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Carbon Direct
Carbon Direct
    • Our Company
    • Science Team
    • Leadership Team
  • Science
  • Software
  • Insights
  • Careers
Get Started
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Meet the Carbon Direct leadership team

We are committed to helping organizations with carbon management, from carbon footprinting to risk mitigation to carbon removal procurement.

Our Leaders

Cale Kennedy

Chief Technology Officer

Christian Braneon, PhD

Head of Climate Justice

Danan Margason

Danan Margason

Chief Product Officer

Elaine David

Principal Engineer and Data Architect

Elisse Roche

Head of Brand Marketing & PR

Jonathan Goldberg

CEO + Founder

Julio Friedmann

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Chief Scientist

Maria Mendieta

Director of Product

Matthew D. Potts

Matthew D. Potts, PhD

Chief Science Officer

Micah Macfarlane

Micah Macfarlane

Head of Commercialization

Nili Gilbert

Vice Chairwoman

Serene Chen

Head of People & Culture

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Address

17 State Street
New York, NY 10004

Contact

info@carbon-direct.com

© 2023 Carbon Direct

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Cale Kennedy

Chief Technology Officer

Cale Kennedy leads Carbon Direct’s Technology teams.

His primary focus is building inclusive, high performing teams, powerful software solutions, and delightful products to meet rising demand for carbon management.

Background & Bio

Cale has spent the majority of his career in startups, scaleups, and small businesses. He has built solutions to a wide range of problems including enterprise resource planning, social media platform engagement, field asset tracking, distributed workforce management, ecommerce, hotel tech. Immediately prior to joining Carbon Direct, Cale spent several years at Booking.com where he led the platform engineering organization responsible for modernizing Booking.com’s foundational services. Cale has been applying lessons learned in these various arenas toward the most critical challenge of our time.

Education

B Sc. Mathematical Systems, Applied Computation, and Data Science

University of Oklahoma

Christian Braneon, PhD

Head of Climate Justice

Environmental Science & Policy + Geospatial Analysis + Climate Justice

Dr. Christian Braneon is Head of Climate Justice at Carbon Direct.

Dr. Braneon leads the integration of climate justice into Carbon Direct’s culture, operations, and services across the carbon management industry.

Background & Bio

Dr. Braneon brings a broad range of experience in climate science and civil engineering as well as environmental and climate justice to Carbon Direct. He co-leads the Environmental Justice and Climate Just Cities Network at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, serves as Co-Chair of the New York City Panel on Climate Change, and sits on the newly formed Center for Climate Solutions’ Advisory Committee, which was established to further New York City’s efforts to respond to the climate crisis.

Prior to joining Carbon Direct, Dr. Braneon served as a climate scientist in the Climate Impacts Group of NASA GISS and as Co-Director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s inaugural Environmental Justice Academy for community leaders.

Education

PhD, Civil Engineering

Georgia Institute of Technology

MS, Civil Engineering

Georgia Institute of Technology

BS, Civil Engineering

Georgia Institute of Technology

BS, Applied Physics

Morehouse College

Awards

Quantification of Historic and Future Changes in Atlantic Coastal Marshes and Implications for Global Modeling

NASA

Robert H. Goddard Award

AXA Award for Climate Science

Climate Action Plan Award

White House

Publications and Features

blog

/

Oct 25, 2022

Climate Justice at Carbon Direct: Embedding Equity Into Our Company’s End-to-End Carbon Management Solutions

Jonathan Goldberg

Christian Braneon, PhD

Environmental Science & Policy

Danan Margason

Danan Margason

Chief Product Officer

Danan leads Carbon Direct’s technology and commercial teams, working with leading companies to implement carbon management at scale.

Background & Bio

Danan focuses on building diverse teams that have a strong combination of technical and commercial awareness. He values direct communication, build-first mentalities, and making progress each day.

Danan has over 10 years of software experience leading product, commercial, and operations functions. Prior to launching Carbon Direct’s software efforts, he led Booking.com’s search and content platforms, sold Tune.com after building it into a 400-person global martech leader, and rowed with the U.S. National Team.

Danan is also a licensed attorney, and uses his legal education to help navigate the global climate policy landscape. As a lifelong skier, hiker, and traveler, Danan sees the effects of climate change daily. He is incredibly passionate about leveraging software to solve physical problems, and sees no better opportunity to do that than in climate tech.

Education

B.A. Philosophy & Political Science

Rutgers University

J.D.

University of Washington School of Law

Elaine David

Principal Engineer and Data Architect

Elaine designs and builds systems from the ground up.

As a senior individual contributor to the nascent Carbon Direct Data Platform, Elaine plays a key role in shaping engineering culture, developing technical architectures, and ensuring business outcomes through extensive collaborations with the Product team.

Background & Bio

Elaine is a software engineer and architect with expertise in fast-paced, collaborative environments focused on innovation, in-depth domain analysis, and scalable applications. Prior to working at Carbon Direct, Elaine was a Principal Software Engineer for Monster where she developed the architecture design and integration approach for GCP-based streaming and batch data pipelines.

Elaine additionally has extensive middle-tier and backend development experience in C# as a Lead Engineer, with a focus on integrating with third-party APIs and rebuilding backends for increased data processing reliability.

Education

MS, Software Engineering

San Jose State University

BS, Computer Science

De La Salle University

Elisse Roche

Head of Brand Marketing & PR

Elisse leads brand marketing and PR at Carbon Direct.

Elisse works in partnership with the Science, Product, Design, and Sales teams to build the Carbon Direct brand story. Elisse also manages the PR function at Carbon Direct.

Background & Bio

Elisse brings 10+ years of experience in marketing and communications. As a once-upon-a-time English major, Elisse firmly believes in the power of a good story to change minds, perceptions, and even behaviors. Her personal mission is to build a better, more equal, and more sustainable future for all -- a future in which both people and planet thrive, together.

Prior to working at Carbon Direct, Elisse was a Marketing Manager at Google on their Brand, YouTube Social Media, and Google Cloud teams. It was in the latter position that she founded their inaugural Data for Good program to enable nonprofits and social entrepreneurs to apply big data solutions to real-world challenges. During that time, Elisse recognized the importance of driving clarity in the climate sector in order to drive action -- and so decided to pursue additional graduate study to develop her knowledge of environmental science as well as core management skills.

At the Yale School of Management and Yale School of the Environment, Elisse is a joint-degree MBA/ MEM candidate specializing in Climate Justice and Carbon Management. Her research is focused on indigenous carbon management and nature-based carbon sequestration.

Elisse is a passionate DEI advocate and is dedicated to advancing the representation of diverse perspectives. She is a Consortium Fellow, Forté Fellow, and member of Carbon Direct's Climate Justice Committee.

Education

MBA '23

Yale School of Management

MEM '23

Yale School of the Environment

BA, English Literature & Hispanic Studies

Columbia University

Awards

Consortium Fellow

Consortium for Graduate Study in Management

Forté Fellow

Forté Foundation

Publications and Features

media

/

Jun 16, 2022

The First Movers Coalition and the Future of Carbon Management

Elisse Roche

blog

/

May 25, 2022

Carbon Direct Joins First Movers Coalition to Support Carbon Removal

Elisse Roche

blog

/

Feb 7, 2022

How We Negated the Carbon Footprint of Our Offsite

Elisse Roche

Jonathan Goldberg

CEO + Founder

Jon is the Founder and CEO of Carbon Direct, scaling carbon management into a global industry to combat climate change through science and software.

Background & Bio

Jon has over 15 years of experience in energy investing and project finance. Prior to launching Carbon Direct, he was the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of BBL Commodities, a commodity hedge fund. Jon started his career at J. Aron, the commodities division of Goldman Sachs where he managed a large proprietary trading book across global macro markets with an emphasis on commodities. Jon was then a partner at Glencore, managing the firm’s US derivative business prior to its IPO.

Jon's focus on climate change and negative emissions extends to his work at Columbia University where he sits on the board of the Center on Global Energy Policy. He has been a lecturer on energy issues at the university and helps steer the Carbon Dioxide Management program. He is also an advisor to Lawrence Livermore National Lab on negative emissions.

Education

BA, Economics

Yale University

Awards

Board Member

Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University

Publications and Features

blog

/

Oct 25, 2022

Climate Justice at Carbon Direct: Embedding Equity Into Our Company’s End-to-End Carbon Management Solutions

Jonathan Goldberg

Christian Braneon, PhD

Environmental Science & Policy

blog

/

Aug 24, 2022

Carbon Direct Raises $60MM to Expand End-to-End Carbon Management

Jonathan Goldberg

Julio Friedmann

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Chief Scientist

Direct Air Capture (DAC) + Hydrogen + Biofuel

Dr. Julio Friedmann is Chief Scientist at Carbon Direct.

He works directly with clients, the Science team, and the leadership of Carbon Direct to solve major technical challenges around carbon management and CO2 removal.

Background & Bio

Dr. Friedmann recently served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy where he was responsible for DOE’s R&D program in advanced fossil energy systems, carbon capture, and storage (CCS), CO2 utilization, and clean coal deployment. More recently, he was a Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia. He has held positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, including Chief Energy Technologist.

Dr. Friedmann is one of the most widely known and authoritative experts in the U.S. on carbon removal (CO2 drawdown from the air and oceans), CO2 conversion and use (carbon-to-value), hydrogen, industrial decarbonization, and carbon capture and sequestration.

Education

Ph.D. in Geology

University of Southern California

MS, Geology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

BS, Music

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Awards

Greenman award (Lifetime achievement in CCS)

International Energy Agency: IEA

Publications and Features

blog

/

Nov 8, 2022

Carbon Direct at COP27

Nili Gilbert

Julio Friedmann

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

blog

/

Sep 15, 2022

Commentary on the Economics of Direct Air Carbon Capture

Julio Friedmann

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

blog

/

Aug 2, 2022

A New Proto-Protocol for Bio-oil Sequestration

Julio Friedmann

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

blog

/

Apr 5, 2022

On the IPCC AR6 WGIII Report: Why Carbon Removal is an Essential Part of Meeting Climate Goals

Julio Friedmann

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

blog

/

Feb 22, 2022

Dr. Julio Friedmann Testifies Before the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Energy Subcommittee

Julio Friedmann

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

media

/

Nov 11, 2021

Carbon Direct COP26 Global Forum on Carbon Management Technologies

Julio Friedmann

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

blog

/

Mar 7, 2021

Direct Air Capture is Ready for its Close-up

Julio Friedmann

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

blog

/

Nov 18, 2020

The Seven Stages of Net-Zero Commitments

Julio Friedmann

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

blog

/

Sep 8, 2020

Offsets, Onsets, and Insets: More is More

Julio Friedmann

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

Maria Mendieta

Director of Product

Maria leads product development at Carbon Direct.

She focuses on developing product strategy, roadmap, and requirements with cross-functional teams to launch impactful carbon management products.

Background & Bio

Maria combines her background in climate change policy, applied microeconomics, and her technology sector experience to deliver world-class, net zero software solutions.

Prior to working at Carbon Direct, Maria was a research fellow at the Inter-American Development Bank and negotiator at the UNFCCC. After working on climate change policy, she decided to pivot into the technology sector where she started as a data scientist. She soon realized that her passion was in product development and leading cross-functional teams.

Education

MS

University of Tennessee

BSc

Universidad de los Andes

Awards

Research Fellowship

Inter-American Development Bank

Matthew D. Potts

Matthew D. Potts, PhD

Chief Science Officer

Forest Management + Biodiversity

Dr. Matthew Potts leads Carbon Direct’s international science team in their work on decarbonizing the global economy.

Specifically, Dr. Potts helps clients assess high quality carbon removal from managed landscapes and works to ensure climate actions are just and equitable. He also works closely with Carbon Direct’s technology team to integrate science, software and product.

Background & Bio

Dr. Potts draws on his interdisciplinary background with formal training in mathematics, ecology, and economics to inform his work in nature and community based climate solutions.

Dr. Potts has over two decades of experience in resource management issues in low- and middle-income countries. Though currently on leave from UC Berkeley, this expertise supports his work as the S.J. Hall Professor in Forest Economics at the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, & Management and as the Associate Director for Sustainable Development, Blum Center for Developing Economies, where he leads an interdisciplinary lab that focuses on the co-production by human and natural systems of ecosystem services and natural pathways for carbon sequestration.

Dr. Potts recently served as a coordinating lead author on the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Land Degradation and Restoration Assessment.

Education

Ph.D. Applied Mathematics 2001

Harvard University

A.M. Applied Mathematics 1999

Harvard University

B.S. Mathematics 1996

University of Michigan

Awards

NRT-AI: Digital Transformation of Development (DToD), $3,000,000 (2021-2026)

US National Science Foundation

INCLUDES Alliance: Broadening Career Pathways in Food, Energy, and Water Systems with and within Native American Communities (Native FEWS Alliance), $7,071,915 (2021-2026)

US National Science Foundation

Coordinating Lead Author, Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Land Degradation and Restoration Assessment (2015-2018)

Publications and Features

High-quality carbon offsets preserve tropical rainforests.

blog

/

Jan 19, 2023

Guardian reporting details significant risks with avoided deforestation offsets

Matthew D. Potts

Matthew D. Potts, PhD

Forest Management

blog

/

Nov 14, 2022

Potts’ Picks - recently published academic papers curated by Carbon Direct's Chief Science Officer, Dr. Matthew Potts

Matthew D. Potts

Matthew D. Potts, PhD

Forest Management

blog

/

Aug 11, 2022

Modeling carbon storage in single-species forests

Matthew D. Potts

Matthew D. Potts, PhD

Forest Management

Jacob Bukoski, PhD

Forest Management

blog

/

May 16, 2022

Carbon Direct and Microsoft Release 2022 Update to the Criteria for High-Quality Carbon Dioxide Removal

Matthew D. Potts

Matthew D. Potts, PhD

Forest Management

Micah Macfarlane

Micah Macfarlane

Head of Commercialization

Micah Macfarlane leads Carbon Direct’s commercial teams, scaling high quality solutions for carbon management.

Specifically, Micah helps clients engage in the carbon market to secure, grow and integrate the highest quality carbon management solutions into their climate plans and businesses.

Background & Bio

Over the course of his career, Micah has structured and negotiated >$2B in deals for supply creation and built supply deals and rollouts in over 90 countries. Prior to joining Carbon Direct, Micah worked as Vice President in Energy Private Equity with the SUN Group leading renewables, EV and alternative fuel investments.

Before that, Micah spent a decade developing Advance Market Commitments, public/private partnerships, and investment structures for vaccines and other medical products – leading programs with the Gates Foundation Strategic Investment Fund, the Asian Development Bank, and the Clinton Health Access Initiative.

Education

BA

Middlebury

MBA

Harvard Business School

Awards

Horace W. Goldsmith Fellow

John H. McArthur Fellow

Publications and Features

Aerial view of top of green trees changing colors

blog

/

May 6, 2022

Assessing the State of the Voluntary Carbon Market in 2022

Micah Macfarlane

Micah Macfarlane

Nili Gilbert

Vice Chairwoman

Nili Gilbert, CFA, CAIA, is the Vice Chairwoman of Carbon Direct.

Background & Bio

Nili is the Chair of the US$130+ Trillion Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero’s (GFANZ) Advisory Panel of technical experts, as well as a member of its CEO Principals Group. Nili also sits as the Chair of US Policy for the UN-Convened Asset Owner Alliance. In addition to serving as a board member and Chairwoman of the Investment Committees of both the David Rockefeller Fund and the Synergos Institute, she is a Senior Advisor at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and a member of the Social Mission Board of Seventh Generation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unilever.

Previously, she was Co-Founder and Portfolio Manager of Matarin Capital, which became one of the larger women-owned asset managers in the US. She has previously served as a member of the State of California’s Climate-Related Financial Risk Advisory Group.

Education

BA

Harvard University

MBA

Columbia Business School

Awards

Young Global Leader

World Economic Forum

TopVoice in Finance

LinkedIn

Entrepreneur of the Year

National Association of Securities Professionals

“One to Watch”

Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Member

Council on Foreign Relations

Member

Economic Club of New York

Publications and Features

blog

/

Jan 26, 2023

5 Key Takeaways From Davos 2023

Nili Gilbert

blog

/

Nov 8, 2022

Carbon Direct at COP27

Nili Gilbert

Julio Friedmann

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

Serene Chen

Head of People & Culture

Serene leads Carbon Direct's people team.

Her primary focus is in developing organizational systems, culture, internal communication, and recruitment to make Carbon Direct a best place to work.

Background & Bio

An energetic, purpose-driven leader with 10+ years of international experience, Serene firmly believes that every organization's greatest potential lies in its people. Serene brings her talent for organization, culture-building, and strategy to Carbon Direct with impressive prior leadership roles in human resources at Barclays, Convoy, and Forterra.

As a proud, first-generation Chinese-American woman, Serene is dedicated to strengthening equity, inclusion, and belonging both inside and outside of work. At Convoy, she was the founder and co-chair of the company's first Asian employee resource group. As a board member and leader of the equity and inclusion committee at The Mountaineers, she works to improve pathways to leadership and foster belonging throughout the 14k+ member organization, to help make the outdoors more welcoming for all.

Education

BSc, Learning & Organizational Change

Northwestern University

MSc, Management

The London School of Economics

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