Global Green Carbon Corporation Team
Chris Werner (USA) - CEO & Co-Founder.
Mr. Werner started his business career with First Wisconsin bank while attending Marquette University. He spent his first four years after graduating from college working as an accountant. Mr. Werner entered the financial services sector by becoming a stockbroker and after experiencing the securities markets combined his accounting and securities knowledge and became a Chief Financial Officer of a publicly listed company that was the fastest growing NASDAQ Company in 1991. Mr. Werner became Senior Partner of Newport Capital Partners in 1993 where is specialized in arranging financing's for small growth companies. In 1996 he co-founded Emerging Securities Group which continued to focus on financing start-up and early stage growth companies. In 2003 Mr. Werner was appointed CEO of Ascendant Holdings Ltd, a Bermuda based holding company and assisted in structuring the initial public offering of two newly created subsidiaries. In 2006 Mr. Werner founded River Hills Resource Corporation which is a privately held mineral exploration company. In 2008 River Hills entered into a long-term financing and development agreement with a Chinese state owned company to develop copper projects held by River Hills in Ecuador. Mr. Werner co-founded Global Green Carbon Corporation in 2009 after having pioneered a reforestation project in Ecuador to ensure the city of Quito’s water supply for future generations.
Kirsten McGregor (USA) - President & Co-Founder.
Ms. McGregor has over two decades of experience in entrepreneurial ventures, strategic planning, business development and marketing execution from small start-ups to large, multi-national corporations. She is concurrently President and Board Member of EcoGlobal Holding, an SEC registered corporation with a "green" orientation. She has significant experience in Agriculture, Forestry and Land-Use (AFOLU) initiatives and carbon financing strategies. She has worked with companies such as Paso Pacifico, one of the first NGO’s to receive a Gold rating CCBS certification for reforestation. In addition, Ms. McGregor has consulted for organizations and government entities including the World Policy Institute and the National Park Service. She is a member of the Climate Action Reserve (CAR) and is a board member of the Sierra Club Leadership Team. She has received awards for excellence in business communications and holds degrees from the University of Washington (1985), and Boise State University (1998) and leadership certifications from UCLA (2008). Earlier in her career she was a restaurateur, owning and operating the internationally acclaimed, four-star rated Epitome Restaurant in Sun Valley, Idaho. She as well served as a nationally published wine and food writer and wine judge and was invited to sit for the prestigious Master's of Wine certification.
Andres Donoso (Ecuador) - Ecuador Representative & ACC President
Sr. Donoso-Calvo has nearly two decades of legal experience in corporate law, natural resource law and real estate and land rights litigation. He is an expert on contracts, negotiations and international commercial arbitration. Sr. Donoso-Calvo holds a Doctor of Laws from Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, and was admitted to legal practice in Ecuador 1996. He is a member of the Pinchincha Bar Association and is a partner at Crespo Abogados.
Dr. Edward Mitchard (Edinburgh, UK) – Director of Carbon Forestry
Edward Mitchard is an environmental scientist with detailed knowledge of the ecology and biodiversity of tropical forests and savannas, having led fieldwork teams in Cameroon, Uganda, South Africa and Trinidad. Since 2009 he has been an advisor to the Gabonese government, advising on issues of deforestation monitoring; this included attending the COP15 climate change conference in Copenhagen in 2009 as a member of the Gabonese delegation. While at Envirotrade he worked with afforestation and avoided deforestation projects most notably the Gorongosa Community Carbon Project in Mozambique. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Oxford and his PhD at the University of Edinburgh, where he has developed novel methods for using satellite data to monitor deforestation and degradation. His research has so far led to four peer-reviewed journal article and numerous presentations at major international conferences.
Martin Noponen (York, UK) - International Forest Carbon Project Manager
Martin Noponen is currently completing his doctorate in tropical agroforestry with Bangor University (UK) and CATIE (Costa Rica). He has spent the past three years working with coffee farmers in Costa Rica and Nicaragua to develop a system for rapid appraisal of farm carbon balance, in order to pave the way for their participation in carbon markets. Martin holds an MSc in Forest Protection and Conservation from Imperial College, London, a BSc in International Development and Ethnomusicology from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and a qualification with distinction in fine furniture making obtained from Germany. He has extensive experience living and working in the tropics, including a year spent as the Forestry Coordinator for ProNatura UK in Guyana’s Rupununi Savannah, as well as time in Tanzania working in both forestry and furniture making, where he trained a group of local carpenters in the production of high-end furniture from recycled dhow boats. A Finnish-German native, Martin was born into forestry and enjoys managing his own forest in southern Finland in his spare time.
Simon Besnard (France) - Rio San Juan Project Manager.
Simon Besnard is a Tropical Agrarian Systems and Watershed Management Specialist with knowledge and deep experience in agrarian systems, watershed management, land use and degraded habitat rehabilitation. An alumni in Agrarian Tropical Systems from the Institute of Tropical Agriculture (previously CNEARC) of Montpellier SupAgro (France), he also holds an interdisciplinary BS. in Environment and an MS. in Integrated Watershed Management from the Rennes School of Agriculture and the University of Rennes, France (2008). He has applied his academic knowledge to professional experiences in agriculture development in various research agronomic centers within France (INRA), South Africa (Institute of Research for Development, IRD), and in development projects for sustainable agriculture and rural development with CERAI in Tunisia. With roots in Brittany, France, Mr. Besnard, has been influenced by its agricultural traditions and natural resource issues, which has led him since boyhood to pursue a lifetime commitment to agricultural development and natural resource management.
Marta Suber (Spain) - Forestry Technician
Marta Suber is a Tropical Forestry Technician with a specialized emphasis in forest communities, their role within the forestry systems, and the social impact of forest management policies. Ms. Suber initiated her undergraduate studies in Forestry and Environmental Sciences at the University of Florence, Italy. Upon completion of her undergraduate degree, she continued her education in Germany and France under the European Commission’s SuTroFor programme. In 2010 she obtained her SuTroFor diploma and a double masters degree from TU-Dresden and ENGREF-Montpellier in Tropical Forestry Management and Environmental Policies for Tropical Forests. Ms. Suber has international experience in forestry inventories, participative management plans, and community-oriented forestry projects in Nepal and Morocco. Over the past year she has been collaborating with the Spanish Forest Sciences Center of Catalonia (CTFC) to finalize the Moroccan project and present their scientific findings. In addition, Ms. Suber has participated in workshops and conferences focused on Agroforestry and Climate Change Adaptation.
Ethan Sklom (USA & UK) - International Development Forester
Ethan Sklom has international experience in implementing community-oriented agriculture and forestry projects. He was educated as a forester and received a Bachelor's Degree in Forestry with a Minor in ecology and fire ecology from Michigan Technological University. In August of 2011, he will obtain his Master’s degree in International Rural Development with a focus on forestry projects in the developing world. Mr. Sklom was a US Peace corps environmental program volunteer in the country of Malawi in Southern Africa for two years. He worked with the Nez Perce Indian Reservation on forest management and wildfire prevention and has worked for environmental consultancy companies, ECI and SCA/Americorps.
Gerardo Flores (Honduras) - Honduras Contractor
Gerardo Flores has over a decade of experience in reforestation and forest management in Honduras. He has developed forestry projects using certification protocol under the Instituto Forestal Nacional Honduras (IFN). Sr. Flores has worked for the Bio-Consult/Nature Conservancy focusing on classification and forest surveys for the Honduran National Parks of La Muralla, Olancho, Merendo and Cortez. Prior to the Nature Conservancy Sr. Flores worked for the Honduran National Parks System.
John Delaney (USA) – Business Development Associate
John Delaney is a business economist with experience in a variety of business mediums. He is passionate about the green industry and recently worked for the California Pottery and Tile Works, a Los Angeles-based ceramic tile manufacturing company where he developed and implemented green initiatives to reduce and offset the output of carbon emissions during their production process. Throughout his collegiate career, Mr. Delaney competed at an elite level in Track and Field and was recognized for his athletic contributions to the sport of javelin at both the university and national levels where he was just short of qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Team. Mr. Delaney is a graduate of University of California Santa Barbara with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Economics with specific study in Environmental Economics, Natural Resource Economics and Energy Sources.
Luis Avilés (Nicaragua) – Nicaragua Administrator, GGC-N S.A.
Luis Avilés is a developmental specialist with a focus on eco-tourism and education. He has worked for entities such as the Fundación Ometepe; Ometepe Biological Field Station; San Pedro de Lóvago, Chontales Tourism; and the Managua Governor’s Office Illiteracy Program. Luis Avilés studied Sustainable Tourism at The National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN - Managua). Upon graduating, he has been committed to the development and conservation of natural reserves such as “Volcan Maderas” on Ometepe Island, one of the few places in Central America where cloud forests grow. Along with his work in conservation, Sr. Avilés has also been actively involved in the development of eco- and rural tourism in areas such as San Pedro de Lovago in an effort to bring economic stability and employment opportunities to the region. Sr. Avilés is Nicaraguan and is fluent in Spanish, English and French.
Gema Sandoval (Nicaragua) - Accounts Specialist, GGC-N S.A.
Gema Sandoval is a Public Accountant with several years of experience in her field. She graduated at UCA (Universidad Centroamericana) in Managua, Nicaragua. In additon to her accounting career, Miss Sandoval enjoys working with many projects such as English Education to children at Saint Teresa's Academy in Managua. Currently, Miss Sandoval collaborates for GGC-N, S.A. processing the accounting transactions held in Nicaragua. Miss Sandoval is a native Nicaraguan and fluent in both English and Spanish.
Juan Busto Lazo (Nicaragua) - Mapping Technician
Juan Busto Lazo is a Forester and native resident of Boca de Sábalos, Nicaragua. From an early age, Sr. Busto has been committed to the conservation and preservation of the Rio San Juans’ diverse ecosystems and natural resources. Over the last decade Sr. Busto has worked throughout the Rio San Juan region evaluating forestry plantations. During this time he has also used his professional expertise to promote and develop community workshops on the prevention and control of forestry fires. Sr. Busto has participated in workshops and conferences on forestry inventories, prevention and management of natural disasters, environmental services assessment, management of cinnamon crops, and broadleaf humid tropical forest management.
Roberto Borge (Nicaragua) - Mapping Technician
Roberto Borge is a Forestry Technician and native resident of Boca de Sábalos, Nicaragua. Sr. Borge received his technical degree from the Forestry Technical Institute of Estelí (INTECFO). After graduating from INTECFO Sr. Borge went on to study Forestry engineering at UNADENIC in El Castillo, Rio San Juan, Nicaragua. He initiated his forestry career as a Health Promoter and Forest Ranger for MARENA. Over the last decade Sr. Borge has worked in Forestry inventories, creation of new forestry plantations, and the establishment of sustainable forestry systems. He has participated in workshops and conferences in forestry inventories, community projects, plague control and rural communication methodologies
Find Us
• New Team Members:
Martin Noponen (York, UK)
International Forest Carbon Project Manager
Marta Suber (Spain)
Forestry Technician
Gema Sandoval (Nicaragua)
Accounts Specialist, GGC-N S.A.
• New Project: Cameroon
The Dja Biosphere Regional REDD+ Project
• New Office in Nicaragua:
Río San Juan - Boca de Sábalos