• Jake Bielecki
• Steuart Botchford
• Graham Brown
• Daniel Cantor
• Adam Carver
• Yih-Wei Chien
• Julian Dautremont-Smith
• Quang Do
• Emily Dwinnells
• Nick Fassler

• Colm Fay
• Brian Hartmann
• Christian Hicks
• Meredith Brown Irwin
• Michael Kasameyer
• Christina Kothari
• April LaCroix
• Michelle Lin
• Marcos Mancini
• Sara Mills

• Neesha Modi
• Brian Moss
• Michelle Quibell
• Jennifer Ritchey
• John Seaver
• Allison Shapiro
• Lauren Start
• Christopher Zwicke

Jake is interested in business development & strategy in the alternative energy space. Prior to enrolling at the University of Michigan, Jake was working in the capital engineering department at Sunoco's Philadelphia Refinery where he led matrix teams to develop, design and implement capital projects. These typically allowed the refinery to improve capacity, profitability and to meet various compliance goals. Jake is looking to combine his technical knowledge with his passion for business to drive positive change in the energy industry. Jake earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Rutgers University.

Steuart’s focus is on corporate social responsibility, social impact metrics, and sustainable product development. He is particularly interested in using profit incentives to solve social issues and finding ways for firms to measure and quantify social impact. Since 2007, Steuart has been working with Teach For America. He served as a Corps Member in the Mississippi Delta, teaching math and music to elementary students in Leland, Mississippi. After finishing his two year commitment, he moved into a role as the Director of Workshops and Resources at Teach For America’s Houston Institute. Steuart graduated from Mercer University with degrees in philosophy and economics.

Graham is primarily interested in the connections between sustainable urban development and ecosystem health.  Originally from a tiny town in central Maine, Graham hails most recently from Seattle, where he worked in various capacities in residential construction and real estate development, including a brief run-in with self-employment.  He is also active as a sixth-generation member of a 150-year-old family business, and recently helped the family foundation establish a new climate-change funding group, which he currently co-chairs.  Graham graduated from Stanford University with a BS in Product Design and is a LEED Accredited Professional.  When he’s not reading about renewable energy or swinging a hammer, he loves backpacking, playing guitar, woodworking, and making endless minor adjustments to his pizza-dough recipe.

Dan is interested in developing new businesses that solve environmental and social needs while engaging communities in areas including renewable energy, local food systems, and the sustainable use of marine resources.  Dan has served as an AmeriCorps VISTA coordinating youth entrepreneurship programs in Philadelphia.  After AmeriCorps he helped create a program to assist groups of underprivileged high school students to start their own sustainable businesses.  Dan has continually pursued a lifelong dream to open a sustainable smoothie truck, but it has yet to come to fruition.  Dan is returning to the University of Michigan where he received a BS in Environmental Science. 

Yih-Wei is interested in corporate environmental strategy and general management. Prior to joining the Erb Institute, Yih-Wei spent six years in the San Francisco Bay Area working as an Analytical Chemist in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. At ALZA Corporation, a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson, Yih-Wei performed laboratory experiments designed to ensure the quality of three marketed pharmaceutical drugs. He then transitioned to Genentech, Inc. where he developed new manufacturing processes for Pulmozyme, a protein therapeutic used to treat patients with Cystic Fibrosis. Yih-Wei is an avid basketball player, speaks Mandarin Chinese fluently, and graduated from the University of Michigan with Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology and Economics.

Julian Dautremont-Smith is interested in finding key leverage points to accelerate the sustainability transformation. His current foci are sustainability rating systems and higher education sustainability. Before graduate school, Julian served as the Associate Director of Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). In that capacity, he played leadership roles in AASHE's major programs, the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment and the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System. He was also responsible for AASHE's online resource center, partnerships, communications, and publications. Prior to joining AASHE, he co-founded a biodiesel business while studying sustainable development in Barbados on a J. William Fulbright scholarship. Julian earned a BA in Environmental Studies from Lewis & Clark College, where he also spearheaded a successful and nationally recognized effort to make Lewis & Clark the first American college to declare compliance with greenhouse gas emissions reductions stipulated in the Kyoto Protocol. Julian is a Harry S. Truman Scholar and a USA Today Academic All-Star.

Quang is passionate about renewable energy technologies, energy markets, and the behavior changes needed to successfully implement sustainable practices. After graduation, Quang joined Chevron as a member of their rotational finance development program. Since then Quang has been able to gain unique insights into the energy industry through five diverse positions, including a year-long assignment in Maracaibo, Venezuela as a Special Projects Analyst. Prior to starting at Erb, Quang worked as a Financial Analyst in Chevron’s Investor Relations group, where he was able to gain an understanding of how the investment community views the future of energy. At Chevron, he was also an officer of the Hispanic Employee Network and a Lead Recruiter for the finance organization. Quang was born and raised in California and graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 2004 with a degree in accounting & finance. Quang enjoys outdoor activities, working out, and alternative rock.

Emily is interested in sustainable venture investing, environmental risk analysis, creating financing opportunities for sustainable small and medium sized enterprise in developing economies, payment for ecosystem services, and environmental corporate strategy. Prior to attending the University of Michigan, Emily brokered options on the floor of the American Stock Exchange. Most recently, she used her four years of experience in finance to help launch the sustainable financial initiative at environmental non-profit, the Rainforest Alliance. Emily grew up in New Hampshire and attended Kenyon College where she worked on the staff of literary journal the Kenyon Review and received a BA in International Studies with concentrations in Political Science and Latin American Studies. In her free time Emily enjoys cross-country skiing, hiking, snowboarding, discovering new music and crossword puzzles.

Nick is interested in increasing consumer demand for sustainable products and services by helping green brands create compelling marketing campaigns. Before starting at the Erb Institute, Nick worked with M+R Strategic Services, a leading communications and campaigning firm that specializes in working with nonprofits. At M+R, he managed marketing and advertising campaigns for prominent environmental, health, education and human rights organizations. He has also worked crafting online marketing campaigns for green businesses with SRB Marketing, and was the Outreach Director and a Board Member at the George Street Co-op, a cooperatively owned natural foods store in New Jersey. Nick graduated from Rutgers University with a B.S. in Marketing and a minor in Political Science. He enjoys baking bread, fixing his bicycle, and listening to audiobooks.

Colm is interested in triple bottom line reporting, agriculture and water policy and the economy of conservation and specifically how the convergence of these concepts can contribute to sustainable economic development. Colm spent 6 years with Accenture, a leading technology and management consulting firm. During this time he worked with clients in the financial services sector and specialized in grass roots organizational change and operational efficiencies through the application of lean process methodologies and systems. Colm achieved his BA in Information and Communications Technology from Trinity College, Dublin. In his spare time he enjoys cooking, triathlons and photography.

Brian is interested in green operation techniques as well as corporate sustainability strategy. Before graduate school Brian spent three years as an internal strategy consultant for IBM where he specialized in creating more efficient processes, developing models for redistributing resources for increased efficiencies and building models to determine potential market sizes. He spent significant time developing IBM’s Green Sigma process improvement methodology which aims to improve complex processes through green techniques and technologies. Brian graduated with distinction from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan with a BBA where he emphasized strategy. In his free time Brian enjoys traveling and playing sports.

Chris is concentrating on renewable energy production technologies, policy, and business development. In particular, he hopes to study the use of venture capital and public-private partnerships to implement scalable clean energy projects in developing countries. Prior to Michigan, Chris worked as a management consultant for CRA International in Boston. In this role Chris spent a significant amount of time in the Middle East where he worked on strategies for industrial diversification in Saudi Arabia and natural resource development in Jordan. Chris received a B.A. in Economics from Middlebury College in Vermont. He is an avid skier, traveler and outdoor enthusiast, and speaks Spanish and Italian.

Meredith is interested in water resource management and water allocation. Prior to her studies at Michigan, Meredith worked for The Cadmus Group, Inc., an environmental consulting firm in Arlington, VA. While at Cadmus, Meredith supported the development and implementation of drinking water regulations for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water. She was also involved in several projects involving drinking water infrastructure and wetlands regulations. Meredith graduated with honors from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts and holds a bachelor of arts in biology.

April is interested in corporate environmental strategy and organizational development. Before graduate school, April assisted in launching Interface’s corporate sustainability consulting firm, InterfaceRAISE. In that capacity, she managed the successful delivery of multiple client projects in areas such as renewable energy, leadership development, associate engagement and other sustainability-related initiatives, mainly for Fortune 500 companies. She also played a key role in building the firm’s internal organizational structure including the development of products, partnerships, marketing strategy, customer relationship management systems and intellectual property. Previously, April held positions at the Foreign Agricultural Service at the US Embassy in Lima, Peru and at the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund in Washington, DC. As a Fulbright Scholar, she completed a MA in Geography focusing on water resources at the University of Toronto. April received her BA in Economics and Sustainability (Summa Cum Laude) from Alma College and is a 2004 Morris K. Udall Scholar.

Michelle sees endless opportunities for organizations to not just minimize their environmental impact, but to contribute positively to both the environment and community through improved design and strategy. Prior to Erb, Michelle was a consultant in the Sales Executive Council (SEC) Solutions practice, a part of the Corporate Executive Board, where she partnered with Fortune 500 companies to enhance the productivity and effectiveness of their sales organizations. Outside of work, Michelle enjoys being an active member of her community. She has provided pro-bono consulting to Ashoka in order to understand how it can best support its US Fellows. Additionally, as a founding member of Gather and Give, a giving circle composed of young professionals in Washington, D.C., she was thrilled to see the group featured on NPR and the Wall Street Journal. Michelle holds a B.A. from Brown University in Economics and Computer Science.

Marcos joined the Erb institute to pursue a career in carbon finance and corporate sustainability strategies. He is particularly interested in developing carbon markets that will address Global Climate Change in the post-Kyoto world. He would like to explore the roll of renewable energy clean tech as carbon offsets, and the implementation of these offsets as a tool for sustainable growth in developing countries. Having a very strong background in the social sector, he has co-founded a non-profit Catholic organization that works with youth in several regions of Argentina, his native country. Prior to joining the Erb Institute, he worked as an Associate for Ecotecnica America Latina S.A, an environmental consultancy firm in Argentina. There, he coordinated multidisciplinary teams to develop, among others, the environmental impact assessment study for a 1350 MW wind farm, the largest in South America. Marcos holds a masters degree in Environmental Management .

Sara plans to focus on corporate strategy, sustainable enterprise, and international development in the context of upcoming U.S. and international limits on greenhouse gas emissions.  Before joining Erb, Sara worked on energy, environmental, and natural resources public policy for government relations firm Cassidy & Associates in Washington, D.C., where she analyzed climate legislation and electricity policy proposals and created strategies for private and nonprofit clients to engage in the policymaking process.  A native Nevadan, Sara previously worked for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for five years.  She would like to incorporate her loves of writing and travel into her career and also enjoys cooking and yoga.  Sara holds a B.A. in American Studies from Georgetown University.

Neesha is interested in corporate environmental strategy and organizational change, with a focus on developing effective solutions for sustainable international development through the collaboration of private and public enterprise. Her interests stem from prior experiences as a volunteer with an Indian nonprofit organization that supports socio-economic change through education and her work with a microfinance organization based in Ghana where she developed a five year strategic plan, facilitated staff training and educated small business owners. Prior to her graduate studies, Neesha was a Supply Chain Management consultant helping clients redesign and streamline their sourcing and procurement practices. She graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in Supply Chain Management and dual specializations in International Business and International Development.

Brian is entering the Erb program with a focus on the intersection of economic and environmental sustainability, particularly the role that small business can play in remaking the world economy. Before attending the University of Michigan, Brian worked for an environmental consultancy specializing in soil stabilization and erosion control techniques in the Sierra Nevada. Prior to consulting, Brian spent several years in experiential education, guiding wilderness expeditions in the US, Europe, and South America. When not in the classroom, Brian can be found playing outdoors. Brian holds a bachelors degree in Economics and History from the University of Virginia.

Michelle is interested in pursuing a career in clean energy and carbon market strategy, specifically as it relates to the energy sector’s long-term investment patterns under federal climate and energy legislation. Prior to matriculating at Michigan, Michelle served as a research assistant and later as the climate field director for the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, DC. She worked closely with climate, communications and campaign experts to build momentum, visibility and support for sound environmental and economic policy addressing climate change. Michelle graduated from Yale College in 2006 with a B.A. in Environmental Science. Outside of school, Michelle enjoys biking, tennis, travelling and cooking.

John received an A.B. from Princeton University and worked for the multi-national steel producer Tenaris prior to matriculating at the University of Michigan. In addition to pursuing the dual MBA/MS, John is a fellowship candidate in the Tauber Institute for Global Operations. His academic and career interests include the intersection of environmental and industrial policy, particularly with respect to sustainable strategy in recycling, re-manufacturing, and product end-of-life legislation. He is actively involved in the leadership of his Ross Section as its Sustainability Chair and the campus sustainability committee of Net Impact. When not working, John enjoys all outdoor sports, but especially hiking, cross country skiing, and rowing.

Allison is interested in the intersection of business and sustainability with a focus on energy and climate change. She is particularly interested in corporate engagement with environmental markets to help make resource-efficient and low-carbon activities more economically viable. Prior to attending the University of Michigan, Allison worked for Ecosystem Marketplace as a carbon market analyst and for ICF International as an environmental consultant, specializing in environmental impact assessment of government-funded transportation and energy projects. In addition, she serves as co-director of a non-profit CSR platform that links coffee companies with small charities around the globe through the development of specialized philanthropic products. Allison received her B.S. in Science, Technology and International Affairs with a concentration in Environmental Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

Lauren is focusing her studies on sustainable systems and corporate environmental strategy. Prior to attending the University of Michigan, she worked for the Nielsen Company. While at Nielsen, Lauren consulted with consumer goods companies primarily in the soft drink, software and telecom industries. Leveraging consumer research, she helped her clients optimize new products and understand the market potential for new ideas. Moving forward, Lauren would like to help these same consumer goods companies develop and implement sustainability strategies. Lauren graduated magna cum laude from Colgate University with a concentration in economics. In her free time, she enjoys skiing, hiking, running, backpacking and traveling.

Chris comes to the Erb program interested in how private enterprise can lead in creating social and environmental value alongside economic value. He is also focusing his studies on cross-sector partnerships in environmental conservation (marine ecosystems in particular), natural resource management, and sustainable international development. A specific area of interest is using new media to help interpret and convey environmental data. Prior to enrolling at the University of Michigan, Chris worked as Senior Academic Integration Analyst for the University of California’s systemwide Education Abroad Program, devising innovative approaches for embedding study abroad in the curricula of the 10 UC campuses. Chris earned his Bachelor’s degree in Film Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara.