OUR PEOPLE
Description
Our Team
Description
Our Board
-
Paul Bunje is the co-founder and COO/CSO of Conservation X Labs. Paul was formerly the Chief Scientist at the XPRIZE Foundation, where he led the impact strategy across grand challenge domains at XPRIZE, spanning civil society, environment, energy, health, and exploration. Dr. Bunje is a global thought leader in bringing innovation to solve environmental grand challenges. Paul was formerly the founding Executive Director of the UCLA Center for Climate Change Solutions, the Managing Director of the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability, and served on the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council for Oceans. The American Association for the Advancement of Science selected Paul as one of 40 individuals that exemplify the thousands of AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellows who are dedicated to applying science to serve society. Paul is trained in biology, with a B.S. from the University of Southern California and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.
Alex Dehgan
CEO and Co-Founder, Conservation X Labs
Dr. Dehgan recently served as the Chief Scientist at USAID, with rank of Assistant Administrator, and co-founded the Global Development Lab. He is also the Chanler Innovator at Duke University and served as Duke’s inaugural David Rubenstein Fellow. Prior to USAID, Alex worked in multiple positions within the Office of the Secretary, and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, at the Dept. of State, where he used science & conservation as a diplomatic tool for engagement with countries in the Islamic world, including Iran. As head of the Wildlife Conservation Society Afghanistan Program, Alex helped create Afghanistan’s first national park. Dr. Dehgan holds a Ph.D and M.Sc. from The University of Chicago’s Committee on Evolutionary Biology, where he focused on understanding and predicting extinction in animals with complex behaviors. Alex also holds a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings, and a B.S. from Duke University.
He is the author of The Snow Leopard Project and Other Adventures in Warzone Conservation (The Hatchett Group, 2019).
John Elkington
President of Volans, Inc.
John is a writer, thought-leader and business strategist, a serial entrepreneur and, at heart, an environmentalist. He is the Founder and Chief Pollinator at Volans, a certified B Corporation driving market-based solutions to the future’s greatest challenges.
John is also Honorary Chairman of SustainAbility, and sits on an A-Z of some 20 boards and advisory boards. He has written 19 books, and his latest is co-authored with Jochen Zeitz, former CEO of PUMA and now co-chair, with Sir Richard Branson, of The B Team. The book, entitled "The Breakthrough Challenge: 10 Ways to Connect Today’s Profits with Tomorrow’s Bottom Line" comes full circle from John’s 1997 "Cannibals with Forks", where he first introduced the Triple Bottom Line concept.
Ali Hartman
Chief Sustainability Officer, KKR
Ali Hartman (New York) joined KKR in 2011 to support the firm’s growing work on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues and stakeholder engagement across its investment portfolio. Over the course of five years, she helped to build the ESG platform to encompass a range of asset classes and focus areas. In 2016, Ms. Hartman was named the Head of Global Citizenship for KKR. In this role, she oversees the firm’s approach to strategic philanthropy, community impact and employee engagement. Previously, Ms. Hartman worked at Coca-Cola in the public affairs department, where she oversaw a range of social and environmental issues in North America and Europe. Prior to this role, she studied worker rights at the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Paris and completed fieldwork in child labor issues at the Working Boys Center in Quito, Ecuador.
Ms. Hartman holds a B.A. from Columbia College at Columbia University and completed her M.A. in International Affairs at L’Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po). Ms. Hartman is involved in a number of philanthropic activities. Most notably, she serves on the Board of Directors for Hour Children Inc., the Board of Directors for Conservation X Labs, the Advisory Board for The Gund Institute at the University of Vermont, and the Advisory Board for Duke University’s CASE i3: Initiative on Impact Investing. Ms. Hartman is also a long-time volunteer with Camp Fatima of New Jersey and a chapter leader for Moms Demand Action.
Don Karl
Perkins Coie LLP
Don Karl, a partner with the law firm Perkins Coie LLP, has practiced business law for more than 35 years, acting as a general business advisor to private and public companies, entrepreneurs, and institutional investors, across a wide range of industries, including entertainment, media, and technology. Karl is especially interested in how businesses adapt, evolve, and collaborate in an era of rapid technological change and innovation and believes the lessons derived from the private sector are applicable to the public sector. Karl is a trustee of the Hollywood Canteen Foundation (a private foundation supporting organizations that provide goods and services to veterans and their families) and a member of the board of directors of Spirit of America (a 501(c)(3) organization providing goods and services to non-combatants in conflict areas). He has camped, hiked, climbed, and trekked around the world, traveling to every continent except Antarctica. He received a BS in physics from the University of Michigan and a masters in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He graduated with honors from Harvard Law School.
