|
|
Summary
I am a dedicated family man and at the office I am a dedicated manager with a strong drive to support my team and lead by example. I began my professional career in the construction trades over 20 years ago and I still prefer to have my hands in the dirt and boots on the ground rather than sit behind a desk. I have a proven track record of leading organizations toward new horizons: From starting the first sustainability program in ‘07 at the engineering firm Earth Tech/AECom, to leading the evolution of Allterra 'Environmental' to Allterra 'Solar', to founding the solar division at Byers Enterprises and driving growth from zero to $2.5M in revenue by our second year. Beyond my career, I am dedicated to environmental stewardship and service to others, exemplified by: my academic achievements - B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Humboldt State and M.A. in Sustainability from Harvard (in progress); my personal endeavors - volunteer firefighter for local fire department (2013-2017); and as the founder of the nonprofit, Good Sun, in 2013 and the founder of the Sacramento, CA chapter of the Climate Reality Project in 2018.
2017 – Present
My third daughter was born in 2017, changing the course of my life once again. Over the past five years I have doubled-down on my commitments to my family, my community, and my career working to protect Earth's natural resources. In 2017 I returned to academia in order to earn a master’s degree in sustainability for both personal and professional development. This was also the year that I began working in earnest to build a solid financial foundation for the nonprofit, Good Sun, and establish the business as a preferred nonprofit partner within the solar EPC industry across California. In 2018 the Good Sun team completed our first (official) international project during a fruitful trip to Kenya. After returning, I founded the Sacramento, California chapter of Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project where we now have over 100 members. In 2019 I quit my “day job” of working for a solar contractor to go 'all in' with Good Sun. Later that year, Good Sun took our second trip to Africa to complete solar projects, this time in Uganda. In the spring of '19 I finally 'officially' married my life partner and mother of our three daughters in a lovely ceremony on the California north coast with a wonderful honeymoon in Italy.
With Good Sun, over the past three years, we have been financially successful while advancing solar projects for schools, homeless shelters, and orphanages both in the U.S. and in Africa. During Covid, despite the unprecedented setbacks, Good Sun has remained financially solvent while completing domestic solar projects for an elementary school, for over 20 Habitat for Humanity homes, and for SYRCL, a watershed protection group. 2022 also marks a turning point in the blend between my personal life and professional career as I complete, and hopefully publish my first novel.
2021 – 2029
My professional goal for the next several years involves transitioning out of the executive role at Good Sun and remaining on as a board advisor, as well as providing independent consultation for our solar EPC partners. I anticipate completing my master's degree in '21 or early '22, after which I look forward to pursuing wildlife conservation work, as this has been a dream of mine since I was a child. This will be a natural continuation of my many years of studies, training, and work in the field of environmental resources management. I also anticipate working more closely with the U.N. on their global sustainability initiatives, and possibly relocating our family to Europe. Lastly, I hope to continue developing my career as an author in the genre of fact-based fiction.
2006 – 2016
The ten-year period from '06 to '16 began with graduating from Humboldt State University with a B.S. in environmental resources engineering. I then relocated from the remote coastal town of Arcata to the urban jungle of Long Beach, CA, taking a job as an engineer with what would shortly become the world's largest pure design firm, Earth Tech/AECom. During these years I spent a lot of time traveling throughout Mexico, across both islands of New Zealand, driving through at least 20 states in the U.S., and performing as the best man in my brother's wedding in Ukraine. I worked for solar contractors across California: In Santa Cruz, San Louis Obispo, the Bay Area, and Nevada County. From '08 to '10 I tried to get off the solar 'coaster', forming an international trading company called Elephant's Journey (EJ). EJ's focus was on the import of 'art of cultural significance' from impoverished countries. We would resell the art, raising money to support both the artists in their homeland and the local endangered wildlife. The timing in my life wasn't right for this project and I let the business go, ultimately returning to solar contracting. This period of my life culminated with the birth of my second daughter in 2012 and the purchase of my first home that same year, thereby solidifying my metamorphosis from bachelor surfer dude to mountain-dwelling family man.
2000 – 2005
I began the turn of the century by moving to Zurich, Switzerland, to live with my brother and see the world. I spent the next year traveling throughout Europe: Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Scotland, and England; discovering my innate desire to serve others, especially animals and impoverished people who would benefit most from advocacy and representation. I returned to the U.S. and enrolled in engineering school with a focus on natural resources management. During this period, I took two service trips to Africa; one to South Africa and Lesotho and the other to S. Africa and Zambia. My time in Africa would set the stage for my work with Elephant's Journey and Good Sun, as well as my future studies in sustainability, resource management, and wildlife conservation.
I am a dedicated family man and at the office I am a dedicated manager with a strong drive to support my team and lead by example. I began my professional career in the construction trades over 20 years ago and I still prefer to have my hands in the dirt and boots on the ground rather than sit behind a desk. I have a proven track record of leading organizations toward new horizons: From starting the first sustainability program in ‘07 at the engineering firm Earth Tech/AECom, to leading the evolution of Allterra 'Environmental' to Allterra 'Solar', to founding the solar division at Byers Enterprises and driving growth from zero to $2.5M in revenue by our second year. Beyond my career, I am dedicated to environmental stewardship and service to others, exemplified by: my academic achievements - B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Humboldt State and M.A. in Sustainability from Harvard (in progress); my personal endeavors - volunteer firefighter for local fire department (2013-2017); and as the founder of the nonprofit, Good Sun, in 2013 and the founder of the Sacramento, CA chapter of the Climate Reality Project in 2018.
2017 – Present
My third daughter was born in 2017, changing the course of my life once again. Over the past five years I have doubled-down on my commitments to my family, my community, and my career working to protect Earth's natural resources. In 2017 I returned to academia in order to earn a master’s degree in sustainability for both personal and professional development. This was also the year that I began working in earnest to build a solid financial foundation for the nonprofit, Good Sun, and establish the business as a preferred nonprofit partner within the solar EPC industry across California. In 2018 the Good Sun team completed our first (official) international project during a fruitful trip to Kenya. After returning, I founded the Sacramento, California chapter of Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project where we now have over 100 members. In 2019 I quit my “day job” of working for a solar contractor to go 'all in' with Good Sun. Later that year, Good Sun took our second trip to Africa to complete solar projects, this time in Uganda. In the spring of '19 I finally 'officially' married my life partner and mother of our three daughters in a lovely ceremony on the California north coast with a wonderful honeymoon in Italy.
With Good Sun, over the past three years, we have been financially successful while advancing solar projects for schools, homeless shelters, and orphanages both in the U.S. and in Africa. During Covid, despite the unprecedented setbacks, Good Sun has remained financially solvent while completing domestic solar projects for an elementary school, for over 20 Habitat for Humanity homes, and for SYRCL, a watershed protection group. 2022 also marks a turning point in the blend between my personal life and professional career as I complete, and hopefully publish my first novel.
2021 – 2029
My professional goal for the next several years involves transitioning out of the executive role at Good Sun and remaining on as a board advisor, as well as providing independent consultation for our solar EPC partners. I anticipate completing my master's degree in '21 or early '22, after which I look forward to pursuing wildlife conservation work, as this has been a dream of mine since I was a child. This will be a natural continuation of my many years of studies, training, and work in the field of environmental resources management. I also anticipate working more closely with the U.N. on their global sustainability initiatives, and possibly relocating our family to Europe. Lastly, I hope to continue developing my career as an author in the genre of fact-based fiction.
2006 – 2016
The ten-year period from '06 to '16 began with graduating from Humboldt State University with a B.S. in environmental resources engineering. I then relocated from the remote coastal town of Arcata to the urban jungle of Long Beach, CA, taking a job as an engineer with what would shortly become the world's largest pure design firm, Earth Tech/AECom. During these years I spent a lot of time traveling throughout Mexico, across both islands of New Zealand, driving through at least 20 states in the U.S., and performing as the best man in my brother's wedding in Ukraine. I worked for solar contractors across California: In Santa Cruz, San Louis Obispo, the Bay Area, and Nevada County. From '08 to '10 I tried to get off the solar 'coaster', forming an international trading company called Elephant's Journey (EJ). EJ's focus was on the import of 'art of cultural significance' from impoverished countries. We would resell the art, raising money to support both the artists in their homeland and the local endangered wildlife. The timing in my life wasn't right for this project and I let the business go, ultimately returning to solar contracting. This period of my life culminated with the birth of my second daughter in 2012 and the purchase of my first home that same year, thereby solidifying my metamorphosis from bachelor surfer dude to mountain-dwelling family man.
2000 – 2005
I began the turn of the century by moving to Zurich, Switzerland, to live with my brother and see the world. I spent the next year traveling throughout Europe: Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Scotland, and England; discovering my innate desire to serve others, especially animals and impoverished people who would benefit most from advocacy and representation. I returned to the U.S. and enrolled in engineering school with a focus on natural resources management. During this period, I took two service trips to Africa; one to South Africa and Lesotho and the other to S. Africa and Zambia. My time in Africa would set the stage for my work with Elephant's Journey and Good Sun, as well as my future studies in sustainability, resource management, and wildlife conservation.