Trust for Conservation Innovation Leadership

Management Team

Robin Nakao

Robin Nakao, Executive Director

Ms. Nakao joined TCI in 2007 and is responsible for the overall management of the organization. She brings over 25 years of financial management and leadership experience to her role with the organization. Prior to joining TCI, Ms. Nakao held executive management positions at several large investment and securities firms including Charles Schwab & Co, Robertson Stephens and ING. Ms. Nakao has also served as a CFO and financial consultant to various environmental organizations. Ms. Nakao began her career at Deloitte, an accounting & consulting firm. She earned an M.B.A from the Haas Graduate School of Business of the University California at Berkeley and a B.S. in Business Administration from University of Southern California.

Board of Directors

Board Chair, Ms. Alexis Krivkovich

Partner, McKinsey & Company

Ms. Krivkovich has served a broad range of clients across the financial services, industrial and nonprofit sectors on issues related to strategic growth and transformational change. Currently at McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, Ms. Krivkovich received an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business where she was an Arjay Miller Scholar. She also holds a B.A. in Public Policy and Economics from Stanford University.

Treasurer, Ms. Elena Schmid

Community Volunteer

Ms. Schmid is currently serving as president of the Children's Council of San Francisco and is a board member for the Center for Resource Solutions. She is a 20-year veteran of California’s energy industry, and has extensive leadership experience in energy-related issues, policy, communications, and human resources. Prior to her retirement, she managed a multi-year, multi-discipline project with the California Energy Commission that provided technical, policy and resource support to their cutting-edge approach to encouraging the development of renewable energy throughout the state and the western region. Ms. Schmid also served as the Vice President of Corporate and Strategic Development for the California Independent System Operator and as Director of the Office of Ratepayer Advocates for the California Public Utilities Commission.

Secretary, Ms. Melissa Beard Clack

Director of Recruiting Services, California Environmental Associates

Ms. Clack brings more than 15 years of consulting and recruitment experience in conservation and clean-tech sectors. Prior to rejoining CEA in June 2008, Ms. Clack ran her own recruitment business and has had extensive experience in running small businesses and nonprofit efforts, providing expertise in human resource management, insurance and liability issues, and fiscal oversight. Formerly, she was the President of the Marin Council of California Cooperative Nursery Schools, and assisted the Chief Financial Officer of the International 1990 Earth Day event. She also ran the financial and human resource operations of California Environmental Associates.

Board Member, Ms. Heather King

Clean Tech and Sustainability Strategy

Ms. King is a strategic planning, marketing and business development executive. She leverages 15 years of senior-level operating and consulting experience (including 8 years at Apple, NeXT and several internet start-ups) to develop go-to-market strategies for clean tech companies, media ventures, and the sustainability initiatives of large corporations. She is a featured blogger on several leading online new outlets covering F500 CEOs, industry events and business sustainability topics. Previously, Heather was a Partner at Marriner Associates (MA) a strategy consulting firm. Clients included Microsoft, Disney, Discovery, and Scholastic. She holds a BA and an MBA from Dartmouth College and is an Executive Fellow of the Presidio School of Sustainable Business. She serves on the boards of Society for Environmental Journalists and Wood River Land Trust.

Board Member, Ms. Rachel Wagner

Founder, San Francisco Bay Benefits
Adviser, Principled Solutions

Ms. Wagner has over 20 years of experience in strategic planning and financial analysis. She has developed strategies for clients ranging large corporations and nonprofits to small businesses and entrepreneurs. Prior to launching San Francisco Bay Benefits, Ms. Wagner served as the Director of Strategic Planning and Corporate Development for Agilent Technologies, the $9 billion spin-off from Hewlett Packard. She began her career in management consulting for Booz, Allen and Hamilton, and has held many roles in Corporate Finance. Ms. Wagner earned an M.B.A. from Stanford University and a B.S., magna cum laude, in Economics from Yale University.

Board Member, Mr. John David Claussen

Program Officer
Conservation & Science, David and Lucile Packard Foundation

Mr. Claussen is the Western Pacific program officer at the Packard Foundation. Before joining Packard in 2012 he was a partner at Mazars Starling Resources, a global business advisory firm (formerly Starling Resources, a firm he co-founded in 2004). He has advised and designed environmental, conservation and economic development strategies with business, government, and non-profit clients throughout North America and Asia for more than 15 years. A resident of Indonesia from 2004 to 2012, he has particularly deep experience in Southeast Asia. Previously, he was a senior associate at California Environmental Associates and worked for a number of high-tech manufacturing companies in the Silicon Valley. He also co-founded the non-profit Conservation and Community Investment Forum. He holds a bachelor of science in biology from Valparaiso University, Indiana.

Board Members Emeritus

Harriet Barlow

Co-Founder and Director, Blue Mountain Center and Co-Founder, Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Gigi Coe

Founder and Board Member, The Bay School

Jill Kauffman Johnson

Principal, California Environmental Associates, Executive Director, Chemical Strategies Partnership

Leslie Leslie

Grant Director, The Fred Gellert Family Foundation

Andreas Merkl

Principal, California Environmental Associates

Joseph Piazza

Founder & Managing Director, Wellford Energy

Brad Whitehead

President, The Fund for Our Economic Future

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