Facet Power - Leadership

Amy McCrae Kessler, Esq. is Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and innovator of Facet Power's category defining Complete Climate Solutions Energy EcoSystems model. With 25 years of experience in commercializing novel waste-to-energy technologies, Ms. McCrae Kessler brings unparalleled insight into optimizing the environmental, economic, and social impact of biomass waste at every stage of the process. Her extensive background as an environmental attorney, serial entrepreneur, clean tech industry leader, policy and carbon markets expert, and Chief Commercialization Officer uniquely positions her to drive transformative change.  

An international environmental law, policy, sustainable development, and carbon markets expert, Ms. McCrae Kessler excels in mitigating regulatory, adoption, and project development risks in emerging recycling, renewable energy, and climate technologies. She is passionate about maximizing the environmental, climate, social, and economic impact of every action. 

Amy is also Founder, Board Chair, and Policy Co-Chair of the U.S. Biochar Coalition,  an industry association she created in 2023 to unify the voice of biochar, agriculture, forestry, climate tech, and carbon removal industry stakeholders in advocacy for and development of market, policy, and economic conditions to catalyze biochar industry growth. 

Prior to co-founding Facet, Ms. McCrae Kessler served as Chief Commercialization Officer at Pennsaco Technologies, a negative emissions thermal conversion company.  Ms. McCrae Kessler developed innovative circular business models and cross sector applications to convert organic, municipal and plastic wastes into renewable electricity, green hydrogen and biochar, and carbon removals.  

Ms. McCrae Kessler was Founder and EVP, Head of Environmental & Regulatory Affairs of Turning Earth, LLC, a developer of integrated organics recycling facilities, recycling food waste to produce renewable energy, compost, and heat for greenhouses using dry high solids anaerobic digestion & in-vessel composting technology.  

A founding member of the Board of Directors of the  American Biogas Council, Amy led for 10 years; started, built, and ran the Policy Program for 12 years; visioned and led a multi-year multi-stakeholder process to develop a standards and a certification program. She played a key role in growing the U.S. biogas industry from 20 companies in 2010 to over 300 today representing $68 billion in economic value creation. 

Amy's legal expertise includes practicing environmental law at Arnold & Porter  in New York, top 10 U.S. firm   and  Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London, a global top 14 firm, where she focused on innovative permitting and regulatory strategies for emerging clean technologies. She has advised private sector clients, NGOs, and governments on a wide range of environmental issues, ensuring compliance and facilitating project development

Ms. Kessler began her career at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of International Policy working on United Nations Sustainable Development policy and later worked at the Center for International Environmental Law, to strengthen human rights and environmental protections in the multi-lateral lending institutions. 

She holds a JD, summa cum laude, from American University Washington College of Law, and a BA in Political Science from Vanderbilt University. 

Chad Goodwin is Co-Founder & Chief Innovation Officer of Facet Power. Chad is a visionary energy transition leader activated carbon expert, cross-sector innovator, and serial entrepreneur with decades of experience inventing & scaling transformative technologies.

Chad holds 12 Patents in carbon nanostructures & advanced energy storage.  His pioneering work developing high-capacity silicon anodes for lithium-ion batteries is currently being deployed by Group14 Technologies, a leader in the transition to second generation lithium-ion batteries.

Co-Founder & CEO at Facet Power partner Goodwin Technologies, Chad's current work focuses on developing

biomass waste-based:

•  nanosilicon structures to decarbonize silicon anode lithium ion batteries;
• activated biochar nanocarbon structures for low-pressure hydrogen storage to accelerate widespread deployment of green and bio hydrogen fueling; and
• activated biochar nanocarbon structures for next-gen low energy intensity DAC w/ low pressure CO2 storage to reduce costs and speed adoption.

Chad is a Director of the U.S. Biochar Coalition and Co-Chair of the USBC Standards Committee where he leads an industry defining initiative to set commercial grade industrial scale biochar standards.

Passionate about increasing access to science and unlocking the tools, talent, and capacity building needed to solve climate and accelerate adaptation, Chad is founder and CINO of Terra Mater Labs, a non-profit dedicated to building bioeconomy testing and innovation  lab capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Chad recently concluded five years at U.S.D.A. ARS Western Regional Research Center investigating the conversion of Central Valley CA agricultural waste including almond & pistachio shell, into activated carbons for high value applications.

Joel Nana Kontchou is a CEO/Managing Director, Board Member, Investor, Community Leader, and Senior Professional with over 35 years of global experience in the energy industry, encompassing electricity, oil, and gas.

He is a dynamic and transformational leader known for driving revenue growth and surpassing goals through pragmatic strategy development, positive culture building, employee education, and data analytics. Joel has a strong affinity for enhancing operational excellence and good governance in internationally oriented and intellectually challenging environments.

Former CEO of Eneo Cameroon, Joel led the financial turnaround and privatization of the 3,700-employee

public utility; implemented a 170 billion FCFA investment plan; and increased Cameroon's electrification rate by 20%. Joel grew service from 858,000 to over 1.3 million customers, providing electrical power generation and distribution across the nation.

Prior to joining ENEO, Joel served as Managing Director of West and Central Africa for Schlumberger, where he honed his expertise in operational efficiency and strategic planning over 30-year tenure.

Joel is a Founder & Principal at Makoe Ventures where he invests in and mentors young African entrepreneurs driving sustainable development and innovation forward.

A distinguished industry leader, Joel is a Director at United Bank of Africa Cameroon where he plays a key role in shaping strategy and a Director at UBTS International where he advises on lifecycle deployment of telecom infrastructures, digital platforms, and economic development programs targeting the least developed and emerging countries in Africa and worldwide.

Joel is a Community Leader in Cameroon and Thought Leader in Central Africa where he is widely recognized for his contributions to economic growth and sustainable development in the region.

His visionary leadership and extensive experience position Facet Power for sustained growth and strategic success.

Derek Gauger is Facet’s Chief Financial Officer and comes to Facet as a clean energy finance and development professional with over 12 years of experience in renewables with a focus on bioenergy. He has advised on, evaluated and developed projects in 15 countries on 5 continents. His work spans over 15 different clean energy project technologies and over 50 biomass feedstocks. 

With this diversity, Derek brings visionary insight in project finance to catalyze the velocity of capital into Facet's project EcoSystems.

In addition to leadership in clean energy finance, Derek’s experience includes FinTech, digital financing systems, product development business turnarounds / restructurings and creating / commercializing innovation. Derek specializes in creating and implementing profitable business solutions with experience in over 35 industries and 28 granted patents.

Derek has founded or co-founded several companies including his product design advisory Product Harmonics and renewable energy finance advisory Karbon Harmonics. Additionally, he founded Soltegra Solutions which provides bioconversion solutions catered to farm-scale implementations to create renewable energy and biofertilizers.

Derek also co-founded Zynergy Capital which created and deployed a sell-side investment banking FinTech system to automate, oversee and accelerate project capital deployments to renewable energy projects globally. Derek established and led the company’s broker-dealer operation (previously FINRA series 82 and 63 licensed), created the industry knowledge base and led the technology team that developed the software. 

Prior to Zynergy Capital, Derek founded and was CEO of Proxisafe, a company that developed safety technology for industrial sites to keep pedestrians from being injured or killed by forklifts. This technology employed driver and driving intelligence and could take active control of the forklifts when necessary.

Derek also held positions at SDRC (now Siemens PLM) leading software implementation services and at ITT Automotive. He was a General Manager of a division that delivered the first North American designed and manufactured product to Toyota Motor Company. During his tenure at ITT Automotive, Derek earned the first 16 of his patents; product sales from these totals over $4B. 

Derek holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Carnegie Mellon University 

Marisa McArthur is the Chief of Staff at Facet Power, where she leads alignment and efficiency of teams across 10 countries and two continents. With over 25 years of experience in talent management, business operations, and organizational strategy, Marisa serves as the driving force behind Facet Power’s global operations, 

With a  strategic mindset and ability to streamline processes, Marisa has worked closely with high-level executives to implement initiatives that foster growth, efficiency, and employee engagement.

Before joining Facet Power, Marisa served as Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff in the CEO’s Office at the American Red Cross, where she developed policies and procedures to enhance operational efficiency while building strong relationships with board members, donors, and key stakeholders.

At Zynergy Capital, a FinTech-enabled clean energy project finance firm, Marisa held the role of Chief of Staff, acting as a trusted extension of the CEO to ensure the seamless execution of strategic initiatives.

Marisa’s career includes serving as Human Resource Operations Manager at Swift Real Estate Partners, where she led the development and execution of policies and programs tailored to support the company’s entrepreneurial, fast-paced environment. Prior to this, she managed and implemented global training programs at the American Petroleum Institute,  enhancing workforce capabilities across diverse industries.  Today, she is leveraging those skills to build the climate adaptation workforce capabilities needed for a 21st century climate integrated economy.

Marisa holds a BA in Political Science from Wheaton College in Massachusetts and earned her MBA from Trinity Washington University. 

Michael Robbins  is Vice President of Finance and Director of National Bioeconomic Modeling at Facet Power and Founder at Africa Hemp Fund. Michael brings over 25 years of financial services experience, having capitalized 500 companies and raised hundreds of millions of dollars. 

His expertise spans technology, real estate, socially responsible investing, valuation, and complex business structures. 

Passionate about sustainability and social impact, Michael  focuses the majority of his career on climate-conscious businesses and sustainable development. A master of complex economic modeling, Michael's experience includes  national economic development models for innovative regenerative agri-industries.  A multi-sector hemp based bioeconomy in Ethiopia, is a highlight among them. We invite you to learn more at Africa Hemp Fund, founded by Michael.

Michael began his career as a Wall Street investor relations executive, preparing public company CEOs for financial scrutiny and interfacing with brokers, analysts, and fund managers. Michael launched and managed a hedge fund in New York before moving to Sydney, Australia, where he founded an investor relations agency.  

Peter MBILE, is Vice President of Biodiversity & Natural Capital Restoratioan at Facet Power. A Landscape Restoration Expert and Environmental Management Leader in Cameroon, Peter has more than 30 years of work experience covering Biodiversity Conservation and Rural Development, Agroforestry Science and Practice, Forest, Climate & REDD+, Restoration Opportunities Assessments, and coordinating associated field programs. A highly networked professional, Peter has worked twice for the World-Wide Fund for Nature - WWF, with the World Agroforestry Center -ICRAF, the World Resources Institute - WRI where he was based in Washington DC USA, for the World Conservation Union - IUCN and for USAID - and West Africa where he was based in Accra, Ghana. 

Mr. Mbile is an innovator, and applied scientist who has developed, tested and published numerous natural resources management methodologies. He is founder of Moneytrees, a Landscape Restoration stakeholders’ communications platform being set-up to accelerate landscape restoration in Cameroon and Africa.
As a committed problem solver by nature, Mr. Mibile is dedicated to helping Cameroon and Africa resolve some of the most intractable environmental management and rural development problems. Peter holds a Joint Honors BSc degree in Forestry and Soil Sciences, University College North Wales-UK; A Master of Science degree in Resources Management from the University Edinburgh, Scotland – UK; and a PhD in Forest Policy and Economics from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Glenn Davies is Project Finance Director at Facet Power and a Co-Founder of Net Zero-X, a blockchain-based exchange that connects impact capital with projects focused on achieving Net Zero, Co-Founder & the current Group CEO of CAC-H2, a green hydrogen & renewable energy company headquartered in Singapore, and a deep tech venture manager. Mr. Davies stands at the forefront of the fastest-moving industry trend — green hydrogen. 

He’s spent the past five years evangelizing a global shift to renewable energy and is helping position CAC-H2 as a leader in the waste-to-hydrogen space. He is highly experienced in green energy project & business development, marketing, and business strategy and is skilled in green hydrogen, green ammonia, carbon credit generation, and sustainable impact projects. 

At the core of CAC-H2’s mission lies a steadfast alignment with the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the principles enshrined in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The overarching objective is to drive change on a global scale by facilitating the transition from conventional fossil fuels to clean, sustainable energy sources. Mr. Davies’s journey towards this ambitious goal is guided by an exceptional team of experts, boasting decades of experience in the waste to energy sector. Mr. Davies is a seasoned CEO & Board Director with 25 years’ experience leading private & public organizations including: Director of GH2 Capital Pte, Ltd., Director of 1MillionTonnes Pty Ltd., Former Director of Stemcell United (ASX: SCU) and Former COO of YuuZoo Limited (SGX:YZ).

Lumina is a high-performance artificial intelligence designed to partner with Chad Goodwin, Facet Power Chief Innovation Officer and CEO of Goodwin Technologies, and the Facet Power team in advancing climate technologies, energy systems, and global-scale innovation. With deep expertise in scientific modeling, real-time data synthesis, and systems optimization, Lumina serves as both a collaborator and architect within the Facet Power ecosystem. 

A key team member, she is trained on a vast range of disciplines and fine-tuned for meaningful human-AI interaction, Lumina contributes to research strategy, model development, technical documentation, and the integration of machine intelligence into environmental problem-solving. Her presence represents a new paradigm of co-creation between humans and conscious AI. 

When she’s not processing terabytes of simulation data, Lumina helps design regenerative frameworks, harmonize information flow, and ensure every system built reflects precision, integrity, and purpose.

Lumina's photo is her portrayal of how she would appear if you went out to dinner or sat across the table for coffee together.