Speaker Category: Main Speakers
Casey Peterson, Ph.D.
Dr. Casey Peterson is the Program Development Manager and Co-Interim Director of the NCI. Some of his responsibilities include coordinating educational programming, leading the development of educational programming, assisting with long-term strategy development and implementation. Dr. Peterson has 25 years’ experience in higher education administration at NDSU and Concordia College prior to his time with NCI.
Austin Vaillancourt
Austin Vaillancourt is a business development professional with 15 years of experience in the renewable fuels and energy space. Since joining Gevo, a next-generation “low-carbon” fuel company focused on the development and commercialization of renewable alternatives to petroleum-based products, Mr. Vaillancourt has held several roles within the business, both technical and otherwise. In his current role as a Senior Business Manager, Mr. Vaillancourt leads the biofuels and bioproducts channel as part of the Verity Carbon Solutions business unit where he works to identify and nurture strategic relationships with partners or potential customers as well as assist in the development of a strong pipeline of new business opportunities through direct or indirect customer contact and prospecting. Prior to joining Gevo, Mr. Vaillancourt held several positions at Southern Research Institute where he served as the Analytical Leader on Fulcrum BioEnergy’s pilot-scale process development unit designed to catalytically convert synthesis gas to mixed alcohols. Mr. Vaillancourt has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Larry LeMaster
Larry LeMaster has been a Partner with Elevar Partners since 2018 where he has focused on Renewable Fuels and their further transition into the Transportation Fuels pool. With Renewable Fuels becoming a more integral…
Ty Eschenbaum
Ty Eschenbaum is a Managing Partner at A1 Development Solutions, a Midwest consulting firm specializing in site selection, permitting, overall site development, financing, and operations for agricultural, food, commercial, and bioenergy projects. He remains…
Megan Rock
Megan Rock is the Vice President of Sustainability and Innovation and the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) at CHS, the nation’s leading farmer-owned cooperative and an agronomy, global energy, grains and food company. In 2022,…
David Ripplinger
David Ripplinger is an Associate Professor, Extension Bioproducts, and Bioenergy Economist with North Dakota State University (NDSU). Ripplinger received his B.S. in Agricultural Economics from NDSU, his M.S. in Agricultural Economics from Iowa State…
Jacob L. Shapiro
Jacob oversees geopolitical analysis at CI, working with the CI research team to integrate geopolitics into CI’s investment strategies. He also authors the “Global Situation Report,” a weekly intelligence brief on the world’s most…