Michael Coté is an experienced climate change industry professional. Since 2001, he has worked in the various aspects of voluntary and compliance carbon markets – including greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reporting, methodology development, and qualifying & verifying carbon offset projects. In 2005, Michael co-founded Ruby Canyon Engineering Inc. (RCE), whose services primarily targeted methane-to-energy-type projects from fugitive methane emission sources (such as coal mines, landfills, and livestock operations), as well as corporate and project-level GHG reporters. Since 2010, he has led RCE’s completion of over 1,000 GHG validations and verifications working in nearly all GHG programs in North America.
Michael has extensive experience with coal mine methane (CMM) recovery and use projects both domestically and abroad. He has worked closely with U.S. EPA’s Coalbed Methane Outreach Program since 1998 on a broad range of CMM industry topics. He has given CMM presentations at several international conferences on behalf of U.S. EPA, including Ukraine, Russia, China, Canada, and Washington DC. Michael has been a resident of Grand Junction, Colorado for over 30 years and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from Colorado Mesa University in 1997. He enjoys living in rural western Colorado with its easy access to the great outdoors.
As Vice President, Zach oversees RCE’s work across North America utilizing over a decade of experience in GHG programs and markets. Zach is a Lead Verifier for multiple GHG programs including the California Air Resources Board, Climate Action Reserve, American Carbon Registry, The Climate Registry, Verified Carbon Standard, Mexico’s National Emissions Registry (RENE), and British Columbia’s Climate Investment Branch. Zach has years of offset project experience with coal mine methane, landfills, livestock, oil/gas, fuel switching, transportation, ODS and nitric acid production. Zach leads RCE’s work in California for the Compliance Offset Program and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, and represents RCE on a variety of working groups with the International Trading Emissions Association. Prior to joining RCE, Zach worked at Element Markets where he managed numerous carbon offset projects, as well as conducting all GHG policy and regulatory analysis to support company trading activities and client relationships.
Zach earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Technology from NC State University and a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. Zach enjoys all the outdoor activities that Western Colorado provides – hiking, mountain biking, skiing and rafting.
Eilleen Kerby received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. She subsequently passed the CPA exam soon after college graduation. She began her career with the international public accounting firm Touche, Ross & Co in Chicago. Eilleen then transferred to another international accounting firm, Coopers & Lybrand where she gained further auditing experience on a wide range of clients ranging from small private firms, non-profit, government and public companies.
Upon reentry to the job market in 2006, Eilleen worked for Dalby, Wendland & Co, a regional accounting firm in Grand Junction, reinstated herself as an active CPA and participated in audits of local/regional business and governmental entities. Her primary responsibilities include managing the financial accounting and reporting for the company, various human resource related activities in addition to her role as the independent auditor for all the verification and validation projects. In her free time, since her recent relocation to Corvallis, Oregon, Eilleen and her husband enjoy experiencing all the Pacific Northwest has to offer and surprisingly has become a huge fan of college sports especially the Oregon State Beaver’s women’s basketball team.
Nina has been a team member for RCE’s GHG validation and verification work in both voluntary and compliance standards in U.S., Canadian, Mexican, and Colombian carbon markets since joining RCE in 2010. She is a Lead Verifier for organizational verifications for the California Air Resources Board (ARB), British Columbia’s Reporting Regulation, Mexico’s National Emissions Registry (RENE), Mexico’s Programa GEI, The Climate Registry (TCR), and CDP. She is an ARB-accredited transactions specialist for electric power entities and fuel suppliers, an ARB-accredited Lead Verifier and Project Specialist for livestock, ODS, and mine methane capture offset projects; a Lead Verifier for Nitric Acid Production, Coal Mine Methane, Livestock, and Grassland offset projects under the Climate Action Reserve (CAR); and a lead verifier for projects under British Columbia’s offsets program and Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS). Nina is also an accredited verifier for the Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) program.
Nina received her B.S. in environmental science with a second major in political science from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 2009. Her studies included travel to Bangladesh to study climate change and sustainable development and to Kenya to study community conservation initiatives. In her free time, Nina enjoys exploring the Colorado outdoors by mountain biking, hiking, camping, and skiing.
Jessica joined RCE in 2014 and is pursuing her interests in environmental policy and sustainable development by emphasizing areas of research pertaining to U.S. and international GHG markets while leading RCE’s expansion into the sustainability field. Jessica is certified in G4 Sustainability Reporting under the Global Reporting Initiative and in Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting under the World Resources Institute. She is a lead verifier for the Airport Carbon Accreditation program, CORSIA, The Climate Registry, the Climate Action Reserve, Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard, the California Air Resources Board, and the Climate Investment Branch.
Jessica graduated from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs in 2014 with a Master of Public Affairs and a Master of Science in Environmental Science with a focus in Energy. In 2012, she received a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a focus in Physics and a minor in Environmental Studies from Xavier University. Prior to joining RCE, she worked for the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to develop a risk-assessment model for monitoring the underwater acoustical impact of the installation of offshore wind turbines on endangered marine species. In addition, Jessica developed a weatherization model for electricity usage and water consumption while working at IU’s Office of Sustainability.
Bonny Crews is a microbiologist with broad experience in soil, water, and environmental applications. Bonny joined the RCE team in 2009 and has been a team member on numerous compliance and voluntary projects with the California Air Resources Board (ARB), Climate Action Reserve (Reserve), American Carbon Registry (ACR), Verra, The Climate Registry, and British Columbia’s Climate Investment Branch. She is an ARB-accredited Lead Verifier for forestry and livestock (Project Specialist) offset projects; a Lead Verifier for livestock, forestry, landfill, grassland, organic waste digestion, and organic waste composting offset projects for the Reserve; and a Lead Verifier for projects listed with ACR and Verra. Bonny also has completed project validations for the ACR and Verra.
Bonny holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from St. Edward’s University and a Master of Science degree in Microbiology from Colorado State University where she studied the effects of oil shale retort on soil microorganism function. Prior to joining RCE, Bonny worked at Atlantic Richfield (ARCO)’s research laboratory in Plano, TX where she was a technical expert with the environmental support group and served as the in-house expert on bioremediation and other biological environmental remediation methods. Before the formation of the environmental group, Bonny was involved in various oilfield microbiology projects, including reservoir souring and geochemical exploration. She enjoys cycling, mountain biking, hiking, skiing, and training and showing dogs in the dog sports agility and obedience.
Minerva López
Diana has worked as an Environmental Scientist at RCM’s Mexico City office since October 2017. Currently, Diana is a lead verifier accredited by the Mexican Accreditation Entity (EMA) in Mexico. She was part of the SEMARNAT working group to elaborate the Mexican norm in this matter. She has participated in verifications in the Energy, Commerce and Services, Industrial Processes and Transportation sectors. She has also collaborated as a team member in the verification of mitigation projects for the non-causation of the carbon tax in Colombia. In Argentina and Chile, she has worked as team member on the verification of renewable energy projects using Verified Carbon Standard registry. In addition, she is an accredited lead verifier under the CORSIA scheme and has taken the General CAR Verification course. During 2020 she managed the validation in Mexico of RCE, being the first verification body in Mexico to be accredited.
Within her career she collaborated with SEMARNAT in conducting workshops and courses on issues of adaptation to climate change, vulnerability and risk. She has knowledge in geographic information systems and has worked as an academic at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Diana has a bachelor in Earth Sciences with orientation in Environmental Sciences, graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
Paulina joined Ruby Canyon Mexico team as an Environmental Scientist in September 2018. Throughout her constant training, Paulina has deepened in: Climate Change, regulations on the National Emissions Registry (RENE) in Mexico, verification of GHG inventories, validation of projects under different registers and in updates to ISO/IEC 17029: 2019 and ISO 14065 standards. In 2018 and 2019, Paulina participated in around 30 projects of verification of Greenhouse Gases Emissions Inventories under the RENE program in the Energy, Commerce and Services, Waste and Transport sectors; as well as in voluntary forest GHG mitigation projects. She also collaborated as a verifier in the validation of mitigation projects under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) program in Argentina and Chile.
Currently, Paulina is an accredited verifier by the Mexican Accreditation Entity (EMA) in Mexico and supports the RCE team in the verification activities of GHG mitigation projects for landfills under the Climate Action Reserve (CAR) and VCS programs, as well as in the preparation of GHG inventories for consulting projects. In her academic experience, she has participated in courses for the elaboration and evaluation of conservation projects, methodologies and carbon estimation schemes, as well as in Geographic Information Systems. Paulina is a Biologist graduated from the Faculty of Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.