Founder In Residence

Hi there! I am trying to submit my application for the Founder in Residence and I am experiencing a technical glitch that will not allow me to upload a resume. Is there any support for an issue like this?

Dear Claire,

To expand on my earlier note:

I am interested in the Founder in Residence role posted recently on LinkedIn.

I have spent about a little more than a year building a non-profit project development facility, to decarbonize traditional industries in low and middle income areas — can you spell “global”?. The proposed exit is sale to impact investors.

Apparent lack of interest from Foundations, etc., has led me to consider turning my non-profit into a B Corporation. My understanding is that this process is long and thus costly, and thus I would only embark on it with financial and moral support. I need someone to help me figure out whether whether there is any prospect for this kind of endeavor to obtain support from venture capitalists, and then if so, to help me achieve this major pivot.

My CV should draw a picture of my considerable “start up DNA”. But that’s “nature”; I need “nurture”.

Thanks for listening. Let me know your thoughts,

Leni Berliner, Founder

Creative Climate Management Institute Ltd.

4701 Willard Avenue, #717

Chevy Chase, MD 20815

MY CV:

Climate & Energy Entrepreneur, 2001-present

• October 2021-present: I am building a non-profit to foster equitable low emissions economic development and improve health of working people. The approach is to replace diesel by deploying low emissions and energy efficient production technologies in smaller industries. Contact me for more information.

President and CEO, Energy Farms International LLC, 2007-2018

• I established EFI to promote renewable energy in Latin America, and build solar power for the mining industry; got as far as identifying land to lease and evaluate. Following the financial crisis of 2008/2009, EFI pivoted from project developer to sustainable economic development advisor. See attached description of publications, mentoring and work performed for US and international energy, clean technology and climate-related policy clients.

Chair, Mining & Metals 21, Inc/M3 Investment Group, 2000-2006

• Formed M3 Investment Group with partners in the US, UK, Canada and Chile, to attract private equity to the production of minerals, metals and materials used in clean energy technologies. With a global investment pipeline, M3 raised $40 million in “soft-circled” commitments for first close (target was $100m). The Fund, structured as a Canadian Dividend Investment Trust, did not close due to the death of my General Partner.
• Prior to the Fund initiative, M&M 21 engaged in project finance advisory work for renewable energy (bagasse and wind) in India, and coffee & tea production in Eastern Africa.
• Advised industrial minerals companies on financing; tested feasibility of on-line e-marketplace for mineral concentrate.

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMING, 1988-1999

Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer for Latin America, Apex Silver Mines LDC, 1993-1999.

Helped build this transnational company from concept to listing on the American Stock Exchange:

• Defined strategy, staffed, and oversaw the financial controls and accounts of country branches.
• Supervised the optioning, evaluation and acquisition, including privatizations, of one million acres of mineral property in six countries by a team of local geologists, engineers, and lawyers. Helped draft prospectus for IPO.
• Designed and established the San Cristobal Community Development Foundation, to enable the community to diversify its economy. Under my leadership, the company’s flagship mine, Minera San Cristobal in Bolivia (now owned by Sumitomo) and its associated infrastructure won awards for sustainability. Minera San Cristobal remains the largest employer of indigenous people in Bolivia. See www.minerasancristobal.com.

Advisor, Inter-American Investment Corporation (now IDB Invest) Financial Sector and Capital Markets Division, 1992-1994.

• Prepared Peruvian banks and non-bank financial institutions for sale under liberalization regime
• Established Profund, a $22 million blended investment fund for Latin American financial sector service micro, small and medium enterprises. Recruited investors, drafted term sheet, trained investment officers, identified initial project pipeline. Profund outperformed other impact investments of its type.

Vice President, Council for International Development, 1988-1992

• Managed a multi-million dollar private non-profit program of grants, bridge loans, and technical assistance in program management and governance, to financial institutions and providers of municipal services in countries in transition (Central America, Eastern Europe, East and West Africa)
• Served on the Board of the Debt for Development Coalition, which achieved changes to the US tax code to enable holders of blocked currencies to swap them for US$-denominated debt, e.g. “debt for conservation”.

Prior to joining the Council, I was a sub-contractor to USAID, supporting policy and regulatory reforms, and designing and evaluating programs in private sector development, energy privatization and agricultural trade, working mostly in “countries in transition.” In the US, I managed small teams at Eastern Middlesex Human Resources Development Authority, and at MIT/Operations Research Center.

Board Service

DC Sustainable Energy Utility Advisory Board, 2015-2018. Mayoral appointment. Principally an energy efficiency and green building non-profit, DCSEU also installs solar power generating capacity.

Education

Master of Public and International Affairs (MPIA) in Economic and Social Development, University of Pittsburgh, 1979.

• Internship with UN Environment Programme/Regional Seas Activities Center, Geneva, Switzerland. Provided administrative supported to UNEP’s ocean monitoring program implemented by 100 labs in 12 countries, and to the drafting of the Convention Against Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea from Land-Based Sources.

BA Anthropology, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 1976. Magna cum Laude and Departmental Honors; Commonwealth Scholar.

Other

• Member of Founding Cohort, Climatebase Climate Technology Accelerator, 2022
• Bilingual English-Spanish, good French
• LEED Certified 2013 (Green Associate) and 2014 (Project Management)
• PGS Training: Fundamentals of the US Electric Power Industry, 2018
• Founding Member of American Council on Renewable Energy, 2006

ENERGY FARMS INTERNATIONAL

Leni Berliner established EFI in 2007, for the purpose of developing a portfolio of renewable energy generating assets using biomass and solar technologies. She took a 24 Mw solar project in northern Chile through Scoping Study, and evaluated three large land packages in Argentina for the production of biomass for liquid fuel. Following the financial crisis of 2008-2009, EFI pivoted from project developer to advisory services provider. A Founding Member of ACORE (American Council for Renewable Energy), EFI was active in private and public sector efforts to grow the sustainable economy, providing analytical and relationship support to land and property owners, financiers, technology providers, and policy makers.

Assistance to Land and Property Owners: To help owners of undeveloped land or commercial buildings make energy efficiency and renewable energy (EERE) investment decisions, EFI assessed energy investment climate, drafted leases, performed and oversaw pre-feasibility studies and advised on financing. EFI advised a construction company on the use of solar water heating and generating energy from solid waste at a mining camp in Chile, and advised a property developer on incorporating LEED standards into a new apartment building in Chile.

Assistance to Financiers and Clean Technology Entrepreneurs: Energy Farms International did project appraisals and raised capital, in support of efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Raised $8 million in first tranche for biofuels production in Benin in 2008. Knowledgeable of early efforts to build GHG emissions trading markets.

Working with the Clean Tech Open and the Mentor Capital Network, Ms. Berliner has supported early-stage clean technology companies as a coach and judge, helping them plan to go to market with a variety of new products or processes, including without limitation:

• biomass for heat and for materials
• tropical weather forecasting
• off-grid community-scale solar-powered refrigeration
• green building
• battery manufacturing processes.

EFI also provided evaluation services to multilateral environmental organizations supporting green infrastructure, conservation and adaptation to climate change in Latin America such as the Biotrade Facilitation Program of UNCTAD, the Global Environment Facility (Earth Fund), and Swiss Economic Cooperation Organization/Cleaner Production Program. The GEF Evaluation included an assessment of the progress of the CIF funds and suggestions for fostering growth in their use.

Publications/Assistance to Policy Makers: EFI provided uncompensated advice to the US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee staff on Waxman-Markey (2009), and to NGOs working with rating agencies on the development of assessment criteria for green bonds and water bonds. In 2014 EFI submitted to the Government of Dominica a Concept Paper for the development of micro-grids to support agriculture and tourism. Ms. Berliner is an occasional contributor to the InterAmerican Dialogue’s Latin American Energy Advisor. Ms. Berliner was a Peer Reviewer for five chapters in the section on Legal Frontiers of the ABA’s Global Climate Change and US Law, Second Edition Michael B. Gerrard and Jody Freeman, editors, published June 2014. For the US Congress, in 2016 she and colleagues published a paper with the National Institute of Building Sciences/Committee on Finance, Insurance and Real Estate, on “Using the Public Capital Markets to Mainstream Investment in Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy”.

I have 2 pre-seed tech startups that I'd like to have you consider for your FIR program. Who should I contact/speak with about this opportunity. Dr Palmer

This is the type of opportunity I am searching to become absorbed by.

Hope to connect. This looks like an incredible opportunity!