Greenland | team

TEAM

		Georges Dyer, Partner For over ten years, Georges has been engaged in solutions-based, business-driven, and whole-system approaches to sustainable development. He is a founder of Greenland Enterprises, a consultancy specializing in strategic leadership towards sustainability for accelerating the role businesses and other organizations play in sustainable development. For two years Georges was the Head of Market Intelligence for the Institutional Equities Group at LaBranche Financial Services in New York, where he was an NASD Series 86/87 licensed analyst. Prior to Wall Street, he was engaged with private equity deals working with eco-efficiency start-up companies and on residential and commercial real estate projects. He has worked with design-build firms on four residential green building projects in Vermont and Colorado, and is certified in Permaculture design. Georges' master's thesis research focused on carbon reduction projects under the Kyoto Protocol and EU Emissions Trading Scheme, and he presented results at the 2006 Make Markets Work for Climate conference in Amsterdam. Georges is also a Senior Fellow at Second Nature, and a Trustee of Stratleade Sustainability Education. He holds a Master of Strategic Leadership toward Sustainability from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Karlskrona, Sweden, and a B.A. in History and Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College. He is a member of SoL, The Society for Organizational Learning, participating actively in the SoL Sustainability Consortium's Carbon Commons working group. top
		Archie Kasnet, Partner Archie has ten years of experience analyzing the impacts of unsustainability and proposing solutions that align business operations toward long-term sustainability. As a member of Greenland Enterprises, Archie analyzed the health and environmental impacts of current energy generation technologies to inform long term investment strategies for financial institutions and federal policy formation. The results will be presented in a forthcoming paper published through Harvard Medical School's Center for Health and the Global Environment. In addition, he developed a coastal management plan for GrupoPuntaCana, in the Dominican Republic, to aid in the protection of barrier and fringe reef ecosystems that support the local fishing and tourism industries. He has experience applying principles of strategic sustainable development in a variety of contexts, including commercial redevelopment projects, tourism operations, and event management. Prior to joining Greenland, Archie worked for Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications in Boston where he wrote a position paper on U.S. domestic energy security and national security issues for Senator Biden's presidential platform. Archie's master's thesis analyzed Intrawest Corporation's commercial real estate development business and how they can be strategic in implementing sustainability into their core operations through executive and employee engagement. Earlier in his career, Archie co-founded a company to service the commercial real estate sector by streamlining the broker/owner/lender process. Archie is on the membership committee for the Wildlife Conservation Society, and is a volunteer for Stratleade Sustainability Education. He holds a Master of Strategic Leadership toward Sustainability from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Karlskrona, Sweden, and a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Latin American Studies from Gettysburg College. top
		Michelle McKay, Partner Michelle brings to Greenland thirteen years of experience in management consulting and project management, specializing in transformational change and negotiation in the energy, health, higher education and entertainment industries. She was part of a team that negotiated an amended $1 billion outsourcing deal between BC Hydro, one of the largest electric utilities in Canada, and Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing firm. She also worked on the re-structuring of BC Hydro's transmission line of business, a project which created a new organization to manage a $3 billion, 500kV bulk transmission system. Michelle's master's thesis research focused on carbon reduction projects under the Kyoto Protocol and EU Emissions Trading Scheme, and she presented results at the 2006 Make Markets Work for Climate conference in Amsterdam. She also presented "Carbon Dioxide Stabilization Wedges: Synergistic strategies for addressing the energy challenge in China" at the 2006 World Bioenergy Conference in Sweden, and "Creating Consortia for Sustainability Initiatives: The American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment" as part of Cornell University's Institute for Community College Development Leadership Issues series. Michelle is a member of the Green Advisory Council for Insight Real Estate's green real estate investment trust, the first of its kind. She is also a Senior Fellow at Second Nature, an Expert Advisor for the Green Schools Alliance, and a volunteer for Stratleade Sustainability Education. She holds a Master of Strategic Leadership toward Sustainability from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Karlskrona, Sweden, and a B.A. in Art and Culture Studies from Simon Fraser University. She is a member of SoL, The Society for Organizational Learning, participating actively in the SoL Sustainability Consortium's Carbon Commons and Women Leading Sustainability working groups. top
		Lisa Chacon, Associate (North America) Lisa Chacon holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master of Strategic Leadership toward Sustainability from the Blekinge Institute of Technology in Karlskrona, Sweden. Her professional experience includes nine years of delivering technology within a creative corporate R&D setting in roles which spanned project and functional management, market and technology analysis and strategy, and applied research and invention. In the arena of sustainability, she is pursuing whole-system strategies for sustainability, which include not only practical aspects such as implementing renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions, but also evoking a deeper cultural shift which inspires and engages everyone in the pursuit of ambitious, high-impact sustainability goals. Her perspective is that cultural shift is perhaps the greatest challenge at present, since we do not lack appropriate technology, but rather the sensibility and will to make the changes that a sustainable future demand. Lisa is currently researching and developing collaborative and participatory processes and educational strategies which are designed to support these transformational change initiatives. top
		Ingrid Jacobson, Associate (North America) Ingrid has been an educator in San Francisco inner-city schools for 5 years. As a part of her undergraduate work, she researched non-formal education while teaching in India. She later secured grants, wrote online articles, and spoke publicly on alternative forms of education. As a result of this work, she is on the Board of Directors for a future sustainable community/orphanage in Karnataka, India. Additionally, she is a director of a small business in Tanzania where she is working with local doctors to start a mobile HIV/AIDS clinic. Wanting to affect change outside of the classroom setting, she completed her Master of Strategic Leadership toward Sustainability at Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden in order to help individuals and organizations make intelligent choices in these challenging but hopeful times. She is actively involved in the sustainability movement both in the Bay Area and abroad, with a focus on social and environmental justice at the community level. top
		Mauricio Mira Ponton, Associate (Latin America) Mauricio is an international business consultant specializing in processes, productivity, analysis and implementation of eco-efficiencies. He is the CEO of Equilibrium Consulting Group based in Bogota, Colombia. He has experience working as a financial advisor, foreign investment and e-regulations consultant for the United Nations, and is a specialist in negotiations and international relations. Previously Mauricio worked as a consultant with the London Consulting Group (Latin America) and in financial operations with the Mercado de Valores de Costa Rica Financial Group. Mauricio holds a BA in Business Administration from the Universidad Veritas - ITAM de Costa Rica, and a Master of Strategic Leadership toward Sustainability from the Blekinge Institute of Technology. top
		Jackson Salovaara, Intern Jackson is from Bernardsville, NJ but was born in Brooklyn, NY. He is a student at Harvard University and a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy. As a student at Exeter, he was very involved in the environmental efforts there, heading the Environmental Action Committee (EAC) and founding a student group which researched and wrote a position paper asking the trustees of the school to make a commitment to climate neutrality. At Harvard, he is the policy co-chair of their EAC and he is planning to major in an interdisciplinary degree called Environmental Science and Public Policy. He is an avid outdoorsman, enjoying in particular backpacking, skiing, rock and ice climbing, and rafting. top
		Ryan Tufts, Intern Ryan is a senior at Bryant University in Smithfield, RI and is graduating in May of 2008 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, concentration in Marketing, and a minor in Communications. Ryan's internship with Greenland Enterprises began in March of 2008. He is conducting research on the sustainability consulting industry, and also working on the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. top