agency of the Year by B2B Magazine.

As president of The Hondo Group, Lynn was instrumental in the agency’s original decision to go green in 2008. After experiencing the greening process from the inside out, Balinas noticed an underserved market niche – at that time, no comprehensive-yet-simple solution existed for evaluating, recommending and managing environmentally sound business practices. This insight led Balinas - along with Jared Huke and Shena Turlington – to form Hondo Green, a sustainability marketing and technology company dedicated to providing organizations of all sizes an easy and affordable path to achieving sustainability and financial goals by offering the tools and expertise to effectively monitor, manage and market environmental impact.

Lynn holds a B.S. in Agricultural Economics from Texas A&M University and completed his executive studies in Advertising at the University of Michigan.


Jared Huke, Vice President – Creative Director
Jared Huke brings a diversified portfolio to Hondo Green, encompassing internationally acclaimed sustainable furniture designs, architectural work and traditional print/advertising design. His innovations in sustainable furniture led to his role as a contributor in the recently released book titled, Dutch Design Meets Bamboo – debuted at an international design conference in Eindhoven, Netherlands in May of this year.  He has also been recognized as one of the “Top 10 Furnishing Designers” by Architectural Record and a “Next Generation Designer” by Metropolis Magazine and “New and Notable in ‘05” by ID Magazine.

Huke’s passion for sustainability has always been a guiding principal in his life and career. As Creative Director of The Hondo Group, it was this passion that inspired him to take the company green in 2008 – an experience that led to the foundation of Hondo Green in 2009.

Prior to joining The Hondo Group, Huke served as Creative Director for DAS Creative in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He holds a B.F.A. in Design from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was awarded the Kelly Fearing Scholarship for Excellence in Fine Art, among many other honors. In addition to his extensive design expertise, Huke speaks French, Thai, Vietnamese, Spanish, and German and holds three patents for sustainable furniture and building materials.


Shena Turlington, LEED AP, Environmental Consultant
Shena Turlington specializes in environmental design and sustainable business models, working with natural materials, renewable energy and ecological design principles. With a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBE in Sustainable Development from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, she combines an extensive background in business strategy with her passion for creating long-term environmental solutions.

In addition to advising on corporate greening strategy for clients such as Audi and Volkswagen, Shena manages the greening operations for large-scale events while focusing on creating new models for sustainable communities. As Environmental Director for the Lightning in a Bottle Festival, Shena transformed the event from a Music & Arts Festival to a “Green Event,” effectively doubling attendance and raising the local profile of the event. Other events Shena has helped go green include All Points West, Rothbury and Coachella Festivals. In 2008, she appeared as a featured panelist at South by Southwest for her expertise on greening events.


Michael Berg, J.D., Environmental Consultant
Michael Berg brings more than 10 years of experience as a strategy and communications advisor to leading companies and organizations in the food, retail, healthcare, technology, construction and media industries. As a sustainability expert, Berg has focused his expertise on how regulators and financial markets address climate change and sustainability, along with uncovering the opportunities, challenges and best practices related to sustainability performance measurement and reporting, global supply chain management, regulatory compliance and leading edge methods of communication and branding.

Michael is a frequently published writer on sustainability issues, having recently authored articles on environmental due diligence for the American Bar Association and on a specialized form of enterprise-wide footprinting for the healthcare sector. He is also a contributing author of the forthcoming book: Climate Change: A Guide to Carbon Law and Practice.

After receiving his bachelor’s degree from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, Berg Michael received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas School of Law, where he was a staff editor of the Texas Journal of Business Law.


Courtney Kleefuss, Manager
Courtney Kleefuss first realized the far-reaching impact of sustainability practices during her tenure as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Samoa, South Pacific, where she focused on teaching sustainable farming methods to several villages throughout the region. During her time in the Peace Corps, Kleefuss served as president of Avanoa Tutusa, an NGO dedicated to bringing equal opportunity to the youth of Samoa.

Prior to joining The Hondo Group, Kleefuss served as a program manager for Beeline Managed Services and Discover Financial Services, and as a fundraising specialist for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Courtney also served as Executive Director for two major clients at Drake & Company, an association management firm. While there, she was responsible for full-service management and driving new business efforts for the firm, taking a small start-up association from ground zero to 14,000 members and numerous corporate sponsors in less than a year.

Her combination of non-profit and for-profit experience lends a unique understanding of the global business environment and the need for transparent corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Kleefuss has a B.S. in Business Management from Bradley University.


Sam Monreal, Business Development
Sam Monreal combines over a decade of financial and sales expertise with a true passion for sustainability. As a stockbroker with Charles Schwab, Sam rose to the company’s top 5% within two short years, earning him the Leader’s Board Recognition honor early in his career. Monreal has also worked for diverse financial services firms such as Guaranty Bank, World Capital Mortgage (Top Company Sales, 2006), Level Funding, LLC (Top Company Sales, 2007) and other top-tier Austin companies, including the Dell Computer Corporation. 

During his time in the financial services industry, Sam developed a passion for understanding the financial world and how important it is for a business to stay ahead of the curve. With over six years experience as an independent commercial and residential lending consultant, Sam has developed extensive relationships in – and a deep understanding of – sustainable building, design and architecture practices and methodologies. As a former boxing trainer, Monreal brings a tenacious spirit to reaching sustainability goals and helping companies of all sizes forge a clear, profitable path to sustainability.

Born and raised in San Angelo, TX, Sam attended the University of Texas Red McCombs School of Business on a National Hispanic Scholar Scholarship.