Blake Atkerson, Director of Innovation. (LinkedIn) Blake has a decade of experience in the water legal, policy, and regulatory space. He received his Juris Doctorate from U.C. Hastings College of the Law and an LL.M. in Water Law and Policy from McGeorge School of Law. Blake provided legal counsel to Native American tribes and low-income individuals, and regulatory compliance and data analysis support for government entities. Currently he is focused on analyzing water mitigation solutions for the agricultural sector and building data systems for water security analysis. He is a proud father and husband who is passionate about translating complexities into actionable narratives.
Laura Demetrion, Operations Lead (LinkedIn) Laura brings 7 years of experience in motivating and organizing research coalitions to address energy and emissions challenges. As a former consultant supporting the Dept. Of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy, Laura acted as the central node of support for the agency’s SMARTFARM program where she played a leading role in program formation, portfolio planning, project management, and team coordination. As Operations Lead at Carbon A List, Laura will direct the establishment, assessment, and improvement of grant operations. Laura holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from Chatham University and an MBA from Duquesne University.
Nicholas Goeser PhD, Principal. (LinkedIn) Nick is an agricultural sustainability change agent with organizational leadership, sustainability strategy development and research experience in the areas of crop production, nutrient cycling and management, and environmental quality. Nick has served as CEO for the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America. Nick has held Vice President roles for the National Corn Growers Association and U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance focusing on agricultural productivity, water quality, soil health, climate change and broader agricultural sustainability. He was the first Director of The Soil Health Partnership, a Technology Development Representative with Monsanto and Agronomic Research Manager on a commercial farm bringing over a decade of research and education in the areas of crop production, nutrient cycling and management, and environmental quality. He completed a MS in Agronomy and PhD in Horticulture from the University of Wisconsin. His doctoral research focused on the evaluation of crop productivity, nutrient use efficiency, and nutrient cycling.
Katie Howard, Consultant. (LinkedIn) Katie is an organizer, relationship builder, analyzer, and promoter of change. She served as Senior Data Analyst for Land O’Lakes/WinField United supporting the AnswerPlot program and also held academic and Extension positions in the field of horticulture and sustainability. Originally from northeastern Wisconsin, she received her Bachelor in International Agriculture and Natural Resources and Masters of Science in Horticulture from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She is currently a part-time intellectual property data manager for a fruit breeding company located in the Netherlands and has been consulting in the sustainability field for several years. Her passion lies in connecting people and supporting them to reach their goals, whether small or large, simple or complex.
Christophe Jospe, President, Founder. (LinkedIn) Christophe is an innovator in carbon accounting and carbon market design. His work bridges the gap between science, technology, policy, and business opportunities to realize the potential of activities that can reduce or remove carbon from the atmosphere. In 2014, he moved from Columbia University, to co-found the Center for Negative Carbon Emissions at Arizona State University as chief strategist. In 2017, he co-founded Nori, a start-up that launched a carbon removal marketplace initially to help US food and fiber producers monetize the incremental soil organic carbon stock changes from adopting practices to draw carbon out of the atmosphere. He left Nori in the beginning of January 2021 to focus his efforts on building Carbon A List, expanding the breadth of his focus beyond carbon credits, and leverage his knowledge and expertise to contribute to a more holistic approach to advance high impact projects.
Hope Sims, Analyst. (LinkedIn) Hope graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in economics and a minor in sustainability. Her studies consisted of regulation, policy, and market analysis; sustainability assessment and implementation, as well as climate and environmental science. She is a sustainability advocate who aspires to continue learning about the best ways to implement and encourage considerations for the triple bottom line. Hope worked on a non-profit farm in Southern California that utilized ancient Jewish and sustainable farming practices that promote soil health, water retention, and biodiversity. While working on the farm she gained an understanding of low-till farming, livestock and crop integration, drip irrigation, methods to reduce soil erosion, and integrated pest management. Hope uses her knowledge and experience in these areas to support the Carbon A List team as an analyst. Hope loves to be surrounded by nature and plans to visit as many national and international parks as she can.
Katherine Staiger, Partnership Lead. (LinkedIn) Katherine’s seventh-generation dairy farming family has instilled in her a passion for agriculture and a strong desire to support farms and optimize their success. Throughout her career, Katherine has held a variety of positions each allowing her to work with a diversified portfolio of farms. Katherine joins Carbon A List from Danone North America, where she worked as a Project Manager on the Agriculture team. She graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science and Agriculture Education Teaching Certification. As Partnership Lead, Katherine will be responsible for fostering external relationships with partners and engaging farmer grant awardees.
Rick Whitney, Senior Consultant. (LinkedIn) Rick is a product and project management professional with over 20 years’ experience leading small- and large-scale initiatives for companies like Hyundai, TDBank, Wells Fargo, Sony, Pfizer, Intuit and many other organizations across multiple sectors. Most recently, he served as a senior member of the digital products team at Indigo Ag, a regenerative agriculture and carbon sequestration company, where he managed all design and development of a flagship mobile application. He has also assisted in the development of a report on climate change risk in the global commodity supply chain, and helped develop the first enterprise-level GHG reporting tool for Wells Fargo. He attended the Sustainability and Environmental Management program at Harvard University, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Natural Resources Management from the University of Idaho.