Pipeline and Origination

Sierra Chappell, Office Manager and Project Manager – Joined Terra Global Capital in May 2009. Sierra assists in managing the execution of project objectives. She oversees completion of tasks while maintaining consistency with the scope, budget and timeline of each unique project plan. She also provides administrative support to Terra Global Capital’s team in San Francisco and Washington DC. She brings to Terra Global a strong background in administrative and financial workflow, data research and analysis and business development. Prior to her work with Terra Global Capital she was in consulting and worked on business cases for communities and hospitals implementing health information systems. She earned an undergraduate degree from The George Washington University in International Affairs and Contemporary Cultures and Societies.

Michael Cullen, D.Phil., Managing Director – Over 20 years as a development and agricultural economist with experience in economic policy, markets, agricultural production and trade, and sustainable development research. Positions held at USDA’s Economic Research Service, OECD and Assistant Professor at Mills College, and University of the Pacific. Over six years private sector experience with Merrill Lynch, and experience with start-ups, in business development, strategic partnering, and financing.

Caryl Hart, JD, Ph.D., Consultant – Extensive experience in land conservation practice and policy, with a focus on land use and climate change. She is currently Chair of the California State Parks and Recreation Commission where she has been a member for ten years. From 2006-09, served as a member of the Forestry Protocols Advisory Committee to the California Climate Action Reserve, which developed accounting principles governing participation in voluntary carbon markets. Acted for fifteen years as an advisor to the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, and was a founding member of LandPaths, an environmental land trust and land management non-profit dedicated to maximizing resource conservation while allowing managed public access. Hart received her PhD in ESPM at the College of Natural Resources, University of California, Berkeley, her J.D. at the University of San Francisco College of Law, and a B.A. in economics from Cornell University.

Dirk Kloss, Managing Director – 20 years of experience in environmental finance and sustainable development, particularly for biodiversity conservation, forestry, and sustainable land use planning and management. M.Sc. in economic geography and extensive research in innovative conservation finance, over 15 years in project management and operations on field level as well as in headquarters. Served in increasingly senior project management and advisor positions for Germany’s aid agency GTZ, the German Bank for Reconstruction and Development KfW, the international consulting firm GFA, The Nature Conservancy, the World Bank, the Global Environmental Facility, and UNDP in over 20 countries, based several years each in India, China, Panama, the USA, and Zambia.

Mark Lambert, Principal – Joined Terra Global Capital in mid-2008, and assists with the development of new projects, management of the project pipeline, creation of project feasibility studies, and analysis of emerging market standards and policies. Prior to joining Terra Global Capital, he was employed in Hong Kong as an analyst for a private equity fund investing in emerging environmental technologies, where he analyzed over 100 potential investment targets throughout Southeast Asia. He has a strong understanding and experience with business development, investment analysis, carbon markets, and environmental policy. He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of California-Berkeley in 2007, focusing on Environmental Science, Policy and Management, and Business Administration.

John Lewis, Ph.D., Managing Director – 29 years of experience combining his discipline in ecological anthropology, with international development management experience, 22-year career with US AID, retiring after six years as the Agency Senior Agriculturalist and Director of its central Office of Agriculture and Food Security. Serving in Senegal, Mali, Cameroon, Egypt, Tunisia, and then Haiti, he was able to design and implement path-breaking new approaches to community-driven sustainable development in rural settings.

Cheri Sugal, Director – 15 years of experience in creating and financing rainforest protected areas world-wide in more than 25 countries. MA from Stanford University, Food Research Institute in agriculture and development economics. Extensive experience in project management, fundraising, marketing and organizational management. Prior to joining Terra Global Capital, she served as Senior Director of Conservation International’s Global Conservation Fund and Executive Director of World Parks and Rainforest2Reef. Joined Terra Global Capital in early 2010 and focuses on development of new projects and managing the carbon development process.

Sylvia S. Tognetti, Consultant – Over 20 years of experience in the field of environmental science and policy, with a focus on the comparative analysis of initiatives to establish economic and institutional incentives to protect watershed and other environmental services. She was among the Lead Authors of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Other publications include entries in the Encyclopedia of Hydrological Sciences and the Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Change. Previously she served as a consultant to the World Bank, the UN FAO, WWF, Forest Trends, The Nature Conservancy and the Centro Internacional de Agriculture Tropical (CIAT). She has also held positions at the National Academy of Sciences and the former Congressional Office of Technology Assessment. She earned an M.A. in Geography from the University of Maryland (2000), and a B.A. in environmental studies from George Washington University (1982).