Mission Statement

John Novitsky - CEO
John has worked in Silicon Valley since 1982. He  started at Intel, working on technical, marketing and management  positions on the 386, the 486, and the Pentium microprocessors. He’s been working in tech startups since 1993, and has done 1 IPO and 2 private acquisitions as part of the management team. He specializes in writing business plans, validating new business with initial customers, and fund raising.

Walter Kraus, President and Chaiman of the Board is co-founder of AquaPrawnics. He has a background in  biophysics  and  communication technology.  He built for the Nigerian Ministry of Power the  first   Renewable Energy Micro Utility, electrifying a Nigerian  off-grid  village. He also runs a European technology company  and supplies optical wireless  communication  technology to the robot industry. Walter works from his office in Berlin, Germany. Together with John Sheldon, he developed the integrated AquaPrawnics concept and technology.

John Sheldon, CEO emeritius is co-founder of AquaPrawnics and an accomplished real estate expert, graduated from Montana State  University  with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology. He founded  Creston Seed  Inc., a  certified seed company, which he operated until  2003. His  specialties  are organic farming (certified for 35 years), and  oilseed  and  gluten-free crop production. He also specializes in  agricultural  land  development and resort projects. For the last twelve   years, John  has used his agricultural background as he works to promote the  biofuels industry.  John has operated pyrolysis systems on and  off,   since 2004.  He lives in and runs the AquaPrawnics office out from   Spokane,  WA.  Together with Walter Kraus, he developed the AquaPrawnics concept and technology.

Brynne Kennedy is an accomplished entrepreneur and  investor, previously as the Founder and CEO of Topia, the leading HR technology solution. Brynne led fundraising activities for more than $110 million in venture capital and debt financing, fueling more than 100% growth for multiple years, two acquisitions and a strategic rebrand.  She has been recognized with several prestigious business awards.  Brynne ran for Congress in California's 4th Congressional  District, where she received the most votes of any challenger in  California and any prior challenger in the district.

Prior  to Topia, Brynne worked in investment banking and private equity  internationally, participating in more than $20 billion of capital  raising and investment.  Brynne holds a B.A. from Yale University and an MBA  from London Business School, with a concentration in Entrepreneurial  Management.  

David Fox is a 5x CEO from Silicon Valley.  He currently is CEO of  Stellar Labs, a digital marketplace for sourcing private jet charter  with over 400 operators and corporate flight departments.  He is an  angel investor in AquaPrawnics.  His company is also working with his customers, to determine if they wish to purchase the carbon tax credits produced by AquaPrawnics,  to offset the carbon produced in the private jet exhausts.  David is a  member of YPO and carries an MBA from Santa Clara University.

Rick Mayerson: Rick is the Chief Investment Officer of a private Family Office. He endeavors to be a value-add investor, assisting emerging companies in realizing their potential. His diverse experience spans a broad range of investments, commercial real estate, business start-ups, accounting and finance. He has an MBA from UC Berkeley and a BS in Accounting from Indiana University.

Rod McNeil, Director of Shrimp Operations 
Rod is one of the leading shrimp experts in the country. Achievements:   Certified Aquaculture engineer since 2001, holds 9 relevant patents,   2009-2013 senior environmental scientist Dept. of Environmental  Quality, Montana; 2008-2009 permitting environmental scientist, Montana  DEQ; director of operations 2006-2007, Ocean Boy Farms, Clewiston, FL;  director of engineering, 1996-2006, Meridian Aquatic Technologies  Polson, MT; Rod field trained some 100 graduate technical specialists in  China and received governmental award from government in China,  established a water quality lab in Polson, Montana, developed  biofiltration and much more.

 

Dr. Kim Selkoe: Dr. Selkoe is a Marine Scientist and Senior Fellow at the National  Center of Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at UC Santa Barbara. She  received her B.A. in Biology from Pomona College in 1997 and her Ph.D.  in Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology from UCSB in 2005.  She has  focused her science career on 'big data' approaches to marine  conservation, biodiversity, and population genetics. From 2005 to 2015,  she held a joint affiliation with Hawaiian Institute of Marine Biology,  and conducted research on nearshore reefs worldwide. In parallel to this  academic work, Dr. Selkoe spent 15 years consulting on sustainable  seafood and fisheries management.  Since 2016 she has served as the  Executive Director of Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara, a  non-profit port association, and she serves on the board of the Pacific  Coast Federation of Fishing Associations. In these positions, Dr. Selkoe  educates the public and lawmakers about California fisheries and forges  new collaborations between fishermen, government and environmental  groups. In 2019 Dr. Selkoe became founder and CEO of Get Hooked Seafood,  a community supported fishery business, that delivers local seafood to  over 700 households in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Dr. Selkoe  was born and raised in Boston where she developed an early love of all  things marine, and now lives in Santa Barbara.

Mitch Law: former  trader on Wall Street, now works for SAP as Global Strategic Commodity  Management Presales Advisor.  He models alternative bio char carbon tax  credit/cap and trade alternatives, and discusses with the team.

Grog Verbeck: Grog is a private chef based in Truckee, Calif. He earned a Michelin star in Paris, and 3 stars from the NY Times for the restaurant he ran in New York City.

Brandon Crowell: president, Sierra Gold Seafood, Sparks, Nv. (angel investor &   customer) Advises on market conditions for shrimp/prawn, and on FDA  food  processing. Has issued a LOI to purchase all of the shrimp output  from  Loyalton, Ca.

Justin Eve:  certified organic farmer, and composter. Expects to be a customer, and   investment partner. Advises on issues related to organic farming, on   compost/fertilizer use, on plant and soil interactions. 

Sean Kelly: owner  of JJ’s Ranch, 10,000 acres in Calif Central Valley. Expects to  be a  customer, and investment partner. Advises on how best to use the  waste  from his Almond orchards as our feedstock, and measures  productivity  boost in his almond orchards due to our organic  fertilizer.  

Steve Mueller:  30 years experience running renewable bio-mass to electrical   generation. Advises on regulatory and operational issues, w.r.t.   renewable bio mass to electrical generation..

Joe Novitsky:  licensed architect and Professional Engineer. Advises on construction   costs and construction materials. Also expects to be a customer on   Puerto Rico. 

Ashley Hunter: former investment banker. (angel investor) Advises on banking/fundraising issues.

John Crawford:  Intel chief architect, 386, 486, Pentium, Itanium microprocessors. IEEE   fellow, Si Valley Computer Museum fellow. (largest outside angel   investor) Really smart, and highly ethical (a moral compass for the   company). John is also a key contributor to the R&D of the carbon   footprint negative estimates and measurements. 

Lisa Farmen: world class water engineer. She wants our shrimp shells, for use as an   ingredient for her media in water purification. The chitin in the  shells  can be converted to Chitosan, which removes heavy metals (and  other  impurities) from water. 

Shelly Hall,  Team Leader: environmental attorney, previously served in the US   Federal Dept of the Interior. Shelly manages the process, and interacts   with the legislative analysts of the elected officials, both at the   State and Federal level. She has been directly involved with multiple   pieces of Federal legislation. 

Justin Eve:  certified organic farmer. Deeply involved in multiple USDA efforts to   transform US agriculture practices, and experienced with bio char as a   soil amendment. He gives the team the outside perspective as a farmer   who would be purchasing the fertilizer, and sequestering the carbon in   the form of bio char. Justin is the outside voice of “what makes   practical sense?” as a farmer. He expects to use his organic farm in   Central California as a R&D facility to experiment with multiple   recipes, and to measure the results. (crop output increases, water  usage  reductions, soil health improvements, etc.) 

Mitch Law: former  trader on Wall Street, now works for SAP as Global Strategic Commodity  Management Presales Advisor.  He models alternative bio char carbon tax  credit/cap and trade alternatives, and discusses with the team.

Dr Julio Briano:  emeritus  dean of the Chemical Engineering dept, University of Puerto  Rico. He  reviews our chemical calculations/models, and ensures that  they are  accurate. 

Jessica Lambert: environmental  engineer. She has worked in two administrations,  shepherding Federal  legislation through the US Congress. Has published  some 20 refereed  papers. 

Joe Novitsky: Professional Engineer. He is technically deep and broad, and researches the #s carefully. 

Candace Chan: PhD in Physical Chemistry, faculty member at Arizona State University.   Performs some of the technical analysis of various forms of biochar  and  bio-char based soil amendments.