Rafael Nieves
President and CEO
Full Resumé

Dr. Rafael Nieves has worked in the renewable energy sector for over 27 years. Dr. Nieves is experienced in management of national and international collaborations as well as project management and financial analysis of large technical projects. His formal technical training is in biotechnology with emphasis on the biofuels, biomass and bioindustry sector. He is an experienced energy market specialist and has served as a senior technical advisor. Successful client collaborations have been well-served by his R&D technical skills and business experience. Dr. Nieves has extensive experience nationally and internationally managing bioenergy projects in the U.S., Mexico, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Australia, Philippines, Ghana, Armenia, Indonesia and the Ukraine. Rafael’s technical expertise is in the hydrolysis and fermentation sciences of biomass conversion. He possesses a Ph.D. from Colorado State University and a M.B.A. from the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver.

Mark Yancey
Senior Vice President
Full Resumé

Mark has 30 years of experience in the fields of renewable energy and environmental engineering including extensive experience in project development and economic analysis for first and second generation biofuels facilities. Mark’s expertise is in the development of renewable energy projects including development of business strategies and financial, market and technical analyses of projects and renewable energy opportunities. Mark has excellent management skills and his strengths include business development, project planning, financial analysis, and project development in addition to his excellent communications and interpersonal skills. Mark has presented at well over 100 conferences and workshops worldwide during his tenure at BBI International and NREL. He is a recognized expert in the development of biofuels projects.

Jeff Kistner
Senior Financial Specialist
   

Jeff Kistner provides CFO services to agribusiness and renewable energy companies. His services include: forecasting operational performance and financials, enhancing cash flow, liquidity requirements, capital structures, and increased equity valuations. Kistner understands there are many different solutions designed to help companies achieve success. This knowledge is from working in the industry as a lender for 19 years and as an industry consultant for five. Jeff’s expertise is in the collection, monitoring and analyzing information for best business practices.

Kistner was raised on a family farm in southeast Nebraska and graduated in 1986 with a Bachelors of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Nebraska. In 1991 he earned his MBA in Finance from Webster University in St. Louis, MO. Kistner has 19 years of banking experience and he concluded his banking career at CoBank, one of the largest lenders to the agribusiness and renewable energy industry in the US. He then worked 4 years at BBI International focusing on project development and management of ethanol projects in the US and internationally. At BBI, he had a strong influence in business economics, equity valuations and capital structures from early stage to operating renewable energy companies.

Art Wiselogel
Senior Project Manager
Full Resumé

Art Wiselogel has over 30 years of experience in project management, personnel management, and as a scientist in environmental sustainability, and renewable energy and fuels. Formerly a BBI International Project Manager, Art worked closely with renewable project principals to plan, develop and oversee the implementation of business plans under the guidance of the Client’s Project Board or Steering Committee. Art also served as Project Manager for Integrated Resource Technologies Inc. on their largest contract with the US Department of Energy’s Golden Field Office. Art has also worked as a project coordinator and geneticist at the University of Georgia, Texas A&M University, and Texas Forest Service.

Art has a Doctorate from Texas A&M University where he studied genetics and plant breeding, a Masters of Science degree in Agriculture from Oklahoma State University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Science from Mississippi State University.

Kelly Ibsen is a consultant/associate to NEAtech. Kelly is a Professional Chemical Engineer with more than twenty years experience in research, development and deployment for a variety of industries.  After a distinguished 15-year career at NREL, DOE’s premier renewable energy laboratory, managing multi-disciplinary R&D programs to develop technically sound and financially robust processes, Kelly went on to direct the scale-up of chemical and biological systems for biorefineries for BioEnergy International LLC. In 2009, she started a consulting firm, Lynx Engineering LLC, to provide engineering and project management services to the renewable energy industry.