Board of Directors and Officers
Travis Hemmen
President and Board Member
Westervelt Ecological Services
1400 Jack Warner Parkway NE
Tuscaloosa, AL 35404
(205) 562-5000
Mr. Hemmen serves as Vice President with oversight of the Business and Market Development for Westervelt Ecological Services (WES). Mr. Hemmen coordinates with private and public clients on project specific mitigation and manages sales of existing bank credits.
Mr. Hemmen identifies potential site acquisitions, analyzes market information to ensure the finished mitigation banks are a viable product.
Mr. Hemmen has a background in environmental consulting and regulatory permitting and compliance for a national home builder. As a consultant, he has managed small- and large-scale projects, including state and federal permitting of projects by local water agencies, port redevelopment and dredging programs, and development of master planned communities.
Mr. Hemmen has a B.A. degree in Biology with an emphasis in Ethics from the University of Northern Iowa, and a M.S. degree in Environmental Law and Policy with an emphasis in Alternative Dispute Resolution from Vermont Law School.
James Parker
Vice President and Board Member
Falling Springs, LLC
6243 River Road, Suite 7
Richmond, VA 23229
(804) 330-8092
James Parker is Manager of Mitigation Sales & Acquisitions for Falling Springs LLC and has been with the company since its inception in 2007. Parker oversees mitigation sales and services in order to provide mitigation solutions for Falling Springs’ clients & customers. He is also responsible for and assists his management team with business development opportunities, financial analysis, underwriting, due diligence, acquisition, and management of the company’s mitigation banking assets. Prior to and coinciding with his work at Falling Springs, Parker was a Real Estate Project Manager for Tredegar Corporation where he managed the corporation’s real estate holdings & investments from 2007-2012.
Previously Parker was an account manager with the sports marketing & licensing agency CLC in Atlanta for four years and holds a M.B.A from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and a B.A. in business administration from James Madison University.
Pamela Fetterman
Treasurer and Board Member
EcoGenesis
4152 Independence Ct, C-7
Sarasota, FL 34234
(941) 955-4616
Pamela Fetterman is the managing member and Principal Scientist of ecoGENESIS, LLC, a cutting edge environmental consulting business founded on the principles of the care and stewardship of the ecological systems which sustain humanity. ecoGENESIS provides feasibility analysis, wetland delineation, environmental permitting, endangered species surveying and permitting, contract management, land management, mitigation, monitoring, ecological valuation and ecological design services to wetland mitigation bankers, land developers, single-family residential homeowners, federal, state and local governments, non-governmental organizations, and other regulated industries.
Fetterman has 23 years of experience in environmental and ecological resource management, permitting, and water use regulations. She has focused on the fields of evaluation of impacts to wetland structure and function, delineation and verification of wetland and surface water boundaries jurisdictional to Florida and the United States, large scale wetland restoration and mitigation banking, ecological restoration, natural lands management, and conservation banking.
Adam Davis
Board Member
Ecosystem Investment Partners, LLC
5550 Newbury Street, Suite B
Baltimore, MD 21209
(415) 462-0163
Adam Davis is a Managing Partner for Ecosystem Investment Partners (EIP), a private equity fund manager that acquires and manages high priority conservation properties across the United States. EIP delivers competitive returns to its investors through the use of land-based environmental offsets for unavoidable impacts.
He previously served as Director of the Environment Division for EPRI Solutions, a consulting firm owned by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) where he worked with a team of economists, biologists and hydrologists to develop decision tools, appraisal methods and tax strategies to enable market based conservation choices. This then led him to start his own consulting practice, Solano Partners, Inc., where he worked with a broad array of corporate, government and NGO clients on environmental investment and conservation finance issues. One core client was the online information service called Ecosystem Marketplace, which he cofounded and where he served as Editor-in-Chief. Davis received the 2002 Ecological Society of America Corporate Award for his contribution to the understanding of connections between recycling, resource recovery and ecosystem health.
Michael Hare
Board Member
RES
5020 Montrose Blvd., Suite 650
Houston, TX 77006
(713) 520-5400
Michael serves as the Director of Government Affairs and Communications at RES. He not only focuses on Louisiana coastal restoration initiatives, compliance across the company, and overseeing government affairs but also serves as the company's primary media interface, providing guidance and leadership for marketing and communications at RES.
Prior to joining RES, Michael worked for Congressman Charles Boustany for over a decade. He served as a legislative assistant in Washington, DC working on agriculture, infrastructure, defense and international trade issues. Michael worked to pass legislation to strengthen our customs laws and support rice and sugarcane farmers. In 2012, Michael moved to Lafayette, Louisiana where he served as Deputy District Director focusing on coastal, infrastructure and wetlands issues throughout southwest Louisiana. He served as the campaign manager for the 2014 congressional race and the 2016 senatorial race.
Michael is a graduate of Louisiana State University with BA degrees in economics and political science and earned an MS in U.S. foreign policy from American University in Washington, DC
Will McDow
Board Member
Environmental Defense Fund
1875 Connecticut Ave, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20009
(800) 684-3322
Will McDow leads EDF’s effort on biomass energy to address the multiple land, water and wildlife issues associated with increased land-based energy production. His work focuses on policies and practices to address the carbon accounting of bioenergy systems and the development of models of sustainable biomass management. Will works with national, regional and state stakeholders to improve land management, enhance biodiversity and protect water quality on private forest and farm lands.
McDow has spent 10 years specializing in economic incentives and rural land management, with an emphasis on energy markets, Farm Bill programs and tax policy. He led EDF’s multi-year effort to pass legislation in North Carolina that gives property tax relief to landowners who undertake conservation activities on their property. He serves on the NC Forestry Technical Advisory Committee which is responsible for developing best management practices to protect water quality; and the NC Forestry Council to advise the State Forester in the direction and activities of the Division of Forest Resources.
Preston Smith
Board Member
Wildwood Environmental Credit Company, LLC
PO Box 6602
Tyler, TX 75711
(903) 780-2102
Preston W. Smith is a Partner and Vice President with Wildwood Environmental Credit Company, LLC (Wildwood), a strategic team focused on sustainable land use. At Wildwood, Smith has specialized in the generation of mitigation and conservation permitting strategies for clients across a variety of industries and states. He currently manages the sales and marketing for Wildwood’s over 25,000 acres of mitigation projects, while aiding in the regulatory permitting of new projects.
Smith has extensive experience in strategic development for ecosystem marketplace opportunities, venture capital raises and the ability to deliver unique marketing solutions. He played a critical role in the acquisition of Pineywoods Mitigation Bank, one of the country’s largest mitigation banks at 19,075 acres. He holds a BA from Southern Methodist University and is a member of numerous conservation minded organizations including the Society of Texas Environmental Professionals.
Sara Johnson
Executive Director
Ecological Restoration Business Association
8270 Greensboro Drive, Suite 700
Tysons, VA 22102
(703) 584-8375
Sara Johnson is the Executive Director of the Ecological Restoration Business Association. She is an attorney with a background in and passion for conservation and economic solutions to public environmental issues. Prior to her position with ERBA, Johnson worked in the environmental compliance office of Patuxent River Naval Air Station on the Chesapeake Bay and as a law clerk with the Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division in Washington, D.C.
Johnson holds an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Richmond and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia, where she served as the Articles Development Editor of the Virginia Environmental Law Journal. She is licensed to practice law in Virginia and California.
Seth Ginther
Executive Vice President
Ecological Restoration Business Association
8270 Greensboro Drive, Suite 700
Tysons, VA 22102
(703) 584-8375
Seth Ginther is Executive Vice President of the Ecological Restoration Business Association. Seth is an attorney and co-managing partner of Hirschler Fleischer's Energy and Infrastructure Group. He founded and leads the firm's government affairs, regulatory and economic development consultancy, HF Consulting LLC.
In the energy and infrastructure area, Seth routinely represents energy and infrastructure businesses in project finance, negotiating and drafting power purchase agreements, recapitalizations, mergers and acquisitions, energy and infrastructure asset development projects and multi-state and federal legislative and regulatory matters.
His experiences gives him a unique understanding of legislative, administrative and regulatory policy-making and puts this experience to work for his clients in ways that ensure the economic security of their businesses.