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PROGRAM

Program outline is provided below as we work to finalize speakers that bring examples of current and emerging practices and policies impacting and supporting progress in delivering meaningful environmental outcomes across natural resources (carbon, water and biodiversity) and finance.

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DAY 1 (WEDNESDAY) : 19th JULY 2023
1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
OPENING SESSION
edward-barbier
Edward B. Barbier
george_kelly
George Kelly
3:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Current & Trending Directions of Environmental Markets
Lauren Mechak-Headshot-cropped
Lauren Mechak
edward pollard
Edward Pollard
Michael Jenkins
Michael Jenkins (invited)
4:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.
Global Policy Roundtable
Summer Mersinger
Summer K. Mersinger
placement-photo
Kevin Scott
5:45 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.
OPENING RECEPTION
DAY 2 (THURSDAY) : 20th JULY 2023
7:15 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.
NETWORKING LIGHT CONTINENTAL IN EXHIBITS
8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Framework and Standard Setting, Measuring and Tracking
SoniaVerhagen
Sonia Verhagen
KatieSullivan
Katie Sullivan
N-Lundy
Nicolai Lundy
Rishi-Das
Risha Das
StevenMartin
Steven Martin
9:45 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Carbon Market Mechanisms, Practice, Outcomes & Measurements
Sam Gledhill
Sam Gledhill
Ben Parkhurst
Ben Parkhust
TimBrown
Tim Brown
11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Biodiversity Market Mechanisms, Practice, Outcomes & Measurements
Mariana-Sarmiento_-CEO_-Terrasos-min
Mariana Sarmiento
TimColes
Tim Coles
12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
NETWORKING LUNCH and ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
VIRTUAL CONNECT (for Virtual attendees)
2:15 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Water Scarcity / Quantity Markets
Brett-Bovee
Brett Bovee
jason less QV
Jason Lee
Kate Ryan
Kate Ryan
3:15 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Water Quality Markets
4:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Connecting Environmental Markets: Examples & Drivers
6:15 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Launch Event of the Water Scarcity Travelling Art Exhibit
DAY 3 (FRIDAY) : 21st JULY 2023
7:15 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.
NETWORKING LIGHT CONTINENTAL IN EXHIBITS
8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
Technology Supporting Environmental Markets
9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Networking Connect with Tech and Data Solution Providers
10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Corporate & Municipal Commitments – Creating and Delivering Good Promises (Part 1: Corporate & Municipal Examples)
Nespeca-M
Mathew Nespeca
Amy Bourne
Amy Bourne
elizabeth sheppard mccain foods
Elizabeth Sheppard
Yeoman-Dan
Dan Yeoman
JeffWest
Jeff West (invited)
JodyBickel
Jody Bickel
12:15 to 1:45 p.m.
Grab Lunch in Exhibits and Join Session
12:30 to 1:45 p.m.
Corporate & Municipal Commitments – Creating and Delivering Good Promises (Part 2: Business Models as a Strategy)
Nespeca-M
Mathew Nespeca
Amy Bourne
Amy Bourne
elizabeth sheppard mccain foods
Elizabeth Sheppard
Yeoman-Dan
Dan Yeoman
JeffWest
Jeff West (invited)
JodyBickel
Jody Bickel
2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Investment and Finance
megan reilly cayten
Megan Reilly Cayten
EBouillion
Elliott Bouillion
PeterStein
Peter Stein
3:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
Closing Remarks
Download Preliminary Agenda

Exhibit Booths are limited to Benefactor Partners and above, and is where all networking breaks, morning continental and coffee, and Welcome Reception will be held.  Display boards are visible in the Exhibit area as well as other high traffic areas throughout the Summit space. 

 

OPENING KEYNOTE

EDWARD B. BARBIER

Author & University Distinguished Professor

FEATURED SPEAKERS

AMY BOURNE

Director, Global Sustainability, Marriott International

DAVID HILL

Chairman, The Environment Bank, UK

MATHEW NESPECA

Head of ESG and New Business Models, Envu

LAURA GRANT

Biodiversity Net Gain Market Policy Lead, UK Defra

KATIE WU

Director, Global Impact, KKR

CHARLES BEDFORD

Chief Impact Officer, Carbon Growth Partners

JODY BICKEL

Chief Executive Officer, Creekbank Associates

ELLIOTT BOUILLION

Founder and Vice Chairman, Resource Environmental Solutions (RES)

BRETT BOVEE

President, WestWater Research

ANGELA BRICMONT

Chief of Finance, Denver Water

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Edward B. Barbier

Author and University Distinguished Professor

Edward B. Barbier is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Economics, Colorado State University and a Senior Scholar in the School of Global Environmental Sustainability. His main expertise is environmental and resource economics as well as international environmental policy. He has consulted for a variety of national, international and non-governmental agencies, including many UN organizations, the World Bank and the OECD. He has authored over 300 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, written or edited 27 books, and published in popular journals and social media. Barbier is a Fellow of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists and is a highly cited scholar on global environmental and sustainability issues.

His latest book is Economics for a Fragile Planet, Cambridge University Press. 

www.edwardbbarbier.com

George Kelly

Chief Executive Officer, Earth Recovery Partners

George leverages his deep experience in ecosystem markets, environmental finance, and environmental law to advance outcomes-based environmental solutions using market and performance-based tools. Immediately prior to starting ERP, George served as a managing director at Quantified Ventures, founder at Bespoke Mitigation Partners, and an affiliate member of Earth & Water Strategies. From 2014-2019, he was the Chief Market Officer for Resource Environmental Solutions, which had acquired Environmental Banc & Exchange, a firm George founded in 1997. During his term at RES, the company grew to be the largest ecological offset provider in the world and KKR acquired a majority interest in 2016. At RES, George led market initiatives with a focus on expanding the organization’s client base, geographic footprint, and wetland, stream, nutrient, water, and species offset markets. In this capacity, George spearheaded efforts to open nutrient and stormwater markets in the Chesapeake Bay Region; species markets in the Appalachian, Western, and Mid-Western U.S.; stream markets in Texas and the western U.S.; and wetland and stream restoration projects for water quality and carbon markets. He has worked with numerous resource agencies, landowners, investors, and private and public credit buyers on the implementation of mitigation projects and has promoted new polices at the federal and state levels relating to market-based solutions to achieve environmental objectives.

Lauren Mechak

Senior Director, Asset Innovations, ClimeCo

Lauren Mechak serves as the Senior Director of Asset Innovations on ClimeCo’s Project Development Team. In her role, she leads ClimeCo’s efforts to develop novel climate-positive projects that generate carbon offsets or other valuable environmental commodities. Her work spans multiple project types, including nature-based carbon removal and innovative climate tech projects. While Lauren’s work is primarily in the voluntary carbon offset space, she also has expertise in compliance markets, including California’s Cap-and-Trade and Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

Prior to joining ClimeCo, Lauren received her Master of Environmental Management in Economics and Policy at Duke University. During her time at Duke, she worked with the university’s Carbon Offsets Initiative to help Duke achieve carbon neutrality and served as an Article Editor for Duke’s Environmental Law and Policy Forum. Before Duke, Lauren earned her B.Sc. from McGill University in Biology in 2013 and worked at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo.

Edward Pollard

Strategic Director, Corporate Services, The Biodiversity Consultancy

Edward is The Biodiversity Consultancy’s lead for corporate strategies on nature. He has 25 years’ experience in global biodiversity conservation and is a leading expert in business and biodiversity. His work focuses on supporting companies to embed nature into their process and procedures and to strengthen their role in a nature-positive future. Edward is a specialist in the development and implementation of corporate biodiversity strategies, including advising on alignment with PS6, and the development of Science-based targets for nature.

Edward is on the Steering Group of the UK Business and Biodiversity Forum, is a member of the SBTN Corporate Engagement Program working group, and has contributed to publications on emerging topics such as Nature Positive, and on zero deforestation. Prior to TBC, Edward’s 15 years in South-East Asia provided him with extensive experience in protected areas and sustainable forest management, and commodity certification.

Michael Jenkins

Founding President and CEO Forest Trends

Michael Jenkins is the founding President and CEO of Forest Trends. From 1989-1999, he was the Associate Director for the Global Security and Sustainability Program of the MacArthur Foundation. In 1998, Michael was in a joint appointment as a Senior Forestry Advisor to the World Bank. Before entering the MacArthur Foundation, he worked for three years as an agro-forester in Haiti with the USAID Agroforestry Outreach Program. Previous to that, he was a technical advisor for a Washington-based development organization, Appropriate Technology International. In the late 1970s, Michael was a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay working in agriculture, apiculture, and forestry projects. He has traveled and worked throughout Latin America, Asia and parts of Africa, and speaks Spanish, French, Portuguese, Creole, and Guaraní. Michael holds a Master’s of Forest Science from Yale University and has contributed to and authored numerous books/publications, including The Business of Sustainable Forestry: Strategies for an Industry in Transition and Capital Markets and Sustainable Forestry: Opportunities for Investment. In 2010 he received the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and in 2015 the Social Entrepreneur Award from the Schwab Foundation. Also in 2015, Forest Trends was awarded the 2015 Award for Creative and Effective Institutions from the MacArthur Foundation.

CFTC Commissioner Summer K. Mersinger

Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

Summer K. Mersinger was nominated by President Biden to serve as a Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and was unanimously confirmed by the Senate. She was sworn into office on March 30, 2022. 

Prior to her appointment, Ms. Mersinger served as the Chief of Staff to CFTC Commissioner Dawn D. Stump.  She also served as the Director of the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under former Chairman Heath Tarbert. 

Ms. Mersinger has 20 years of Capitol Hill and government relations experience. Prior to joining the CFTC, she was Senior Vice President at Smith-Free Group, a leading government affairs practice, where she worked on financial services issues including advocating for large fintech organizations. 

From 2004 to 2016, Ms. Mersinger was a top aide to current Senate Minority Whip John Thune, who represents her home state of South Dakota. Most recently she served as his DC Chief of Staff, coordinating legislative activities for Sen. Thune’s team and working regularly with Senate leadership and senior staff on both sides of the aisle. Ms. Mersinger was instrumental during policy debates involving banking, finance, telecommunications, surface transportation, agriculture, and trade issues. Ms. Mersinger was also directly involved in the communications efforts spearheaded by Sen. Thune through his leadership post on the Senate Republican Conference. 

Prior to joining Sen. Thune’s staff, Ms. Mersinger was a director of government relations at Arent Fox, and she also worked in Sen. Thune’s office while he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1999 to 2002. Summer completed her undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota and her law degree from the Catholic University’s Columbus School of law. She is a proud mother of four children, two daughters and two sons, and resides in Northern Virginia with her husband.

Kevin Scott

President, RESOLVE Canada

Leadership: Founder and leader of five national and international organizations focusing on youth leadership, privacy and identity theft, conservation, and international strategy consultation.

Strategic Planning: Twenty-five years experience developing and implementing strategic plans ranging from overarching organizational development plans to start-up planning, as well as goal based strategies and political campaigns.

Project Management: Extensive experience development and managing projects. Projects with multi-year projects such as the establishment of a national live call centre for victims of identity crimes and short lifespans; for instance conferences and media campaigns.

Business Development: Successfully raised over $40M for leading charities around the globe. Negotiated corporate partnerships with global Fortune 500 companies such as: Disney, Goldman Sachs, Mercer Lippincott, and AOL Time Warner.

Policy Development: Extensive experience in policy development, specializing in the areas of: privacy law, identity theft prevention, land-use, provincial and national parks, wildlife management, forestry, and climate change.

Government Relations: Thirty years of experience in government relations at the local, provincial/ state, national and international levels.

Sonia Verhagen

Business Development Manager, Nature Based Solutions and Decarbonization and Sustainability Leader, SHELL

Katie Sullivan

Managing Director, IETA

Katie Sullivan serves as Managing Director of IETA, the global multi-sector business voice for the intersection of markets and climate change. On behalf of IETA’s 150+ corporate members, Ms. Sullivan leads efforts to inform market solutions to address environmental challenges across the Americas and globally. She also manages IETA’s growing climate finance, aviation and digital innovation sustainability initiatives. Ms. Sullivan currently sits on the Global Steering Committee for the World Bank’s Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC), Boards of the Climate Action Reserve (CAR) and the International Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) Knowledge Centre, and Advisory Panels for Canada’s Institute for Clean Growth & Climate Change, the Ivey Foundation, and Blockchain for Climate Foundation. Prior to IETA, Ms. Sullivan worked as a Senior Consultant at ICF International. In 2019, Ms. Sullivan was recognized as a Clean16 and Clean50 award recipient for contributing to Clean Capitalism Leadership in Canada.

Nicolai Lundy

Chief of Market Relationships, International Foundation Accounting Sustainability

Nicolai Lundy is the Chief of Market Relationships. He identifies opportunities for sustainability professionals, financial reporting professionals, investment analysts and others to benefit from the IFRS Foundation’s research on the financial impacts of sustainability and the benefits of a holistic view of value creation. In his role, Nicolai oversees offerings that primarily emerge from the SASB Standards, including the “SASB Inside” licensing program, SASB Alliance membership and related education programs. Early in his tenure, he led the development of the FSA Credential. He has been with the IFRS Foundation since late 2013 (when it was SASB). Prior to 2013, he had a variety of client relationship and operations roles in Norway and the U.S.

Rishi Das

As Manager of Technologies for Natural Climate Solutions, Verra

As Manager of Technologies for Natural Climate Solutions, Rishi supports Verra’s engagement with technology companies, research, and innovation groups in the development of tools and applications of remote sensing, artificial intelligence, IoT sensors and other technologies for a range of NCS carbon credits.

Rishi is an environmental scientist with 14 years of experience in forestry and ecosystem ecology, carbon science, and natural resource management in 16 countries across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Prior to joining Verra, he was a Program Officer for The Governor’s Climate and Forests Task Force, managing the Climate Pathways project on jurisdictional long-term decarbonization strategies in Brazil, Mexico, and Peru. He has worked as a climate change specialist and technical advisor with a diverse group of institutions, from international agencies and donors (USAID, Norway, World Bank, FAO), national and regional government agencies, civil service professionals, NGOs, and civil societies (Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, Peoples’ Science Institute, The Trust for Public Land), to local institutions and community organizations on agriculture, watershed management, forestry, disaster risk and resilience, climate change mitigation, and conservation/protected area management projects.

Rishi has a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia, a M.S. from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and a B.S. in Natural Resource Management from the University of California, Berkeley. He has received the Ecological Society of America’s Sustainability Science Award for his work on tropical forest resilience in Mexico, and has published in peer-reviewed journals, white papers, and technical guidance manuals on agriculture, forestry and land use change. In the past 6 years, Rishi has focused on developing technical tools, capacity-building, and applied research on measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) for REDD+ and ecosystem services accounting, national land use monitoring systems, and low emissions development strategies.

Steven Martin

Mitigation Specialist

Steven Martin’s professional focus is on compensatory mitigation policy and evaluation of mitigation proposals. He has assisted non-profits in evaluating potential mitigation projects and consults for the Ecological Restoration Business Association (ERBA) and the private sector. He co-authored with EPA’s mitigation bank and In-Lieu Fee Program review workbooks and checklists. He has collaborated with ERBA and the Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) on quantitative and qualitative analyses of mitigation bank approvals.

He retired from the Corps’ Institute for Water Resources (IWR) as a mitigation specialist. His work at IWR included national implementation of the Regulatory In-lieu fee and Bank Information Tracking System (RIBITS), teaching aspects of compensatory mitigation policy and practices to Corps staff and other agencies, and development of tools to improve compensatory mitigation. He co-authored handbooks on financial assurances and site protection.

Prior to joining IWR, he worked for the Norfolk District Regulatory Branch where he participated in delineations, permitting, enforcement, and compensatory mitigation. He oversaw development of 7 commercial mitigation banks, helped develop a template Mitigation Bank Instrument, off-site mitigation location guidelines, a state-wide in-lieu fee program instrument, and joint Norfolk District-Virginia DEQ Wetland Mitigation Guidelines.

Sam Gledhill

Head of Commercial, Trove Research

As head of commercial, Sam focuses on providing valuable data and analytics to our growing community of clients. As part of his role, Sam helps to guide our analyst and technical teams, ensuring that our intelligence platform provides our clients with valuable insights regarding corporate climate commitments and the voluntary carbon market. Sam maintains a broad understanding of voluntary carbon market mechanisms, as well as the needs of all stakeholders who operate in this space.

Ben Parkhurst, BS, MF, MEM

Vice President of Technical Development - Natural Climate Solutions

Ben Parkhurst is the primary technical lead at Anew overseeing the analysis and development of new natural climate solution market opportunities for the Anew Ideas team.  Examples of such new opportunities include the quantification of biodiversity and other co-benefits for various project types, creating new markets to address leakage in the forestry sector, creating incentives for avoided wildfire projects, and the evaluation of investment opportunities in afforestation/reforestation and habitat restoration projects.  He also leads the technical aspects of many projects for Anew, providing quantitative analysis of carbon and environmental benefits through every stage of project evaluation, implementation, validation, verification, and monitoring. Ben’s technical expertise includes inventory/ sampling design, carbon stock estimation, habitat quantification, growth and yield modeling, map development, GIS analysis, and remote sensing. He aids with project design, analyzing and summarizing data; modeling future scenarios; analyzing the environmental and financial costs and benefits of different scenarios; and using optimization tools to maximize environmental benefits and revenues. Ben obtained his Master’s Degrees in Forestry (MF) and Environmental Management (MEM) at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, a Society of American Foresters-accredited master’s program.

Tim Brown

CEO, Tradewater, LLC

Tim is a founder and the CEO of Tradewater, a company that collects and destroys greenhouse gases. To date, Tradewater has destroyed over 4,300,000 metric tons of CO2e from old refrigerants that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. At Tradewater, Tim provides strategic direction for the firm in all business areas and is developing new programs to further Tradewater’s mission and expand its impact. He is working to open new markets and facilitate the firm’s international expansion. Tim brings to Tradewater 36 years of experience in carbon programs, environmental policy, hazardous waste cleanup, and pollution prevention. He founded Wabashco in 2008 to develop carbon offset and renewable energy projects in the Midwest, and in 1998 he co-founded the Delta Institute, a nonprofit organization to improve environmental quality and promote community and economic development in the Great Lakes Basin. He ran the Delta Institute’s environmental program, which included a wide range of water quality, pollution prevention, toxic reduction, and carbon sequestration work. Tim has worked for a range of environmental organizations in both the private and non-profit sectors including Clean Sites, ICF, and the Center for the Great Lakes. He was a Donella Meadows Leadership Fellow with the Sustainability Institute. Tim holds a B.S. from Northwestern University. He has held leadership positions on many boards over the years including the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Rebuilding Exchange, Delta Institute, and the Alliance for the Great Lakes, among others. He currently serves on the board of the Lochland School.

Mariana Sarmiento

CEO, Terrasos

Mariana Sarmiento founded Terrasos in 2013 as an initiative to impact the social, economic and environment development of the country with strategies of environmental protection that linked to all civil society actors.

What is the vision of Terrasos?  To be a leading company in developing environmental conservation and restoration projects with private investment, which leverages the commitments and needs of the territories in the long term.

Where did the initiative to implement the habitat bank strategy come from?  In 2012, when the first Compensation Manual came out in Colombia, we identified that there was going to be a need to generate solutions for companies that had to meet their obligations and for the country to have compensation projects that would accelerate the deployment of investments. in compensation and make it easier for environmental authorities to follow up.

I had worked in 2009 in the United States in an organization that managed Habitat Banks in Mississippi for the infrastructure sector and I saw first-hand the benefits and the impact it generated. At that moment I realized that the country needed to generate this opportunity. In that moment we began to work with the owners of the Rey-Zamuro Matarredonda Reserve and BIDLab to create a pilot project and later, with the Ministry of Environment to generate a regulatory framework that catalyzed the development of Habitat Banks in both public and private properties.

Who is Mariana Sarmiento?  I am a curious, optimistic and hard-working woman. I am a mother of two wonderful girls who enlighten me as soon as I see them. I like to travel and feel the places I go to.

Tim Coles

Director & CEO, re-PLANET

Tim founded and is CEO of Operation Wallacea that provides a method for funding long term biodiversity research using tuition fees paid by students. Opwall has operated as a commercial business for 25 years and established reliable working partners in a series of countries around the world. It is these contacts including those at govt level that are being used to develop the potential mangrove reforestation projects for funding. Opwall has spent 25 years building small businesses in places such as Indonesia to deliver the research programmes they deliver. The Opwall teams have published over 560 papers in peer reviewed journals from their research programmes and have managed large scale projects overseas for the World Bank, Darwin Initiative and GEF. Tim also founded the Wallacea Trust that works on a series of conservation projects around the world based on the principle of incentivising individuals or local communities to achieve the desired conservation outcomes. Tim also led on the Wallacea Trust working group that developed an international biodiversity credit methodology.

Brett Bovee

President, WestWater Research

Brett Bovee is the President and Principal for WestWater Research based in the Fort Collins office. Brett brings close to 20 years of experience conducting a variety of engineering, economic, and water rights studies across the Western states. Many of these projects have been focused on water resources management and water development concepts in the pursuit, protection, and utilization of water rights. Since joining WestWater, Brett has performed dozens of focused water right valuation studies and broader economic and water market analyses. Brett brings a unique perspective to projects, combining a background in water resources engineering with a developed knowledge of water rights and economics.

Brett has performed water right investigations for Federal, Tribal, and private clients, and has completed a variety of studies focused on water valuation, comprehensive water planning, irrigated agriculture, scenario modeling, and water project feasibility. In the course of water rights litigation and dispute resolution, Brett has prepared expert witness and technical reports, completed hydrographic surveys of water use, and reviewed settlement agreements. He has also participated in several technical working groups for multi-stakeholder negotiations.

Brett holds B.S. and M.Eng. degrees in biological and environmental engineering from Cornell University, with a focus in water resources. He is a licensed professional civil engineer in five western states and is also a recognized hydrologist. Prior to joining WestWater, Brett worked for NRCE managing and assisting with water rights projects across the Western U.S.

Jason Lee

Director, Quantified Ventures

Jason’s career in environmental finance comes from a singular conviction: the environmental problems of today and tomorrow are too wicked to be limited to the tools of yesterday. At Quantified Ventures, he works to develop outcomes-based financing models that enable faster, more efficient compliance with existing regulations. His work has included developing pricing models for a financial mechanism that allows municipalities to pay for conservation practices on upstream farmland in Pennsylvania and Delaware; the design of a governance / financing entity for nature-based solutions to water quality problems on Cape Cod, MA; and the structuring of Environmental Impact Bonds to implement urban green infrastructure pilot projects in Hampton, VA, and Memphis, TN.

At Duke University’s Nicholas School, he achieved a grounding in environmental economics, policy, and law before focusing on water finance. He was specifically interested in how innovative financing mechanisms can be leveraged to make U.S. water infrastructure more resilient to both environmental and societal changes. Additionally, as a member of the Graduate & Professional Student Council, he led the establishment of the nation’s first student-government-financed fund for emergency personal travel.

Jason serves on the Maryland Department of Environment’s Task Force of State and Local Government Accounting for Natural Capital. His previous work experiences include working on the U.S. Climate Policy team at Environmental Defense Fund, being a bookseller and later a finance associate at the iconic Politics & Prose bookstore in D.C., and writing for a local weekly newspaper in North Carolina.

Kate Ryan

Executive Director, Colorado Water Trust

Kate joined the Water Trust in 2019, with over a decade of experience practicing Colorado Water law. Her past clients included farmers, ranchers, municipalities, landowners, the CWCB and the Water Trust itself. Before going to Berkeley Law she obtained a master’s degree in geography at the University of Colorado and worked as an associate scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center. During her free time Kate loves cattle drives, skiing big mountains and exploring with her kids.

Mathew Nespeca

Head of ESG and New Business Models, Envu

Matt Nespeca works for Envu as the head of ESG and New Business Models, with a focus on delivering global solutions related to environmental and social outcomes.  Matt previously worked as the global marketing manager for Vegetation Management for Bayer Environmental Science, which includes segments such as industrial vegetation management, forestry and range & pasture.  Before he took the global role, Matt Nespeca spent 8 years launching and managing the US Vegetation Management business for Bayer.  In previous years, Matt held marketing, sales and technical service positions with Nufarm, BASF and American Cyanamid, mainly working in industrial vegetation, forestry and aquatics markets.  Matt also spent 4 years working as a project manager for the South Carolina Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, where he worked on land conservation and invasive plant control projects.  Matt has an MS from Virginia Tech in Forest Biology, and a BS from Auburn University in Forest Resource Management.  Currently, Matt lives in Raleigh, NC with his wife and two children.

Amy Bourne

Director, Global Sustainability, Marriott International

Amy Bourne is the Director, Global Sustainability, at Marriott International. In this role she develops and manages global programs in areas such as responsible sourcing, food waste reduction and climate action for 8,300+ hotels in 130+ countries. Previously, Amy managed sustainability programs for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the General Services Administration (GSA) where she focused on high performance and healthy buildings, sustainable building operations and waste diversion. Amy holds an MA in Energy and Environmental Analysis from Boston University and earned Certified Energy Manager (CEM), LEED Green Associate and TRUE Zero Waste Advisor credentials.

Elizabeth Sheppard

Manager, ISC and Agriculture Strategy, McCain Foods

Elizabeth Sheppard is an accomplished finance professional with experience in regenerative agriculture financing, internal audit, financial planning and analysis, and treasury. She has led the development of a first-of-its-kind financing partnership between McCain Foods and Farm Credit Canada and drove the execution of the McCain: McDonald’s Future of Potato Farming Fund. Serving as a direct connection between agriculture and finance professionals, Elizabeth & McCain are actively pursuing partnerships dedicated to reducing the barriers to regenerative agriculture across North America. Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Honours, from Smith School of Business at Queen’s University, and is a Chartered Professional Accountant. 

Dan Yeoman

Managing Director, Soil and Water Outcomes Fund CEO, ReHarvest Partners

Dan Yeoman brings years of experience helping public and private sector organizations design and implement durable operating models and strategic growth plans. At the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund, Dan leads financial planning, new customer relationships, outcome customer contracting, and SWOF’s capital strategy. Dan helped to launch ReHarvest Partners, a co-manager of the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund, and has served as the Chief Financial and Strategy Officer at Quantified Ventures, the parent company of ReHarvest.

Dan’s background includes management consulting with McKinsey & Company and corporate finance with General Electric and Genworth Financial. Dan has an MBA from Duke University and a BA from Wesleyan University and resides in Washington, DC with his wife Beth and four kids.

Jody Bickel

Chief Executive Officer, Creekbank Associates

Jody’s experience spans more than 25 years in ecosystem services and a lifetime of work involving environmental conflict resolution, natural resources management, and the development of environmental markets. She has successfully led teams and guided stakeholders in natural asset ventures at varying scales. Her work spans the demand and supply of ecosystem services, driving compliance, voluntary, and sustainability outcomes to deliver on internal and external performance objectives. Now, as head of Creekbank Associates, Jody coaches change agents to achieve their green initiatives and deploys expertise from a hand-picked professional team to innovate best outcomes for clients across multiple industries. Her focus is on finding opportunity where it is sometimes unseen, negotiating with diverse stakeholders and building bridges to create real-world solutions for those who seek success in the form of an integrated bottom line. Jody serves as an advisor to the Global Environmental Markets and Finance Summit and is a member of the Soil and Water Conservation Society, the Society for Ecological Restoration, the International Society of Sustainability Professionals, the Ecological Restoration Business Association, the American Chemical Society, the American Exploration and Mining Association and other industry specific organizations.

Megan Reilly Cayten

Senior Investment Manager, Climate Asset Management

Megan has 20 years of experience in real asset development (AES Corporation), project finance (Citi) and investment management (Alinda Capital Partners) on five continents. She previously served as Senior Adviser to Javelin Capital on renewable energy projects in Latin America, and as blue carbon lead for Oceans 2050, a foundation created by Alexandra Cousteau. Megan’s environmental NGO experience includes the WWF-US National Council, Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (nature based carbon projects) and the National Environmental Education Foundation (Board Chair). She also founded and ran an impact-focused retail business and advised investors on climate and impact.

Elliott Bouillion

Founder and Vice Chairman, Resource Environmental Solutions (RES)

As Founder and Vice Chairman, Elliott continues to advance RES’ role and capabilities in the ecological restoration industry. Building on a 15-year tenure as President and CEO, Elliott is focused on expanding the positive impacts RES can bring to the environmental challenges facing our society as the industry takes on not only large scale mitigation, but an expanded range of water resource, coastal resiliency, and large public works projects.

Over the past decade, Elliott created a dynamic and unique business model for RES, helping pioneer the emerging environmental mitigation industry. During Elliott’s tenure as CEO, RES grew from a small firm based in Louisiana to a national restoration provider with nearly 500 employees. Elliott is proud to have assembled a team of professionals known for responsible environmental stewardship in all aspects of ecological solution delivery.

Elliott earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1979.

Following his first successful entrepreneurial effort, Bouillion joined Landmark Graphics Corporation, culminating his 12-year tenure in the role of corporate Vice President and General Manager, where he managed various technology and service divisions in Houston and London. Landmark completed an IPO and was acquired by Halliburton in July 1996.

Elliott has been both an active angel investor and an active participant on the board of directors of several growth companies, including FRx Software (acquired by Microsoft), Ischemia Corporation (acquired by Inverness Medical Innovations), Object Reservoir (acquired by Halliburton) and Anark Corporation.

As a private equity investor, Elliott was a general partner with Murphree Venture Partners. He was a founding sponsor and board member of the Houston Technology Council Energy Incubation and Acceleration Program. He served as a board member of the Houston Private Equity Association (HPEA), where he is a Past President.

Elliott has served on the board of directors for several companies and organizations, including the Gulf of Mexico Foundation. In 2015, he was named to the Executive Committee of the Committee of 100 for Louisiana, participating in economic development and fiscal reform initiatives. In 2019, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette named Elliott to its Alumni Wall of Honor.

Peter Stein

Managing Director, The Lyme Timber Company

Peter joined Lyme Timber Company in 1990 and has led the firm’s conservation-oriented forestland investment strategies. Prior to his career with Lyme, Peter was Senior Vice President of the Trust for Public Land (TPL), where he was one of the founding staff. He earned a B.A. with Highest Honors from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1975. Peter was a Loeb Fellow, received a Certificate in Advanced Environmental Studies from Harvard University in 1981, and received the Kingsbury Browne Award from the Land Trust Alliance and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in 2012. Peter lectures frequently at graduate schools and professional conferences on conservation investment structures and strategies. He is the co-founder of the Conservation Finance Network and the International Land Conservation Network. Peter serves on the Investment Advisory Committee of Spring Point Partners, the Advisory Boards of Quantified Ventures and Rose Smart Growth Real Estate Fund No. 1, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Montshire Museum. He is a former Board Chair of the Land Trust Alliance, and served as a founding Commissioner of the Land Trust Accreditation Commission.

David Hill

Chairman, The Environment Bank, UK

With a doctorate in ecology from the Department of Zoology at Oxford, David brings an abundance of ecological expertise to the table. A passionate conservationist, he was a founding member of Natural England, a member of the Government’s Ecosystem Markets Taskforce, and a Commissioner with the independent Food Farming and Countryside Commission. When it comes to implementing BNG, there’s nobody better. In fact, he introduced the concept to the UK in 2006 and his unparalleled work has now been embedded into the Environment Act.

Laura Grant

Biodiversity Net Gain Market Policy Lead, UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

Laura Grant is the policy lead for the biodiversity net gain (BNG) market and statutory credit scheme at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). She works to resolve barriers and encourage growth in the BNG market which is due to ‘go-live’ in November. She manages a team responsible for landowner and developer engagement, guidance and comms. Laura joined Defra from the House of Commons where she worked for 4 years as a policy specialist for the Environmental Audit Committee and Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee scrutinising policy and legislation including the Environment Act. Laura spent 9 years working at the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management as a senior policy adviser working on a range of policy and public affairs issues. Laura holds an MSc in Sustainability, Environmental Consultancy and Project Management.