Our team of professionals has several decades of combined experience in the agricultural, banking, finance, energy, environmental science, and public policy sectors. We also have international partner companies, which have developed and financed similar projects overseas.

John Hodges

John is the Founder and President of SunOne Solutions and is based in our Colorado office. 

John is a former staff member in the World Bank's Sustainable Development Group, where he managed energy, transport, and environmental projects in Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. During his time at the World Bank, John also served as an advisor to the Bank’s Vice President for Sustainable Development and served in the Bank’s Thailand and Kosovo Country Offices. Prior to his involvement with the World Bank, John held various positions with multinational transportation companies and financial investment firms in Latin America and Eastern Europe. John has authored several publications and articles on infrastructure development, competition policy, and the carbon industry.

John holds a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University, a Master's in International Business from University of South Carolina, and a Bachelors in International Trade and Finance from Louisiana State University.

Forrest Mertens

Forrest is the Chief Operating Officer of SunOne Solutions and is based in our Colorado office. 

Before joining SunOne, Forrest worked as an investment professional at MVC Capital (NYSE: MVC), a publicly traded private equity and venture capital firm, where he was responsible for sourcing, executing, and managing investments in early and growth-stage companies.  Prior to MVC Capital, Forrest worked in both marketing and manufacturing for Next Level Communications, a telecommunications equipment company that was acquired by Motorola in 2003. Long before SunOne, Forrest entered the working world as a farmhand on his family's dairy in Sonoma, CA.

Forrest holds a MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, and a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from Boston University.

Jace Nore

Jace is based in our Nebraska office where he serves as manager for the region.

Jace packs more than 25 years' experience in sales, global account management, and business development. With a specialty in data networking design and implementation, his background includes managing and growing revenue for MCI, UUNet, and AT&T. Before entering into the field of telecommunications, Jace was instrumental in expanding the business of a local fuel wholesaler to one of the largest wholesalers in the nation.

A lifelong resident of Nebraska, Jace attended the University of Nebraska. He holds numerous data training certifications, as well as countless hours of continuing education in professional sales, relationship management, and contract negotiations.

Jim "Kimo" Storke

Kimo is based in our Texas office where he serves as manager for the region.

Kimo is the Managing Partner of KAS Consulting group, an advisory and consulting firm specializing in business development, pre-funding consulting and green project financing. The groups he partners with have funded over $12 billion dollars of projects in US and Offshore projects in the areas of Brown and Green energy. He is an advisory board member at the Clean Technology Sustainable Industries Organization (www.ct-si.org). He is also on the leadership team of the Texas Greenbelt Coalition (www.texasgreenbelt.com). Previously, Kimo was a Global Offering Manager at IBM and managed $450 million dollars in revenue. Prior to IBM, Kimo was a Regional Manager of Business Development at RSM McGladrey.

Kimo has 20 years of business experience and 6 years of U.S. military experience. He is a graduate of Trinity Evangelical University in Deerfield Illinois. He lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and two daughters. He enjoys mentoring others, reading, racquetball and windsurfing.

David Visher

David is a Local Partner for SunOne Solutions and is based in Davis, California where he leads business development for the region.

He is a vegetable grower, and spent nine years with the University of California Cooperative Extension and later founded a consulting partnership called Farm and Agriculture Collaborative Training Systems (FACTS).  David has served on the boards of the Community Alliance with Family Farmers and the California Institute for Rural Studies.  He chairs the Farmer Veteran Coalition board of advisors.

David holds a Bachelors degree in Business Administration and Marketing from California State University, Chico.

Konrad Huber

Konrad leads business development in Brazil for SunOne Solutions.

Before working with SunOne Solutions, Konrad gained 18 years of experience and training in international development and diplomacy, including previous positions with UN agencies, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the U.S. Department of State, and other organizations. He also served as Africa Team Leader for USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives, where he directed staff in multiple country programs and managed $40-50 million annually in U.S. foreign aid. This experience included long-term residences in and frequent travel to Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. He is a seasoned manager specializing in stakeholder analysis, consensus-building, and community development, particularly in remote environments. Konrad's area of focus is Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) projects.

Konrad holds a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University.

Dan Cornwell

Dan is a Special Advisor to SunOne Solutions, focusing on international business development, especially in Brazil.

Dan is an expert in corporate finance, competitiveness, and business strategy, having spent 15+ years as a senior member of leading strategy consultancies where he helped large multi-national companies grow, enter new markets and compete more effectively. He worked in Brazil for four years with the Monitor Group and speaks fluent Portuguese.

Dan received a B.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. from the Wharton Business School.

Betsy Failey

Betsy is an Intern/Associate at SunOne Solutions while she is pursing a dual MBA and MS in Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

She examined land use management and carbon policy for 2 years at CU Boulder’s Center for Science and Technology Policy Research and co-authored a paper on her research titled "Carbon stewardship: land management decisions and the potential for carbon sequestration in Colorado, USA" (Failey and Dilling 2010). Her research has also looked at water supply and demand in the New York City Water Supply System (also at CU) and the effects of land use change on reptile and amphibian populations (at Davidson College).

Betsy graduated from Davidson College (Davidson, NC) in 2006 with a Bachelors of Science in Biology

Co-Founders and Strategic Partners

Francisco Fernandez-Asin

Frank is Executive Director and shareholder of Endesa Carbono, the carbon arm of Spain and Latin America's largest utility. Prior to his involvement with Endesa, he was the founder and President of AHL Carbono, a consulting firm specializing in the commerce of greenhouse gas emission reduction credits within the framework of the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol, and the European Union - Emission Trading Scheme (EU-ETS).

Previously, Frank was a staff member in the World Bank's Corporate Finance and Project Finance Group, Latin America Energy Department, Carbon Finance Business Unit.

Frank holds a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University, a Masters in Business Administration from IESE, Spain, and a J.D. from the University of Zaragoza, Spain.

Ken Newcombe

Ken Newcombe is currently the CEO of C-Quest Capital, a carbon finance business dedicated to originating and developing high-quality emissions reduction around the world, and is based in Washington, DC.  

Prior to launching CQC, Ken was a managing director at Goldman Sachs in the Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Division where he was responsible for carbon origination and sales in the US and Latin America.  From 2006 to 2007, Ken was head of Origination and Vice Chairman of Climate Change Capital in London, the largest private sector carbon fund in the world.  Before joining the private sector, Ken led the development of the Prototype Carbon Fund, a public-private partnership of the World Bank which pioneered the global carbon market and managed the growth of World Bank’s carbon finance business to eight carbon funds, with approximately a billion dollars under management for investment in carbon offset projects.

Ken holds a doctorate in energy and natural resource management from the Australian National University and training in Business Management at Harvard Business School.

Ben Harris

Ben is currently a Principal and General Counsel of Nebraska Heavy Industries, LLC, a Nebraska-based private equity fund, which he co-founded.

Prior to the launch of Nebraska Heavy Industries, Ben was as an investment professional with MVC Capital (NYSE: MVC), a publicly listed private equity fund. Before that, he served as CEO of ITC Ventures, a private equity and venture capital firm, which he co-founded.

Ben holds a Bachelors degree from Washington University and a J.D. from University of Nebraska College of Law. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Hormel Family Foundation, with responsibility for managing its educational and business development programs in rural Nebraska.

Lee Stuart

Lee Stuart is currently a Principal and Vice-President of Nebraska Heavy Industries II, a private equity fund based in Lincoln, NE. He is also a Principal of Lincoln-based Cardinal Management, focusing on portfolio management, and private equity and venture capital investments in the Midwest.

Prior to joining Cardinal Management, Lee served as Senior Vice-President and Deputy Sr. Loan Officer of the National Bank of Commerce, the flagship bank of a $3.2 billion publicly-held commercial banking company headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Lee graduated with distinction from University of Nebraska and currently serves as Treasurer of the Lincoln, NE Board of Directors of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Mark Morales

Mark provides technical and science advising to SunOne Solutions while he is pursuing a doctorate in the Department of Physics at Harvard University.

Prior to Harvard University, Mark worked as Program Manager for Bioenergy at the energy and agricultural biotechnology firm Targeted Growth, Inc. Before that, Mark co-founded Polyera Corporation, a venture-backed start-up commercializing printable plastic electronic materials applicable to RFIDs, flat panel displays, and solar cells.

Mark holds BA in Physics with a Certificate from the Woodrow Wilson School of International and Public Affairs from Princeton University.