New Leaf’s motivated team combines innovative finance, creative strategy, and climate expertise to deploy nature-based solutions
Mike Kent
PARTNER
Mike focuses on the research, development and implementation of blended finance strategies that protect, restore and grow natural capital. Before New Leaf, Michael was a founding director at BlackRock Sustainable Investing, where he was responsible for climate product development, analytics and advisory services. He also served as program manager at ClimateWorks Foundation, where he supported the design and execution of global grant making programs and initiatives to accelerate the low-carbon transition. He has authored papers on low-carbon transition, climate regulation, carbon pricing frameworks and how to integrate climate risk and opportunity into investment portfolios. Michael holds a BA and an MPP from Stanford University. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and K9 son.
Frank Buncom
PROJECTS
Frank is New Leaf’s project implementation pioneer - working on restoration and forest carbon projects in California - and our in-house product design whizz. Frank was Head of Product at DailyDoctor where he worked on making healthcare accessible for all Americans no matter age, race, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, or location. He is a forever student and former athlete, passionate about ecological restoration and building products that are embraced by those who encounter them while having a net societal and environmental benefit. In tandem with his work at NLC, Frank runs a nonprofit at S&S Friendly Ranch and leads Ola Farms, an ocean restoration company. Frank serves as a Board Member for Literacy for Environmental Justice and advisor to both the 100words.org and Clever Carbon Project. He holds a BS from Stanford.
Erica Lee
ADVISORY
Erica helps our advisory clients deliver on complex research, strategy development, management, implementation and fundraising opportunities. Before joining New Leaf, Erica co-founded and steered operations as COO at DEI analytics and communications software startup Pluto, and developed strategy and programs at genEquality, a nonprofit designing nudges to increase gender-inclusivity. Erica previously advised on corporate transactions across a wide range of industries as an attorney at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. Erica started her career advising governments and nonprofits on economic development, community-based natural resource management, law and policy, and equity issues across Asia, Africa, and North America. Erica holds a JD and an MPA in International Development from Harvard, and a BA from Princeton.
Greg Levin
PARTNER
Greg leads New Leaf’s investor engagement and strategic advisory. Before founding NLC , Greg raised and leveraged blended finance models at Pursuit to unlock transformational employment opportunities for high-need and high-potential low-income adults. At BlackRock, Greg was a founding Director of the Social Impact team, where he built the firm’s first philanthropic strategy. At The Robin Hood Foundation, Greg served as Chief of Staff to the President of NYC's largest poverty fighting organization. Greg’s early career included renewable energy enterprises in Haiti and India, and private sector work in South Africa and Germany. Greg has an MPA from Columbia, a BS from the University of Oregon. He is a board member of The Hebrew Free Loan Society and Neta Foundation, advisory board member of Project Healthy Minds, and has served on Kiva’s Leadership Council.
Kunsang Dorjee
ADVISORY
Kunsang is New Leaf’s secret weapon for research and data analysis - deploying across themes to inform how, where and why resources can be deployed for maximum impact. Kunsang was previously a Strategy and Consulting Associate at The Ogilvy Group where he helped advise technology, sustainability, and philanthropic clients. Prior to Ogilvy, he conducted Climate Science research at the Yale Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, including work to help design an innovative climate model for Titan’s atmosphere. As a science journalist with American Public Media, Kunsang explored topics ranging from waste management to wildfires to musical neuroscience. Kunsang holds a BS from Yale in Physics and Philosophy.
Jake Young
PROJECTS
Jake works across New Leaf’s investment portfolio, thinking about the needs and opportunities for capital to catalyze sustainable land use. Jake joined New Leaf from Better Place Forests (BPF), where he was Director of Land Trust Partnerships and Real Estate Acquisition, completing over $20M in land transactions, developing the conservation partnerships strategy and working with legislators and regulators in over 10 states on regulatory processes. Before BPF, Jake evaluated transactions at DBL Partners, a $400M AUM impact VC firm in the San Francisco Bay Area. Jake was a research fellow at the Rocky Mountain Institute where his optimization and financial model was the basis for RMI’s “The Economics of Clean Energy Portfolios” and a primary tool for RMI’s Carbon Free Electricity team. He also volunteers as a project manager for conservation projects in his home state of South Dakota. Jake holds an MS and a BS from Stanford.
Veenu King
ADVISORY
Veenu is the jack-of-all-trades for New Leaf’s clients across advisory, research and business services. Veenu brings direct sustainability leadership and enterprise experience to bear to this role - she co-founded two circular-economy start-ups, WovX (novel textile) and BuyBy (agriculture-tech), where she developed and launched zero-carbon, zero-waste innovative sustainable production processes and products, created data-centric industrial symbiosis impact models and materials for small corporations and governments, and built climate impact mitigation tools for global supply chains. She was lead data science and machine learning engineer at Hitactics, applying IoT technology to improve operational flows and processes. Veenu holds a BA in ORFE from Princeton and an MS from Yale School of the Environment.
Harry Guinness
PARTNER
Harry focuses on fund design and investment activities, working to get flexible capital to strategies for land restoration and reforestation. Before setting up New Leaf, Harry spent a decade at Lion’s Head Global Partners, creating impact investment products, primarily in climate finance, but also covering financial inclusion, education, health, real estate, and job creation. He built teams in London, Lagos, Nairobi, and New York and was the fund manager for the Off-Grid Energy Access Fund, remaining on the fund’s Investment Committee today. Before Lion’s Head, Harry combined entrepreneurship, impact investment and sustainable infrastructure. Harry has a BA from Yale and an MA from Columbia. He lives in New York City but escapes upstate to brew cider every autumn.