Bigger Than Us

Virginia Emery is founder and CEO of Beta Hatch, a pioneering insect farming company that is industrializing insects for agriculture. Beta Hatch is fueled by a passion to see insects reach their true potential in our food systems. The company has grown to be internationally recognized for its scientific approach to scaling insect production, and operates North America’s largest mealworm farm for animal feed production in Washington. Virginia is the country’s most innovative insect entrepreneur, recently recognized as a Visionary Grist 50 Fixer. Virginia has a PhD in entomology from the University of California, Berkeley, has been awarded over 20 grants and honors, and has published on subjects ranging from chemical communication to genetics to insect behavior. Her life’s mission is to breed a bug that tastes like bacon. http://betahatch.com/ https://nexuspmg.com/

Nik's passion for hiking and open water swimming led him into the waste industry, after he kept encountering trash in otherwise beautiful natural areas. Driven to take on the growing problem of waste, Nik realized a crucial piece was missing from zero waste initiatives: data. Specifically, data on the quantity, quality and type of waste being disposed of. In 2016, he founded Zabble Inc. to create a SaaS platform with mobile and cloud technology, to help large educational institutions and corporate organizations track their zero waste programs and gain real-time insights into their waste stream. Prior to this, Nik worked at seminal startups in the San Francisco Bay Area bringing new ideas to life in the areas of noise cancellation, clinical data analysis, patient medication adherence and indoor air quality. In addition to his role as CEO of Zabble, Nik also serves as a board member for Northern California Recycling Association (NCRA), and actively participates in zero waste advocacy. https://zabbleinc.com/ https://nexuspmg.com/

Vandana is the Managing Director of Investment Strategy for Unreasonable Group, and is focused on driving investment to growth-stage entrepreneurs across the globe. In 2020, she will spearhead the formation of Unreasonable Group’s first Global Growth Fund. Her career has spanned three continents and includes substantive investment management, private equity, M&A and cross-border experience. Vandana has experience working in East Africa, London, New York and Seattle. She spent many years advising institutional investors (including governmental and corporate plans) on all aspects of their investments in domestic and international alternative investment funds, as well as structuring and negotiating some of the largest private equity funds, including impact-based investment funds. Vandana has extensive global experience and is often called on to counsel teams on investment strategy and creating complex and unique fund structures (including global impact funds). She was named as a Rising Star on Washington's 2015 Super Lawyer list. Vandana has a passion for social value and impact investing, as well as various philanthropic causes. Vandana is an active member of the Boys & Girls Club of King County and has served as a Trustee of the Nature Conservancy's Washington Chapter and on the board of the YWCA.  Vandana was born in Kenya and has had the opportunity to live and work in Africa, Europe and the United States. https://unreasonablegroup.com/ https://nexuspmg.com/

Passionate and driven, Holly Elmore is Founder & CEO of Elemental Impact (Ei), a U.S.-based global non-profit committed to bringing regenerative operating practices to the corporate community. Beginning her career as an auditor and CPA with Arthur Andersen, Holly worked nearly seven years in the corporate arena. Within her entrepreneurial spirit, Holly created Executive Catering & Events, a prominent corporate-catering company. Over the next fifteen years, Holly operated Executive Catering along with two successful restaurants in the Atlanta market. Following her restaurant and catering years, Holly served as Founder & Executive Director of the Green Foodservice Alliance (GFA), an affiliate of the Georgia Restaurant Association. During her GFA tenure, Holly created and launched the Zero Waste Zones (ZWZ) program. In 2010, Holly founded Ei as the new home for the ZWZ. The National Restaurant Association acquired the ZWZ in 2012. Holly utilizes her extensive business skills to make a difference through Ei, now in its 10th year of Regeneration in Action. Holly channels her energy and enthusiasm into Ei, spearheading initiatives that benefit the community, the environment, and the bottom-line. As the “pen” behind the Fingertip Press, Holly is the author of the Ei website and the two Ei Online Magazines: Regeneration in Action and The IMPACT that document the organization’s journey and successes. In addition, Holly is a professional photographer and published photojournalist. https://elementalimpact.org/2018/11/holly-elmore/ https://nexuspmg.com/

James Ellsmoor is from Shropshire, UK, and the Director of Island Innovation, a consulting agency he founded not long after graduation while studying for a Masters in Island Studies. He has a passion for sustainable development and renewable energy, particularly applications for rural and isolated communities. Last year he ran the inaugural Virtual Island Summit, which brought together 4,000 participants from Scotland to Samoa to share stories about their communities. James has always used technology to advance his mission, allowing him to live and work anywhere and manage a team spread over 4 continents. Island Innovation focuses on bringing together NGOs, the private sector, universities and government with projects covering topics such as lithium extraction, climate change and public policy. https://www.islandinnovation.co/ https://nexuspmg.com/

Mike Zelkind, co-founder, and CEO of 80 Acres Farms knew that food wasn’t what it used to be. He wanted to make it better by creating a new kind of farm, one capable of producing an abundance of crop varieties year-round, grown completely indoors.  A farm that can produce 100 times more food than an ordinary farm. Using 100% renewable energy. Without any pesticides or excessive food miles. In 2015, 80 Acres Farms was born.  80 Acres is a founding member of the Infinite Acres partnership venture, along with Netherlands-based Priva Holding BV, a leading provider of technology solutions, services and automation systems to horticultural and other industries, and Ocado Group, one of the world’s largest dedicated online grocery retailers, operating its own grocery and general merchandise retail businesses.  That partnership is now building large-scale, fully automated indoor farms in the United States, Asia and Europe.    Over Mike's 30-year career, he held Senior Executive roles within leading Domestic and International companies, including Fortune 50 Food & Beverage, Retail and Consumer Packaged Goods Companies, as well as major Consulting and Private Equity Firms.  Mike has played competitive Chess since the age of 12, competing in several of the most prestigious International Chess Tournaments around the world and achieving a title of FIDE Master at the age of 19. He ranked #1 in his Master of Business Administration class of a top 20 Executive MBA program.  In addition, he earned the top Leadership Award: John Robson Scholar and was selected for a very prestigious Community Leadership Program by the Wexner Foundation. He is fluent in Russian and has basic Spanish communication skills.  https://www.80acresfarms.com/ https://infinite-acres.com/ https://nexuspmg.com/

Dana Gunders serves as ReFED’s Executive Director. Dana is a national expert and one of the first to bring to light just how much food is wasted across the country. For almost a decade, she was a Senior Scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). She then launched Next Course, LLC to strategically advise on the topic. Some of her career highlights include authoring the landmark Wasted report and Waste Free Kitchen Handbook, launching the Save the Food campaign, testifying in Congress, consulting to Google, appearing on John Oliver, and perhaps most importantly, being a founding Board Member of ReFED. https://www.refed.com/?sort=economic-value-per-ton https://savethefood.com/ Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook: A Guide to Eating Well and Saving Money By Wasting Less Food (Zero Waste Home, Zero Waste Book, Sustainable Living Book) https://nexuspmg.com/

Emma Rose Cohen, 34, is the CEO and founder of Final, the company that created FinalStraw—the world’s first reusable, collapsible straw that raised nearly $2 million on Kickstarter. Prior to launching Final, Emma earned a Master’s Degree from Harvard in Environmental Management and Sustainability and spent four years working in waste minimization at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In the last decade, Emma’s passion for sustainability motivated her to help create a nonprofit called Save the Mermaids, to educate children about the harmful effects of single-use plastics. Emma has also spoken about the harmful effects plastic straws have on the environment on the TEDx stage and in numerous podcasts. Emma’s love for both the ocean and the mountains has resulted in a semi-nomadic lifestyle—she calls Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Barbara, California, and Whistler, British Columbia home. Emma continues to lead Final’s entirely remote team as they develop an entire line of Foreverables™—items designed to replace single-use plastic and last forever. Final launched its second product, FinalWipe, on Kickstarter in March 2020 and has plans to release several additional products, including FinalFork and FinalSpork, later in the year. https://final.co/ https://tim.blog/2012/12/18/hacking-kickstarter-how-to-raise-100000-in-10-days-includes-successful-templates-e-mails-etc/ Hacking Kickstarter: How to Raise $100,000 in 10 Days (Includes Successful Templates, E-mails, etc.) https://nexuspmg.com/

With 13 years of communications and public policy experience, Lara is the Chief of Staff of the Administration and Regulatory Affairs Department and the Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Houston. In addition to leading the Mayor’s Sustainability Office, Lara is the public face of ARA in the media as well as before City Council, industry stakeholders, and customers. Prior to joining the City of Houston, Lara was a member of Hill+Knowlton Strategies’ Houston office, providing strategic counsel in sustainability and social responsibility issues for a broad range of clients across the energy sector. Lara worked in Washington, DC and served as Communications Director for the Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, Vice Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, and Vice Chairman of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Caucus, as well as for congressional campaigns in Colorado, West Virginia, and Texas. She also produced a web-based reality show for CNN and served as a Government & Marketing Consultant for SXSW Interactive in Austin. Lara attended the University of Texas in Austin where she graduated magna cum laude with degrees in History, Ancient History & Classical Civilizations, and Government. In 2013, she earned an MBA in Energy Finance and Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business, where she co-founded the UT Energy Savings Fund. http://www.greenhoustontx.gov/aboutus.html http://greenhoustontx.gov/climateactionplan/ https://nexuspmg.com/

Jo has responsibility for the development and execution of strategic direction and programs at VertueLab. With the organization since 2010, she translated her previous decade of experience leading sustainable design at ZGF Architects into the creation of a collaborative research program focused on the sustainable built environment, and then into expanding the set of services offered to cleantech startups. Jo’s current focus as deputy director is on VertueLab’s organizational excellence, partnering with VertueLab’s executive director in essential internal firm leadership activities. In addition, Jo leads the organization’s efforts for impact measurement and management, ensuring that VertueLab programs and supported companies are designed and managed to achieve ambitious triple bottom line impact targets. https://vertuelab.org/ https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57673/to-be-of-use Poem, To Be of Use https://nexuspmg.com/