Staff
Management
Gary Gero
President
gary@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 891-1444 x 102
Gary Gero serves as the President of the Climate Action Reserve (formerly known as the California Climate Action Registry) where he is responsible for ensuring that the organization’s activities meet the highest standards for quality, transparency and environmental integrity. In that capacity, Gary has led the growth of a robust and trusted offset project registry that is the largest voluntary registry in the United States.
Gary is a member of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee and serves on the Steering Committee of the California Sustainability Alliance. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters.
Prior to joining the Reserve, Gary managed the Green LA programs at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the largest municipal utility in the nation. In that capacity, he redesigned and restarted the Solar PV Rebate Program and oversaw a significant expansion of the energy efficiency programs. His role also included managing the advanced transportation, green power, distributed generation, and tree planting programs.
Gary’s career includes nearly 20 years of work in local government, primarily in the City of Los Angeles where he served as Air Quality Director and subsequently Assistant General Manager for the Environmental Affairs Department focusing on climate change, sustainable development, energy policy, and alternative fuel vehicles.
Gary holds a Master of Science degree in Social Policy and Planning from the London School of Economics and a pair of undergraduate degrees from the University of California at Berkeley.
Derik Broekhoff
Vice President, Policy
derik@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 542-0299
Derik Broekhoff is Vice President for Policy at the Climate Action Reserve, where he is responsible for managing the policy development staff and overseeing the development of protocols for quantifying and registering greenhouse gas reductions from carbon offset projects. He also manages the development of climate change policies and programs for the Reserve, including assisting the Reserve’s efforts to support the State of California in the implementation of AB 32, the state’s far-reaching global warming law.
Before coming to the Reserve, Derik was a Senior Associate at the World Resources Institute (WRI) in Washington, DC where he led work on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative, which is an internationally recognized standard for greenhouse gas emissions accounting, and managed WRI’s work on the design of greenhouse gas emissions trading programs, registry systems and standards for carbon offsets. He is a primary author of the WRI/WBCSD GHG Protocol for Project Accounting, has advised numerous regulatory and voluntary programs on the development of carbon offset policies and standards and has testified twice before Congress on carbon offset regulation and standard development.
Prior to joining WRI, Derik worked for eight years in the fields of energy and climate change consulting, including five years with Trexler Climate + Energy Services, Inc. in Portland, Oregon, where he developed financial and economic analytical tools for carbon market forecasting, risk management, project evaluation and business strategy development for a wide range of private and public sector clients. Derik holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy (MPP) from the University of California at Berkeley and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Stanford University.
Joel Levin
Vice President, Business Development
jlevin@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 891-6927
As the Climate Action Reserve’s Vice President of Business Development, Joel Levin is responsible for strategic development of the Reserve and has overseen its development from inception to its current status as the recognized environmental standard for carbon offset projects in the United States. He is the Reserve’s primary liaison to the business community and is a frequent and popular speaker on the Reserve’s programs and other climate change topics.
Joel has served as staff to the California Market Advisory Committee and the California Climate Action Team. Prior to working at the Reserve, Joel worked at Feeva Wireless in Berkeley and APX in Santa Clara. He has also served on the Capitol Hill staff of Senator Timothy E. Wirth (D-Colorado).
Joel is a member of the Sierra Club’s National Global Warming and Energy Committee and former chair of the Energy Committee in both the San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles Chapters of the Sierra Club. In these roles, he has been active in promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency as key elements in California’s energy future. Joel holds an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at U.C. Berkeley and an M.A. in International Economics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Gillian Calof
Operations Director
gillian@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 542-0281
As the Director of Operations, Gillian Calof is responsible for overseeing all personnel, finance, information technology and legal operations of the Climate Action Reserve.
Gillian’s background is in nonprofit administration and environmental conservation. Prior to working at the Reserve, Gillian worked for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation where she developed and managed ecosystem restoration programs, which included individual projects with a carbon offset focus. Her work included oversight of all financial and programmatic aspects of project development and implementation, including agency and partner relations, overseeing administrative staff, tracking complex financial information and negotiating contracts, scopes of work and budgets. Gillian earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Geography from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada and is a graduate of the Master of Nonprofit Administration program at the University of San Francisco.
John Nickerson
Director of Forestry
john@climateactionreserve.org
(707) 468-8529
John Nickerson is a California Registered Professional Forester with expertise in forest inventory, forest management planning and the development of forest carbon offset projects and protocols. As Director of Forestry for the Reserve, John works on updating and managing the U.S. Forest Project Protocol and developing forestry protocols applicable to international forests.
John led a two year stakeholder effort under the Reserve to develop forest carbon project protocols, which are now in use throughout the United States. He has considerable international experience focusing on the design and development of carbon accounting methodologies for all types of forest carbon offset projects, including providing forest carbon accounting training to Chinese forestry officials on behalf of the German Technical Assistanc; facilitating a multi-stakeholder working group in Mexico to adapt Reserve forest project protocols for compliance-grade offsets in Mexico; and developing concept documents for the Governor’s Climate and Forest Task Force (GCF) in collaboration with stakeholders from Brazil, Indonesia, and the United States.
During his 20 year career in the field of forestry, he has helped to develop many of the first carbon projects in California, including providing technical input into carbon reforestation project at Rancho Cuyamaca State Park. His work on public lands has included conducting forest inventories for timber management and wildlife population and habitat studies (Tongass and Lassen National Forests). He has developed and conducted many inventory and long-term sustainable management planning efforts for large and small private landowners in California, which have assisted some landowners in obtaining forest certification under the Forest Stewardship Council.
John speaks French and Spanish and once upon a time also spoke Swahili. He holds an M.S. in Natural Resources (Forestry) from Humboldt State University and a B.S. in Biology from Principia College.
Kristen Gorguinpour
Program Director
kgorguinpour@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 542-0288
As Program Director, Kristen manages the implementation, reporting and verification of emissions reduction projects in the Reserve program. She manages the rigorous accreditation process for verification bodies and develops training courses, testing material and ongoing monitoring opportunities. Kristen and the Programs team provide technical assistance to project developers and verification bodies, develop updates to the Program and Verification Program Manuals, and provide support for utilization of the Reserve software. Kristen also serves a resource on a wide range of climate change issues, including project and industry-specific protocols.
Most recently, Kristen served as the Reserve’s Program Manager, where she was the lead in supporting the Forest Project Protocol. During her three years with the Reserve and the California Climate Action Registry, Kristen also served as Reserve Administrator, Program Associate and Program Assistant. Kristen’s background is in environmental consulting, performing CEQA-based environmental impact assessments for projects throughout California, including major mixed-use developments and large-scale residential developments. She has an in-depth understanding of project-level air quality impact analysis. Kristen completed her Bachelor’s degree in health science with a concentration in community health and economics at Cal State Dominguez Hills.
Jennifer Weiss
Communications Director
jennifer@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 891-6934
As Communications Director for the Climate Action Reserve, Jennifer Weiss manages all marketing and communications activities, including oversight of the websites, external communications, media relations, collateral materials and internal communications processes. She also oversees the Reserve’s annual conference, Navigating the American Carbon World.
Jennifer brought a strong background in the energy industry to her position with the Reserve. She served as Marketing Director for an energy market data provider and worked in nearly all energy commodities, including carbon. Prior to that, she managed marketing and communications activities for JET-A.com, which created an online solution for managing the jet fuel supply chain from refinery gate to aircraft wing. Jennifer started her marketing career on the agency side doing business-to-business and business-to-consumer work for clients in aviation and air transportation, government services and consumer products. Throughout her career, the scope of her work has ranged from international to local, and she was worked with business, consumer, NGO and government audiences.
Kathryn Bickel Goldman
Senior Policy Manager
kathryn@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 213 1239
As a Senior Policy Manager for the Climate Action Reserve, Kathryn Bickel Goldman leads the development of new offset protocols and represents the Reserve in agriculture sector offset initiatives.
Kathryn is an international expert in forest and agriculture GHG accounting. She has evaluated GHG methodology options, developed fundamental policy approaches, and written specific GHG accounting methodologies for national, organizational, and offset project GHG reporting. Most recently, as an independent consultant, Kathryn developed offset protocols for the Reserve and entity-level GHG accounting curriculum for the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute.
Kathryn also facilitated agriculture and forestry GHG policy planning in several U.S. states and helped develop state-level GHG inventories for these sectors. Previously, she worked for both the Global Change Program Office at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Climate Change Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. As a civil servant, Kathryn authored multiple IPCC methodology reports, edited the first U.S. Agriculture and Forestry GHG Inventory, helped prepare the annual U.S. Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, and worked on revising the GHG accounting methods for the Department of Energy’s 1605b program.
Rachel Tornek
Senior Policy Manager
rachel@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 891-6930
As Senior Policy Manager, Rachel Tornek develops GHG offset standards for the Reserve and plays a leading role in managing its offset registration program. Rachel also represents the Reserve with a variety of stakeholder groups to help advance climate policy that supports and ensures the environmental integrity of offsets. She has worked in the field of greenhouse gas accounting for over 5 years.
Rachel was previously the Manager of Member Services for the California Climate Action Registry, where she managed the technical support and training programs that helped member organizations successfully develop and verify GHG emissions inventories.
Prior to joining the Reserve, Rachel worked on environmental issues with Toyota Motor Sales, the Climate Change and Wildlife campaign at the National Wildlife Federation and Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute. She has a B.S. in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution from UC San Diego and a Master’s degree in Environmental Science and Management from the Bren School at UC Santa Barbara.
Katy Young
General Counsel
kyoung@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 542-0292
As General Counsel, Katy represents the Reserve in discussions with project developers and others related to project documents and Reserve decisions, and participates in Reserve policymaking. Katy advises the Reserve on the legal aspects of offset projects and manages the legal documentation in support of such projects, and also advises on the legal elements of the overall Reserve program in conjunction with the organization’s outside legal counsel and in coordination with the President. Katy also oversees the Reserve’s participation in arbitration and other legal proceedings.
Prior to joining the Reserve, Katy was a Southern California Coro Foundation Fellow, where she explored timely state and local policy issues through hands-on training and leadership development with various public and private stakeholders. Before her Coro Fellowship, Katy worked as an Associate Attorney in the Los Angeles office of Latham & Watkins, where her practice focused on environmental and land use issues, including zoning, planning, and the California Environmental Quality Act. Katy has also worked on environmental, land use, and real estate matters as a staff attorney at the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, a local government entity dedicated to the preservation of open space and parkland in the greater Los Angeles area.
Katy holds a JD from the UCLA School of Law, and a Bachelor’s degree in U.S. History from the University of California at Berkeley. She is a member of the State Bar of California, and serves on the Coro Foundation’s Board of Directors.
Business Development
Scott Hernandez
Business Development Manager
shernandez@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 542 0295
As Business Development Manager at the Climate Action Reserve, Scott Hernandez works on the development and implementation of strategies to promote the Reserve and its protocols to a wide range of audiences, including project developers, regulated businesses and voluntary offset buyers.
Prior to joining the Reserve, Scott worked as an Energy and Climate Change Specialist at the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) in Sacramento. In addition to advocating to the California’s state regulatory agencies on behalf of public water agencies, Scott lead initiatives to facilitate the adoption and implementation of onsite renewable energy and water -and-energy efficiency technologies at water agencies throughout California. Prior to ACWA, Scott worked as a market research analyst for a boutique telecommunications consultancy based in Carmel, California, as well as a marketing analyst for a small solar energy provider in Monterey.
Scott has master’s degrees in International Management (M.B.A.) and Environmental Policy (M.A.) from the Monterey Institute of International Studies as well as a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and International Business from the University of Tennessee, in Knoxville.
In his spare time, Scott can be found surfing up and down the California coast, playing and watching soccer, and travelling to exotic locales in Central and South America, Europe and Africa. He hopes to combine all three of these passions by attending the 2014 World Cup in Brazil!
Communications
Rhey Lee
Communications Associate
rhey@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 785-1237
As Communications Associate, Rhey works on communications pieces and marketing strategies for the Climate Action Reserve. She manages the Climate Action Reserve’s monthly newsletter and other listserv communications. She works with designers to develop and strengthen communications materials, including the collateral pieces, brochures, annual reports and certificates. Rhey contributes to the media and marketing strategy of the organization, and shares responsibility for drafting press releases, website content, and social marketing updates. Previously, she worked for the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Brian Jordan
Front End Developer/Webmaster
bjordan@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 542-0285
As the Front End Developer/Webmaster, Brian is responsible for maintaining the Climate Action Reserve website, Navigating the American Carbon World conference website and California Climate Action Registry website. In addition to timely HTML and content updates, Brian works on implementing new website functionality, enhancing user interfaces, developing new online resources, and monitoring usage and performance.
Operations
Sana Badalian
Office Manager
sbadalian@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 891-1444 x100
As the Office Manager, Sana Badalian’s role is to ensure the smooth functioning of the office. She is responsible for all aspects of the Reserve’s information technology, coordinating meetings and events, assisting with Board member communications, and assisting the President with scheduling and travel arrangements.
Sana’s background is in nonprofit administration and information technology. Prior to working at the Reserve, Sana worked as an Office Coordinator for EARN (Earned Assets Resources), a financial nonprofit in San Francisco. Prior to that she worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Jordan and Iraq delegations for eight years where she was responsible for human resources, allocating the yearly budget, preparing technical trainings and workshops, negotiating agreements, and representing the organization in public events. Sana earned her bachelor degree in Computer science from Baghdad University.
Ramon Lee
Controller
ramonlee@climateactionreserve.org
213.891.1444 x 122
As Controller, Ramon Lee manages the Reserve’s accounting practices and financial transactions, in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). His responsibilities include preparing and distributing accurate monthly and annual financial reports and statements, advising management on accounting and financial issues, managing internal auditing procedures, and providing budget and forecast projections.
Ramon graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce, with a major in Accounting. He has extensive experience in grant and government contracts, as well as non-profit and general accounting procedures. Previously, he worked as a professional consultant at Robert Half International. During his time there, Ramon had the opportunity to work with various business industries including aerospace, manufacturing, insurance, restaurant, internet, marketing, and charitable institutions.
Stephanie L. Schwartz
Administrative Assistant
stephanie@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 785-1234
Stephanie Schwartz serves as the Administrative Associate for the Climate Action Reserve. In addition to assisting all staff with various operations and administrative tasks, Stephanie is responsible for accounts payable, coordinating staff timesheets, reimbursements, and expenses.
Stephanie brings 20+ years of work experience as an administrative professional. She learned her considerable typing and filing skills at such varied companies as Ernst & Young, Duckett-Wilson Development, and Sunkist Growers, Inc. When not serving the Reserve, Stephanie can be found leading hikes for her local Sierra Club group, attending classes at Santa Monica College or dreaming of going to Argentina.
Policy
Max DuBuisson
Policy Manager
max@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 785-1233
As a Policy Manager for the Reserve, Max is responsible for assisting with the development of new emissions reduction project protocols, the maintenance of existing protocols, and the training of project developers and verifiers. He was previously part of the Reserve’s Business Development team, where he assisted with stakeholder outreach and expansion of the Reserve. Prior to joining the Reserve, he worked for Infinity Wind Power in Santa Barbara, as well as Pacific Gas & Electric in San Francisco. He received a Master’s in Environmental Science and Management from the Donald Bren School at UC Santa Barbara, where he focused on Eco-Entrepreneurship and Corporate Environmental Management. Max also has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Davidson College in North Carolina.
Teresa Lang
Policy Associate
tlang@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 891-6932
As Policy Associate, Teresa Lang provides support for all stages of the protocol development and management process. In particular, Teresa is supporting the development of three new agricultural protocols, while helping to manage our Nitric Acid Production Project Protocol. Teresa also assists in reviewing documents required for various stages of project registration and assists in verification oversight.
Teresa’s background is diverse and interesting, and demonstrates her commitment to climate change policy. She was most recently employed at Paso Pacífico, where she focused on ecosystem conservation in Central America. Her responsibilities included the development of new restoration and adaptation projects, research on REDD for reforestation projects, launching a new organizational website, and while living in Nicaragua, working with rural communities on a new eco-tourism training program. Previously, she worked for the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, where she helped corporate and nonprofit industry leaders develop new climate change and energy projects. Teresa completed her Master’s degree in International Affairs at Columbia University, concentrating in Environmental Policy Studies, during which time she managed a consulting project for the Climate Change Group at the World Bank on coastal adaptation policy. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Political Economy from the University of California at Berkeley.
Syd Partridge
Policy Manager
syd@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 542-0294
As a Policy Manager for the Reserve, Syd Partridge is responsible for assisting with the development of new emissions reduction project protocols and with the maintenance of existing protocols.
Syd’s background is in physics and interdisciplinary climate studies. He has held internships with Los Alamos National Laboratory, as well as The Earth Institute at Columbia University. While at Columbia, Syd contributed to research projects at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) on topics of long term regional flood prediction under climate uncertainty and malaria risk mitigation in Sri Lanka. While at Columbia, Syd contributed to a Climate Change Gap Analysis research project for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), where he helped provide feedback to the UNDP regarding the organization’s role in combating climate change. Syd received his Bachelor’s degree in astrophysics from the University of New Mexico and is a graduate of Columbia University’s Masters Program in Climate & Society.
Heather Raven
Policy Coordinator
heather@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 542-0282
As a Policy Coordinator, Heather Raven maintains existing protocols, supports the development of new protocols, and coordinates policy activities alongside the Reserve program. Her experience includes internships at Environment Canada in the Air Quality Sciences division, the Global Roundtable on Climate Change with the Earth Institute at Columbia University and, most recently, at First Environment, Inc. in the consulting field. Through her experience at Columbia and during her recent internships, Heather has learned to bridge the climate change gap between science and social science. Originally from Alberta, Canada, Heather completed a Bachelor of Science with specialization in Atmospheric Science from the University of Alberta and a Master of Arts in Climate & Society from Columbia University. Her background and interests lie in weather, climate and climate change.
Programs
Mary I. Alvarez
Reserve Administrator
malvarez@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 542-0297
As Reserve Administrator, Mary is responsible for managing the maintenance and performance of the Reserve software. She serves as the primary support for account holders and works to ensure proper implementation of new project protocols.
Most recently, Mary served as a Sr. Project Associate with the Trust for Public Land (TPL). During her three years at TPL Mary was engaged in various projects within the Parks for People program to bring green open space and Fitness Zones to under-served communities within Los Angeles County. Prior to TPL, she spent over 15 years in information technology fine tuning her skills in software analysis, application development, project management, quality assurance and other technical areas. Mary is continuing her education, pursuing her degree in Geography with an option in Urban Analysis.
Mark Havel
Program Assistant
mhavel@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 542-0298
As Program Assistant, Mark Havel supports Reserve account holders with project development, verification and registration. His current responsibilities include reviewing project submittals and verification reports, tracking CRT retirements, and serving as the Program Team Lead for the coal mine methane, nitric acid production, cropland management, and nutrient management protocols. Mark is a transplant from Texas, where he worked as an environmental consultant specializing in wetland delineations and endangered species surveys. Most recently, he completed an internship in the international policy department at the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York. Mark is a graduate of the Climate & Society Master’s Program at Columbia, and he received his Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Yale College. He also studied marine resource management at the School for Field Studies in Turks & Caicos.
Robert Z. Lee
Program Assistant
rzlee@climateactionreserve.org
(213)785-1230
As Program Assistant, Robert Lee supports Reserve account holders with project development, verification and registration. Previously, Robert worked as a research assistant for the Nicholas Institute focusing on insurance mechanisms for REDD. He also interned at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation as an Environmental Impact Analyst, reviewing international development projects for their environmental impacts. Most recently, he worked as a student consultant for EnergetixClimate for his masters project, titled “Expansion of the EnergetixClimate Programmatic Clean Development Mechanism Portfolio in Latin America.” Robert has a Master of Environmental Management degree from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, where he concentrated in Environmental Economics and Policy. He also received a Certificate of International Development from Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy. Robert received his Bachelor of Science in Operations Research from Columbia University.
Robert Youngs
Program Manager
robert@climateactionreserve.org
(213) 542 0290
As Program Manager with the Climate Action Reserve, Robert Youngs provides technical and program support to project developers and verification bodies. Robert assists with reviewing and processing verification reports, variance requests and project submittals. He assists with the training of project developers and verification bodies, performs oversight on verification bodies going through the accreditation process, and provides policy interpretation and methodology clarification to account holders. He also assists with the Reserve’s expansion of GHG reduction protocols and projects in Mexico.
Robert has worked with environmental and urban issues in a variety of capacities, including with Environment Washington and Oregon Bridge Delivery Partners (HDR/Fluor contract). While with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Robert assisted with coordinating and drafting Environmental Assessments for infrastructure projects. Before joining the Reserve, Robert lived abroad in Latin America where he worked with a solar oven/carbon offset NGO in Bolivia and performed translation work in Central America and the Amazon basin. Robert graduated from Willamette University with Bachelor’s Degrees in Environmental Science and Spanish.
Sarina Tounian
Program Assistant
stounian@climateactionreserve.org
213-542-0286
As Program Assistant, Sarina Tounian supports Reserve account holders with project development, verification and registration. Her responsibilities include providing technical assistance on the Reserve program and software, reviewing project submittals and verification reports, providing policy interpretation and clarification, and coordinating trainings and workshops.
Sarina recently completed an internship program at The Climate Registry, where she conducted literature review of water and waste sustainability reporting programs, led marketing efforts for the Western Climate Policy Forum, and analyzed carbon emission sources to provide additional guidelines for reporting emissions. Sarina is expected to receive her Masters in Environmental Science and Civil Engineering from Loyola Marymount University in August 2011. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Biology from CSUN.