Climate Collective Founder Spotlight
Climate Collective thrives on collaboration. We’ve cultivated a unique ecosystem where early-stage start ups, investors, scientists, and non-profits converge. Together, we leverage the power of novel digital infrastructure (i.e., AI/ML, blockchain, IoT, geospatial tech, etc.) to scale climate and nature action. By sharing our individual talents and leveraging our collective strengths, we unlock more insights and opportunities together than any one of us could alone.
Today, we are highlighting the women and non-binary founders who make up the Climate Collective network. These entrepreneurs are developing the latest digital tools — from bioacoustic remote sensing to natural capital accounts, and environmental DNA (eDNA) to habitat banks — to build data-rich, transparent, and trustworthy climate and nature markets.
Mariana Sarmiento - Founder of Terrasos
Bogotá, Colombia
Mariana Sarmiento is an environmental manager, policy designer and implementer specializing in payments for ecosystem services, biodiversity credits, and environmental safeguards. Mariana is the founder of Terrasos, a Colombian B Corp with +10 years of experience in structuring and operating environmental investments. A pioneer in Habitat Banks and biodiversity credits in Latin America, Terrasos aims to protect and enhance threatened ecosystems in Colombia and the region through exceptional conservation projects.
Learn more about Terrasos: https://www.terrasos.co/
Susanne (Loehr) Fromm - Co-founder & Partner at Vanagon Ventures
Munich, Germany
Susanne Fromm is a founding partner of the nature tech & green transition VC firm Vanagon Ventures. Her background is in strategy and digital ventures, which she built over 15+ years at Roland Berger, Allianz, and as the CEO of a tech investment company. Today, Susanne invests in frontier software companies regenerating the planet and accelerating the green transition. Acting as a bridge between frontier tech and the traditional economy, Vanagon focuses on equity investments in early-stage startups that create positive real-world impact such as The Landbanking Group, Renoster, and Senken.io. Susanne also initiated ReFi talents, an 18-week online program hosted by the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center that trains participants on how to accelerate the green transition with frontier technologies.
Learn more about Vanagon Ventures: https://vanagon.vc/
Maria Alegre - Co-founder & General Partner at Flori Ventures
San Francisco, USA
Maria Alegre is an entrepreneur and Barcelona native who has twice been listed on the Forbes 30 under 30 list. She founded Chartboost, which was acquired by Zynga, and is now co-founder of Flori Ventures. Flori Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital fund that backs startups in emerging markets tackling climate change and access to the financial system. Flori has backed 80+ companies and deployed $30M+, helping founders build scalable technology businesses.
Learn more about Flori Ventures: http://www.floriventures.com
Drea Burbank, MD - Co-founder & CEO of Savimbo
Villagarzón, Colombia
Drea Burbank is an MD-technologist and serial entrepreneur with experience ranging from biodiversity credits to cybersecurity and high-tech for low-resource environments. Drea is the CEO and co-founder of Savimbo, where she works closely with Indigenous communities and leverages technologies like blockchain, remote sensing, drone and satellite imagery, and more to certify and sell fair-trade carbon and biodiversity credits. Savimbo was built by and for Indigenous groups and smallholder farmers.
Learn more about Savimbo: https://www.savimbo.com/
Dr. Kristy Deiner & Dr. Elvira Mächler - Co-founders of SimplexDNA
Winterthur, Switzerland
Dr. Kristy Deiner is an Assistant Professor with a PhD in ecology and a concentration in conservation management. Dr. Elvira Mächler is a molecular biologist with a PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology. Together they founded SimplexDNA, a spinout of the Swiss research university ETH Zürich, to build a DNA-based measurement system for all life on earth. SimplexDNA uses environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis to trace thousands of species in a given ecosystem and inform habitat restoration efforts. The team is now working on using tokenomics to create a blockchain-based incentive structure and profit sharing mechanism for the collection of biodiversity data.
Learn more at https://www.simplexdna.com/
Helena Merk - CEO & Co-Founder of Streamline Climate
San Francisco, USA
Helena Merk is the CEO and co-founder of Streamline, an AI platform to source, write, and manage access to government funding (like the IRA) for climate technologies. Before Streamline, Helena built her first venture backed company, Glimpse, in the videochat space, which she sold in 2022 to transition into the climate space professionally.
Learn more at https://streamlineclimate.com/
Dr. Sonja Stuchtey - Co-founder of The Landbanking Group
Munich, Germany
Dr. Sonja Stuchtey is a serial founder, author, speaker, adviser, and most recently, co-founder of The Landbanking Group (TLG). Leveraging digital MRV technology and natural capital accounting, TLG is tackling nature loss by establishing nature equity as a new asset class. This approach incentivizes sustainable land management practices by rewarding land stewards who prioritize natural capital preservation and regeneration. Sonja was recently recognized as a Trailblazing Woman in Climate by Reuters Events.
Learn more at: https://www.thelandbankinggroup.com/
Dr. Irina Fedorenko-Aula & Lena Mechenkova - Co-founders of Vlinder
Oxford, UK and Salzburg, Austria
Dr. Irina Fedorenko-Aula is a serial entrepreneur and carbon sequestration expert committed to nature-based solutions. Lena Mechenkova is a communications specialist with 15+ years of experience as a director of public relations and project management in software and fintech. Together they built Vlinder to restore degraded mangrove ecosystems through high-quality blue carbon removal projects. Using blockchain, machine learning, drone imagery and eDNA, they integrate transparent data-driven systems into blue carbon projects to increase transparency, verification, and trust in the market.
Learn more at: https://vlinderclimate.com/
Dana Gibber & Caroline Klatt - Co-founders of Flowcarbon
New York City, USA
Dana Gibber is an entrepreneur, startup founder, lawyer and digital branding expert. Caroline Klatt is an entrepreneur, former McKinsey consultant, and specialist in marketing and business development. This pair of sisters founded Flowcarbon to leverage blockchain technology for added accuracy and transparency to finance conservation, reforestation, and restoration projects. Flowcarbon has been named by TIME and Statista as one of America’s Top GreenTech Companies of 2024.
Learn more at: https://flowcarbon.com/
Nadine Wilke - Co-founder of Particula
Munich, Germany
Nadine Wilke is a co-founder of Particula, a digital asset ecosystem with the first rating and data platform for tokenized financial and real-world assets. Particula is on a mission to make digital assets more accessible and understandable for investors. Nadine began her career in media and mobility, where she focused on business development, strategy, and customer engagement. Nadine also helped to launch ReFi talents, an 18-week online program hosted by the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center that trains participants on how to accelerate the green transition with frontier technologies.
Learn more at: https://particula.io
Auréline Grange - Co-founder & CCO of Open Forest Protocol
Lausanne, Switzerland
Auréline Grange is the co-founder and Chief Climate Officer at Open Forest Protocol (OFP). Leveraging blockchain, remote sensing, and decentralized finance, Auréline and the OFP team are building, scalable, inclusive and transparent measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) infrastructure and tools for nature-based projects to generate the highest quality carbon credits. Prior to OFP, Auréline began her career as an environmental engineer and co-founded the non-profit organization ON A MISSION, which helps businesses and individuals invest in local reforestation projects. In recognition of her work, Auréline was named a Swiss Digital Shaper in 2023.
Learn more at: www.openforestprotocol.org
