Sheryl Barbosa
Sheryl Barbosa is the Founder of the Sustain Cities Network, Executive Director of Make GVL Greener, and Sustainability & Climate Risk Expert at GreenHer Earth, with nearly 20 years of experience in environmental science, climate strategy, and sustainable urban development. Based in Greenville, South Carolina, she is a keynote speaker and climate strategist who helps organizations in space and technology turn climate goals into scalable action while guiding businesses toward sustainable practices that serve people, planet, and profit.
As the Founder of Sustain Cities Network since May 2024, Sheryl created a tech platform that connects customers, green businesses, and cities or corporations to create resilient local green supply chains and thriving economies. The platform, described as “Green Angie’s List meets Google Maps for Main Street”, makes it easy for people, cities, and companies to find and support local green businesses.
In her role as Executive Director of Make GVL Greener since June 2021, Sheryl leads a certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on creating sustainable green urban communities through facilitating growth of responsible small businesses and sustainable community projects that enhance green living, and ensuring energy equity for underserved communities. The organization serves as the Greenville chapter of Sustain Cities. Read Meet Sheryl Guarniero: Founder of Make GVL Greener, Championing a More Sustainable Greenville.
Through their Green Business Directory and impact network, Make GVL Greener has created a valuable resource for businesses and customers to connect and shop or source with their green values in mind. Sheryl’s vision extends to integrating environmental awareness into Greenville’s tourism scene, partnering with Visit Greenville to champion volun-tourism by encouraging visitors to participate in local cleanups and environmental projects. Watch Make GVL Greener takes hands-on approach to protecting our environment. Read Greenville: ‘Make GVL Greener’ hosts Earth Day cleanup.
Since January 2017, Sheryl has served as Sustainability & Climate Risk Expert at GreenHer Earth, a diverse, minority-owned, disabled, and woman-owned small business certified as WBE, WOSB, and NGLCC. She has advised on strategic sustainability implementation for increased business development, helping clients improve profits significantly while cutting their carbon footprint. She has extensive experience working with various ESG reporting frameworks including SASB, TCFD, UN SDGs, CDP, and GRI. Listen to Let’s Build a New Earth Economy – Interview with Sheryl Guarniero and Sheryl Guarniero With GreenHer Earth.
Between March 2025 and June 2025, Sheryl participated as an alumna in the prestigious NASDAQ Milestone Makers Program offered by the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center in New York City. This highly selective program provides individualized business mentoring, executive coaching, customized training, and resources at no cost to impact entrepreneurs.
Since January 2024, Sheryl has served as Program Coordinator for The Sustainable Advantage program at Clemson University, a collaborative initiative designed to assist minority-owned businesses and those significantly impacting disadvantaged communities in reducing their single-use waste streams and increasing their use of sustainable products.
A defining moment in Sheryl’s life occurred in 2015 when, at age 31, she experienced a near-death crisis that fundamentally rewired her mission. While leading advanced renewable energy tech research for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection — touring fusion reactors, studying wave-energy systems, and helping shape the state’s landmark clean energy initiative — she burned out from the brutal pace and relentless pressure.
Her body shut down with two seizures, and her heart stopped. She was clinically dead and was revived by first responders. That moment transformed her approach to sustainability work, leading her to help visionary organizations turn bold climate goals into scalable action without burning out people, systems, or purpose. As a keynote speaker, founder, and strategist, she has worked with organizations including the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, Pinterest, SHI International, Clemson University, U.S. Department of Energy, FEMA, and multiple state governments and academic institutions.
Her core expertise spans climate and sustainability strategy with a focus on operationalizing ESG across industries, keynote speaking on climate innovation for space, technology, and future cities, and urban resilience and green tech integration. Her work includes developing and implementing Circular Economy principles internally and externally for organizations.
Sheryl earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from Rutgers University in 2005, with a focus on environmental science and policy, and a minor in resource management. She has also completed a Certificate in Community Solar Development from the University of New Hampshire in December 2023. In March 2025, she completed the HEROIC GRAD Speech Writing & Stage Performance Mastery certification from HEROIC Public Speaking.
Visit her LinkedIn profile, Personal Homepage, and GreenHer Earth website. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and X.