 |
 |
|
Paul Greene
Vice President, O’Brien & Gere
(ABC Chairman)
Paul Greene has been a part of the anaerobic digestion industry for 20 years and has participated in the construction of 15 industrial digesters. He currently serves as Vice President of O'Brien & Gere's and is the firms' practice leader in its Waste-to-Energy initiative where he helps clients champion digester feasibility studies and design /build projects for all types of wet and dry digesters. Paul has his BS in Chemical Engineering from Lafayette College. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
Norma McDonald
North American Sales Manager, Organic Waste Systems
(ABC Vice-Chair)
Norma McDonald has over twenty five years of international experience in a variety of positions relating to fermentation and biochemicals. Her responsibilities have included: Establishing and managing a company focused on anaerobic digestion of organic residuals; purchasing enzymes and specialty chemicals; managing research, development and commercialization of new chemicals and bioplastics; sales and marketing of laboratory services for compostability and biodegradability testing; sales and marketing of anaerobic digestion systems for organic waste.
Norma’s employment history began with the United States Marine Corps where she served as a Public Affairs Officer- Captain, and continued on to the private sector where she held top management positions at Procter & Gamble, Co. and founded Phase 3 Renewables, LLC. Norma has been with Organic Waste Systems, Inc. since 2009 as the North American Sales Manager. OWS is a global leader and internationally accredited laboratory for compostability, biodegradability and anaerobic digestibility testing services, as well as a technology owner and system provider for proprietary high solids anaerobic digestion of organic wastes and production of renewable energy. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
Melissa VanOrnum
Marketing Manager, DVO Inc
(ABC Treasurer)
Melissa VanOrnum is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she earned a BBA in Accounting. Melissa obtained her CPA and worked as an auditor at two large accounting firms in Minneapolis for five years. She then returned to school and completed the MBA program at Indiana University in 2004, majoring in marketing and strategy. Upon graduation, Melissa assumed the role of Marketing Manager for GHD, Inc., the US market leader in on-farm anaerobic digester technology, with over 70 operating digesters nationwide. In addition, Melissa is a board member and Treasurer of the American Biogas Council. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
Nora Goldstein
Editor, BioCycle
(ABC Secretary)
Nora Goldstein is Editor of BioCycle, the magazine for Advancing Composting, Organics Recycling and Renewable Energy, published by The JG Press, Inc. in Emmaus, PA (www.biocycle.net). BioCycle celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2009. Nora has authored numerous articles on all facets of composting and organics recycling, and more recently anaerobic digestion. She has edited a number of books and other publications, and has served on numerous solid waste and biosolids recycling advisory committees. BioCycle is a Founding Member of the American Biogas Council; Nora serves on the ABC Board. Additional responsibilities at BioCycle include BioCycle National Surveys, including the State of Garbage in America and the Food Composting Infrastructure in the U.S., and BioCycle’s FindAComposter.com, a free online directory service. Nora is a graduate of Union College in Schenectady, New York. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
Shane Chrapko
Co-CEO, Highmark Renewables |
| |
|
|
 |
|
Wayne Davis
Co-founder, Harvest Power Inc
Wayne H. Davis is a Co-Founder of Harvest Power Inc. and Harvest’s Vice President for Governmental Affairs. At Harvest, he has successfully led efforts to secure nearly $10 million in grants and subsidized loans for the company’s projects. He has been active in the American Biogas Council since its earliest days, and currently serves as Co-Chairman of ABC’s Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Committee. Before joining Harvest, Wayne was a co-founder and former General Counsel of Backyard Farms, LLC of Madison, Maine, where he directed the environmental permitting processes for development of over 40 acres of greenhouses and a 17 MW combined heat and power biomass facility. Previously, Wayne was Chief Compliance Officer for Fidelity Brokerage Company. Wayne graduated magna cum laude from both Harvard Law School and Williams College. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
Kerry Kelly
Director, Federal Public Affairs, Waste Management Inc
As Director of Federal Public Affairs for Waste Management (WM), Kerry Kelly represents WM before federal agencies and Congress on environmental issues including municipal and hazardous waste management, clean air regulatory matters, renewable energy and climate change. Prior to joining WM in 2005 Kerry was responsible for federal regulatory and legislative affairs for the American Chemistry Council and Tenneco Inc., a global manufacturing company. Kerry’s government service includes serving as Special Assistant to the Director of the Superfund program at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; as a Professional Staff Member, with the U.S. House Committee on Public Works and Transportation; and at the state level, on the oversight and investigative staff of the Florida Senate President and Speaker of the House. Kerry has a Masters of Public Affairs from the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public affairs at the University of Texas in Austin, and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Florida. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
Amy McCrae Kessler
EVP & Head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs, Turning Earth LLC
Amy McCrae Kessler is EVP & Head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs and a Founding Member of Turning Earth, LLC, an integrated organics recycling company dedicated to producing renewable energy, high value compost and sustainable local agriculture. Prior to launching Turning Earth, Amy practiced international and environmental law at Arnold & Porter, LLP in New York and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London where she advised clients on a broad range of environmental issues in the context of litigation, regulatory compliance, permitting and corporate, banking and real estate transactions. In addition, she has counseled sovereign states on a variety of environmental issues. Amy has also worked in the public and non-profit sectors at the Office of International Environmental Policy at USEPA and the Center for International Environmental Law, and is admitted to the Bar of the State of New York and the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Biogas Council and Co-Chair of the Council’s Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Committee. Amy received her JD, summa cum laude, from American University Washington College of Law where she was a senior staff member of The American University Law Review. She received her BA in Political Science from Vanderbilt University. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
Christine McKiernan
VP of Engineering, BIOFerm Energy Systems
Christine McKiernan has been engaged in the water and wastewater arena for 23 years actively
designing, constructing, operating, and troubleshooting projects in anaerobic and aerobic treatment. As
the Director of Engineering for Microgy, she oversaw the process design and technology evaluation,
process troubleshooting, and project engineering. She has reviewed process and technology issues
including: anaerobic process optimization, effluent air and liquid emissions modeling, biogas
conditioning methodologies.
In other employment, she has been active in numerous industrial and municipal wastewater projects
involving anaerobic and aerobic treatment. Clients include Fortune 500 organizations implementing
local and corporate treatment strategies. Many of these firms required projects incorporating the use
of renewable energies, waste reduction, and sustainable manufacturing practices. Specifically, she
reviewed and designed anaerobic treatment facilities for the capture of methane from biogenic waste
materials such as: processed food wastes, agricultural crops, and animal slaughter. In addition she has
used aerobic treatment methodologies to designed, reviewed, and employed projects including:
complete activated sludge systems, membrane technologies, sludge dewatering techniques, ozone and
UV disinfection.
Ms. McKiernan holds both a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s
Degree in Environmental Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
Shonodeep Modak
Market Development Manager, GE Energy, Jenbacher gas engines
As market development manager for GE Energy, Shonodeep Modak is responsible for new growth markets for GE Energy’s Jenbacher gas engine business in North America. He integrates policy with business model innovation and engages industry stakeholders to overcome barriers to enable renewable energy and energy efficiency distributed generation projects. He is a co-founder of the American Biogas Council and, prior to joining GE, held several leadership roles at ExxonMobil where he created and launched the world's first fuel economy improving passenger car motor oil. Shonodeep received his MBA from The George Washington University and Bachelors of Chemical Engineering from Mississippi State University. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
Bernie Sheff
President, UTS Residual Processing LLC
Bernard Sheff holds both Bachelors and Masters of Science in Civil Engineering from Michigan State University. He has been a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Michigan since 1988 and is also registered in the states of Massachusetts, Ohio and Indiana. He started his career with STS Consultants (STS) in 1984 as an assistant project engineer. He became the VP of the Michigan region for STS and completed his first digestion project as part of a 1 MGD wastewater treatment facility in 1991.
Since early 2000 he has focused on nutrient recovery, sand separation and digestion in the agricultural market, most significantly the dairy industry. Beginning in 2009 he merged his companies and is President of UTS Residual Processing (UTS RP) in Eaton Rapids, Michigan. UTS RP is the North American sister of UTS Biogas, Munich, Germany and is responsible for high solids digestion process and technology transfer to North America. UTS RP is part of the Anaergia Group of Companies. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
Patrick Serfass
Executive Director
Patrick came to the American Biogas Council in early 2010 when 22 companies approached his company to help form a new biogas organization. Patrick co-led the formal creation of the ABC in close coordination with these companies, laying the foundation for the first U.S. biogas trade association dedicated to building business in biogas and anaerobic digestion. In its first year, the ABC grew to over 60 companies. In 2011, the Board of Directors elected Patrick to serve as Executive Director where he continues today. He provides guidance to the Board of Directors and with his staff, manages the activities of the American Biogas Council. Patrick is also a member for the Canadian Standards Association Technical Committee for Digester/Landfill/Biogas Generation & Utilization.
To the ABC, Patrick brings over 11 years of clean energy, engineering and marketing experience mostly through Technology Transition Corporation (TTC), which provides its staff and management. As Vice President and COO of TTC, Patrick has managed trade associations focused on hydrogen, fuel cells and solar energy and served a variety of technical, communications and management roles within them. Patrick holds a Bachelor of Arts in Engineering Sciences from Dartmouth College. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
Other Officers
- Chairman: Paul Greene – O'Brien and Gere
- Vice-chair: Norma McDonald – Organic Waste Systems
- Treasurer: Melissa VanOrnum - DVO Inc
- Secretary: Nora Goldstein - BioCycle
|
- Patrick Serfass, Executive Director (TTC)
- Josh Lieberman, Marketing and Membership (TTC)
- Andre Cutair, Graphics, Publications and Web site (TTC)
- Cordelia Pearson, Finance (TTC)
- Maureen Walsh, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs (ML Strategies)
- Bryan Stockton, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs (ML Strategies)
|
|
|
|
