Irshad has an MBA from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and graduate degrees in engineering from MIT, Cornell University, University of New Hampshire and IITC, India.  He has advanced management certifications in Agribusiness from Harvard Business School.  He has served as an adjunct at Lehigh University and is on the Board of Advisors of the Speed School of Engineering at the Univ. of Louisville.  Irshad is a recognized expert in the renewable energy with over 20 years of experience. He is the inventor of E-Diesel and cellulosic ethanol biorefinery technology platforms and fuel additives.  He hold 31 patents, has written four books and over 100 publications, and manages over $200 million in ethanol, biodiesel and waste-to-energy projects.  He has raised over $250 million in equity and project financing for renewable energy projects. He has served in lead corporate management capacities at the US EPA, Booz Allen & Hamilton, as the President of National Biodiesel Foundation.  Irshad is the CEO of Pure Energy Corporation and an associate at MIT Sloan School of Management. Contact Irshad.

Lorenz is currently a consultant performing feasibility and technology reviews emerging technologies in the renewable chemicals, fuels and materials area.  He has a unique blend of process, catalyst and characterization skills and has participated in the commercialization of several new products and processes.   He earned a Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis.   He well versed in developing patent strategies and an evaluating intellectual property.   He is the inventor on more than 24 patents with 8 more pending and is the author of 15 technical papers.  He had 26 years’ experience at UOP, the premier licensor of refining and petrochemical catalysts and processes.  While at KiOR, a biofuel start-up, his team successfully upgraded about 1 million gallons of catalytic pyrolysis oil to a drop-in fuel that was directly blended with commercial fuels and sold to consumers.  His ideas increased yields by 10% and saved millions of dollars in capital equipment.  He is an expert in catalyst preparation and applications for both direct conversion, liquefaction and upgrading.  He participated in the commercialization and scale up Catalytic Pyrolysis, Upgrading biomass conversion products, Contaminant Removal, Hydroprocessing and Hydrocracking Catalysts, Heavy Oil and Hazardous Waste Recycling.  He is a Six Sigma Black Belt and an expert statistical analysis, data mining, experimental design and modeling.   Lorenz is also knowledgeable in carbohydrate and petrochemical processes to produce high purity platform chemical.  Contact Larry.

Greg has a BSChemE from the University of Cincinnati and over 40 years’ experience in the design of agitation systems, specializing in fermentation and bioreactors  He is a  Registered Professional Engineer in Ohio and the President of Benz Technology International, Inc. Most of the well-known biofuel technology providers have used Greg as a consultant. He has experience in continuous flow, multistage reactor design. Currently he does agitation, mixing and bioreactor design consultation, including equipment specification and bid evaluation. He has designed more than 150 fermenter agitators, as well as many polymer and biofuel agitation systems. He is a member of AIChE, ISPE, SIM, SBE, American Mensa and the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. He has authored more than 20 technical articles. He has specific experience doing business in China, having managed his former employer’s business there for years, and having consulted there for multiple clients. He has traveled to China dozens of times and is a student of its language and culture.  Contact Greg.

Kent is the longest serving BQ9000 auditor with the National Biodiesel Accreditation Commission. He received his Bachelor of Science in Occupational Education from Southern Illinois University and his Masters of Science in Quality Assurance from California State University, Dominguez Hills. Kent has audited many production, marketing and laboratory facilities across the United States and Canada. His work in the field has been recognized with awards at the national and regional level. Kent leads Quality Assurance projects for our clients and is available to assist clients seeking BQ9000 in preparing for the certification requirements.  Contact Kent.

Scott received his Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Business from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  He is the Sr. Director of Fats & Oils Trading at Jacob Stern & Sons,, Inc. where he is focused on feedstock supply to biodiesel and feed facilities, as well as marketing of oils and fats in the domestic and international market.  Scott is also focused on growing the company’s presence in the biofuel and agriculture markets, both domestically and internationally.  He has 20 years of experience in business development, risk management and trading of multiple agricultural commodities and renewable fuels.  Before joining Jacob Stern & Sons, Inc., Scott served in various trading and management positions with Tenaska Commodities, ConAgra Trade Group, Inc., and Gavilon, LLC.  Scott can assist clients with feedstock procurement, risk management, and logistics management.  Contact Scott.

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Nathan graduated from Iowa State University in 2004 with a degree in Finance. Upon graduation, Nathan started his career as a Risk Management Consultant at FCStone. Currently, Nathan works day-to-day with biodiesel plants, biodiesel suppliers, animal fats and grease suppliers, seed crushers and elevators. Nathan has taken a leadership role in the development of integrated risk management plans and “Feedstock Financing” programs for biodiesel plants. Nathan works to establish risk management strategies to protect and lock in margins for both integrated crushing and standalone biodiesel facilities. Nathan’s main focus is structuring trades which lock in margins for clients. Contact Nate.

Jamey has B.S. and M.S. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia and over 20 years of experience in business development, sales, and project management in agriculture and renewable energy.  He is Business Development Director for our strategic partner, Christianson and Associates, PLLP, where he assists clients with benchmarking, RIN attests and consulting, accounting services, business consulting, and ERP software.  Jamey has managed customer relationships throughout the ethanol industry for a number of years, and is also an experienced grant writer, having successfully written grants for a variety of value-added agricultural businesses. Contact Jamey.

Mindy has a B.A. from Indiana State University and an M.A. in Planning & Management from Indiana University.  She is the founder and President of Collier & Associates and has over 25 years of consulting experience, including “hands on” experience in biodiesel plants.  Mindy is also an experienced grant writer and has successfully written grants for solar, biodiesel and other alternative fuels projects.  She works with our clients in identifying and writing all types of alternative and renewable grants.   For our biodiesel clients, she is available to direct the setup, monitoring and tracking of data for EPA and IRS reporting, RIN generation, tax incentives, and the purchasing of process chemicals and feedstock. Contact Mindy.

Dr. Bogdan Comanita has been involved with the green chemicals market since the early 2000’s when he joined the turn-around team of the largest furfural derivatives producer in the world. Building on the strengths of the legendary Quaker Oats Chemicals brands (QO®) Bogdan started from scratch global markets such as biobased Viridisol® M (2-methyltetrahydrofuran), the fastest growing green solvent market in the pharma industry. In the process, Bogdan crafted global marketing agreements, collaborated with leading advertising agencies and represented company and industry interests on the Capitol Hill.

He subsequently spearheaded successful business development initiatives for Apotex Fermentation Inc., a subsidiary of Canada’s largest pharmaceutical company, with more than 10% share of the US fermentation market.

Bogdan realized that the company bottlenecks shifted quickly from production to markets as they achieved production goals. This is why he founded MarketChemica Inc., a strategic market research agency specializing in the collection and processing of global market intelligence for the renewable chemicals industry.

MarketChemica provides the most accurate assessment of market potential for existing or planned chemical products to mid-cap chemical enterprises in the EU and US. Bogdan’s presence on the LEC team ensures that technical assessments will be supported by the critical market reality-check required for due diligence projects we are involved with.   Contact Bogdan

Bernard, a chemical engineer, with his Ph.D. from Cambridge University, has worked in industrial process R&D, design and scale up for 35 years. He founded his consultancy, Chemical Processing Solutions, in 2015, having worked at two biotechnology startups. He deconstructed lignocellulosic biomass by high shear rates, with enzymic saccharification. He led a team which developed, piloted and costed a continuous saccharification process in segmented augers. At the second company, he designed the continuous PP for furan intermediate dechlorination, via a supported reduction catalyst, in a cellulose to p-xylene process. He improved and optimized the existing PP. His biotechnology output includes an evergreen spreadsheet of over 620 biomass-fed process projects, on all scales, and “Lignocellulosic Biomass Deconstruction”, in the 4/12/17 issue of Biofuels Digest. He is co-inventor in two biotechnology process patent applications, and is co-inventor in 20 issued U.S. patents.

Previously, Bernard gained wide chemical process R&D experience. This comprised process conception, safety engineering, design, scale up and plant startups. This included: the powder mechanics of a gas phase polypropylene process, continuous gas phase PVC, polyarylether sulfone process development, and scale up of styrene/butadiene block copolymers. Bernard was a team member for development of new propylene oxide processes, via four routes, two being catalytic. He is experienced in catalyst development and manufacture and collaborated successfully to improve the commercialized PO/TBA process epoxidation yield.  Contact Bernard.

Katrina has a Ph.D. in Plant Biology from the University of Birmingham, England.  She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, and of the Association for the Advancement of Science, and has more than 35 years’ experience in government, academia and the private sector, including development and industrial standards.  Dr. Cornish led the USDA’s development of domestic natural rubber and allergy-safe rubber latex sources from 1989-2004. Among many awards, she was honored as the USDA’s Outstanding Senior Scientist of the Year in 1998 and won a presidential award from the American Chemical Society in 2002. She is currently an Ohio Research Scholar and Endowed Chair in Bioemergent Materials at The Ohio State University.  She has 240 papers in biochemistry, biotechnology, engineering, crop development, biopolymers, processing engineering, and product development, as well as 9 issued US patents and 16 pending. Contact Katrina.

Hong has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and over 25 years research experience in China, Japan, and the USA, specifically in the thermochemical conversion of coal, biomass, and solid waste. His current research has been focused on processing agriculture waste via gasification for fuel gas or syngas production. Hong has authored more than 50 technical reports and peer-reviewed papers in recognized professional journals. With his international working experience, Hong leverages his expertise in the development of biomass to energy (electricity and heat) for national and international clients.   Contact Hong.

Olivia has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Environmental Engineering from the University of Minnesota, Duluth and many years of experience in energy and air quality.  She works with our strategic partner, Wenck, specializing in air pollution control, biorenewable resources, and life cycle analysis, with technical expertise on inventory of greenhouse gas and other air emissions, and life cycle analysis modeling. Her experience includes modeling under multiple protocols, such as Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), and the EU Renewable Energy Directive (EU RED) for new renewable fuel pathways.  Olivia also has experience with water balance to assess sustainable zero discharge options, total facility pollution prevention planning to eliminate waste, feasibility analysis of sustainable technologies, and air quality permit applicability analysis.  She has served clients within the energy, chemical manufacturing, biofuels, waste management, and agricultural sectors on projects including biomass and biofuel power generation, biodiesel and renewable jet fuel production, anaerobic digestion and landfill biogas, and pulp and paper manufacturing.  Contact Olivia.

Tim has a BSc in Microbiology from the University of London and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Manchester.  Tim has worked in biomanufacturing for almost 30 years, developing and optimising fermentation and downstream processes to generate biomass, proteins, fuels, chemicals and for biotranformations.  He has significant experience in microbial strain development and in process technology transfer and scale up.  Most recently, as CTO, he led the technical team at Green Biologics Ltd which, coordinating with the engineering team, developed the microbes and fermentation process that facilitated the start-up of the first commercial acetone-butanol plant in the USA since 1938.  Through his role as Director of the Bioexpression & Fermentation Facility at the University of Georgia and as a consultant at Downstream Biotech Consulting Inc. and his current position as Director of Rubus Scientific Ltd. he has assisted more than 100 companies in developing and scaling bioprocesses; technical strategy; business operations; business development and conducting technical due diligence.

Tim has been a Director and President of the Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (SIMB) and has been a Non-Executive Director and Scientific Advisory Board member for Biotechnology companies.  He has also been on the advisory board or governing board for a number of institutional programmes.  He is an experienced grant writer, reviewer and project manager including leading international consortia working on European Union Horizon 2020 projects.  Contact Tim.

Amy earned a B.S. in Natural Resource Management – Land Use Planning from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, and has over 20 years in the environmental and natural resources field.  She is an experienced leader and project manager for our strategic partner, Wenck, and has led numerous environmental review processes for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance, including management, organization, technical research, as well as report writing and editing.  Amy’s projects have included preparation of Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements (EAW, EA, EIS), and Site Permit Applications for a wide range of activities, including renewable energy, transmission lines, biofuel facilities, roads, solid waste, taconite mining, stream restoration, residential and commercial development, industrial facilities, in addition to large-scale government infrastructure. She is also ISO 14001:2015 lead auditor certified, and has assisted facilities evaluate their environmental management systems to ISO standards. Contact Amy.

David has a Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry under Bryan Jones at the University of Toronto, post-doctoral work in molecular biology with Marvin Caruthers at the University of Colorado, and over 30 years’ experience leading interdisciplinary process development groups using biological methods to perform organic synthesis. He established Dodds & Associates in 2002, to provide technical consulting and management to start-up pharma & biotech companies, and now the growing industrial biotech and renewable chemicals companies. David provides technical strategy, project management, and due diligence across multiple disciplines; organic synthesis, chiral chemistry, biocatalysis, synthetic biology, fermentation and strain development, industrial biotechnology and renewable / biobased chemicals. In joining Lee Enterprises Consulting, David is able to expand his capabilities by engaging with engineers and other experts in the renewable chemicals area. David also provides expert witness service for patent litigation, and serves on a number of scientific advisory boards.  Contact David.

David is the Vice President of Sales & Marketing at our strategic partner, Zeton Inc., the recognized world leader in the design and fabrication of lab scale systems, pilot plants, demonstration plants and small modular production plants. David studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Nottingham in England, completing his M. Eng. in 1987. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario, and a Chartered Engineer in the UK. He is a member of AIChE and IChemE. David is involved in all aspects of supplying turnkey, fully-automated pilot plants to its customers.  Contact David.

Craig has a B.A. from California State University at San Jose, and over 30 years of experience in the public policy, fund raising and grant making arenas, working on conservation, agriculture, renewable energy, and advanced fossil fuel issues. He has been at the leading edge of the renewable energy and advanced fossil fuels industries since 2005 helping innovators and companies commercialize new technologies and secure financing. He has helped clients obtain close to $1 billion from government grants, loan guarantees and project financing. Several projects in which he has been involved were the first commercial deployments of new technologies. Craig is a successful (registered) U.S. Congressional lobbyist whose accomplishments include restoring $40 billion in loan authority for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Title 17 Loan Guarantee Program (2018) and creation of the Rails-to-Trails enabling legislation (1982) that allowed abandoned railroad rights of way to be converted to trails. Craig manages a team of consultants with experience in grant writing, financing, federal and state agency and legislative relations, as well as in engineering and in environmental and energy law. He also maintains close relationships with multiple industry partners that provide a variety of services useful to companies developing or deploying renewable energy projects.  Contact Craig.

Mark earned his degree in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1993. He has been involved in many aspects of biodiesel since 2003. His work includes research and development of new production methods and processes, including one of the first commercial applications of a solid catalyst used in biodiesel production. Mark has designed process equipment and managed the entire process of constructing of biodiesel plants. This work included the process engineering, project management of the equipment fabrication and facility construction. Mark also commissioned and led the operations for two separate biodiesel facilities as General Manager and Director of Operations, respectively. Mark continued working with other remote facilities to provide technical expertise for engineering and operations improvement and troubleshooting. Mark has led the effort working with other consultants to secure BQ-9000 accreditation for multiple biodiesel facilities. This included the needed training for the staff to follow the required operation and laboratory procedures.

Mark’s knowledge and expertise in biodiesel includes process engineering, operations, staffing, laboratory analyses, feedstock sourcing and biodiesel sales.

In addition to Mark’s experience in biodiesel, he also has experience in biogas production and processing, water and wastewater treatment, natural gas processing including refrigeration, separation and liquids fractionation / distillation, and glycerin refining.  Contact Mark.

Glenn was named by European Institutional Investors Services as one of the 5 most influential people in renewable energy in North America.  He has spent over 25 years in project development as well as developing, advising and commercializing new technology in the biomass energy field. He was the project manager for the Vermont Gasification Project, a public-private partnership with the US Department of Energy, featuring biomass gasification technology. The project won a R&D 100 Award, signifying it as the most important development in the field of renewable energy worldwide in 1998.  Most recently, Glenn served as part of AGCO Corporation’s Strategic Marketing Group.  He was Director of Product Strategy, North America, based out of the AGCO’s corporate headquarters in Duluth, GA, USA. One of Glenn’s major roles was the development and perfection of methodologies in the biomass supply chain , using both agricultural waste products and purpose grown crops for feedstock in second generation cellulosic biomass for coversion nto fuels and chemicals. Glen managed operations on behalf of both the company and customers for over 1,000,000 bales of cellulosic feedstocks including corn stover, miscanthus, wheat straw, switchgrass and sorghum.

He has developed and advised developers on biomass projects throughout the United States and Caribbean Basin.  Glenn’s primary focus now is to assist clients in recognizing and developing strategies for new trends in agriculture, agricultural equipment, and the use of crops and crop waste as a feedstock.  Contact Glenn.

Antzela received her BEng and MEng. Mechanical Engineering (specializing in Management of Renewable Energy Resources) from the University of Western Macedonia in Greece. She received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry from Aston University, UK. She is a mechanical and chemical engineer with a strong background in pyrolysis, biomass, plastic waste management, and thermochemical conversion technologies. Her Ph.D. thesis contributed to the EC Biosynergy project, which evaluated bio-refineries for transport fuels.  In addition her many research activities, she has experience with process design, PFD, P&ID, HAZOP and techno-economic simulations using HYSYS Aspen, and has worked on the development and optimization of both small, and large pyrolysis systems (including establishing design and operating parameters for commercial versions of prototype systems).  Her most recent work has been as the head of R&D for Recycling Technologies, where she focused on enabling mixed plastic waste to be converted to heavy fuel substitutes and refined feedstock for plastics production.   Contact Antzela.

John has a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Vermont, and has more than 45 years of experience in the planning, design, permitting and construction of small through multi-million dollar municipal and private renewable energy, biogas, anaerobic digester, wastewater and composting projects throughout the eastern U.S.A. He is President of Forcier Consulting Engineers, PC and was honored as the Vermont Engineer of the Year in 2000 and was inducted into Tau Beta Pi as an Eminent Engineer in 1999.  His unique experience includes 19 years in the construction industry as project manager, estimator, CPM scheduler and construction manager and 26 years in consulting engineering as the CEO, design and construction project manager and project principal. His related anaerobic digester/biogas experience includes farm-based, commercial, industrial, municipal and wastewater treatment facility systems utilizing biosolids, manures, food waste, glycerin, SSO, DAF and FOG with electrical outputs from 100 kWe to 3 MWe and thermal energy to 10 MMBTU/h. John is a Professional Engineer and has provided presentations on renewable energy, anaerobic digesters and biogas at several renewable energy conferences and universities.  Contact John.

Santosh has a Phd in Chemical Engineering from University of Waterloo and Bachelors of Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur with over 40 years of experience. He is currently the Director of Business Development at Energy and Environment at Southern Research. He is a recognized expert in gas-solid reactions, catalyst/sorbent preparation, and production scale-up, and has managed complex multimillion dollar research programs totaling over $50 million from Government and private industry.    Presently he is leading projects for the design and development of a modular small-scale gasifier that produces a tar free syngas, scale up of a selective Fischer-Tropsch-based syngas conversion process to JP-8, energy storage using gas-solid reactions, evaluation of processes for CO₂ conversion to methanol, and a process for simultaneous water gas shift and CO₂ capture.  Previously he led the development of a high-pressure feeder for coal-biomass mixtures, a small scale gasification system for converting biomass/MSW to power and liquid fuels, processes for hydrogen production using an engineered iron-based catalyst and a carbon-based membrane, and a process for deep desulfurization of liquid fuels.  He also developed an internationally recognized syngas desulfurization program that resulted in a warm-gas desulfurization process that was scaled up to a 25 MWe slip stream at Tampa Electric.  He led the scale -up of the sorbent for this process in a commercial-scale spray dryer in cooperation with a commercial manufacturer to over tens of thousands of kilograms for running it in a coupled transport reactor system.  He has published 14 patents and over 200 peer reviewed publications and conference proceedings.

Brian obtained his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Bristol (U.K.). His career spans Big Oil (Royal Dutch/Shell), Major Chemical companies (BFGoodrich, Rohm and Haas, Albemarle), Start-ups (Imperium Renewables, Sapphire Energy) and privately held companies (Valicor). Brian’s experience covers the spectrum from invention and innovation (about 100 published US patents) to commercialization and business development. Brian has led the internal innovation programs at 2 major companies, and raised over $130 million in funding from various Federal agencies. Landmark contributions in the renewables space include his key contributions to the first non-petroleum-derived jet fuel to fly on a commercial jet (Virgin Atlantic February 2008 – from coconut oil) and the first US flight (Continental Airlines, January 2009 – from algae oil) as well as the algae-derived gasoline fraction that powered the Algaeus hybrid to drive from San Francisco to Washington DC in 2009. He is an expert in the development and commercialization of oil extraction and fractionation from botanicals ranging all the way from algae (e.g. for omega-3’s, astaxanthin, chemical feedstocks and fuel precursors) to cannabis for the various cannabinoids sought for medicinal applications and more. This background in understanding the value of nutraceuticals is a strength in expertise. Brian is an experienced expert witness in patent litigations.  Contact Brian.

Amit has a MS and PhD in Chemical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is currently the Associate Director of Sustainable Chemistry and Catalysis group in Energy and Environment division at Southern Research. He is responsible for managing research initiatives and commercial business development in areas of sustainable chemistry, catalyst and process development. He has over 11 years of diverse experience leading research programs totaling over $10 million from government and private industry. His research is mainly focused on the development of heterogeneous catalyst for thermo-catalytic conversion of biomass to fuels and chemical products that are usually derived from the petroleum. In this role (principal investigator) he leads a team on a DOE-BETO funded study for biomass derived sugars conversion to acrylonitrile – a monomer used as a precursor for production of carbon fibers. He is also responsible for developing a novel nano-engineered, catalyst-driven process for the production of light olefins, such as ethylene and propylene, using carbon dioxide, or CO2 from coal-fired flue gas and lower alkanes derived from shale gas as feedstocks for an ongoing DOE-NETL funded project. In past he has been responsible for the design and development of a novel H2S resistant reforming catalyst – for conversion of methane and tar obtained from gasified low rank coals to hydrogen. Prior to joining Southern Research, he worked as a senior chemical engineer at a startup working in area of industrial heterogeneous catalysts, where he was in charge of the biofuels and bio-chemicals research program. He spearheaded research on a multi-institution grant to transform biomass into hydrocarbon fuels and as principal investigator for conversion of cellulose to renewable plasticizers. He has published over 20 reviewed journal articles, with four issued and four pending U.S. patents.

Andrew has a B.A. and M.A. from Cambridge University and over 35 years’ experience as a manager of biomass conversion projects.  He has been involved in providing guarantees of performance, environmental impact and cost studies, for coal and biomass conversion technologies, and has performed due diligence studies of technologies and of facilities.  Andrew is familiar with a wide range of biomass processing, ranging from wood chips to rice straw to MSW, and is experienced in greenhouse gas reduction and carbon footprinting, in the use of waste biomass, and other emerging technologies.

Andrew performs studies on fuel supplies, new biomass fuels, boiler operation, plant modernization, and assesses a wide range of technologies, and assists developer/owners in managing project scope and costs. He is also available to assist with permitting, interconnection applications and contracting, fuel plans, and the integration of other site facilities.  Contact Andrew.

Bill has a PhD in Chemical Engineering and MS in Chemical Engineering Practice from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He is currently the Vice President of Energy & Environment at Southern Research, where he is responsible for the division’s efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of energy generation, water treatment, and chemicals and fuels production.  Earlier in his career, he led innovation and technology development at multiple firms in the primary materials and specialty chemicals, biotechnology, and biomass to chemicals and fuels sectors.  Bill is a seasoned executive who has built and led innovation organizations in multiple industries.  He has a history of success in transforming businesses and identifying and commercializing unique technology and business opportunities.  Among his past successes were building a $13 million Department of Energy-funded program at Owens Corning to develop a building integrated solar shingle, leading the development and scale-up of the first-of-a-kind aquatic biomass to protein and fuel system at the startup PetroAlgae, and building the first nanotechnology development effort at the specialty chemicals firm Rohm and Haas Company.

Chris has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from UC Davis and a Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology.  He is an accomplished Biochemical Engineer and Functional/Project manager, with 28 years of industrial biotechnology experience in food, nutraceutical, specialty, and commodity chemical segments.  He has worked at CP Kelco, NutraSweet, and, most recently, Tate & Lyle where he was Director, BioVentures and Support Services, overseeing the Analytical, Citric Strain Development, Small-Scale Fermentation Lab, and Fermentation Pilot Plant functions. Dr. Guske has provided service to the commodity, specialty, and high-value chemicals, ag-bio, algae, animal-free products, rare sugars, and private equity sectors, including facility assessment, CMO support/identification, process development, optimization and troubleshooting, cost modeling, aseptic design/contamination troubleshooting, high-level facilities design, and due diligence assessment. He has expertise in process development, technical transfer, troubleshooting, process analysis, experimental design and applied statistics, tracking and optimization, cost reduction, downstream recovery, bioreactor design, plant startups, strain evaluation, media development and optimization, and scale up/scale down experience. His experience includes such diverse products and processes as 1,3-propanediol, 1,4-butanediol, astaxanthin, farnesene, citric acid, xanthan gum, polyhydroxyalkanoates and organisms such as prokaryotes, yeast, fungi, microalgae.  Contact Chris.

Kenny has an M.B.A. from Georgia Southern University and a B.A. in Accounting & Marketing from Pittsburg State University where he played collegiate football and graduated the Reserve Officer Training Corps. He spent the beginning of his career as a business manager and accountant for an employee-owned fortune 500 company called Kiewit. He worked his way up to running compliance and risk operations on all North American power projects. Kenny left Kiewit to pursue Business Strategy and Development for a large private organization called Enerfab Power & Industrial before agreeing to relocate to his wife’s hometown of Wichita, KS.

It is in Wichita, KS that Kenny found the largest employee-owned insurance & benefits brokerage in the country called IMA. At IMA, he was able to work in corporate development with his passion in renewables. Today, Kenny travels the country working with increasing profits of renewable companies through alternative risk solutions. He also helps strategically grow the largest bio-economy insurance captive in the world. This successful captive accounts for thirteen billion dollars of total insured value and has had much influence on reducing insurance premiums by nearly 80% over the last twelve years. This same captive has given back to the 90+ facilities that belong to the captive more than twenty million dollars to date.  Contact Kenny.

John received his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Santa Clara School of Law.  He has practiced law for over twenty years and is licensed in both Arkansas and California. John serves as legal counsel for both Lee Enterprises Consulting and National Business Brokerage, Inc.  John also maintains a private law practice where he assists alternative fuels clients with a variety of industry related matters nationwide. Also trained in dispute resolution, John works in the mediation and arbitration of alternative fuels matters.  Contact John.

Jess received his B.S. in Economics from the University of Houston in 1980.  He is the Chairman of Gulf Hydrocarbon, the premier provider of biodiesel to the petroleum industry. Jess has over 30 years’ experience in the energy industry.  He is a former member of the National Biodiesel Board and the immediate past Chairman of its Marketing Committee.  He served as President of the Biodiesel Coalition of Texas and on the advisory board for the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).  He is a member of the ASTM committee governing petroleum products/biodiesel. He is a top authority on RINS, and directs our RIN consulting and offtake operations.  Jess also handles our isobutanol projects – marketing, fuels registration for EPA, RFS2 registration, and assistance with manufacturing and importer registration with the EPA and  IRS.  Contact Jess.

Brett has an Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto. He is the Director of Business Development in the Biomass Advisory Group for our strategic partner, Ecostrat.  Brett is proven leader in tracking industry developments and trends.   From developing customized solutions designed to meet a company’s specific needs, to leading the redevelopment of the www.Wood2Energy.org, a database designed to provide accurate market data for the benefit of the North American woody biomass industry as a whole, Brett has been integral in identifying and executing on opportunities to leverage the Biomass Supply Network®, and has the expertise to provide new and innovative solutions to meet the needs of stakeholders across the bio-energy industry.  Brett spearheads new product development, expanding marketing efforts, and client relations.  Contact Brett.

Dr. Hood has an M.S. in Botany from Oklahoma State University, a Ph.D. in Plant Biology from Washington University in St. Louis, and more than thirty five years of experience. She is a Distinguished Professor of Agriculture at Arkansas State University and owns two companies – one to produce enzymes for biomass conversion from transgenic plants, and another to help deregulate transgenic plants to produce those proteins and enzymes. She runs an active research lab at ASU in plant-based protein production technology and cell wall structure and function. Dr. Hood held positions at Utah State University, Washington University in St. Louis, and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.  She was a Program Director in Molecular and Cellular Biosciences at the National Science Foundation in 2003-2004, and was a leader in forming one of the world’s foremost transgenic plant research groups at ProdiGene, a plant biotechnology company. She served as the director of the cell biology group for plant production of therapeutic proteins at Pioneer Hi-Bred International, a Fortune 500 Company. Dr. Hood is internationally recognized expert with over 75 publications and patents.  She is a renowned national and international speaker with a keen interest in the areas of renewable resources, using enzymes for industrial processes rather than chemicals. To date her company has produced three (3) single activity cellulases, and a peroxidase.  Contact Beth.

Tim has a background in electrical systems and automation, and has worked a variety of industries including Pulp & Paper, Forestry, Mining, and Industrial Chemicals. Tim is the President of our strategic partner, Clean Energy Consulting. He has 20 years of experience designing and directing projects and is innovative, analytical, and results driven with proven success and a track record in managing multiple large complex projects.

Tim’s recent efforts have been focused on small and large scale biomass power and cogeneration (2-60 MW), small hydro, and biomass to liquid fuels projects. He enjoys the challenge of tackling difficult projects and guiding them from concept to successful completion.

Tim provides expertise with project development, energy sales and generator interconnection agreements, contract development, financing and has been involved in project definition, estimating, detailed design, overall project management, construction supervision, commissioning, and plant optimization. Contact Tim.

Dave has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University, a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and is a registered Professional Engineer in Colorado.  He has 20 years of experience in process engineering, techno-economic analysis, and scientific computing, spanning the renewable fuels, petrochemical, and semiconductor industries. His primary background is chemical process simulation, with related experience in conceptual design and front-end engineering activities for new chemical and biochemical processes. As the owner and principal engineer of DWH Process Consulting LLC, Dr. Humbird provides process design and engineering services to startups and companies with limited staff. Target industries include Renewable Fuels and Chemicals, Biorefining, and Synthetic Biology. Typical projects comprise a preliminary estimate of process ROI, based on Client, literature, or theoretical yields, original simulations in Aspen Plus, and preliminary CAPEX estimates in Aspen Capital Cost Estimator. Dave is also a frequent user and advocate of Aspen Custom Modeler, for first-principles design of individual unit operations, particularly bioreactors.  Contact Dave

Alan offers extensive biomass-to-energy expertise. During the past thirty years, Alan has specialized in biomass availability and cost studies of agricultural residues, urban wood residues, forest residues, and sawmill and remanufacturing residues for financial institutions and project developers. These studies have been conducted in the states of California, Montana, Oregon, New York, North Carolina, Michigan, Maine, Illinois, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Hawaii, Florida, Washington, Alaska, Arkansas, the Country of Tanzania, Africa, the Provinces of British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Alberta, and throughout the Country of Italy.

Alan has extensive experience developing the infrastructure required to collect, process and transport all types of biomass, in negotiating long-term biomass fuel supply contracts, and in biomass fuel handling and inventory management. Alan was responsible for the procurement of wood fuel for the first stand–alone biomass power plants in northern California.  Alan has also prepared biomass feedstock supply plans and negotiated contracts for delivery of rice straw and wood waste to potential ethanol projects.

Alan has qualified as an expert witness in litigation of biomass facilities. Alan has a diverse professional forestry background in California, Oregon and Idaho spanning sixteen years of managing timberlands and procuring raw materials for sawmills.  Contact Alan.

Tom has a B.S. Degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Vermont, and more than 40 years of public and private sector experience in wastewater.  For 23 years, in the USEPA/Vermont clean water revolving loan program, he worked with municipalities and consulting engineers, guiding wastewater collection and treatment projects from first concept to construction bid opening, through planning and design review, environmental/ historic preservation review, permit coordination and funding assistance.  He was also a residuals (bio-solids) management regulator for several years.  Prior to state service, as a consulting engineer, he worked on municipal wastewater planning and design, and utilities mapping and design for a major semiconductor manufacturer.  Tom is a Vermont registered professional engineer, and is now owner of Prospect Environmental Services PLLC, including an environmental applied research laboratory in Jericho, Vermont.  He is currently researching use of proprietary protein-surfactants and other low environmental impact chemicals, for advanced surface cleaning.  He is primary author of a published paper on advanced primary wastewater treatment, for enhanced biogas feedstock harvesting, and reduced downstream energy consumption.  He plans future research on advanced primary wastewater treatment, use of protein-surfactants for more efficient secondary wastewater treatment, and possibly pretreatment of wood pulp for bioethanol production.  Contact Tom.

Elham holds a B.Sc degree in Chemical Engineering, a M.Sc degree in Petroleum Engineering, and a PhD in Chemical engineering.  She has studied microwave pyrolysis of plastics including mathematical modelling, kinetic studies, thermochemical process design, and reactor and heat exchanger design. She is a process/chemical engineer involved in multidisciplinary projects, and supported R&D teams in biomass pyrolysis. Elham has experience in process design simulation, feasibility studies, preliminary and detailed designs, equipment sizing, engineering reviews of P&IDs, PFDs, PSFS and Hazardous area drawings, and associated reports (Basis of Design, Technical Notes and Queries, Design Reviews, HAZOPs).  Contact Elham.

Zoltan Kish received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the N. S. Kurnakov Institute of General & Inorganic Chemistry, Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Russia. He has over 25 years of diverse industrial and academic experience and has authored 76 scientific publications, including a book, 2 patented inventions, 4 monographs, and 69 Articles and Abstracts of Papers.

Dr. Kish is fluent in English, Hungarian, Russian, and Ukrainian. He has been the Director of Research & Development at two major Canadian alternative energy companies, where he focused on Waste-to-Gas & Gas-to-Liquids technologies, gasification & pyrolysis of biomass, municipal solid waste reformation into syngas, unique scrubbing and gas cleaning systems, mass & energy balances, process modeling & optimization, clean energy, catalysts, and gas chemistry for power generation, waste heat utilization, and higher value products, such as hydrogen, synthetic liquid biofuels and chemicals.

He also contributed to the advanced materials developments for many fields of applications, such as CleanTech, ceramic engine components, materials processing, and electronics. Dr. Kish provides science and technology consulting in the areas of Clean Technologies & Energy, Technical Due Diligence, Materials Science, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Climate Change Mitigation, Circular Economy, Sustainability, Engineering, Innovation, and Advanced Materials Applications. He works as a consultant for Lee Enterprises Consulting and he is Principal and Owner of Quasar ScienceTech (www.quasarsciencetech.com ) in Canada.   Contact Zoltan.

Bob Kodrzycki has 28 years’ experience in synthetic biology, genomics and biofuels in the Ag Tech, Industrial and Renewable sectors. A PhD scientist who understands business, Bob started his career by building industrial R&D programs with an eye on commercialization and later made the transition to business development and supporting the investment community.

He has performed technical and operational due diligence, data verification as well as competitive analysis for investors in biotech. He excels at understanding the critical points within the background sea of information. A skilled manager, Bob provides interim leadership during times of transition and as a fractional CSO to startups. With his deep understanding of how technology and markets interact he has been effective at identifying emerging technology, evaluating markets and adapting them to biotech businesses.

The Principal at Encompass Biotech LLC, Bob has worked in varied situations from Fortune 500 companies to startups. He is active in SCBC, the South Carolina Biomass Council, was involved in developing the SC Clean Power Plan and has acted as industry liaison for several academic consortia to develop commercial-ready technologies. He is an inventor on 12 granted patents and 39 patent applications.  Contact Bob.

Anju has a Ph.D. in Zoology and Environmental Pollution and is President and Chief Science and Technology officer of GSR Solutions LLC, currently focused on creating valued byproducts production from waste streams utilizing biomass such as algae. She is also affiliated with the University of Vermont as a Biofuels Instructor where she directs ‘Waste to Energy’ the ‘Bioenergy – Biomass to Biofuels’ programs that bring together professionals from both public & private sectors for experiential learning. At GSR, she has been leading one of the three Farm to Fly F2F2 national level initiatives supported by the US Department of Agriculture and supply chain partners. She led several other waste to energy projects supported by US Department of Energy, US Department of Agriculture, US Environmental Protection Agency; EPSCoR; National Science Foundation, NASA, and several state initiatives and stakeholders for production of algae biofuel and by-products integrated with waste management for cost-efficiency. Dr. Krivov is an advisor to the Buckminster Fuller challenge program.  Her work has been featured in television, radio and print, and she is a frequently invited speaker at conferences, state programs, and workshops. She published a definitive College textbook, “Bioenergy – Biomass to Biofuels” with Elsevier Science marketed by leading booksellers. She continues to explore novel ways for realizing the long term energy goals.  Contact Anju.

Gerald hasGerald has a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Toronto and over two decades of experience in technology development and commercialization in the forest industry. He led the bioenergy and biorefining business of a major forest products company. Gerald was also an executive with an emerging-biofuels company producing biochar, and he is a director of Biochar Ontario.  Gerald is a member of the expert panel on international standards for solid biofuels (wood/biomass pellets, torrefied pellets and biochar briquettes) for ISO (TC 238). His expertise includes: investor-grade pro forma design and analysis, feasibility studies and business plans, technology/venture vetting and audits. Gerald is Managing Director of Sixth Element Sustainable Management.  Contact Gerald.

Daniel Lane is an engineering leader with 20 years’ experience and success in process & technology development in multiple fields, including consumer products, specialty chemicals, and renewable fuels and chemicals. As founder and principal of Saille Consulting, LLC, a firm specializing in advancing the growth of firms in the bioprocess industries, he serves both potential investors and stakeholders by evaluating technologies for funding and to identify key areas to focus R&D efforts. Dr. Lane has held executive and senior leadership roles with multiple start-up companies in the renewables industry focusing on biomass conversion and scale-up of technology and processes. He has been instrumental to the design and/or construction of nine pilot- and demonstration-scale facilities around the world, producing first  and second generation  ethanol, cellulosic sugars, and bio-based proteins and animal feeds from a variety of lignocellulosic and gaseous feedstocks. Dr. Lane spent the first half of his career in process engineering and project management, commercializing technology with such companies as Procter & Gamble and Degussa, performing process and equipment troubleshooting, benchmarking, feasibility studies, and installing and commissioning myriad process packages. With his proficiency in process simulation and technoeconomic modeling, Dr. Lane is a recognized expert in technical assessment for both private and government funding sources and has helped companies secure over $170MM in financing. Dr. Lane was awarded the James W. Stewart Jr. honor scholarship to attend Vanderbilt University, where he earned his B.E. in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry.  He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. from the Institute of Paper Science and Technology at Georgia Tech.  Contact Daniel.

Wayne is an internationally recognized alternative fuels and business consultant with over thirty years’ experience. He owns both Lee Enterprises Consulting, Inc. and National Business Brokerage, Inc., a full service business brokerage firm specializing in buying, selling and evaluating alternative fuels plants.  Wayne received his B.A. from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, has written two copyrighted series on buying and selling businesses, served on Congressional energy panels, and written many industry articles.  In addition to leading our group, Wayne specializes in project consulting & oversight, efficiency and operational review, strategic planning, risk management, and personally manages our litigation support and assistance in the buying or selling of plants.  See recent interview.   Contact Wayne.

Jennifer graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in Management/Business Administration (Marketing Minor) from Baker College and was an Honor Scholar at Texas Woman’s University. She is the Director of Compliance for our strategic partner, Murex LLC. In that role, she helps develop and implement compliance strategies for Murex and all of its partner ethanol plants and is an integral part of the business development and acquisitions team. Due to Jennifer’s working knowledge of RIN Markets and her efforts to address RIN liquidity and validity, Murex was invited to contribute and was actively involved in discussions and troubleshooting during the development of the EPA’s QAP program. Over the past 9 years, she has addressed members of Congress, the EPA, and the Departments of Energy and of Defense on such matters. She has prepared and delivered numerous webinars, conference presentations, and RIN education classes, and has been a member of a number of informative panels.  Contact Jennifer.

Marcin has a BA of Geographic Analysis from Ryerson University, specializing in geographic information systems (GIS) and satellite data analysis and modelling, in the context of forest resource management.  He also a Masters of Forest Conservation from the University of Toronto, specializing in forestry operations decision support tools and quantitative analysis of forest restoration, and a Masters of Disaster and Emergency Management at York University.  He has developed agent-based simulation of timber supply chain in Ontario to assess risk of wood fiber inventory shortage from a perspective of an entire supply chain.

Marcin conducts biomass supply risk assessments using forest yield modeling, growth-to-drain analysis, biomass price forecasting, and Monte Carlo methods.  He also  conducts GIS-based analyses, such as competition impact assessments, transportation cost analysis, and location optimization.  In addition to these quantitative analyses, Marcin manages a team in gathering biomass market intelligence.  Marcin has a deep understanding of the intricacies and complexities of biomass supply chains, including supplier habits and preferences, buyer tactics and strategies, and the role of biomass specs and price in supply chain behavior.  He currently serves as president of the Forestry Alumni Association of University of Toronto.  Contact Marcin.

Jonathan has a B.S. in Physics and Engineering from Deree-Pierce University in Athens (Greece) and forty years of international flying experience. He has more than 17,000 hours of Pilot-in-Command, heavy, multi-engine turbine time (Jumbo-jet experience, including the Boeing B-747-200F).  He has participated in the development of Renewable Jet Fuels and is one of the discoverers of the benefits of a new Renewable Jet fuel with heavier carbon molecules.  Jonathan has extensive logistics experience and has helped deploy biofuels both nationally and internationally. He has also helped to launch new biofuels like renewable methanol from renewable natural gas and is an active proponent of 3^rd/4^th generation biofuels technology.  He is actively involved in development of cellulosic diesel technologies.  Contact Jonathan.

Pat is the Director of Business Development and Senior Operations Manager for our strategic partner, Ecostrat’s, Biomass Supply Group. He leads Ecostrat’s Biomass Supply Team supplying over 5,000,000 tons of wood fiber, agricultural residues and food wastes over 20 years for bioenergy, biopower, and biochemical projects throughout the US and Canada.  He is also in charge of Ecostrat’s procurement of over 400,000 tons per year of various biomass feedstocks, especially wood wastes, agricultural residues and food manufacture by-products.

Pat is a recognized expert in biomass feedstock supply, developing biomass supply chains, markets for wood, ag and food waste and other biomass by-products as well as ocean and land logistics for biomass supply.  Pat has developed biomass feedstock supply chains in Canada, United States and for overseas markets in Asia and China.

He has a BA from the University of Toronto.  Contact Pat.

Grant Lindsay has Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering, and is the Principle of WGL Technical. He is a senior consultant with over 25 years of experience in the bio-energy, power generation, and renewable energy fields. With his background in mechanical engineering and process design, Grant has led multi-disciplined teams on biomass thermal and power generation projects from the initial development to the final commissioning on numerous biomass projects from 2 MW to 50 MW. His projects have ranged from studies to full design of large scale thermal oil / ORC / Biomass power generation facilities, heat recovery power generation, and biomass fired steam facilities.  Contact Grant.

Charles has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Irvine and is a Registered Professional Engineer (Mechanical) in the State of California.  He has 35 years of experience in the power industry, including extensive work in the field and overseas. He has deep skills in engineering, operations management, startup, project development and environmental permitting. He has held senior-level engineering management positions at power development companies where he was responsible for the EPC contracting process.  Whether a wood-fired project in timberland, or an industrial cogeneration plant, Charles excels at judging the suitability of a proposed power plant site, with due consideration for technical, operational and environmental factors.

Charles’ operations experience includes both startup and ongoing plant operations. He has served as Plant Engineer at a biomass plant, and Operations Manager in charge of cogeneration plants. He has also been the Startup Manager for the commissioning of several power facilities. As a Plant Engineer, he was responsible for wood fuel handling, ash disposal and front-line operations supervision.

In addition to a balanced background of both operations and development, Charles has a full range of environmental permitting experience. He has prepared numerous permit applications, including several in the challenging California environment. He has also administered and amended permits at existing facilities.

Charles is an accomplished writer with over 20 published articles in fishing and boating magazines.  He brings this skill to his consulting work, preparing clear, concise specifications and reports.  Contact Charles.

Alan has a B.A.Sc., Bio Resource Engineering and is a registered Professional Engineer in a number of jurisdictions.  Alan has over 30 years experience designing and managing projects in a variety of industries including Biomass Power Generation and Pulp & Paper.  Alan leads and manages the Vancouver office of our strategic partner, Clean Energy Consulting.

He specializes in electrical, instrumentation, and control (EIC) systems with a particular focus on the application of control systems for power generation and the process industries.   He was the overall EIC design engineer and project manager for the EIC portion of two major Bioenergy plants.  These plants were the largest, by MW, implementations of Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) technology using biomass in the world.  They have been running successfully for the last three years.

Alan has in depth knowledge, understanding, and experience in the application of basic and advanced control systems to the control of industrial processes.  He has been involved in all aspects of projects from conception through construction to commissioning and start-up.  Additionally, he provides on-going support for maintenance and operating personnel on many of the projects he has worked on.  Alan has hands on experience with utility interconnection, electrical and control systems design, distributed control systems (DCS), programmable logic controllers (PLC), and human-machine interface (HMI) software.

Alan excels at conducting in depth systems research and providing optimal engineering solutions; with proven success at leading and managing engineering and business teams. Alan has a proven track record of exceeding client expectations, understanding the needs of all stakeholders, and providing viable solutions within challenging project budget and schedule constraints.  Contact Alan.

Zsuzsa has an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry. She is a chartered chemical engineer and scientist specializing in intermediate and fast pyrolysis, and an analytical chemist specializing in biomass characterization (energy crops, micro algae, industrial and agriculture waste etc.), bio-oil characterization (physical, chemical and fuel properties) and char characterization (both for soil and for energy applications). Zsuzsa has designed and set up cutting edge laboratories, and published several peer reviewed research papers and patents. She is a hands on expert of a very wide range of analytical instruments necessary for the effective support of R&D activities and industrial scale fuel production. Zsuzsa is an expert of several advanced statistical methods essential for pyrolysis process optimization, product upgrading and quality control. She joined the European Bioenergy Research Institute in 2009 and currently works as a Principal Analytical Chemist and Biofuel Researcher in Oxford, UK.  Contact Zsuzsa.

Terry has a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from The Ohio State University under the direction of Prof Devon Meek.  He conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  He has been involved in the renewable fuels and chemicals area for much of his 35 years in R&D.  Terry invented the Oxygen Transport Membrane process for the in situ separation of oxygen from air for the production of syngas from natural gas, and led a multinational industrial technical team to develop and scale up the process.  He has authored 20 refereed publications and has been granted more than 60 US Patents as well as numerous international patents. He has experience in biomass upgrading, natural gas conversion, solid oxide fuel cells, algae production, and chemicals process development.  Terry worked at BP for over twenty years.  Later, as interim CTO of Anellotech, Terry directed R&D and developed intellectual property for Anellotech’s proprietary biomass to aromatics process. Then as Chief Scientist at Velocys, he led the team developing microchannel processes for natural gas upgrading and chemicals production, including catalyst development, corrosion resistance, and metals coating. Contact Terry.

Dennis holds a degree in Naval Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and was a Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Fellow at the U.S. Naval War College.  He service on active duty in the United States Navy for 35 years as a naval aviator, test pilot, aircraft carrier commanding officer, and national security strategist. His capstone assignments as Vice Admiral included serving as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations and as Commander of the United States Third Fleet.

Dennis was appointed and served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment from September 2013 until January 2017.  He is the former President of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) and a past member of the Steering Committee of the Energy Future Coalition, United States Energy Security Council, Bipartisan Policy Center Energy Board, and CNA Military Advisory Board. He currently serves as a board member for the Rocky Mountain Institute, Customer First Renewables, Willdan Group Inc., HALO Maritime Systems, and is a senior advisor to the Electric Power Research Institute, Scripps Institute of Oceanography and the Center for Climate and Security.  Contact Dennis.

David, Vice President, is currently the Energy Practice Leader and Account Executive for IMA.  He has a Master’s Degree in Safety Management and has been in the insurance industry for over 30 years. At IMA since 1994, David directed the Risk Control efforts before becoming an Account Executive.  At IMA, David is responsible for all marketing in the Alternative Fuels Practice Group.  He is a Certified Safety Professional, Certified Insurance Counselor, Certified Risk Manager, Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, Associate Marine Insurance Manager, and Associate Loss Control Manager, and is on the faculty of Certified Risk Manager’s International.  Contact Dave.

Hugh has a B.S. in Chemistry from Harvey Mudd College, an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of So. California, and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is a registered professional engineer in Massachusetts. Hugh is a recognized technical/technology expert in biochar and activated carbon, having designed and commercialized patented technologies for their production. He is a leading authority on biochar properties and characterization.  In addition to a consulting career in activated carbon, Hugh was the director of biochar research for an emerging pyrolysis venture in Canada.  He continues to have a high profile in the biochar research community, having written several publications and authored three chapters in the book, “The Biochar Revolution”. Hugh has over thirty years experience in process chemistry and engineering, industrial R&D, and scale-up of new technologies.  Contact Hugh.

Dave has a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and a Masters in Financial Management. He has over 50 years’ experience in leading large organizations. He is currently the President of Sustainable Biofuels Solutions, a waste to energy company with two technologies to convert carbon based waste into either a high BTU gas or drop in fuels. He is also President of Dave Nash and Associates, LLC which is a company that provides consulting in construction program and project management. He was in the U. S. Navy for 33 years where he was a uniformed Civil Engineer responsible for construction and maintenance of Navy facilities around the world.   He was responsible for the initial set up and management of an $18 billion reconstruction program in Iraq after hostilities ceased. He is a registered engineer in Michigan and Pennsylvania.

He is a fellow in ASCE, a member of the National Academy of Construction, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the Society of American Military Engineers and many other professional organizations. He has lead several committees doing research for the National Research Council, an arm of the National Academies. Contact Dave.

Ronald has a PhD in chemical engineering & chemical technology from Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine, London, UK, and a diploma in cosmetic science from the London College of Fashion. He spent 17 years in the chemical industry leading multi-functional teams for the identification and commercialization of new chemicals, followed by 19 years working on the development & commercialization of new consumer products. Ronald started his own consulting business in 2012 with the principal goal of providing “ecologically sound product development” to companies with the aim of commercializing new product based on renewable materials. He has been a frequent contributor to “Household & Personal Care Today” technical journal writing articles about promising consumer product applications of renewable materials. Ronald has his own laboratory where he creates custom formulations for a diverse range of applications.  Contact Ron.

Patrick Olivier has a B.Sc. in Forestry from the University of Stellenbosch and an MBA from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He is a hands-on leader with over 30 years of experience in a variety of project management and operational roles in the forest products industry. On the project development team with our strategic partner, Clean Energy Consulting, Patrick is responsible for assessing opportunities, developing business plans, and building economic models. His background in forestry, residuals and plant operations bring real world expertise to bear as projects are being developed. Patrick has recently worked on a 36 MW biomass power plant and business plans for biomass power and biofuels projects.  Contact Patrick.

Susan has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Evansville and a Ph.D. in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and many years industry experience. After post-doctoral research with the Office of Naval Research, she led design-build-test stages of the Main Fuel Throttle Valve (MFTV) for the Joint Strike Fighter for Honeywell.  She later worked as the Vice President of Analytical Research and Development for Genscape where she led the company’s RIN Integrity Network™. Her current focus is developing proprietary information services for the agricultural commodities and renewable fuels markets using monitoring technology and analytics.   Contact Susan.

Terry holds a BA, Magna Cum Laude, from Grand Valley State University and has over 23 years’ experience as a machinery and equipment appraiser.  He has considerable experience in manufacturing including chief operating officer and plant manager.  He is an Accredited Senior Appraiser of the American Society of Appraisers and holds a Machinery and Technical Specialties designation.  He owns Machinery Valuation Specialists, LLC, based in Holland, Michigan.  He has performed hundreds of machinery and equipment appraisals, including many in alternative fuels and other energy related fields.  His appraisals have been used for a variety of purposes including financing, tax, accounting, insurance, buying and selling, litigation support, and auctions.  He also consults and assists companies and financial institutions with the selling and disposition of assets.  Contact Terry.

Mark Pomykacz is an MAI (designated member of the Appraisal Institute), an ASA (Accredited Senior Appraiser with the American Society of Appraisers), and a state certified (licensed) general real estate appraiser in more than 10 states.  He has been appraising commercial real estate and businesses for over 31 years.  For the last 15 years, Mark has specialized in the appraisal of utilities and infrastructure, including specifically hundreds of refineries, power plants, pipelines, and water systems.  Mr. Pomykacz’s appraisals are used by governments, owners and investors, nationally and internationally, for acquisition and disposition due diligence, feasibility and financing, accounting, tax (IRS and SALT) and investor reporting (SEC), and legal purposes and litigation.  He regularly writes and speaks on valuation topics related to utilities and infrastructure, and he testifies frequently to his utilities and infrastructure appraisals. Contact Mark.

Bill has Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering (M.E.) from San Jose State University.  He is a licensed Professional Nuclear Engineer with extensive project experience in plasma gasification, chemical, mechanical and nuclear engineering.  In addition to handling our nuclear projects, Bill develops and analyzes gasification projects, performs technical and financial feasibility analysis for converting hazardous chemical waste streams to electrical energy, and works in the conversion of municipal wastes to energy.  He has extensive knowledge in the regulatory aspects of waste streams and has firsthand experience in obtaining air permits.  Over his 45 year career, Bill has been involved in numerous projects, has published over 75 reports and papers, and holds four patents in waste destruction, chemical conversion, and nuclear shielding fields.  Contact Bill.

Doug has 40 years of recognized success developing, optimizing, and commercializing bioprocess technologies. During his career, Dr. Rivers has served in a variety of positions from lab manager to COO.  He has commercialized new technology through internal corporate initiatives, start-up companies, joint ventures, and technology licenses.  He has also served on public and private boards, and run a successful technology incubator.  In these roles he identified and qualified new technology, conducted due diligence for technology acquisitions, and managed the technology portfolio.  He has also been successful at writing competitive contract proposals to both federal and state agencies to help fund development and commercialization efforts.

Dr. Rivers has hands on and senior management experience from bench to commercial operations in key bioprocess technology areas including enzymes; fermentations using yeast, bacteria, and filamentous fungi; downstream processing to recover fermentation products, corn fractionation, cellulose pretreatment combined with enzymatic conversion to fermentable sugars, and feed co-products. He also provides expert witness services in his areas of expertise.  Immediately prior to initiating his consulting efforts through Sunflwr, Inc., Dr. Rivers was corporate director of R&D at ICM for 10 years where he reported to the owner/CEO.  He was directly responsible for leading corporate development of new and improved bioprocess technology to produce ethanol and other liquid fuels, renewable chemicals, and feed co-products from corn, milo, and cellulose feedstocks.  He was responsible for the build-out and operation of ICM’s 35,000+ sq.ft. integrated corn and cellulose pilot/demo plants valued at about $100 million, initiating external contract development, identifying technology partnering opportunities, and facilitating the transfer of commercially ready technology to production facilities.  Before joining ICM, Dr. Rivers served in a variety of leadership roles at SAIC, Michigan Biotechnology Institute, Southern Research Institute, ADM, University of Arkansas, and Gulf Oil Corporation. Doug earned a B.S. in Microbiology from Kansas State University, an M.S. in Microbiology from Auburn University, and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from University of Arkansas with specializations in enzymes, fermentation, and cellulose pretreatment.  Contact Doug.

Tom obtained his PhD from the University of Kentucky.  He is a knowledgeable and proven executive with more than 25 years of leadership experience producing results across diverse industries, including bio-energy, agriculture, pharmaceutical, research, education, government, and animal health. Skilled strategist who has successfully increased organizational value, improved P&L, and implemented positive change through the development of long-range business plans. Strong tactical leader with broad foundation of experience leading nearly every functional area of the business, including operations, business development, research, global supply chain, logistics, client relations, technology, procurement, and risk management. Talented business partner and entrepreneur who has leveraged technical expertise and broad business acumen to build and develop successful businesses.  Contact Tom.

Jeff has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and 35 years of extensive technology development, commercial implementation, and operations management background.  He has a diverse multi-disciplinary background in Engineering, R&D, Operations, Management, and Business.  Having spent roughly half of his career in manufacturing facilities, He brings a hands-on, problem solving approach with both teams and processes. Jeff spent first half of his career in the food industry, specializing in new product/process development, process scale-up, project management, and plant operations, with a successful track record in taking technologies from the lab to commercial scale.  He spent the last 15 years in First Gen Ethanol, Cellulosic Technologies, and Biochemicals, and as a seasoned executive in the bioeconomy, Jeff offers broad experience in all aspects of commercialization including facility site selection, project development, permitting, process development, scale up, equipment selection, detailed design, cost estimating, construction supervision, commissioning, performance testing and facility operation. Contact Jeff.

David has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and over 25 years’ experience in industrial biotechnology engineering and operations with large multinational corporations and small startups. He has worked with organisms including bacterial, yeast, fungal and protozoan hosts, and has proven experience in continuous improvement and process optimization using statistical techniques such as design of experiments, evolutionary operations, and response surface modeling. David also has expertise in aseptic equipment design and is an instructor in ASME BPE. He has scale up experience on more than fifty processes, including both lab-to-pilot and pilot-to-commercial scale in a wide range of fermenter volumes.  Contact David.

Damiana is Transport Manager in the Climate & Energy team at WBCSD. Ms. Serafini works with global companies to develop business solutions to reduce emissions, increase efficiency, and embed sustainability into core business strategies. Damiana works with companies and partner organizations on the topic of low carbon freight, and leads WBCSD engagement in the research project FreightShare Lab. In addition, Damiana manages below50, a project aimed at improving perceptions of low carbon transport fuels and at creating the right conditions for their successful deployment and commercialization in the aviation, maritime, and road & rail sectors.

Damiana’s past work includes more than 17 years of experience in sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), including feedstock production and selection, processing technology, supply chain, quality and sustainability certification, policy, and carbon trading schemes.  She has collaborated with IATA and ICAO on research studies looking for solutions to barriers to enable the deployment of SAFs at commercial scales worldwide.

Damiana acquired public sector experience as the Director of General of Environment & Energy Efficiency for Vicente López County Office in Buenos Aires, Argentina. During her time in office, she developed and deployed public programs on waste management, water conservation, urban agriculture and energy efficiency. Damiana has also helped develop the biogas industry in Argentina, conducting R&D studies on the potential for power generation via anaerobic digestion processes using animal and agricultural waste as feedstock for the Province of Buenos Aires, a study funded by the Inter-American Development Bank, for the benefit of the Organismo Provincial de Desarrollo Sostenible, Argentina.

Damiana holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational Safety and Health and a Master’s Degree in Agriculture and Resource Economics from the University of Connecticut. She is currently pursuing an MBA at the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology (Instituto Technologico de Buenos Aires – ITBA).  Contact Damiana.

Mike earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship from Georgia State University.  With over 15 years of professional chemical engineering experience, Mike works with our strategic partner, Wenck, specializing in providing services related to climate change, sustainability, and renewable energy.  His sustainability experience has focused on mapping strategies and actions to align organizational goals and operations using quantitative data to drive decision-making. Mike has expertise in a range of industries including aviation, biofuels, construction, manufacturing, mining, and transportation, with specific biofuels including sustainable alternative jet fuel, ethanol, butanol, and iso-octane.  He also has extensive experience in implementing and managing sustainability programs, air quality compliance, carbon credit creation, climate change analysis, construction oversight, custom greenhouse gas (GHG) model and reporting tool development, environmental assessments and environmental impact statements (EA/EIS), feasibility studies, GHG inventories, lifecycle assessments, long-term comprehensive planning emissions studies, management information systems (MIS), multi-media environmental compliance, and techno-economic analyses (TEA). Contact Mike.

Jordan holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Studies with a specialty in Corporate Environmental Strategy from York University and is the President and CEO of our strategic partner, Ecostrat.  For over 20 years Jordan has overseen the Biomass Advisory Group and the Biomass Supply Group with his areas of expertise being biomass feedstock supply, supply chain risk-assessment, feedstock contracting, and risk mitigation for bio-feedstock supply.

Jordan currently leads the US Department of Energy / BETO  program to create the US National Standards for Biomass Supply Chain Risk. Previously, he directed development of the Biomass Supply Network^© the largest wood fiber supply database in North America. He has led bioenergy project consulting teams for JP Morgan, Shell, Enviva, NREL, DTE Energy, Macquarie Bank, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Southern Company, Rentech, Noresco, EDF, Sweetwater, Solvay, McKinstry, LaFarge, PGE, Eastman, Coca-Cola, Johnson Controls, Siemens, and the Canadian government.  He has overseen development and operation of biomass supply chains for over 5,000,000 tons of feedstock over two decades for bioenergy, biofuel, and biochemical projects. He has negotiated, structured supply chains, financed and executed bulk shipments of biomass overseas to Europe and Asia. In 2003, Jordan led the team that executed the first bulk vessel shipments of wood pellets from the east coast of North America for the nascent European biopower industry. In 2004 he established the export chip market from the US to Turkey by de-risking the US biomass supply chain and sending the first full vessel shipments of woodchips for the composite board market, an overseas market which now intakes over two million tons of chips per annum.

Jordan has served on the Board of First Asset Renewable Power FlowThrough Limited Partnership as a Director of First Asset Power Funds Inc. (I, II, III, IV), and currently sits on the Board of Directors of the public Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation Dundee Acquisition Ltd. (TSX: DAQ.UN) and on the Bioenergy Feedstock National User Facility Advisory Board (Idaho National Laboratory)..  Contact Jordan.

Joel Stone is the President of ConVergInce Advisers and has been a long term visionary and respected leader in commercialization of industrial biotechnology. Joel is the former President of Green Biologics Inc. where he led the development of the commercial platform of the company in North America for renewable n-butanol for use in the renewable chemical markets and ultimately “Advanced” biofuels. He now serves as President and Founder of ConVergInce Advisers and offers adviser services for industrial biotechnology companies including Green Biologics Limited based in Abingdon, England. Prior to the merger in 2011 with Green Biologics, Joel was CEO of butylfuel™ Inc.   Previously he was responsible for leading Osage Bio Energy in establishing new product and business opportunities where as the company Chief Operations Officer he was instrumental in ushering BioRefining to the forefront of biofuel facilities. Joel has served as the Chief Operating Officer for both AS Alliances Biofuels LLC and previously Abengoa Bioenergy Corporation. During his tenure with ASAlliances, Joel’s accomplishments included the planning, construction, and startup of three 100 MMGPY fuel grade ethanol plants. Mr. Stone provided operations leadership as Vice President of Operations of Balchem Corporation, a manufacturer of controlled release food ingredients and animal feed nutrients; and 11 years as Vice President of Operations for Opta Food Ingredients, a developer and manufacturer of functional starch, protein, and fiber ingredients. Earlier in his career Joel served as Director of Manufacturing for Genencor, a biotechnology developer and manufacturer of food and industrial grade enzymes. During the 1980’s Mr. Stone provided leadership in the design, startup, and operation of three fuel ethanol facilities. Mr. Stone holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic University; and an M.S. in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Joel was a previous Board Member of Green Biologics and presently serves on the Technical Advisory Board for the BioRenewable Deployment Consortium.  Contact Joel.

Earl has a B.A. from the University of California Santa Barbara, and a M.A. in Management from the Central Michigan University. A retired U.S. Army Colonel, Earl has been a senior level manager/consultant in both government and private sectors for 40 years.  He owned the first DAV Small Business to provide biodiesel to the VA.  He has performed many feasibility studies for the government, and trained over 4000 military officers in financing and logistics.  He developed business plans for biodiesel operations as far away as Libya and Mauritania.  Earl serves as our liaison for government purchasing/contracts.  Contact Earl.

Chibi holds a BEng in Chemical Engineering, and an MSc and Ph.D. in Energy & Environment from The University of Leeds.  She has been involved in the production, characterization, and modification of waste-derived biochars and hydrochars for soil/compost and wastewater nutrient management. Chibi has also explored the potential for ammonia gas abatement from source using waste-derived biomass feedstocks. With an interest in African bio-economies, she is interested in delivering sustainable, cost-effective waste management strategies across various developing cities.  Contact Chibi.

Luke earned his B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Michigan Technological University, and has over 20 years’ experience as an environmental consultant.  He has worked for a variety of industries including, but not limited to, biofuels, electric power generation, vegetable oil production, landfill gas-to-energy, and waste-to-energy facilities. As a Senior Project Manager, for our strategic partner, Wenck, Luke specializes in air quality permitting, environmental compliance, technical negotiations for state and federal enforcement actions, auditing, environmental site permitting, as well as managing projects with environmental review and human health risk assessments. His compliance experience includes managing multimedia environmental health & safety compliance projects, and training initiatives for industrial clients by coordinating work with multidisciplinary teams.  Luke leads Wenck’s environmental compliance and permitting group, where he champions a comprehensive knowledge of state and federal environmental, health and safety laws and regulations to provide risk management solutions and ISO management system programs.  Contact Luke.

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Martin has an MBA from Virginia Tech and more than 25 years’ experience in data product development, marketing and management, including biofuels industry surveillance database development and management. Martin manages market research and communications for Lee Enterprises Consulting employing his unique blend of alternative energy, market research, product development and business planning experience. His hands-on experience with a WVO biodiesel start-up during the wild-west days in the Bay Area brings a practical perspective to his work.  Contact Martin.

Dean has a B.S. in Milling Science and Engineering from Kansas State University and over 30 years’ experience in food and bio processing systems.  He has extensive technical expertise in the early development of strategically complex projects, including strong project management and the ability to lead successful design teams for Front End Engineering and Design, as well as scale up for commercial facilities. Dean works with our strategic partner, Wenck, where he has experience leading engineering for large capital projects in the cereals, food, biofuels, and biochemical industries. Dean leads Wenck’s facilities and process engineering group, where he champions complex and new to world process designs, PFD/P&IDs, 3D scanning, 3D & VR models, virtual design, industrial piping design, HVAC, and conveying systems, water and wastewater treatment design, energy studies, PHA (Process Hazard analysis), as well as PSM (Process Safety Management) Programs.  Contact Dean.

Michael is an economist and engineer by education.  He has been active in renewable energies during his 26 year professional career and is President of the International Biomass Torrefaction Council (IBTC). He pioneered biomass fired district heating systems in Austria and conversion of coal fired systems to biomass in former socialist countries.  Michael started the first internet based biomass trading platform (ABEX) in 1999, and for over a decade, led the international biomass trading company, EBES, in creating numerous intercontinental supply chains for palm kernel shell, pellets and wood chips.  Since 2007, he has been a world leader in torrefaction technology development, supporting producers and trading houses in the US, Eastern Europe, Russia and Malaysia developing their trade into Europe.  Contact Michael.

Corinne has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Cornell University, and over 20 years’ experience in structuring and securing precedent setting strategic partnerships, funding mechanisms, and government contracts.  Having worked for and represented clients before the White House, Congress, funding and regulatory agencies, she delivers access and client competitive advantage to advance critical path needs and bottom line results. She has spearheaded world scale winning proposals and eliminated regulatory barriers for projects and contracts, ranging from over a billion to under one million. As a longtime and fierce advocate for renewable chemicals, she launched re:chem with an elite group of global leaders. As re:chem’s Chief Advocate, she championed language in the 2014 Agriculture Act (a.k.a., Farm Bill), Energy Title, expanding BAP *9003 loan guarantees to renewable chemicals and bio-based manufacturing, and continues to broker novel tax credits, loan guarantees, grants, and credit enhancement and project finance programs to unleash a US manufacturing renaissance and ensure US global competitiveness.

Corinne worked for ten years on Capitol Hill in both the Senate (Sen. Kennedy) and House, and as a Presidential Management Fellow at OMB and Interior, where she earned a reputation as a nimble and effective problem solver, bridging partisan divides to get the job done, including seminal bioindustry programs and appropriations. More recently, Corinne was a chief broker and author of RFS2 and bioindustry incentives in EPA 2005, EISA 2007, Farm Bill 2008, and the ARRA 2009, as well as contributing to the White House’s 2012 BioEconomy Blueprint and Advanced Manufacturing initiatives. She has garnered a reputation as a seasoned spokesperson, sought after global conference adviser and presenter, lead for winning coalitions, issue-based campaigns, crisis management solutions, and serves on multiple working groups and boards (currently Co Chair MassBio GreenBiotech and UMass TIMBR).  Corinne has won numerous prestigious fellowships and awards and   studied multiple languages.  Contact Corinne.

Dennis graduated with B.S. in Agriculture from The Ohio State University and an M.S. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois.  He handles our glycerin and reclaimed methanol related matters. After grain trading for several years, Dennis worked for the US Grains Council in Southeast Asia and several USAID development projects in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. He returned to the U.S. to start up and operate a multi-feedstock biodiesel plant in Indiana for investors, where he directed the building of acid esterification systems, purchase and delivery of feedstock and other production inputs, and the sale of biodiesel and glycerin. To date, Dennis has traded over 20,000 tons of crude glycerin for animal feed and industrial use and 1 million gallons of reclaimed methanol.  Dennis operates Glycerin Traders, LLC, a glycerin marketing company.  Contact Dennis.