The Edison Institute Team
Dr. Tim Lasalle
Center for Regenerative Agriculture & Resilient Systems Co-Founder; regenerative agriculture systems specialist, consultant and independent contractor: Dr. Tim LaSalle has served as the first CEO of Rodale Institute, Executive Director of the Allan Savory Center for Holistic Management, consultant, advisor, and research coordinator for the Howard Buffett Foundation in Africa on soils and food security for smallholder farmers. He is Professor Emeritus of California Polytechnic State University, and former President/CEO, of the California Agriculture Leadership Program, where he arranged educational leadership programs in more than 80 countries with heads of state, ministers, and community leaders.
Dr. Cynthia Daley
Director and Co-founder of the Center for Regenerative Agriculture & Resilient Systems; Rawlins Endowed Professor for Environmental Literacy; Organic Dairy Program Supervisor; Professor College of Agriculture: Dr. Cynthia Daley is a professor within the College of Agriculture at California State University, Chico, and serves as the Director for the Center for Regenerative Agriculture & Resilient Systems. She joined the CSU Chico, COA faculty in 1997 and later founded the Organic Dairy Education & Research Program in 2006. Seeing the need to grow the ecological farming movement, Daley went on to co-create the Regenerative Agriculture Initiative in 2016 and guided this program to Center status in May of 2019.
Larry Kopald
Founder & President, The Carbon Underground: Larry Kopald has been a communications, branding and business development professional for over twenty-five years, working at some of the world’s top advertising agencies. He has overseen advertising for McDonalds, American Express, Nike, General Mills and others, and helped launch multiple brands presently generating more than a billion dollars in annual revenues each. Prior to launching The Carbon Underground in 2014, Larry served on the boards of Oceana, Greenpeace, the National Marine Sanctuaries, and 1% For The Planet and was a founder of Regeneration International. He is a Senior Fellow in USC’s Marshall School of Business, a member of the World Economic Forum’s Carbon Committee, and was a member of the White House Panel on Innovation.
Zion Brigham
Program Lead, CRARS: Zion graduated from Merced College in 2021 with an AST in Agriculture Business, followed by the completion of a BA in Agriculture Business from Chico State in 2023. His educational journey reflects a relentless pursuit of excellence. Renowned for his passion for sustainability and regenerative agriculture, Zion envisions a future where these principles play a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of the agricultural industry. Zion is originally from Atwater, CA, where he developed a strong work ethic early on, influenced by his family's involvement in a crop-dusting business.
Dr. Jonathan Gelbard
Program Director - Edison Institute: Dr. Jonathan Gelbard serves The Carbon Underground as a unique combination of conservation scientist, strategist, communicator, and program director. He offers more than 25 years of experience collaborating with multi-stakeholder partners on rangeland, pasture, and cropland ecology and management projects that translate science into regenerative agriculture, conservation, and natural climate solutions. Dr. Gelbard is passionate about incentivizing and enabling producers to participate in landscape conservation partnerships that revitalize soil health, sequester carbon, enhance resilience, conserve habitats and biodiversity, and generate other valuable benefits for farm businesses, rural communities, and society.