GIA SCHNEIDER

CEO, Co-Founder

Gia Schneider is a co-founder and the CEO of Natel Energy. Gia holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from MIT and has 20 years of experience in the energy industry. While in the utility practice at Accenture, she provided strategic solutions around asset management to major energy companies. After Accenture, she worked at Constellation Energy on optimizing generation asset value. Gia left Constellation in 2004 to help start the energy trading desk at Credit Suisse; and in 2005, she started the carbon emissions trading desk at Credit Suisse, growing it to a profitable business in its first year. Gia co-founded Natel in 2009 with her brother, Abe Schneider, motivated by the theme of climate change driving changes in water patterns and focused on the opportunity for innovative hydropower solutions to be force multipliers for positive change given hydro's position at the energy-water nexus.

Gia is passionate about finding economically viable solutions to mitigate climate change, foster sustainable development and produce inexpensive renewable energy. In her spare time, she can be found surfing, kiting, and cooking with friends and family.

ABE SCHNEIDER

CTO, Co-Founder

Abe is co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Natel. In addition to helping set technical direction, Abe also contributes to a range of technical areas, especially hydraulic design, design, and testing for fish safety, and balance of system design.

Abe earned undergraduate and master's degrees in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and gained experience with large firms like The Timken Company and innovative startups such as Makani Power, now part of Alphabet (Google X). At Timken, he worked as a Senior Engineer in Advanced Product Development, developing innovative gear reducers, hybrid vehicle drivetrains, and micro-scale energy harvesting systems to power intelligent bearings. At Makani, he managed a group of engineers broadly responsible for their aero-mechanical systems. Additionally, Abe has provided independent consulting services on small hydropower refurbishment projects in the Northeast US.

In his spare time, Abe enjoys the outdoors, particularly surfing and kitesurfing, climbing, and flyfishing, with his wife and friends.

Marshall Moutenot

Upstream Tech Lead

Marshall is the Managing Director of Upstream Tech and a co-founder, overseeing the product development, growth and partnerships. Prior to co-founding Upstream Tech, he worked in a number of early- and late-stage technical companies that have collectively raised over $100M USD in venture capital. He was awarded Forbes 30 Under 30 in Energy and has served on panels for the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Marshall holds a BA in Computer Science from Tufts University.

Nicolas Serrie

General Manager of Hydro

Nicolas recently led the GE Hydro activity in France as well as the Product Management function of the GE Hydro business, overseeing the development and improvement of all GE Hydro’s products and solutions. His previous role was Executive Key Account Leader for French utilities, where he successfully concluded deals in onshore wind, offshore wind and hydro. Nicolas joined GE from Alstom, where his last role was the France Director for the Offshore Wind business, managing the offshore wind activities in the French Territory. Nicolas also started the Floating Offshore Wind Initiative, culminating in the award of two pilot wind farm projects. In those roles, Nicolas contributed to the successful development of the offshore wind business from a startup to where it is today. Prior to this, Nicolas was a manager within the Corporate Strategy Department of Alstom where he oversaw the power and grid areas. Before joining Alstom, Nicolas worked for the French Development Agency where he managed infrastructure projects in the fields of energy and transport, as well as for the World Bank, based in Washington D.C.

Nicolas is an engineer and holds two Master’s degrees: one from École Polytechnique and the other one from École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées. He is a French national and has two boys, Arthur and Octave, with whom he enjoys doing outdoor activities.

DAVE SHELDON

VP Accounting & Administration

Dave manages finance and administration functions for Natel. He has 25 years experience in finance and operations for both public and privately held technology and energy companies, with extensive experience with growing businesses from $10 to $200 million in revenue. As CFO for emerging companies, he has managed finance, administration, IT, legal and corporate development activities, raised funds from a variety of sources, and established a foreign subsidiary to support manufacturing and back office functions. He managed strategic partnerships and international sales through distributors for 40 countries. Earlier, Dave held progressively responsible finance, corporate development and general management positions for publicly reporting energy and technology companies including Gulf Oil Corporation, Eastern Gas and Fuel Associates, Triad Systems and Epicor (formerly Activant).

Dave received his BS in Economics from MIT, an MBA from Stanford, and began his career in the San Francisco office of KPMG. Dave was awarded a patent for a system that optimizes supply chains with predictive models combining demographic and demand data.

DANA NGUYEN

Office Manager

Dana is Natel’s office manager. Prior to Natel, Dana worked in finance for a healthcare management consulting firm. Dana received her BA in International Relations from San Francisco State University. She is interested in learning about the development of social, healthcare and environmental policies.

Kate Stirr

Communications & External Affairs Manager

Kate Stirr is Communications & External Affairs Manager at Natel. She leads storytelling for the company, working to build relationships and communicate science concepts through an artist’s lens. Prior to Natel, Kate was an educator at the Exploratorium before spending seven years at Alphabet, where she prototyped hardware for early-stage X projects and later managed flight testing logistics and led external communications for the airborne wind turbine project, Makani. Kate holds undergraduate degrees in art and Spanish from Lewis & Clark College, as well as a Post Baccalaureate Certificate in sculpture from San Francisco Art Institute. She earned her Master of Fine Arts from Mills College.

Kate is interested in telling stories about technology that can strengthen connections to the natural world and facilitate balanced access to the world’s resources as our planet rapidly changes.

Outside of work, Kate enjoys exploring beaches and forests with her husband and toddler, cooking, and climbing and paddling when she has the opportunity.

Linda Womak

Controller

Miles Hall

Policy and Stakeholder Engagement Lead

Miles Hall acts as Natel’s Policy and Stakeholder Engagement Lead, where his primary duties include promoting legislative, regulatory, and budgetary policies to enable and support growth of Natel's business, expanding relationships with key stakeholders, and deepening the company's work with federal and state agencies, industry groups, and with the national labs. Prior to Natel, Miles was a DOE contractor to the Water Power Technologies Office, where he helped develop and execute stakeholder engagement campaigns as well as tech-to-market programs for the hydropower and marine energy sectors. He holds undergraduate degrees in economics and Spanish and a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of New Mexico.

In his spare time, Miles enjoys playing and watching soccer, discovering new bands, and spending too much money on craft beer.

Gregor Cadman

Director, Engineering

Alex Conn

Testing and Mechanical Technician

Alex is a testing and mechanical technician at Natel. He spends his time fabricating and assembling hydroEngine machinery, as well as running and maintaining Natel’s various hydraulic and fatigue testing equipment. He has experience operating both manual and CNC machine tools, welding, and repairing electronic components. Prior to Natel, Alex worked as a bicycle mechanic.

In his free time Alex enjoys building and flying quadcopters, watching documentary films, reading nonfiction books, and mountain biking.

Alex Wickersham

Technician Team Lead / Manufacturing Engineer

Alex leads the prototyping technician team at Natel’s Alameda, CA headquarters, building and testing new turbine hardware. He is also working on the hardware manufacturing effort for commercial production as well as ISO certification for the company. Alex holds a BSME from UC Santa Barbara where he gained a passion for environmental preservation and renewable energy technology. Prior to joining Natel, Alex spent 10 years at Makani Power, building and testing Energy Kites in California, Hawaii, and Norway.

Outside of work, Alex enjoys camping with his family, backyard gardening and entertaining, and restoring vintage VW campers.

ANDY BAUMGARTNER

Software Developer, Multimedia Designer

Andy is a Software Developer and Multimedia Designer at Natel. Currently he splits his time between developing hydro turbine analysis and controls software, and designing graphics, animations, videos, and websites.

Andy received a BA in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota, and has worked as a web developer, graphic designer, photographer, and video editor.

While not at Natel Andy enjoys working on personal projects which combine his interest in photography, art, and computer science. He also enjoys watching and listening to audio-books, podcasts, YouTube videos and films.

Bobby Stone

Field Technician

Bobby is a Field Technician helping to commission new hydro-turbine systems at physical site installations as well as bring up prototype systems at Natel HQ in Alameda, CA. For 4 years previous to starting at Natel he worked at Makani, an Alphabet company, as an engineer filling various roles including designing, building, and testing flight electronics hardware on prototype 600kW electric energy kites. He helped to commission flying energy kite systems in Alameda, Southern California, Hawaii, and in the North Sea off the coast of Norway. 2 years prior he worked as a prototyping facilities and electronics technician at Makani.

In his free time he works on (and sometimes drives) an OEM 2000 Ford Ranger EV he converted from NiMH to Lithium Ion batteries. He also makes art and music and likes going on night hikes in the Oakland redwoods.

CHRIS BECHTEL

Mechanical Technician

As a technician for Natel, Chris draws from experience in a broad range of fields including the building trades, motion picture production and the automotive industry. He is excited to be working in clean energy.

Chris is an East Bay native and, before joining Natel, maintained his own workshop in Alameda for 10 years where he performed general fabrication and prototyping for a variety of clients including designers and scientists.

Chris enjoys eating out, cycling, motorcycling, dreaming up mechanical design projects, and rescuing stray cats.

Ian Gagnon

Sr. Mechanical Engineer

Ian is a Sr. Mechanical Engineer at Natel working on test equipment design. Prior to joining Natel he completed his master's degree at the University of New Hampshire in mechanical engineering where he designed the support infrastructure for a tidal turbine as a part of the Living Bridge Project. In his free time Ian enjoys cooking and spending time outside, especially skiing.

Johannes Santen

Sr. Mechanical Engineer

Johannes is a mechanical engineer at Natel working on testing, control systems, and mechanical design. Prior to joining Natel he spent five years working at a startup, building a high-compression ratio, liquid tolerant natural gas compressor and gaining experience with taking a new technology from concept to field operation.

Johannes holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering.

Outside of work, he enjoys building an riding his bikes, photography, and eating delicious food.

Jun Furuta

Mechanical Engineer

Jun provides fabrication and testing support for hydroEngine development. Prior to Natel, he developed and implemented efficient commercial HVAC programs for utilities and was also a museum exhibit designer. He has a BSME from UC Berkeley and trained at Laney College on the operation of manual and CNC machine tools.

Jun is interested in machine design and climate change issues, and outside of work, he enjoys traveling with his family, making things with cardboard, and dabbling in film making.

Kelsey Seto

Sr. Mechanical Engineer

Kelsey works as a mechanical engineer at Natel and her primary interests surround mechanical design and design for manufacturing. Prior to joining the Natel, she carried out research in alternative energy sources in Douglas Hart's lab at MIT where she completed both her B.S. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering as well as a minor in architecture.

Outside of work, she participates on a gymnastics team and enjoys planning and building her own hardware/electronics projects.

Miguel Mejia

Mechanical Technician

Miguel is a Mechanical technician at Natel with a focus on Milling and CNC Machining. He currently attends Laney College for Machine Technology and Industrial Maintenance. Prior to Natel Miguel worked as a bicycle mechanic.

In his free time Miguel enjoys cycling.

Onur Talu

Mechanical Engineer

Onur is a Jr. Engineer at Natel, whose primary focus is mechanical design and design for manufacturing. He graduated from Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. At Olin, he found a passion for alternative energy generation and storage, and designed the chassis and suspension geometry subsystems for his Formula SAE Electric team.

In his free time, Onur likes to read and explore cities on foot. He also loves trying out new recipes, particularly Turkish ones, and cooking large meals for his friends.

Peter Ascoli

Sr. Mechanical Engineer

Peter is a Senior Mechanical Engineer at Natel and enjoys having an impact on many aspects of turbine development, engineering, and production. During his time at Natel he has worked on numerous static proof and fatigue testing rigs, developed plant and powerhouse designs, designed composite assemblies and steel fabrications, and has implemented controllers and automation schemes on turbines and testing infrastructure. He has also participated in field work to install and commission turbines, built complex composite assemblies, and machined the occasional turbine component on Natel’s CNC mill.

Peter currently splits his time between structural design and analysis, and turbine actuation, test rig controls and automation.

Peter has a B.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from The Cooper Union, and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT. Prior to Natel, Peter worked at SpaceX on Dragon 1 and Dragon 2 (Crew Dragon) — some of the parts he worked on have flown with astronauts in space!

Outside of work you’ll likely find Peter on a surfboard, SUP, pair of skis, or eating his way around Oakland and the East Bay.

RODRIGO LINARES

Lead Engineer

Rodrigo holds an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Universidad Simon Bolivar and a master’s in Manufacturing from MIT. He has a broad set of previous experiences in industries ranging from oil and gas to electronics manufacturing to medical devices. He specializes in design for manufacturing and assembly and development of stochastic models for systems design.

Within the company Rodrigo has designed multiple powertrains and structures for different turbine generations. He has also led the deployment of our PLM systems and design processes.

Rodrigo also enjoys cooking, fermenting, and pretty much anything edible. He also practices mountaineering and games.

Rosalind Jackson

Compliance Manager

Rosalind is the Compliance Manager at Natel’s Alameda, CA headquarters, ensuring continued compliance with ISO 9001/14001. She is also leading the team on product safety compliance for Natel’s products. Rosalind gained interest in engineering while becoming a member of the MESA program spearheaded by UC Berkeley. She went on to earn her BS in Electrical and Electronic Technology from Grambling State University. She was introduced to regulatory compliance soon after graduating and it is now her passion. Prior to joining Natel, Rosalind worked at several testing laboratories, including General Electric and PG&E in the Bay Area, CA and in Atlanta, GA.

Outside of work, Rosalind enjoys spending time with family, entertaining, and traveling.

Sterling Watson

Sr. Mechanical Engineer

Sterling is a mechanical engineer at Natel, interested in mechanical and system design for sustainable energy technologies. Prior to joining Natel, she was a graduate student at MIT focusing on village-scale, solar-powered desalination system design and optimization for the developing world. Sterling earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT.

WILL SHIELDS

Program Manager

Will is a Program Manager for Natel's product development team. His focus is building out technical programs that deliver critical infrastructure to both Natel's engineering efforts and hydroEngine installations. Prior to joining the company, Will launched several R&D programs at Google [x], with projects that ranged from wearable headsets to passenger ferry services. He is a co-inventor of a floating photovoltaic power generation system, holds a long list of certifications relevant to large hardware projects, and brings enthusiasm for adventuring the unknown.

Outside of work, Will enjoys learning to speak Norwegian, shaping surfboards in his garage, and spending time with family and friends.

Willa Grinsfelder

Mechanical Engineer

Willa Grinsfelder is a Junior Mechanical Engineer at Natel. She splits her time between designing components of the RHT turbines, writing the RHT manuals, and assisting with fish passage studies. Willa holds undergraduate degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Creative Writing from Johns Hopkins University.

Willa is excited about implementing technological solutions that integrate seamlessly with the natural environment.

Outside of Natel, Willa enjoys reading widely, biking around the Bay Area, and cooking.

Adam Smith

Director, Project Engineering

Adam is a project engineer at Natel, focused on project diligence, interconnection, and construction design. Prior to joining Natel, Adam was lead electrical engineer for the distributed generation solar group at NextEra Energy Resources. He has spent 12 years as a senior engineer in the solar industry on many sides of the table - EPC contractor, developer, and owner. Adam’s expertise includes solar design, electrical engineering, grid interconnection, electrical code compliance and production modeling, and he has a portfolio of over 600 projects totaling over 300 MW.
Adam holds a M.S. in Engineering from the Building Systems Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder and a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College.

BEN WARD

Project Development

At Natel Ben works on the Commercial team in project development and customer support. After several years of service in the US Navy, Ben graduated from Johnson & Wales University. He also holds a solar installation NABCEP certification. Previously Ben focused on the build out and launch of critically acclaimed Bay Area restaurants, emphasizing the use of renewables and sustainable practices.

Dan Panko

Business Development, North America

Dan is a member of Natel Energy's OEM sales group. He comes to Natel with 10 years of experience in sales and business development in renewable energy. He is focused on building strategic partnerships, educating customers on Natel's technology, and assessing site feasibility.

Prior to Natel, Dan worked for a non-profit in Haiti providing shelter and sanitation solutions after the 2010 earthquake, provided market analytics to grow solar integrators with Repower, and led a technical sales team at CivicSolar.

Dan received a BA in Economics from the University of Vermont.
In his spare time, Dan can be found sailing, flyfishing, tinkering with old engines, and going for long bike rides with his partner, Amy.

EMRAT NUR (TATIANA) MARZAN

Hydro Assessments

Tatiana supports Natel’s Business Development team through the provision of GIS-based analysis and related research of prospective project sites and the ecosystem service endowments associated with these sites. She also uses her background in civil engineering to support our development team on one-off projects. She graduated with an MS in Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University and earned bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. In her free time, she enjoys good food, books and travelling.

JESSICA PENROD

Project Development

Jessica Penrod is the Western US project developer and builds strategic partnerships for Natel Energy. The Western market is primarily in partnership with irrigation districts and government water agencies. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Spanish from the University of Oregon and a Master of Science in Energy Systems Management from the University of San Francisco.

In her free time, she can be found exploring oceans and the water as Captain Jess and working with organizations to bring awareness to plastic pollution and ways to manage the damaging elements of plastics in the ocean. She is passionate about sharing her respect of water, and helping others understand the importance of conservation and conscious living.

JIN ZHAO

Civil Engineer

Jin works as an Civil/Environmental Engineer. Jin graduated from UC Berkeley with a M.S. degree in environmental engineering in 2015. He holds a B.S. degree in civil engineering from University of Michigan, and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Shanghai Jiaotong University.

Joseph Head

Director, Project Engineering

Joe is a project engineer at Natel, tasked with the field installation of the hydro engine at sites across North America. He started his career flying around Alaska in helicopters, prospecting for uranium. He later went to work for Nerco Minerals, where he ran computer simulations to optimize ore extraction, designed containment systems for toxic materials and supervised an engineering team at the Cripple Creek gold mine. After earning his Masters, he switched from mining to telecommunications. While working for US Cellular, he managed the design and construction of numerous wireless broadcast and switching facilities. Following that, he worked for NextEra Energy designing and building commercial-scale PV solar projects. He has a BS in Geological Engineering and a Masters in Satellite Communications. He is a Professional Civil Engineer registered in Colorado.

MICHAEL SPOLUM

Business Development, S & SE Asia

Michael leads Natel Energy’s business development efforts in South and Southeast Asia, which currently includes sales and pipeline development in Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies from St. Olaf College and a Master’s Degree in International Development Policy from Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. Michael brings 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur, development consultant and project developer in geographies spanning mainland Southeast Asia on issues and projects related to rural electrification, infrastructure and agricultural development, sustainable natural resource management and the water-energy-agriculture nexus.

Michael is passionate about people and the limitless potential of the human spirit to help create of a more equitable and compassionate world. A Colorado native, he enjoys slow-cooked food, star-filled skies, deep breaths of crisp mountain air and long hikes with his wife and family.

Alden Keefe Sampson

Technical Director

Alden is Upstream Tech’s Technical Lead and a co-founder of the company. After working at several software technology companies including Crashlytics, Twitter, and Drift, Alden co-founded Upstream Tech to apply advanced data analysis to our planet’s most pressing environmental challenges. Awarded Forbes 30 Under 30 in Energy, Alden focuses on large-scale data processing pipelines and machine learning to derive environmental measurements from satellite data and large geospatial datasets. Alden holds a BA in Computer Science from Tufts University. He is based in Syracuse, NY where he can often be found enjoying the outdoors with his dog.

Abby Smith

Growth & Partnerships

Abby is part of the Growth and Partnerships team, where she leverages her background in environmental management to work with clients in the agriculture space. Previously, Abby managed an agroforestry system at the Yale Landscape Lab, worked as a research communications fellow at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), and consulted companies on supply chain sustainability. Abby holds a Master of Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and is always up for a nature walk or trip to the farmers market.

Allegra Wrocklage

Marketing and External Affairs

Amadou Crookes

Software Engineer

Amadou is a Software Engineer at Upstream Tech focusing on backend data ingestion pipelines and machine learning. Prior to this role, Amadou worked at Google, and then co-founded and was CTO for a company that raised over $1M to build a music social network. He was awarded The Boston Globe’s 25 under 25 for that work. Amadou holds a BS in Computer Science from Tufts University. Amadou is based in Brooklyn, NY where he loves to surf and make pasta.

Camilla Mahon

Software Engineer

Carolyn duPont

Head of Growth & Partnerships

Carolyn leads the Growth & Partnerships team at Upstream Tech, focusing on growth strategy for Lens and HydroForecast. Prior to this role, Carolyn was a Senior Director at Quantified Ventures developing financial transactions in agriculture, coastal resilience, and forestry. She also served on the venture capital team at Massachusetts Clean Energy Center investing in early-stage water and energy companies. Carolyn holds an MBA from MIT, an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a BA from Stanford University. She spends as much time as possible outdoors hiking, biking, and exploring with her family.

Dan Katz

Software Engineer

Dan is a Software Engineer at Upstream Tech focusing on user interface development and data processing. He holds a BS in Computer Science from Tufts University. Dan is based in Cambridge, MA, where you can find him running along the Charles River and eating waffles.

Daniel Palmer

Business Development

David Lambl

Software Engineer

David is a Software Engineer focused on machine learning algorithms used to extract information from large geospatial datasets and satellite images. Previously, David worked in quantitative finance building statistical investment models for currencies and fixed income at Putnam Investments. He has also held positions at the TransMarket Group and NIBC Bank. David holds a Masters in Engineering from Cornell and a BSc in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Luxembourg and from London School of Economics. David lives in the Boston area but is often found in the mountains climbing or skiing.

Eliza Hale

Software Engineer

Eliza is a Software Engineer at Upstream Tech. In her previous lives, she worked at Facebook as a Data Scientist, and on film sets in LA as a Production Assistant. Eliza holds a BA in Applied Math and Earth and Planetary Science from Harvard where she did research on the relationship between weather and violent conflict in East Africa. Eliza is based in San Francisco and is most likely to be found on her bike, surf board, or in a climbing harness.

Eve Boyce

Lens Growth & Partnerships, Forestry and Restoration

Fiona Hopkins

Software Engineer

Fiona is a Software Engineer at Upstream Tech working on the web frontend. She previously led webapp development for the City of Boston’s Digital team. Before that, she built tools for mobile developers at Twitter and was frontend tech lead for Blogger.com at Google. Fiona has an ScB and an ScM in Computer Science from Brown University. She lives in Cambridge, MA. When she’s not coding, Fiona is probably crocheting, soldering, cutting things with a laser, or coding, but for much smaller computers.

Jake Faber

Lens Growth & Partnerships, Land Trusts

Kevin Altamirano

Machine Learning Engineer

Kevin is a Machine Learning Engineer at Upstream Tech focused on backend engineering and machine learning. Prior to joining Upstream Tech, he worked on several early stage startups developing production-grade predictive models using large datasets. Kevin holds a Masters in Science from Columbia University and a BSc in Mathematics from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Kevin lives in Denver, Colorado. In his spare time Kevin is most likely to be found riding his bike around the city, perfecting his mole recipe or recording music in his home studio.

Kristi Peyton

Growth & Partnerships

Laura Read

Product Manager

Lauren Gulland

Software Engineer

Matt Koh

Software Engineer

Maya DeBellis

Software Engineer

Mostafa Elkurdy

Data Scientist and Machine Learning Engineer

Phil Butcher

Software Engineer

Sam Neubardt

Software Engineer

Sam is a Software Engineer at Upstream Tech focusing on data processing and machine learning. He’s previously worked on online video delivery systems at Brightcove, and mobile application performance analytics at Crashlytics, Twitter, and Google. Sam holds a BS in Computer Science from the City College of New York. You can find him walking around Philadelphia, PA.

Sijae Schiefer

Machine Learning Engineer