Michael Baratoff
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
 Michael Baratoff worked at Cambridge Associates, LLC from 2001 – 2005. He managed a team of specialists providing investment consulting services to institutional clients with multi-billion dollar private equity programs. Additionally, Michael spearheaded the firm’s research on clean energy venture capital, influencing over $250 million worth of investments. At Michigan, Michael has continued to focus on renewable energy. He seeks to understand the social, political and economic obstacles to promoting clean energy and sustainable community development. During the summer of 2006, Michael worked in Ghana as an energy development consultant to local entrepreneurs with E+Co, a non-profit investment company. Michael graduated from Wesleyan University in 1999 and completed the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs in 2000. Currently, he is an editor for the Ross School of Business newspaper. |
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Ian Black
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
 Ian is focused on inclusive corporate strategies and sustainable development. He is excited about long-term financing strategies that
include economic costs for scarce resources, and has a keen interest in the economic benefits of green building. Previously, Ian spent
four years managing globally diversified assets for a top-tier private bank, and a year working with a leading microfinance firm, developing
a capital market strategy to increase liquidity in underserved markets and working on tsunami relief in Indonesia. He holds a degree in
Finance from the University of Colorado at Boulder. |
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Caroline Conway - Résumé
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
 Caroline is focused on environmental issues in product development and manufacturing. She is particularly interested in developing innovative products that will create large-scale environmental improvements in industry. In addition to her Erb Institute work, she is completing a manufacturing concentration through the Tauber Manufacturing Institute and recently interned at Cummins ReCon and John Deere. Before her studies at Michigan, Caroline worked in green product design at McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, green buildings at the U.S. Green Building Council, and renewable energy at the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust. Caroline completed her undergraduate studies in industrial design at Carnegie Mellon University and brings a unique perspective on industrial products to her current studies. |
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Michele Diener - Résumé
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
 Having explored the various regions of the world, Michele understands the importance of development but has also seen the ecological impact of such development on a global scale. Consequently, Michele’s objective is to combine the often distinct, but mutually beneficial, worlds of environmental sustainability and business administration. Her undergraduate degree in Design and Environmental Analysis from Cornell University and her experience at Toyota Motor Sales laid the foundation for her career in sustainable enterprise. During Michele’s seven-year tenure in Toyota’s Corporate Real Estate Department, she had the opportunity to lead Process Green, an initiative she created to integrate environmentally-sensitive building design with Toyota’s 10 million square feet real estate portfolio in the US. Michele enjoys traveling and in the past year, she has been to Bolivia, Eastern Europe, and Calca, Peru where she volunteered for an ecotourism project with a nonprofit development organization. |
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Michael Edison
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
 Mike brings an interest in corporate environmental strategy to the Erb Institute. He is particularly interested in addressing the problem of
identifying and integrating sustainable strategies into corporate business models. He is also interested in green building, cradle-to-cradle
design and sustainable finance. Since graduating form the University of Michigan with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, Mike has worked as
an environmental consultant in the air quality field. His work focused primarily on assisting industrial and manufacturing clients with managing
regulatory compliance obligations resulting from the Clean Air Act. |
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Kate Elliott
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
 Kate focuses the majority of her work on regional and international environmental policy development with a special focus on ecosystem restoration. Before matriculating to the University of Michigan, Kate was a Program Manager for the U.S. Department of the Interior’s intergovernmental Everglades Restoration Plan in Miami, FL. While completing her BA in Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont she served as a program analyst for the National Commission on the Environment in Santiago, Chile. In addition, she also worked as an English language instructor for Chilean business professionals as well as completed a self-guided bike tour across the United States. Kate plans to facilitate collaborative, inter-agency and inter-industry efforts to develop appropriate and enforceable environmental policy on local, regional, national and international scales. |
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Justin Felt
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
 Justin is interested in the opportunities and challenges posed by climate change in the private sector. In particular, he sees significant financial risk as well as opportunity in the emerging carbon emissions trading market for a variety of industries. This past summer, Justin assisted Weyerhaeuser in sculpting a business plan for the potential sale of environmentally-derived financial securities, such as carbon credits and renewable energy certificates. His 2006 summer internship with Dow Hydrocarbons allowed him to identify carbon market opportunities for this wholly-owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical. Prior to matriculating at University of Michigan, he held the role of corporate finance team lead in support of the Chief Technology Officer of IBM Software Group. He also acted as treasurer for the Stamford, CT chapter of Rebuilding Together. Justin holds a BA in Foreign Affairs and Economics from University of Virginia. |
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Matt Garratt
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
 Matthew Garratt
Matt aspires to address the threat of energy instability and global warming by leading in the development of renewable energy technologies and projects. This focus has shaped his course of study while at the University of Michigan. Last summer he combined these passions through an internship in Ghana, where he evaluated the financial, environmental and social performance of various clean energy enterprises for E+Co, a nonprofit public purpose investment company. Prior to enrolling in the University of Michigan Matt worked in the new product design and development group at the corporate research center for Alcoa where he lead efforts to design and commercialize advanced materials and design concepts for the aerospace and transportation sectors. He was also a member of Alcoa’s sustainability team, where he developed a business strategy for product development with an emphasis on environmental sustainability. While studying for his B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Purdue University he was a quality engineer at Alcoa’s Lafayette, IN Extrusion facility. |
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John Gearen
MBA/MS Program 2008
- Résumé |
 John is focusing his studies on entrepreneurship and finance within renewable energy and sustainable transportation. He is pursuing post-graduate work in venture capital / private equity or operationally at a cleantech startup. John has worked in venture capital and consulting roles in clean technology while at Michigan, including work at Acumen Fund, IDEAAS, and Energy Conversion Devices. Before coming to Michigan, John worked in renewable energy in South America and in hi-tech in the San Francisco Bay Area. John graduated from Brown University in 2000 with an Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. |
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Tony Gross
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
 Tony is focused on the intersection of corporate strategy, marketing, and sustainable development. Before coming to Michigan,
Tony worked in marketing, market research, and information technology. In 1999, he co-founded Broome Street Media, a dot-com
company in the online film space. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Tony has family in Maryland, New York, and Bahia, Brazil.
He studied sociology at Haverford College. |
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Christina Gilyutin
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
Christina is focusing in organizational development and strategy with an emphasis on organizational/individual behavior change as it relates to environmental sustainability principles. She is also pursuing studies through the Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship to learn more about creating meaningful work-places where employees can thrive. Upon graduation, Christina hopes to pursue a career in either Corporate Social Responsibility or sustainability consulting and to that end, has spent her past 2 summers completing internships for Cisco Systems and the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. Prior to Erb, she lived in San Francisco and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She graduated from Stanford University in 2000 with a degree in International Relations and a minor in Russian. |
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Laura Kaminski
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
 Laura is interested in the development and use of multi-sector collaborative partnerships to address complex local and regional environmental issues and is focusing her studies on nonprofit management and organizational behavior. Since graduating from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in environmental geology, Laura has worked in various capacities within the environmental field - including leading FEMA’s congressional correspondence team for the National Flood Insurance Program and working as an environmental consultant. For the past four years, Laura also worked on regional sustainability issues with the Great Lakes Commission, a nonprofit interstate agency dedicated to safeguarding the Great Lakes region’s water and related natural resources through collaboration with a wide array of partners. |
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Josh Nothwang - Résumé
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
Josh is focusing his studies on corporate environmental strategy and is interested in incorporating sustainability into traditional business models. He is also interested in green construction and renewable energy. Last summer Josh worked at Deloitte Consulting in Detroit, Michigan, supporting the development of a market offering focused on sustainability, CSR, and climate change advisory services. The previous summer he worked at Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan, developing strategies to promote the implementation of advanced mobility technologies in typically underserved markets. Prior to attending Michigan, Josh advised the United Nations and several US government agencies at Industrial Economics, Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While there he evaluated environmental damage claims submitted to the United Nations, coordinated the development of partnerships between EPA and industry to improve environmental performance, and investigated the implications of the emerging domestic market for micro-fuel cells. Josh holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies and Geology from Middlebury College. |
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Amisha Parekh
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
 Prior to Erb, Amisha worked at Deloitte Consulting for 5 years developing
solutions to improve corporate governance and regulatory compliance. Her
interest in environmental issues led her to take a leave of absence to work
with an environmental lobbying group in India where she worked on vehicular
pollution and wetland protection issues. At Erb, Amisha wants to explore
business models that address environmental sustainability issues. |
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Rachel Permut
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
 Rachel is interested in two different fields: transmission grid and
energy generation regulation, and non-profit/private partnerships
focused on environmental stewardship. For three years, Rachel worked in
Washington, DC for a national collaborative addressing issues affecting
the growth of wind power in the United States including:
wildlife-turbine interactions, siting of facilities, transmission and
green power markets. Prior to returning to graduate school, she
completed four months of international travel, including a month
volunteering in Croatia with an environmental organization helping to
revise their information systems and operations. Rachel holds a BA in
Environmental Studies from Washington University in St. Louis. |
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Terri Schroeder
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
 After several years of experience in marketing and business development in both the private and public sectors, Terri’s career goals focus on strategy and business development for clean energy technologies. Prior to business school Terri was a founding employee in the Marketing Department at Jenner & Block, a 400+ attorney law firm headquartered in Chicago. During her time at Jenner & Block, Terri implemented a number of programs to support and enhance the firm’s client service and business development activities. Additionally, Terri served as an AmeriCorps member at City Year Detroit. In addition to her service work at City Year, Terri led the marketing and corporate relations committees, strengthening the organization’s corporate sponsorship program and helping to secure Detroit team sponsorship from CSX. Terri graduated from DePaul University with a BS in Marketing and an Information Systems minor. |
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Rupal Shroff
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
From engineering to business, Rupal has trekked across the automotive industry following a desire for greater social responsibility. It is this passion for change that has led her to the Erb Institute, where her ultimate goal is to create value for shareholders through the development of economic, environmental solutions. Rupal is concentrating on strategy in finance in the Ross School of Business and environmental policy in the School of Natural Resources and Environment. She is interested in renewable energy and has experience in biofuels, wind and solar. Last summer, she worked at GE in their Renewable Energy Leadership Program building competitive intelligence for their wind and solar divisions. Rupal is a member of SNRE Student Government, Net Impact, Women in Business and the SOL Consortium. She holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota. |
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Brian Swett
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
 Brian’s career interests include green buildings, smart growth, corporate social responsibility, environmental stewardship, and socially responsible investing. In the summer of 2007, Brian worked for Boston Properties, a national REIT, on green real estate development and regional green building strategy. In the summer of 2006, he worked for Business for Social Responsibility on internal CSR reporting and strategy, environmental stewardship strategy analysis for external clients, and facilitating BSR collaboration with U.S. EPA. At Michigan, Brian has played a leadership role in advancing and advising two major green building efforts: the $150 million Ross School building and the $500 million Mott Children’s Hospital building. Prior to school, Brian worked for an environmental justice nonprofit, two socially responsible investment firms, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, and several offices in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. During his time at EPA’s National Center for Environmental Innovation, Brian created and led a program on learning from international best practices in environmental policy for domestic adaptation and application. Areas of focus included water infrastructure, integrated permitting, and smart growth and urban planning. Brian holds a BA with honors from Brown University in Public Policy and International Relations and is a LEED AP. |
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Gabriel Thoumi
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
 Gabriel’s focus is on business development in the compliance and voluntary carbon markets. He has consulted with project developers, banks, and NGOs in SE Asia, Central America, and Sub-Saharan Africa. His specialty is designing, implementing, and selling credits from avoided deforestation voluntary carbon market projects. Last year, he spent six months developing projects in Indonesia working with projects of various sizes. He also attended the UNFCCC COP 13 meeting in Bali December, 2007. The previous year he led a team assisting the Malaysian Nature Society in protecting a million acre rainforest. His previous work includes working at American Express as a portfolio strategist, at Intel(Hong Kong) analyzing the Asia-Pacific chipset market, and at Wells Fargo in Institutional Brokerage and Sales and Correspondents Banking in relationship management and cash management. He speaks Indonesian and Spanish. Gabriel graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Maryland. He is also a candidate in the Real Estate Development program at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. |
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Daniel Wang
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
 Dan's Erb interests lie in helping large corporations integrate
environmental and social responsibility into corporate strategy and
operational practice while ultimately driving change in consumer
behavior at large. Before coming to Michigan, he volunteered for VSO in
Papua New Guinea, consulted for Accenture in financial services,
enjoyed engineering internships for Ford in Canada, Volvo in Sweden,
and Ricoh in Japan, and earned his bachelor degree in mechanical
engineering at McGill University in Montreal. Two summers ago he
consulted with the National Park Service to create a 5-year business
plan for the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park. This past
summer he spent in New York interning with GreenOrder, a sustainability
consulting firm, working on green strategy and marketing projects for
oil & gas, real estate, and finance clients. |
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Annie White - Résumé
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
 Annie White’s primary career objective is to facilitate the development of profitable, environmentally sound products and services
through integrating environmental considerations into corporate strategy, product development, and operations. Prior to graduate
school, Annie launched and oversaw GreenBlue’s Sustainable Packaging Coalition, an innovative industry working group dedicated to
realizing sustainable packaging through supply chain collaboration. Prior to joining GreenBlue, Annie worked for McDonough Braungart
Design Chemistry (MBDC), a sustainable design consulting firm. Working with MBDC’s education team, Annie developed curricula for
business executives and product development teams on topics including: the business implications of sustainability and applying
cradle-to-cradle principles to the product development process. Annie earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Environmental
Science from the College of William and Mary in 1998. |
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Jasmine Zhang
MBA/MS Program 2008 |
 Jasmine is interested in identifying new business models that integrate sustainable strategies into private business . She has 10 years of experience in different business sectors from one of the world’s largest developing countries. Among these, she worked on the first set of IPO auditing projects in China and then worked for three years with KPMG Management Consulting. She moved to a general management position in the China affiliate of Siemens AG, the largest German company. Just prior to coming to the US, she helped launch an entertainment start-up in Southern China. Jasmine’s 2006 summer internship was with Eli Lilly & Company where she developed bid and tender pricing strategy for a declining product in an emerging market. |
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