Features Anaerobic Digestion Business/Policy Energy United States
Two new members of ABC board

September 20, 2012, Washington, D.C. – The board of directors of the American Biogas Council recently announced the election of four new directors.

Joining the board for first terms are Juliette Bohn from Humboldt Waste Management Authority and Chris Voell from BioCNG, LLC. Nora Goldstein from BioCycle and Paul Greene from O’Brien & Gere are both rejoining the board for their third term. 

Directors are elected by the 160 member organizations of the American Biogas Council (ABC), which include anaerobic digester developers and builders, engine and turbine manufacturers, farmers, wastewater utilities, landfill operators, engineering and law firms, financiers, non profits, universities and the entire biogas supply chain.

“I’m especially pleased that the ABC will be able to benefit from Juliette Bohn’s California policy and municipal waste experience, as well as Chris Voell’s deep experience in organic waste management most recently from his former positions with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” said ABC executive director Patrick Serfass. “Paul Greene and Nora Goldstein have proven their tireless dedication to the ABC since its inception and we will all benefit from their contributions to the biogas industry.”

Bohn, Voell, Goldstein and Greene join directors Amy Kessler from Turning Earth, Ben Mathews from Caterpillar, Bernie Sheff from UTS Residual Processing, Christine McKiernan from BIOFerm Energy Systems, Kerry Kelly from Waste Management, Norma McDonald from Organic Waste Systems, Paul Relis from CR&R, Shane Chrapko from Himark bioGas, and Wayne Davis from Harvest Power to round out the ABC board.

Voell has more than 25 years of experience in the biogas industry from the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) and from the US EPA’s Climate Change Division’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program and AgSTAR Program. He currently works for BioCNG, a subsidiary of Cornerstone Environmental Group, which sells fueling systems for biogas as a vehicular fuel.

Bohn currently works for Humboldt Waste Management Authority (HWMA) in Humboldt County, California, where she is responsible for the development of a Regional Organic Waste Digester and the utilization of the landfill gas resource at the closed local landfill. She is active in the development of organic waste policies in California, which makes her an important contributor to the growth of the biogas industry and the work of the ABC’s legislative and regulatory affairs committee, of which she is an active member. 

Goldstein is the editor of BioCycle, a magazine for advancing composting, organics recycling and renewable energy. She was one of the principal architects behind the formation of the ABC and has authored numerous articles on all facets of composting and organics recycling, and more recently anaerobic digestion. In her last term, Goldstein served as co-chair of the education and outreach committee and secretary of the council. 

Greene is vice president of O’Brien & Gere, has been a part of the anaerobic digestion industry for 20 years and leads his firm’s waste-to-energy practice. Like Goldstein, Greene was a principal architect behind the formation of the ABC and has served as chair of the board since its formation in 2010.

As the ABC welcomes some new and familiar leaders, the council also extends a special thank you to the leadership of Melissa VanOrnum from DVO, Inc. (formerly GHD, Inc.) and Shonodeep Modak from GE Energy for their service on the ABC board since 2010. VanOrnum has served as ABC’s treasurer from the beginning and also as chair of the membership and fundraising committee and co-chair of the education and outreach committee. Modak served as co-chair of the legislative and regulatory affairs committee and played a central role in creating a strong policy-presence for the ABC from the very beginning.