Prior to joining WaterStart in 2013, Rebecca spent 14 years working on water resources management issues for the Southern Nevada Water Authority gaining an intimate perspective of the challenges in obtaining, treating, and delivering consistently high-quality water to a growing community. While at SNWA, she developed and managed the evaporation data collection and analysis program to support groundwater-basin hydrologic budgets and water-right appropriations, scientific studies for species protected by the Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Nevada Revised statutes, and other federal policies, and negotiations for contractual third-party agreements.
In his position as the Senior Director of Global Sustainability for McDonald’s Corporation, Mr. Olson is responsible for leading the advancement of sustainability strategies for McDonald’s supply chain, restaurants and communities reaching more than 69 million customers daily in over 35,000 McDonald’s restaurants worldwide.
Prior to joining McDonald’s, Mr. Olson was the Director of Sustainability for Darden Restaurants, the largest full-service restaurant company in the world and holder of well-known brands such as Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse and The Capital Grille. Ian started his career in sustainability and established Ford Motor Company’s Supply Chain Sustainability Office, integrating sustainability strategies and supporting a $90 billion supply chain.
Mr. Olson is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Northwestern University teaching graduate level courses focused on supply chain resiliency and sustainability. He has been featured in Fast Company as an innovative business leader, recognized as a GreenBiz Mover and Shaker, minority investor in 2Toms Brewery and member of a world championship competition BBQ team.
Mr. Olson holds a BA in Economic Policy and an MBA in Supply Chain Management from Michigan State University.
Mr. Thomas is a licensed mechanical and civil engineer in California, with 30 years working in the water,
nuclear, petroleum, and aircraft industries the past 18 years at Metropolitan Water District of
Southern California. In his current role as a capital programs manager, he oversees teams responsible
for Capital Investment Plan (CIP) management, construction contracts, project controls, and engineering
administration support.
Ramsay Huntley is Wells Fargo’s Climate Strategy and Innovation Leader and a member of the Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility leadership team. In this role, he works with business partners to develop new opportunities that support Wells Fargo’s $200 billion sustainable finance commitment to lead the transition to a low carbon economy. Ramsay is also responsible for the bank’s cleantech philanthropy programs, including Innovation Incubator (IN2) in conjunction with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Andrew Kingsford brings thirty years of leadership in business transformation across numerous public and private sectors. In his extensive career, Andrew has pioneered major business change programs and is a business and technology and innovation specialist. He has delivered successful reform initiatives across sectors including water, transportation, local government and natural resources and has previously held roles of Strategy Practice Lead, Chief Information Officer and Director with a successful leadership history.
Kristopher Sanchez serves as the Interim Executive Director for the State of Nevada, Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED). Mr. Sanchez, previously worked as GOED’s Director of International Trade and a Congressional staffer in the United States House of Representatives.
