Robert Falls, PhD, RPBio, Chairman of the Board. Robert Falls, Ph.D., R.P.Bio., is co-founder and chairman of ERA Carbon Offsets Ltd. Robert has an academic history in photosynthesis and carbon sequestration, and a business background in the energy and environment industries. He has developed renewable energy and clean tech projects in Canada, the US and China. Robert has served as an adjunct professor for UBC's Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, and acted as a senior advisor to the GLOBE Foundation of Canada.
Frédéric Jacquemont, MEL, DEA, President and Director. Frédéric Jacquemont has wealth of experience in international carbon markets and environmental law. His international career spans 19 years as an environmental researcher, business consultant and legal counsel for development agencies, environmental institutions and carbon offset development companies. Frédéric is an expert in international climate law, particularly the regulatory arrangements of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
Bart Simmons, B.AP Sc, MEng, Chief Operating Officer. Bart Simmons brings over 30 years of experience in restoring temperate forest ecosystems in British Columbia. He is a recognized expert in forest regeneration, riparian ecosystem restorations, urban watershed restoration, biodiversity enhancement, wetland creation and bioengineering in BC. Bart has implemented riparian restoration projects on 15 watersheds within coastal BC and prescriptions on over 40 watersheds throughout BC. He has been involved in over 50 ecosystem restoration projects in urban watersheds, mostly in the Lower Mainland, and has overseen the planting more than 100 million trees.
Jeff Calvert, P.Eng., MBA, Chief Financial Officer. Jeff Calvert is the chief financial officer and the director of human resources. Jeff joined ERA from Borealis Carbon Offsets, where he was founder and managing director. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA with specialization in management consulting from Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC. Jeff is a regular expert panellist in the forestry carbon space and a professional engineer licensed in Ontario.
John Block, BSc, Director of Operations. Prior to starting with ERA in 2008, most of John's working career was with the BC provincial government. Positions he held during that time included manager of operations and facility development and director, BC Parks and Protected Areas Branch; senior policy advisor with the Green Economy Secretariat; and, director, strategic initiatives with the Ministry of Environment. John has a BSc in biology from the University of Victoria and did graduate studies in the Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia.
David Rokoss, Director of Compliance Markets. David follows international carbon policy development while exploring project origination and development opportunities for both voluntary and compliance markets. David is focused on existing markets under the Kyoto Protocol, as well as the developing regional markets such as AB-32 in California and the Western Climate Initiative jurisdictions of British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario. Additional attention is given to African and Southeast Asian markets which ERA monitors as policy and infrastructure is developed within these regions. Prior to ERA, David worked with Kyoto Planet Capital Partners which focused on early stage investments in clean tech and sustainable industries, including biofuels, water, carbon and hydrogen. David received his B.A. in Economics/Politics from McMaster University in Hamilton Ontario.
Steve Baczko, BA, Director of Commercialization. Steve joined ERA in 2010 as the Director of Commercialization and currently manages business development and origination for North American markets including AB32. Prior to joining ERA, Steve was Head of North America Voluntary and New Markets for EcoSecurities where he was responsible for managing business development and strategic marketing for voluntary and pre-compliance carbon markets. While in this position, Steve successfully built a portfolio of Fortune 500 clients and spearheaded the development of new products and services within the international carbon markets. Before EcoSecurities, Steve worked at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank, where he provided financing and technical assistance to social enterprises throughout the developing world. Steve has over ten years of management, strategic consulting and business development experience working in emerging markets, sustainability, international development and entrepreneurial ventures both in the private and NGO sectors. Steve holds a BA from Georgetown University.
John Kendall, RPF, Manager, Project Origination. John provides overall direction and leadership to ERA's forest carbon origination teams which includes the management of project scoping, identification, feasibility analyses and project design, development, quantification activities -and third-party validation thereof-, project implementation and project monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV). John has provided feedback to help shape the standards used to ensure the transparency, accuracy, equity and additionality of forest carbon projects. He has a good working knowledge of the tools, methodologies and standards used to regulate the forest carbon project offset sector. As a forester, his career has focused on enabling rural communities, in Africa and the Americas to play an equitable, meaningful role in natural resource management. Over the last 21 years, John has developed technical skills and cultural awareness that allows him to more fully understand local needs and aspirations and the constraints and barriers that prevent communities from equitable participation in natural resource use. He works in the voluntary forest carbon market because he sees it as an effective tool to realize equitable, sustainable forest conservation and restoration and related climate benefits that will allow marginalized rural communities to play a substantive role in climate change mitigation and give them critical resources to adapt to extreme climate events caused by global warming. John speaks English, French and Spanish.
Jean-Robert Bwangoy-Bankanza. Jean-Robert is a professional forester from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is a teaching and research assistant at the University of Kinshasa, Agronomy Department. Jean-Robert also speaks French and holds a bachelor of science in forestry from Université Laval, Québec and a master of science in geographic information science from the University of Redlands, California. He is currently in the final stage of his research towards a PhD in geospatial science and engineering at South Dakota State University where he also works as a geospatial analyst. He has been working for more than 20 years with various groups including the FAO/Forest Resources Assessment, the University of Maryland at College Park, NASA Landsat Pathfinder Tropical Deforestation Project, Bowie State University and the African Regional School for Integrated Forest and Land Management (ERAIFT) located at the University of Kinshasa.
Jean-Robert's doctoral research is funded through a CARPE/UMD/NASA grant. It focuses on modeling the extent and distribution of wetlands in the tropics using multi-source and multi-resolution remotely sensed data including digital elevation models and optical and radar remote sensing data. He is a senior adviser and manager of ERA's Mai Ndombe REDD+ project in the DRC and also works on other Congo Basin and international initiatives.
Rob Friberg, MA, RPF, Senior Forester, the Americas. Rob is a registered professional forester with more than 20 years' experience in forest management and community-based forestry initiatives in Canada and Latin America. He has worked extensively with the development of forest resource plans to meet a wide range of ecological challenges. Rob’s collaborative approach and concern for local interests have consistently produced successful results for a wide range of international clients. His recent involvement as the ERA project manager for a BC based forest carbon initiative was a key contribution to the project's success. The project was recognized with an award for innovation and excellence in the conservation of forest ecosystems on the west coast of British Columbia. Rob has a bachelor's degree in forest resources management from the University of British Columbia, a master's degree in environment and management from Royal Roads University, and certificates in tropical forest management from CATIE in Costa Rica. Rob is proficient in Spanish.
Bryan Foster, PhD, Senior Carbon Forester. Bryan has over five years of professional expertise in forest carbon project development and auditing. He developed an ISO 14001 environmental management system for Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, worked as a technical specialist auditing forest carbon projects for Rainforest Alliance, and continues to work for EcoLogic's CarbonPlus program developing forest carbon projects in Mexico and Central America. He researched and wrote all of the documentation for EcoLogic's Bosques Pico Bonito, Honduras reforestation project that received VCS validation in 2011. Bryan is a recognized VCS AFOLU specialist and an accredited CAR verifier. He earned a master's degree in forest science from Yale University and a PhD in natural resources with a certificate in ecological economics from the University of Vermont. He is proficient in Spanish.
Rosita Morandin, Senior Manager, Finance. Rosita manages ERA's accounting, finance and human resources functions. Rosita fell in love with accounting while working on her bachelor of business administration at Capilano College. She continued her studies through UBC and the Certified General Accountants Association of BC. She first gained experience at PricewaterhouseCoopers and then moved into the private sector helping various small businesses develop their accounting and human resource departments as they grew. She has become an expert in setting up control and reporting systems for small fast-growing companies.
Alexis Doyle, BSc, Manager, Project Operations. Alexis is responsible for the Community Ecosystem Restoration Program (CERP). She got her start with ERA in the field, maintaining previously planted sites throughout the Maple Ridge project. Since then, Alexis has been involved in the implementation of both the City of Langley and Township of Langley CERP projects. In 2007 she worked with the Nisga'a Nation, to complete an ecosystem restoration pilot project in the Nass Valley. In addition to her work with ERA, Alexis has experience as both an educator and project leader with several non-governmental organizations. Alexis graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in life sciences. Alexis speaks French and English.
Jane Boles, BA, REDD Manager, International Projects. Jane works with ERA's partners and project stakeholders in Africa to develop projects that enhance not only climate stability, but whole ecosystem health, as well as rural livelihoods, forest governance capacity and biodiversity. Prior to starting with ERA, Jane worked in the governmental and non-profit sectors as a research analyst and educator on several forest governance and climate change initiatives in Central Africa and Canada. Jane holds a degree in political science and environmental geography from Concordia University in Montreal. She speaks French and English and has personally planted over 1 million trees.
Jennifer Holland, BA, Project Manager, Operations. Jennifer's lifelong passion for the environment and travel first drew her to ERA in 2009. In 2010 she oversaw the validation of ERA's CERP project plan to the climate community and biodiversity standard (CCBS), where ERA received the first CCBS gold level standard in Canada. Most recently Jennifer oversaw the stakeholder engagement process for the Denman Island ISO project plan. She currently serves as the stakeholder engagement liaison and public input coordinator for this project’s CCBS validation. Jennifer has travelled extensively, both for work and pleasure, and in 2008 she volunteered overseas on a reforestation and community development project in Madagascar. She has a BA in environmental geography from Simon Fraser University.