Karen and Ralf Meyer founded Green Fire Productions in 1989 to produce communication tools that help non-profits, natural resource agencies, tribes and others advance conservation and social justice issues.

Based in Oregon, they've produced more than 20 award-winning programs that are screened both worldwide and throughout the United States.

One of Green Fire's many skills is taking complex subjects and explaining them to the audience. “You have to know who your audience is, and what is going to resonate with them, and what parts of the story will help them understand the issue,” Karen says. “To engage them, excite them, inspire them. You have to respect your audience's intelligence and prerogative to make their minds up.”

Their recent film Common Ground and associated education and marketing campaign has struck a nerve across Oregon. From Charleston to Astoria and from Portland to Newport, hundreds have filled theaters to capacity to watch this film and discuss threats to marine life and potential benefits for our ocean by designating marine reserves.

Karen Meyer, executive director of Green Fire explained, “We produced Common Ground so that Oregonians could see first hand our underwater world and learn about ocean ecosystems, environmental problems and solutions - and get involved in this issue.”

Their expertise extends across conservation and social justice issues. Green Fire worked with the Oregon Peace Institute, a non-profit organization that wanted to inspire young people to solve conflicts non-violently. The result was Peace by Piece: Youth Take Action, a fast-paced, engaging, and powerful documentary about critical issues confronting young people, and what some of them are doing to make a difference. The film premiered at a Dalai Lama event in Portland, Oregon with 10,000 teenagers in the audience. The response was tremendous as teens connected with the personal stories that related to what the Dalai Lama had shared.

Collaborating closely with clients to create a strategic distribution plan, Green Fire plugs programs in to reveal the issues these groups address every day. “We work with our clients to train them and educate them about how to incorporate the communication tools in their outreach and media work,” Karen says.\

The result? A compelling video program that engages your audience, frames the debate, generates extensive media coverage, and persuades decision makers to make better-informed decisions.