Bigger Than Us

Tim Hade is the COO and Co-Founder of Scale Microgrid Solutions, where he focuses on developing sustainable distributed generation technologies to serve mission-critical facilities. Tim brings his 12+ years of deep energy knowledge and experience to the clean energy projects being developed at Scale and can offer valuable insight into the operational requirements and challenges commonly encountered during the development of clean energy microgrid projects. Tim believes the greatest challenge humanity faces in the 21st century is the need to build a cleaner and more resilient energy system that is affordable and accessible for all, with unprecedented speed. He founded Scale Microgrid Solutions with the aim of achieving this end by building distributed energy systems for businesses and electric vehicle transit fleets throughout the country. More recently, Tim has been invaluable in helping close projects with a public transit fleet, indoor vertical farming facilities, a water utility, a school district, a food production facility and a leading university. https://www.scalemicrogrids.com/ https://nexuspmg.com/

Kevin Kelly is Senior Maverick at Wired, an award-winning magazine he co-founded Wired in 1993. He is co-chair of The Long Now Foundation, a membership organization that champions long-term thinking. He is the founder of the popular Cool Tools website, which has been reviewing tools daily for 20 years. He is also the author of multiple best-selling books about the future of technology. His newest is Excellent Advice for Living, a book of 450 modern proverbs for a pretty good life. He is best known for his radical optimism. https://kk.org/ https://nexuspmg.com/

Larry Keeley is a renowned innovation scientist with over forty years of experience in the field. He co-founded Doblin, the leading global firm focused on enhancing innovation effectiveness, and has nurtured over 700 alumni through the organization. Keeley's contribution to academia is noteworthy. He has been a professor at the IIT Institute of Design for 39 years, a board member, and a leading employer of graduates. He also held a professorship at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management's MMM Program for 12 years, earning the title of Distinguished Professor in 2015. Throughout his academic career, he has helped educate over 5,900 Masters or PhD students as innovators, creating a robust global network of colleagues. Adding to his achievements, Keeley is the author of the #2 all-time best-selling book on innovation, "Ten Types of Innovation," which has been translated into 15 languages. His outstanding contributions to the field earned him recognition by BusinessWeek as one of the top seven global "gurus" of the innovation field, and one of the top 27 designers in the world. In 2021, the Bankinter Foundation in Spain appointed Keeley as the new director of their famed Future Trends Forum, which is conducted bi-annually in Madrid. Despite retiring as a Managing Director from Deloitte (the firm that now owns Doblin) in late 2020, Keeley continues his mission to advance the methods of innovation through research, currently with Keeley Innovations LLC. Keeley is a frequent lecturer on innovation at the Berkeley Haas Business School and an EY Luminary, where he works on cases and capabilities that are reshaping the field of innovation. His dedication and passion continue to have a profound impact on the innovation landscape. https://nexuspmg.com/

Brittany Zimmerman, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Yummet. Brittany is the CEO of a globally recognized organization with a diverse team of over 300 graduate-level experts hailing from over 50 countries. This organization has bridged the gap between space technology and terrestrial applications by bringing advanced solutions to meet the needs of humanity on earth. By mimicking the natural process of mother nature, Yummet's innovative, proven, and patent-pending technological approach breaks down waste, disassembles the molecules, and rebuilds them into valuable resources, minerals, soils, water, and clean air - just as nature does. In doing this they produce the strongest, most net-negative concrete ever tested made entirely from waste. They produce biochar that serves as a sustainable alternative to synthetic fertilizers, restoring soil health and purifying water. They desalinate water and treat waste water with no production of brine or other waste products. They produce Green hydrogen at costs that rival dirty hydrogen, providing an alternative to fossil fuels. Ms. Zimmerman was selected early in her career as the Youngest National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Principal Investigator. She served as Principal Investigator (PI) for three NASA Programs. She served as Program Manager and Lead Engineer for the NASA Integrated water Recovery Assembly (IRA) designed to reclaim water from planetary surface habitats for NASA. As Lead Systems Engineer for the Brine Processor Assembly (BPA), currently on the International Space Station, Ms. Zimmerman spent years designing, analyzing, testing, and managing programs that utilize membrane distillation for water recovery during on-orbit and planetary surface operations. This includes her role as Program Manager and Lead Engineer for the Boeing Starliner Humidity Control System (HCS) ammonia testing campaign, and her role as a PI, Lead Engineer, and Inventor of the NASA Condensate Separator for Microgravity Conditions (COSMIC). Ms. Zimmerman’s role as Lead Engineering Analyst for the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) RAIDER program showcased her strength at mathematical analysis of thermal and fluid solutions. She has supported the development of the environmental control and life support systems (ECLSS) for a single person spacecraft and has been instrumental in the design of many extreme environment United States Department of Defense (DoD) ECLSS solutions. Ms. Zimmerman earned her B.S. of Mechanical Engineering in 2011, followed by an M.S. in Space Studies focused on bioregenerative physical-chemical hybrid life support systems for long-duration spaceflight. Ms. Zimmerman specialized in the ecology of closed environments and biospherics, for which she designed the greenhouse module for the NASA Inflatable Lunar/Martian Habitat (ILMH). Ms. Zimmerman has been a crew member on several analog Mars missions, including a mission to the Mars Desert Research Station, as an officer of Mission 171. She served in the ILMH, leading Crew 3, the first all-female crew. Her background also includes rocket design, robotic launch systems, and high-altitude ballooning. Achievements: • Patented the most sustainable concrete ever tested • Exceeded $85 Million in Awarded Grants • Youngest NASA Principal Investigator • Principal Investigator for 3 NASA Programs • Patents and/or technologies developed for the ISS, spacesuits, spacecraft, U.S. Department of Defense, Artemis Program returning human's to the Moon, habitats for Mars, and private space industry life support systems. • 20 Under 35 Awardee from the Space and Satellites Professional International • 2020 Promise Award recipient identifying her as a leader in the space industry • Future Space Leader Awardee • Analog Astronaut: Commanding Crew 3 in Inflatable Lunar/Martian Habitat • Analog Astronaut: Mission 171, Mars Desert Research Station https://www.yummet.com/ https://nexuspmg.com/

John Cleland is Co-founder and CEO of RenewWest, an environmental asset developer that addresses climate change through the development of natural working land emission reduction projects. https://www.renewwest.com/ https://nexuspmg.com/

Preston Bryant is a graduate of SMU Cox School of Business with a B.A. in Economics, specializing in energy. In college, he established an oil and gas company in memory of his late father. Preston furthered his expertise in commodities recovery at the firm LPI, where he uncovered a groundbreaking critical materials processing method called Membrane Solvent Extraction. After obtaining exclusive licensing rights from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Lab, he founded Momentum Technologies with the mission to revolutionize the way metals were recovered by challenging the conventional norms that processing facilities must be large, expensive, and centralized. https://momentum.technology https://nexuspmg.com/

NJ Ayuk is the Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber, CEO of pan-African corporate law conglomerate Centurion Law Group, and the author of Big Barrels as well as Amazon and Wall Street Journal’s bestselling Billions at Play: The Future of African Energy and Doing Deals. His experience includes advising major companies and governments on energy issues and investment strategies. NJ graduated from the University of Maryland College Park and earned a Juris Doctor from William Mitchell College of Law and an MBA from the New York Institute of Technology. https://njayuk.com/ https://nexuspmg.com/

Jennifer has over 20 years of experience in the energy sector, including a proven track record in the development and commercialization of fuels and chemicals technologies. Prior to LanzaTech, Jennifer was VP and General Manager of the Renewable Energy and Chemicals business unit at UOP LLC, a Honeywell Company. Under her management, UOP technology became instrumental in producing nearly all of the initial fuels used by commercial airlines and the military for testing and certification of alternative aviation fuel. Today, under Jennifer’s guidance, LanzaTech is working towards deploying carbon capture and reuse facilities globally to make fuels and chemicals from waste carbon. https://lanzatech.com/ https://nexuspmg.com/

Josh Brooks is a partner with WayBright, LLC, with office in Jacksonville, FL, Asheville, NC, and Torreon, Mexico. WayBright is a project development, finance, and management platform designed to accelerate the deployment of clean energy, clean water, and other infrastructure services across the U.S. and Mexico. Prior to WayBright, Josh served as aide to Amory Lovins, founder and former Chief Scientist of RMI, a world-leading energy and economy think tank. There, Josh focused on implementing integrative design across the energy-intensive sectors: transportation, industry, buildings, and electricity generation as well as utility business model innovation and energy regulatory reform which resulted in numerous successful legislative initiatives. Prior to RMI, Josh served as Project Developer for NTE Energy, a private sector energy production company, where he directed the company’s renewables development and related wholesale customer programs in multiple national markets. His work with NTE and other regional utilities produced some of North Carolina’s first community solar installations and one of the nation’s most diverse public generation portfolios at Appalachian State University, Josh’s alma mater. Today, along with his work at WayBright, Josh services as an advisor to the Council for New Energy Economics, which participates in electric-utility resource planning processes across the country and sits on the Board of Blue Link Pro, LLC, the first full-service partner for water and sewer utility infrastructure management, monitoring, renovation, and upgrade, including financing as beneficial to the utility. https://waybright.co/ https://nexuspmg.com/

Josh Dorfman is a sustainability entrepreneur and brand builder dedicated to scaling mission-driven ventures. He is co-founder & CEO of Plantd, a carbon-negative building materials company pioneering a new path to reach gigaton-scale carbon capture. Previously, Josh led Vine.com, an Amazon business unit specializing in natural, organic, and sustainable products. He has founded two award-winning modern design sustainable furniture companies: Vivavi, named to Inc. Magazine's "Green 50" as a pioneer accelerating the green economy, and Simbly, recognized by the National Wildlife Federation for its sustainable practices to preserve forest ecosystems. Earlier in his career, Josh was the author and host of The Lazy Environmentalist reality TV series on Sundance Channel, radio show on SiriusXM, and book series designed to make sustainable living easy, convenient, and delightful. Josh served for four years as the national spokesperson for Brita’s FilterForGood campaign to reduce bottled water waste. He currently serves on Governor Roy Cooper’s North Carolina Entrepreneurship Council.  Josh holds an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. https://www.plantdmaterials.com/ https://nexuspmg.com/