Kasey Krifka, The Climate Trust
September 29, 2017

A Notable Transition, Letter from the Executive Director

 
Dear Friends and Stakeholders,

I would like to take this opportunity to inform you of some progress and changes at The Climate Trust that involves saying goodbye to a respected team member, Mik McKee.

We have made significant progress toward building and deploying our $5.5 million carbon fund this year, with thirty percent already committed to quality, land-based projects in each of our target sectors. Mik, our Land Asset Manager, joined The Trust almost 3 years ago and has been a valuable part of our efforts in building the project pipeline for this fund, helping to invest in projects that conserve critical grasslands, protect forest habitat, and provide clean energy.

As Mik moves on to an exciting new career opportunity, The Trust is pleased to welcome another experienced technical expert, Julius Pasay, to our team. Julius comes to us from the Yale School of Forestry with experience in Forest Management as well as Agroforestry. He just completed a year abroad on a Fulbright Scholarship in France, and we are excited to have him join the team. While today is Mik’s last official day with us, he has generously agreed to stay actively involved during the staff transition so that Julius is able to hit the ground running when he starts on Monday—ensuring no gaps in communication or service for our partners.

Our senior management team, including myself, is committed to providing the same high level of service to our clients and partners, and look forward to continued collaboration with your organization. The Trust is now working to stand up a larger $100 million fund. We have three dedicated senior staff working on the investment side, including Kristen Kleiman, our seasoned Director of Investments; Peter Weisberg, Senior Investment Manager; and myself. Assembling capital is essential to ensuring that we have investment funds available for our current and growing pipeline.

Given our close relationship, I thought you would appreciate knowing about this leadership change in advance. As of Monday, October 2nd, Julius Pasay will become the contact for all things forestry and grasslands related. Peter Weisberg remains available as our in-house digester expert, and Sheldon Zakreski continues to head up our compliance, sales, and contracting.

Thanks in advance for your continued support through this transition. And please join us in wishing Mik the best of luck in his new endeavors.

Sincerely—Sean Penrith, Executive Director, The Climate Trust

 
Image credit: Flickr/Doug Kerr