BOARD OF DIRECTORS
JOHN D. CORBETT, PhD
Co-Founder, President & Chief Executive Officer of aWhere
After graduating with honors at Dartmouth, then earning a Ph.D. in Agricultural Climatology from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Corbett then spent the next 20 years becoming an expert in geo-spatial tool applications for business and agricultural success.
John’s career began in 1990 as a Rockefeller funded, post-doctoral researcher for the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research in Mexico (CGIAR center – CIMMYT Mexico). Over the following years, John worked closely with national and international organizations in the US, Kenya, Switzerland, and Mexico. Throughout these experiences, John built and managed systems to utilize geo-analytics to increase positive outcomes and decision-driven impacts for agriculture and development work. This time included 3 years as a senior scientist, leading the ‘GIS’ lab for the International Centre for Research In Agroforestry’s (ICRAF – now WAC or World Agroforestry Centre). John also worked for Syngenta in Switzerland as Head of Global GIS where he managed the business operations of the GIS division of a global agricultural corporation.Through these diverse experiences, John identified a major need in the marketplace for location based analytics for business systems and agriculture ecosystems alike.
Leveraging his expertise with Location Intelligence, John co-founded and currently serves as President and CEO of aWhere, a Golden, Colorado based business focused on delivering actionable insight from the geographical context. aWhere not only serves businesses in the U.S., but contributes to multiple projects funded by USAID and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
DEB STIRLING
Stirling is a highly experienced Washington, D.C. and Boulder, CO- based attorney, legislative analyst, technology lobbyist, government marketing expert, firefighter, and technology start-up professional, specializing in science and technology.
Current Leadership
Since 1992, Stirling has led Stirling Strategic Services, LLC, a small business strategies and lobbying firm in Washington, DC. De supports early stage, technology-intensive companies to benefit from Federal funding opportunities, access Federal government services, and utilize Federal funding to raise private capital.
As a former Managing Partner of Waterstone Enterprise Strategies & Technologies, Inc. (Waterstone) (’95-’99), Stirling led strategic business planning, market evaluation and positioning, and new market identification. Stirling was also one of two partners responsible for developing new clients, start-up candidates, and investment acquisition.
Stirling has worked extensively with the science community, and is known for building unusual coalitions that cross political, industry, and science community lines to achieve successful project development, project management, and program funding.
Education and Emergency Response:
Stirling received a BA in International Studies in 1971, and a JD in 1975, both from the University of South Carolina. Between undergraduate and law school, she was selected by the Ford Foundation to manage the experimental, multi-university Contemporary University Program at the University of South Carolina. While in law school, Stirling studied marine biology and ran field programs in marine biology, fresh water pollution and aquaculture.
Stirling attended and graduated from the Colorado Fire Academy, the Structure Fire Academy, and completed medical training. Until recently, she served as an active Firefighter and (medical) First Responder in the Left Hand Fire Protection District in Boulder County, Colorado. She is also a Director for the Lefthand Fire Protection District and President of the Board of Directors.
Stirling maintains full time offices in Washington, DC and Boulder, CO
BOARD OF ADVISORS
HUNTER LOVINS
President and founder of the Natural Capitalism Solutions
At Natural Capital Solutions, Lovins educates senior decision‐makers in business, government and civil society to restore and enhance the natural and human capital while increasing prosperity and quality of life.
In partnership with leading thinkers and Implementers, NCS creates innovative, practical tools and strategies to enable companies, communities, and countries to become more sustainable.
Education and Experience: Trained as a sociologist and lawyer (JD), Hunter co‐founded the California Conservation Project (Tree People), and Rocky Mountain Institute, which she led for 20 years.
Lovins has consulted with large and small companies including the International Finance Corporation, Royal Dutch Shell, Interface, Clif Bar, and Wal‐Mart. Governmental clients include the Pentagon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy and other agencies, numerous cities, and the governments of Jamaica, Australia, and the U.S. She has also served an advisor to the Energy Minister of the Government of Afghanistan.
Hunter’s areas of expertise include Natural Capitalism, sustainable development, globalization, energy and resource policy, economic development, climate change, land management, and fire rescue and emergency medicine. She developed the Economic Renewal Project and helped write many of its manuals on sustainable community economic development.
She is currently a founding Professor of Business at Presidio Graduate School, one of the first accredited programs offering an MBA in Sustainable Management.
BARBARA GUTH
Founder of Sagesse Holdings, LLC,
Barbara is passionately dedicated to the re-empowerment of humanity through the conception of new systems and structures that serve the whole of humanity.
Current Leadership: Barbara Guth is President and Founder of Sagesse Holdings, LLC, a private consulting firm that provides coaching, strategic advisory services, and access to the private capital markets for individuals and organizations that offer paradigm shifting business/social models and technologies.
Education and Experience: Following 12 years in the international healthcare and surgical industries, Barbara shifted her focus in 2000 to the finance industry to support exclusively entrepreneurial ventures. She worked for a boutique VC firm where by 2003, she had raised the funds for what led to the largest acquisition in history in the spinal industry, and the third largest acquisition in orthopaedic history. She ultimately launched her own consulting business six years ago, and under this umbrella, Barbara is a Managing Director for C2, a structured investment fund which provides VC’s with revolutionary restructuring models to better serve their shareholders needs.
Having worked and lived in France for 11 years, Barbara is also fluent in French. She currently serves on the Boards of Directors for Karuna Center, an NGO focused on peacemaking post traumatic conflict/genocide, Massively Parallel Technologies, and Youth Intermedia Foundation.
Her deepest desire is to assist and inspire the creation and evolution of systems that reflect the true capacity of human consciousness, ultimately encouraging truly sustainable and peaceful human coexistence.
OUR TEAM
RYAN RENNER
Co-Founder & Executive Director
Ryan is experienced in business development and cross-cultural project management. He has been working on Lighting Up Malawi since Feb, 2010- but targeting innovative uses for renewable energy for much longer.
Prior to receiving his Global MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management, specializing in Sustainable Innovation and Energy, Ryan worked in regional and export focused business development. Following his graduation from Taylor University with a BA in International Studies (Politics and Economics), he went to China and studied Mandarin and the emerging market business environment, which ultimately led to a position in Corporate Development at a top 3 Fashion Design company based in China.
Ryan’s initial focus with LUM will be on political, economic, and market research, which provides us an edge as we continue to refine our strategy and goals in a way that mitigates risks and maximizes opportunity. Beyond our immediate needs, Ryan focuses his time on developing LUM into a sustainable entity that brings economic and social value to our investors and stakeholders. His ultimate goal is to take capacity generating technologies beyond the regulatory and entrenched obstacles of developed markets in to the regions that need them most.
RAINA KUMRA
Founder
As a strategic design consultant over the past decade, Raina has helped solve problems for brands, ideas and products on mass platforms. Her parents hail from India by way of Malawi. She was raised in the Silicon Valley with an international and entrepreneurial perspective. She got her start as an editor at Newsweek.com, next heading up digital production at Bartle Bogle Hegarty, and then as an interaction designer at R/GA. She led the interactive department at Wieden+Kennedy NY as Director of Digital Strategies. She studied Film at Boston University, Interactive Design & Technology at New York University, and Urban Studies and Architecture at the Harvard Design School.
Raina has lectured on design for public space at UCLA & the HvA in The Netherlands, directed two documentaries, and is engaged in various strategic marketing, branding, design and social impact projects globally.
In late 2006 she started The Agency for Holistic Branding to serve brands and ideas through a new platform of experts. Her research areas include emerging technologies and cultural trends. She is deeply passionate about bringing social change and impactful design solutions to real-world problems. Raina Kumra supports the Designer’s Accord: Do no harm; Communicate and collaborate; Keep learning, keep teaching; Instigate meaningful change; Make theory action. She is currently working for the U.S. Department of State in the Diplomatic Innovations Division of the Office of eDiplomacy.
LORAINE BJORENDAHL
Founder
Loraine Bjorendahl is a “Connector”, and specialist in developing public private partnerships and teams specializing in the development of opportunity-driven collaborative platforms + holistic partnership models in the sustainability space. Loraine began her career as a non-profit co-founder, pioneering a community youth rowing program in Philadelphia to enable disadvantaged girls to earn college scholarships (and life skills) through the sport of rowing. Always with an entrepreneurial spirit and often in the role of coach/mentor/consultant, she has worked with diverse groups of individuals to identify and transform innovative ideas into flourishing realities for social/environmental good.
Prior to her current work as an independent leadership and collaboration coach, she spent several years pursuing the perfect rowing stroke as a competetive lightweight rower in her one-woman boat. Loraine has also worked as a teacher and volunteer in Tanzania and Zimbabwe, inspired by her early childhood in Congo, anthropology upbringing, and love of African community life . Her persistent interests are uncovering cultural assumptions, the power of storytelling, scenario planning, process design, and “following the YES!” She graduated from Villanova University with a BA in International Relations and focus on poverty studies.
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Other Strategic Advisors: Sanjhi Climate Solutions & Cazneau Group
Special thanks to the amazing support and energy of our friends & family in Africa, the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Logo designed and kindly donated to us by Parra
Animation designed and kindly donated by Unwork, Inc. Final Editing kindly donated by Nico Chiotellis
Technical website support kindly donated by Sonny Pak & Ryan Sommers
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