Our Team

Carbonfund.org is much more than our small, dedicated staff. Carbonfund.org is able to have the impact it has because of our thousands of supporters, business and nonprofit partners and the vast network of volunteers who share a common goal of reducing the threat of climate change and reducing our impact on our environment.

Eric Carlson

Executive Director

Eric is a founder, with his wife Lesley, and Executive Director of Carbonfund.org. Eric has more than fifteen years experience promoting cost-effective solutions to climate change, with an extensive background in energy efficiency and renewable energy. Prior to Carbonfund.org, Eric managed voluntary partnerships at the US EPA’s Energy Star Homes and Buildings programs. There he advised companies such as Gillette, IBM and Johnson & Johnson. Eric also spent six years managing programs for the Alliance to Save Energy in Central and Eastern Europe. He advised ministers of energy and environment on energy policy and climate change, testified before parliaments, advised the World Bank and IFC on major energy efficiency investments and trained municipal leaders. Eric and Lesley founded Carbonfund.org to make it easy and affordable for any individual or business to reduce their climate impact while hastening our transition to a low-carbon future. Lesley and Eric have two beautiful young daughters and want to pass on to them a cleaner world.

Lesley Carlson

Director of Admin

Lesley is also a founder of Carbonfund.org with her husband, Eric. Lesley’s background includes several senior positions in nonprofit organizations, including serving as the director of operations and finance chief for the National Democratic Institute’s Serbia office, a $2 million a year operation with 25 staff. Lesley also managed regional democracy programs for Freedomhouse in Hungary, including the effort to overthrow Slobodan Milosevic. Lesley and Eric both witnessed firsthand the environmental and human destruction caused by war, dictators and failed economic policies. Lesley is also the co-founder of another nonprofit, the Refugee Assistance Program, in Debrecen, Hungary. Prior to this, Lesley spent nine years with the State Department managing cultural, environmental and political exchange programs. In her spare time, Lesley sometimes gets very close to bears. She can be reached at .

Claire Douglass

Partnerships Director

Before joining Carbonfund.org Claire was the Maryland and DC Director for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. She was one of the leading advocates for the Healthy Air Act of 2006 and Clean Cars bill of 2007 in Maryland and most recently for the DC Clean Cars bill. She is a founding member of the Alliance for Global Warming Solutions based in Maryland and the Capital Climate Coalition in DC.  Claire studied environmental science, public policy and philosophy at the University of Colorado at Boulder.  Claire loves to travel and has travelled extensively in Latin America, Europe and South East Asia. In her free time she participates in a billiards league.  She can be reached at .

Michael Stewart

Partnerships Manager

With over 14 years of communication, marketing and branding experience, Michael works closely with our partners to develop, implement and communicate their carbon offset strategies. Michael has worked with major brands such as Microsoft, as well as smaller companies in the outdoor sporting goods market. Michael came to Carbonfund.org as a satisfied customer – having first used the organization’s offset services while working at a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting sustainable business models. Taken with Carbonfund.org’s overall mission of directly advocating for solutions to the all encompassing and urgent issue of global warming, Michael soon found a way to come aboard to help make a difference. And although the summer fog can require wearing a down vest in August, he is very happy to have launched our new office in San Francisco; where in his free time he is happy to ride his bike to find great surfing and a neighborhood cup of shade grown, bird friendly, co-op farmed, organically produced, perfectly roasted, ordinary drip brewed coffee. He can be reached at .

Russell Simon

Communications Manager

Russell was born in the high desert of Santa Fe and raised in the suburbs of New York City and on the Upper West Side. He graduated from Principia College with a B.A. in history and from St. John’s College with an M.A. in philosophy and the classics. Russell’s work experience includes three years as a political reporter for the Albuquerque Journal in addition to experience as a marketing consultant, campaign coordinator and English teacher. He has hiked solo around New Zealand’s Stewart Island and through Alaska’s Denali National Park. Other travels include tours of Scandinavia and a trip to the remote jungles of Guatemala to assist in building clean drinking water projects. He is dedicated to doing his part, whatever that may be, to hasten a global transition to a clean energy future. Russell can be reached at .

Lindsey Robinett

Climate Change Specialist

Lindsey works closely with the CarbonFree™ Small Businesses Program.  Growing up in scenic northern New Jersey, Lindsey enjoys hiking and loves the outdoors. With a new interest in kayaking, she is excited to explore what DC-area parks have to offer.  Lindsey graduated from Boston University with a B.A. in Environmental Analysis and Policy with a concentration in economics.  While a student at BU, Lindsey coordinated a peer-mentoring program which helped incoming students feel welcome on campus and build great relationships.  Lindsey has previously worked for SeaWeb, the National Council for Science and the Environment, and the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group (NJPIRG).  With her background in such varied environmental organizations, Lindsey brings a valuable array of knowledge to Carbonfund.org.  She can be reached at .

Jarett Emert

Climate Change Specialist

Jarett works closely with medium to large businesses, nonprofits and events to develop individualized greenhouse gas reduction and offset programs. He also assists partners who are in the EPA’s Climate Leaders program or are pursuing LEED certification with the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). Jarett is a graduate of Vermont Law School’s Master of Studies in Environmental Law and Policy program and has an extensive background in carbon markets and energy regulation. Formerly a Legislative Staff member for the Vermont General Assembly Agriculture Committee, Jarett is also a freelance environmental and travel journalist for regional and national magazines. He is originally from Princeton, NJ. Jarett can be reached at .

Julia Farber

Climate Change Specialist

Julia Farber is a climate change specialist in charge of facilitating the product certification program and managing project relationships. She holds an MPA in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Environmental Studies (PITE) from the University of Michigan.  She is extremely interested in mitigating the effects of climate change, and has focused much of her studies on the geopolitics of energy and sustainable urban development.  Prior to joining Carbonfund.org, she worked on projects with the William J. Clinton Foundation, the Manhattan Borough President’s Office and the Advertising Council.  A native of Royal Oak, Michigan, she retains lots of Michigan love and advocates investing in Detroit.  As for now, she spends her time exploring the city, travelling, reading a good book or two, brushing up on current events, and visiting friends.  She can be reached at .

William Bert

Communications Specialist

Born in Washington, DC, and raised in Fairfax County, VA, William has returned to the Washington area after two years in Arizona and six years in New York City.  He graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in Computer Science and worked for a financial services firm as a Software Developer.  A love of writing took him to Tucson, where he earned his M.F.A. from the University of Arizona and had his eyes opened to the effects of development on the environment.  Hiking in Coronado National Forest’s beautiful Madera Canyon and the majestic desert of Saguaro National Park left him with a love of the landscapes of the American West, to which he will one day return.  As Carbonfund.org’s Communications Specialist, William assists with media outreach and raises awareness of what we can all do to combat global climate change through the organization’s blog and newsletter.  He spends his free time writing, reading, reviewing books and music, getting acquainted with the city of his birth, and planning future backpacking trips in the West and elsewhere.  William can be reached at

Brian McFarland

Climate Change Associate

Brian began at Carbonfund.org as an intern and quickly became so indispensable we had to hire him as a full time Climate Change Associate. Brian is currently finishing a dual graduate degree in Business Administration and Global Environmental Policy from American University.  While finishing his Psychology and International Development degree from Clark University, Brian conducted environmental fieldwork in Mexico, Costa Rica, Kenya and Brazil. In his spare time, he enjoys nature photography, traveling, and exploring Washington, DC.  Brian can be reached at

Jennifer Hawse

Climate Change Specialist

A dedicated climate change activist, Jen heads up Carbonfund.org’s outreach efforts for individuals. In May 2007, Jen graduated with a B.A. in sociology from The University of Maryland, with a minor in Gender Studies. She has lived in Maryland all of her life and feels a close connection with the state (She is very troubled that Maryland is the third most vulnerable state to climate change!). Prior to joining Carbonfund.org, Jen worked with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network where she gained an insider’s perspective on how challenging the work of saving the world is. In her spare time, Jen enjoys playing music, poker and other rousingly entertaining board games. She also enjoys reading about the latest scientific finding. She can be reached at jhawse@carbonfund.org

Pauline Tran

Communications Intern

Pauline assists the communications team at Carbonfund.org with news releases, assorted writing and editing, and outreach on the blogosphere. She is earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing at the University of Maryland, College Park. Since beginning her internship at Carbonfund.org, Pauline is learning new ways to be green, and recently invested in a new bike. Pauline also works as editorial assistant at Beltway Poetry Journal, and in her free time she reads, writes, paints, photographs, and travels. In the future she hopes to publish a book of poetry and make a film. Pauline can be reached at ptran@carbonfund.org .