Our Team
Viraj Sikand, CEO & Co-Founder, Kenya
Viraj grew up in a multi-generational environmentalist household in Nairobi, and has worked in environmental-focused startups for the past ~10 years. He received an environmental studies degree from Brown University, where he also co-founded Kulisha, a startup that created sustainable protein from food waste. He later worked at Optoro, a company that has raised $300M to accelerate circular economies. Viraj enrolled in a joint program at Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, but took a leave of absence to found and focus on EarthAcre.
Mark Tracy, Chairman & Co-Founder, USA
Mark has spent the majority of his career at the intersection of food, finance, technology and public policy. For over 20 years, Mark served in leadership roles at Cargill and Indigo Ag, and was most recently CEO of Perennial, a leading measurement, reporting and verification platform for soil-based carbon removal. While at Cargill, Mark built new financial tools to help farmers manage risk, and led the effort to use distributed ledger (blockchain) technology to create digitally traceable food. He is a named inventor on two U.S. patents, and is the chair of the board of the Rhode Island Public Health Institute. He is also an entrepreneur in residence at SeaAhead – supporting sustainable ocean ecosystems – and a venture partner at Waterman Street Ventures.
Patita Nkamunu, Head of Projects & Co-Founder, Kenya
Patita is an impact-driven conservation professional with experience in natural resource conservation, policy lobbying, advocacy and public engagement. Her work integrates conservation and climate change mitigation in Africa using capacity building, cross-sectoral partnerships, research, and the empowerment of both women and indigenous communities. Patita is a board member of the Kenya Indigenous Women’s Council and Friends of Nairobi National Park, and Vice Chairperson of the Athi Kapiti Wildlife Conservancies Association. She recently completed a Masters Degree in Conservation Leadership at University of Cambridge.
Mohanjeet Brar, President & Co-Founder, Kenya
Mohanjeet is Managing Director of Gamewatchers Safaris & Porini Camps, a leading conservation eco-tourism company. He serves on the boards of the African Wildlife Foundation, the Kenya Tourism Federation, the Wildlife Habitat Trust, the East African Wildlife Society, Ecotourism Kenya, the Kijabe Forest Trust, and the KEPSA Environment Sector. Over the past 15 years, he has pioneered partnerships between the private sector and communities across East Africa, providing direct monetary benefits to indigenous peoples. He has a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Arkansas.
Yasha Portnoy, CTO & Co-Founder, USA
Yasha has spent the majority of his career at the intersection of tech and sustainability. Prior to co-founding EarthAcre, he was Director of Engineering at Optoro, a company that has raised $300M to pioneer circular economies in retail. While at Optoro, Yasha was integral to solving problems in web, IT infrastructure and data engineering. He served in various leadership roles and helped scale the tech team from a few individuals to over 100 employees. Yasha spent ten years at Optoro after co-founding one of the first stationless bicycle sharing services in the U.S.
Elizabeth Gitari, Legal Counsel, Kenya
Liz is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a Managing Partner of the Natural Resources and Sustainability Law division of OGO-Law Advocates. She is on the boards of Kijabe Forest Trust and the East African Wildlife Society, and teaches law at Riara University. She is pursuing a PhD in environmental law from the University of Nairobi. She has experience in streamlining environmental sustainability, climate change law, community wildlife conservation strategy, natural resource conflict resolution and governance structures for long-term environmental management.
Caroline Jepchumba, Program Manager,
Kenya
Andrew Davies, Chief Scientist,
USA
Andrew is an Assistant Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard and Principal Investigator at the Harvard Davies Lab. He was born and raised in South Africa, completed his PhD at the University of Pretoria, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Carnegie Institution for Science at Stanford. His research uses a combination of on-the-ground experimental fieldwork and high-resolution remote sensing to understand how animals influence ecosystem structure and function, including carbon and nutrient cycling, at landscape scales. He seeks to understand animal-landscape interactions in light of climate change and other global factors.
Caroline is a climate adaptation and livelihood improvement expert. She has 10 years of experience working with pastoralists, developing actions and framework seeking to help them adapt to climate change and be more resilient. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Geography and Development Studies and a Post Graduate Diploma in Project Management, and is a member of Narok County Agricultural Sector Steering Committee and gender technical working group.
Lilly Lavner, Grant Strategy Manager, USA
Lilly Lavner (she/her) supports the development and execution of EarthAcre’s grant strategy and portfolio. Lilly has over a decade of experience in grant writing, implementation, and management, including federal funding agencies and private foundations such as The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mellon Foundation, and The Henry Luce Foundation.
Lilly earned her MA in higher education and MS in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology from the University of Michigan. She has also completed a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification through the Project Management Institute and is a Certified Scrum Master and Product Owner through the Scrum Alliance.
Lydia Zemke, Senior Advisor, USA/Canada
Lydia Zemke is a nature finance expert with over 12 years of experience at the nexus of finance, biodiversity, and technology. She began her career at the United Nations Environment Programme (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity), and has since held advisory roles at NatureFinance, McKinsey's Vivid Economics, and the World Climate Foundation. Currently completing her PhD at University College London, Lydia's research focuses on strategies for channeling private finance into nature-based solutions. Additionally, as a Fellow at Harvard University's Davies Lab, she explores methods for measuring biodiversity at scale. Lydia also serves on the student advisory board of the Harvard Innovation Labs (iLabs), emphasizing her commitment to leveraging technology for innovative startups addressing the biodiversity crisis.
Lankas Noi, Field Expert, Kenya
Lankas Noi is a field expert/specialist leading the monitoring of biodiversity in the field for Earthacre. He studied environmental management in the Wildlife Research and Training Institute,and is a seasoned birder, boasting a list of over 500 kenyan species as well as the ability to identify birds by sound. He is also a bronze guide approved by Kenya professional Safari guides association,thus is equipped with a lot of knowledge on East Africa’s flora and fauna. Since he started working with Earthacre, Lankas has developed expertise on acoustics and camera trap installment and settings.
Doreen Kibaara, Kenya
Kibaara Doreen is a dedicated technical writer with a Bachelor's degree in Hotels and Hospitality Management. In her role at EarthAcre, Kibaara is responsible for creating comprehensive technical documentation including user manuals, product guides, and online help resources. She collaborates closely with subject matter experts to gather information and translate complex technical concepts into easy-to-understand content for end users.
Prior to her current position, Kibaara gained valuable experience as a Technical Writer for IEEE. She is committed to creating exceptional documentation that enables users to fully utilize EarthAcre's products and services.
Luke Schletzbaum, Lead Biodiversity Scientist, USA
Luke is a globally-focused conservation biologist with experience leading biodiversity surveying and restoration projects in some of the world’s most threatened habitats, particularly in the global tropics. He has training in evolutionary biology and biogeography, specifically focused on supporting conservation initiatives to restore and protect biodiversity. Luke’s expertise in field observations coupled with machine learning and spatial analysis techniques helps EarthAcre provide accurate ecosystem observation at scale alongside indigenous field experts.