Doug has cared about protecting the natural world since growing up in south Louisiana, a place that has been significantly impacted by climate change and coastal erosion. Doug started serving Vesta as an attorney, working with Vesta as a pro-bono client while practicing law at WilmerHale, where he advised clients on complex transactions, corporate governance, and the establishment of joint ventures in highly regulated industries. Doug transitioned to work for Vesta full-time in 2021 when he decided to leave the practice of law and dedicate his professional time to helping address climate change. He previously served as Vesta’s General Counsel and was responsible for obtaining state and federal permits for Vesta’s flagship field trial in Duck, North Carolina. Doug holds a law degree from the University of Colorado and an MBA from Saint Louis University. He lives in Colorado with his wife and son, where they enjoy the natural wonder of the Colorado backcountry and all it has to offer.

Tim began his career in investment banking and private equity, where he gained experience positioning companies for success through strategic planning, financial analysis, and capital strategy optimization. Tim transitioned to Vesta in order to leverage his experience in the fight against climate change, and leads the company’s strategic and financial development. Tim holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of Richmond.

Alvis leads global operations at Vesta, focusing on international project development and partnerships. Prior to Vesta, he held product management and business development roles in the enterprise software industry, with a focus on regulated industries. Alvis began his career in international development and has lived and worked in six countries. He currently resides in Berlin, Germany, and holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Zach has a long career working in environmental advocacy, policy and community engagement, including at the National Wildlife Federation and Trout Unlimited. He is passionate about approaches to confronting the climate crisis that are based in sound science and engagement of communities to identify mutually beneficial solutions. Zach has an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Indiana University and a Masters in Environmental Science and Policy from Johns Hopkins.

Stephen Romaniello received his M.Sc. from Cornell University and Ph.D. from ASU in the Geological Sciences. His 10+ years of work as an isotope geochemist and marine biogeochemist developing cutting edge applications in nontraditional stable and radiogenic isotopes has been funded by NSF, NASA, the Sloan Foundation, and the W.M. Keck Foundation. His research examines the chemical and ecological processes that have shaped Earth for over 4 billion years including the modern Anthropocene Epoch. He was an Associate Professor of Isotope Geochemistry at U. of Tennessee, Knoxville and founding director of the UT ICP-MS Core Research Facility before joining Vesta.

When Tom graduated with a biology degree before the turn of the millennium, it was already clear that the climate was heading for a crisis. Over a 20 year career in various leadership roles at Capital One, Lending Club, Bain & Company, and Averon, he learned how to manage teams and deliver results. Finally, with an exceptional set of skills gained in this career, he was able to rediscover his true passion, which is bringing a scalable way to meet the challenges of the climate crisis. Tom holds a BA in Biological Sciences from Oxford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Tom is the former CEO of Vesta and remains a trusted advisor.

Michael Connor most recently served as the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) from Nov. 2021 until Nov. 2024. In that role, he was responsible for the Army’s Civil Works Program, including establishing budget and policy direction, and supervision of all aspects of the US Army Corps of Engineers' Civil Works program. Specific responsibilities included developing programs for the conservation, protection, and development of the nation's water and wetland resources; flood control infrastructure; maintaining the nation’s navigation capabilities; and coastal shoreline protection. Previously, Mr. Connor served in a variety of positions in the federal government as well as in the private sector. Prior to his most recent role in government, he was a partner at one of the nation’s premier law firms, focusing on water, natural resource, renewable energy development, environmental compliance, and Native American law.

Born in Houston, Jerry Patterson graduated from Texas A&M, Class of 1969 and was commissioned in the United States Marine Corps. Jerry volunteered for duty in Vietnam and was later designated as a Naval Flight Officer. He served in Marine fighter squadrons until his retirement from the Marine Corps Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1993. Five consecutive generations of Jerry’s family have served our nation in time of war. Jerry served in the Texas Senate from 1993 to 1999, and was elected Texas Land Commissioner in 2002. Patterson quickly modernized and revitalized the Texas General Land Office, the oldest agency in Texas. He diversified and increased the Permanent School Fund, earning more ($8.1 billion) for the fund during his twelve year tenure than had been earned ($7.9 billion) in the entire 129 years since the PSF was created in 1876. Equally as important, Jerry ushered in the greatest expansion of benefits for Texas veterans since World War II, including doubling the number of State Veterans Homes and building four new Texas veterans cemeteries – without cost to Texas taxpayers.

Kerry C. Duggan is a nationally recognized policy leader and strategist, corporate board director, founder, and highly sought-after global speaker. In 2017, she founded Energy Security Partners (ESP), a global strategic advisory firm that helps clients navigate complex challenges in energy, security, and community engagement through pragmatic, place-based solutions that reduce risk and enhance resilience. A trusted cross-sector advisor, Duggan has held senior roles from the White House to the boardroom. She serves on the corporate boards of Perma-Fix (NASDAQ: PESI), Envergia, and BlueGreen Water Technologies, as well as the advisory boards of Arctaris Impact Investors, Commonweal Ventures, Our Next Energy (ONE), Aclima, Inc., and Zero Circle. She is also an appointee of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on the Michigan Council on Climate Solutions and of Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan (no relation) on the inaugural Detroit Women’s Commission. An alumna of the Obama-Biden and Biden-Harris Administrations, Duggan played a key role in shaping national energy policy as a climate and energy advisor to then-Vice President Joe Biden and Deputy Director of President Obama’s Detroit Task Force. She later served on the Biden-Harris Transition Team and was appointed to the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) under Secretary Jennifer Granholm. Previously, at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), she held senior leadership roles, including Liaison to the City of Detroit under Secretary Ernie Moniz, Director of Legislative, Regulatory, and Urban Affairs, and Stakeholder Engagement Director for the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE). Beyond government, Duggan was a partner at Honorable Tom Ridge’s firm. At the University of Michigan, she founded both the SEAS Sustainability Clinic in Detroit and the Michigan Business Sustainability Network (MBSR). She is also an angel investor and film executive producer. A daughter of the Great Lakes, Duggan grew up in Michigan and attended Detroit Country Day School (DCDS). She earned a Division I basketball scholarship at St. John’s University (SJU) before transferring to the University of Vermont (UVM), where she earned a B.S. in Environmental Studies. She later completed her M.S. in Natural Resource Policy & Behavior at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS). Duggan is known for bringing people together across industries and ideologies to drive real impact. As she often says: "Collaboration is a contact sport."

Kyle is Senior Program Manager at EIP, where he focuses on establishing Pay for Performance contracts to efficiently and effectively implement large scale ecological restoration. Prior to joining the EIP team in January 2020, Kyle was the Executive Director of Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and served as Louisiana’s Trustee for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Kyle has a BS in Biology from the University of North Carolina and a MS in Biology from Appalachian State University. Kyle resides in the front range of Colorado where he enjoys all the great outdoors has to offer.

Dr. Joe Árvai is the Dana and David Dornsife Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychology, and he is the Director of the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies at the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences at the University of Southern California. Joe’s research focuses on improving the critical thinking, judgment, and decision-making capabilities of people. His research focuses primarily on contexts where people must make judgments and decisions under conditions of risk and uncertainty, and where they must confront tradeoffs across conflicting social, economic, and environmental objectives. His research also focuses on situations where people’s instinctive approach to judgment and decision-making is biased by unchecked emotions and motivated reasoning. In addition to Joe’s wok at USC, he is a frequent advisor to government, business, and NGOs. He is a former member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Chartered Science Advisory Board, and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences’ Board on Environmental Change and Society. He is also a Senior Researcher at the Decision Science Research Institute in Eugene, OR, and he is an Adjunct Professor in Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.

Kelly has a multidisciplinary background. She has worked across the climate space for the last decade, with a large focus on carbon dioxide removal approaches. Co-founder of Vesta, Kelly has insight into a diverse range of climate solutions, spanning engineering to the nature based; as well as into market dynamics, business and funding strategies for novel solutions. Her work has focused on the commercialization of sustainable technologies and carbon removal approaches. Alongside her commercial efforts, Kelly has also helped to found multiple non-profit efforts across the climate and sustainability space. 

Jill is the WOC Associate for Ocean CO2 Removal (CDR) and Blue Carbon, working with WOC to facilitate the advance of Ocean CDR business, investment and marketplace developments to accelerate the transition to NetZero. She is currently the Strategy and Innovation Advisor to the Ocean Nourishment Corporation, one of the early Negative Emission Technology companies pioneering the supply side of the Ocean CDR market. Jill has 25 years’ experience working in the international consulting field with large corporate clients and financial institutions, having been a partner with Andersen in the UK, KPMG in the UK and Hong Kong, and Deloitte in the UK and Australia.

Aram Terchunian is a coastal geologist and environmental scientist with First Coastal Corporation in Westhampton Beach, NY. Aram's specialties include coastal resiliency, wetlands management, nature and nature-based shoreline stabilization, coastal regulatory compliance and endangered species. Aram is a nationally renowned coastal geologist specializing in helping property owners and municipalities enhance and protect their coastal assets. He is the president and founder of First Coastal in 1975. Aram also advises municipalities, including the Towns of Southampton and East Hampton, and Villages of West Hampton Dunes, Westhampton Beach, Asharoken and Quogue on issues of coastal management, including flooding and erosion control, endangered species and coastal resiliency. A widely recognized expert in the national media, Aram provides a unique, practical perspective on whether it’s possible to prepare for and survive super storms and their devastating effects on our coastal communities. Aram was lead on the project team that restored six miles of ocean beach in Sagaponack and Bridgehampton-Water Mill that was devastated by Sandy.

Dr. David L. Kriebel, P.E., is an independent consultant in coastal and ocean engineering with his company, Coastal Analytics LLC. He was a Professor of Ocean Engineering at the U.S. Naval Academy from 1987-2021 and previously served as Chair of the Naval Architecture & Ocean Engineering Department. Prior to joining the Naval Academy, Dr. Kriebel was a Coastal Engineer for the Alaska District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Anchorage, Alaska. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in the states of Virginia and Alaska, and holds a post-PE specialty certification in coastal engineering from the Academy for Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Navigation Engineers. He has authored more than 100 papers and reports on ocean wave statistics, nearshore wave conditions, wave-structure interaction, beach processes and sediment transport, coastal zone management, ship waves, tsunami impacts, port and harbor design issues, and most-recently on sea level rise. Dr. Kriebel is the 2015 recipient of the inaugural Bob Dean Coastal Scholar Award from the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association. He was appointed by the Secretary of the Army to serve from 2012 to 2016 on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Coastal Engineering Research Board. In the profession, Dr. Kriebel has been actively involved in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), where he has been a leader in the development of codes and standards for coastal flooding and tsunami impact in the ASCE 7 Standard “Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures.” He served for five years on the Board of Directors of the Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers Institute (COPRI) of ASCE, and served as the President of COPRI in 2008-2009.