Charles was born and raised in the mountains of Colorado. He received his undergraduate degree in International Business from University of Colorado, Boulder and Masters degree in Spirituality from Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley CA. Prior to launching Tragaluz, Charles was the Vice President of Marketing and Communications at WesPay, a financial services trade association. He also has served as Executive Director of the Hawaii Epilepsy Foundation, a non-profit organization.

An environmental chemist and soil remediation specialist using beneficial microbes to produce Terra Preta type soils in Sonoma County after working in Afghanistan as an Agriculture Advisor to Special Forces. Both a farmer and Professor of Anatomy and Physiology, he uses bio-char, balanced nutrition and beneficial microbes to grow healthy soils and healthy food.

I am Exciting young Engineering student with the drive and motivation to design and build Gasification systems. Currently, I am building a 706KW anaerobic digestion power plant in Chico, CA. Also I am working with a student intern group REGEN (Rice Hull Energy Generation) collaborating together to create a unit that will be both produce a decent Synapse gas and Biochar. I have 6 years’ experience in the construction field, within everything from power plants to high-rise building construction also invested into starting up a nonprofit organization SYDTF (Sustainable Youth Development Task Force).

Shirley Johnson-Foell is a resident in Sonoma County and graduate of Sonoma State University. She hold a B.S in Environmental Studies and a M.A in Alternative Fuels. Shirley works part-time as a teacher, and volunteers for various worthy non-profits. She is a fellow at the Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy.

Genevieve Taylor is Vice President at Global Genesis (www.ggenesis.com ), an organizational development consulting firm based in Sonoma County, CA where she is a trainer and facilitator. She is also a partner at CircadiaOne, a change management firm dedicated to guiding enterprises towards sustainability (www.circadiaone.com). Genevieve takes great delight in working with large groups as well as small groups, and enjoys helping her clients in creating shared vision, conducting strategic planning, mission development, teambuilding, and creating inter-organizational collaborations. As a volunteer and social entrepreneur, she co-founded the annual Sustainable Enterprise Conference and the San Francisco Urban Alliance for Sustainability. Recently, she was awarded the 2012 "Green Issues and Opportunities Award from Leadership Santa Rosa and the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce. Genevieve received her bachelor's degree in Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley in 2002. She is proud to be a fellow of both Leadership Santa Rosa (Class XXI, 2006) and the Leadership Institute of Ecology & The Economy (Fellow 2008).

Ashwin has served as the founder/CEO and as a senior executive of both corporate strategy and business development for both early stage and established companies. He is experienced in leading businesses from inception to exit. His 20-year background spans software, internet, green/clean tech, finance, real estate, life sciences and eCommerce. He will be presenting on Crowd Funding.

Marcel is interested in agroecology, polyculture, biochar and aquaponics. A skilled hand in the lab and the field, he has participated in the turfgrass research program at New Mexico State University, and staffed on small and large farming operations. He is passionate about making the important shifts in farm production practices to lay the foundations for a sustainable world.

Attends Butte College in Oroville Ca, studying mechanical engineering with a focus in sustainability. I have been participating in a project to develop a continual fed rice hull gasifier in coordination with Steve Feher of STL . I also strive to bring youth into hands on projects like our biochar water filter prototype, in this process also introducing them to professors and political figures, developing a youth driven community movement!