Facet Power - Leadership

Amy McCrae Kessler, Esq. is Co-Founder, President, 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.

  Michael Robbins brings over 25 years of financial services experience, having capitalized 500 companies and raised hundreds of millions of dollars. 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.  

His expertise spans technology, real estate, socially responsible investing, valuation, and complex business structures. With sustainability and social impact always a focus, Michael has dedicated a significant portion of his career to climate-conscious businesses, sustainable development, and innovative agricultural practices including modeling a hemp economy for Ethiopia.

Glenn Davies is 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).

Peter MBILE, is a Landscape Restoration Expert and Environmental Management Leader in Cameroon. He 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.

Cory Mekelburg is a skilled materials scientist with extensive experience developing energy storage materials using carbon aerogels and biochar. Cory holds 4 patents in carbon nanostructure advanced energy storage currently deployed by Group 14 Technologies, the world's fastest growing silicon anode materials manufacturing company.

In 2011, at EnerG2 Technologies he successfully scaled a carbon aerogel production process from the laboratory to full manufacturing. His contributions were pivotal in both the lab and production environments, where he transferred lab-scale processes to production levels and gathered and analyzed data to validate methodologies that ensured optimal performance. His lab work encompassed electrochemical performance testing and low-pressure supercritical gas storage, culminating in patents he is a co-inventor.

In 2014, Cory transitioned to a leading management consulting firm, leveraging his communication and data analytics expertise to support biotech and pharmaceutical clients for five years. He then joined a pharmaceutical company, where he led a team focused on analyzing clinical trial data and publishing findings in prestigious medical journals and conferences.

In 2022, Cory took on the role of Chief Operating Officer at Living Nanotech, working on a USDA grant to explore the thermal conversion of farm waste into high-value biochar co-products for energy storage solutions. 

As Director of Engineering and Process, he is responsible for identifying and implementing technologies that meet project requirements, driving innovation and sustainability in energy storage solutions

JJ Ayala is a dynamic chemical engineer with a passion for advancing nanotechnology and liposomal structures. With a talent for transforming complex ideas into practical solutions, he excels in scaling processes from the lab to production.

In 2020, JJ was pivotal in validating a large-scale extraction plant, where he not only identified critical limitations but also collaborated closely with operational teams to engineer transformative process improvements. His keen insights and hands-on approach significantly enhanced production efficiency. contributions to the field.

That same year, he co-authored a grant application that successfully secured $3 million from the USDA for Living Nanotech, a biochar-based energy storage materials company where he serves as Chief Technology Officer. This funding is dedicated to exploring the transformative potential of thermally processing farm waste into high-value co-products.

In 2022, JJ achieved a notable milestone by inventing and scaling a transdermal electrolyte liposomal cell, a groundbreaking technology that delivers both water- and oil-soluble nutrients directly through the skin—an innovation that sets a new standard in the field.

Currently, as Director of Engineering and Science at Facet Power, JJ is at the forefront of developing cutting-edge technologies for converting biomass into energy and creating advanced biochar-based nanomaterials. His work is not only pushing the boundaries of materials science but also contributing to sustainable energy solutions for the future.