Currently, Michael is an Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School, supporting student entrepreneurs in the launch of new ventures in the tough tech sector. From 2012 through early 2024, he served as the co-founder and CEO of Vaxess, a company bringing healthcare out of the clinic and into patients’ lives with the MIMIX patch platform. Under Michael’s leadership, Vaxess achieved key milestones including signing lucrative partnerships with industry leaders such as Astra Zeneca, raising more than $80M in funding from partners such as RA Capital and the Gates Foundation, opening an advanced GMP manufacturing plant, completing a successful Phase I clinical trial, and building a pipeline of high-value products.

Prior to Vaxess, Michael spent time at Google and Honda where he helped bring a range of products such as the Google Chromebook and Honda Pilot to market. He has earned more than 15 patents with innovations spanning the transportation, technology and life science sectors. Michael received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and his M.B.A. from Harvard.

Prior to joining Closed Loop Partners, Kristin was Founder and CEO of Radical Plastics, a startup focused on commercializing a patented, natural catalyst which renders conventional plastics biodegradable. In this role, she was responsible for all aspects of the business including fundraising, investor relations, strategic relationship management, corporate governance, partnership development, finance, supply chain and team management.  

Before starting Radical Plastics, Kristin spent 20 years in Market Development for major multinational plastics and chemical companies including ExxonMobil, SABIC and Huntsman Corporation. She also spent several years at bioplastics company Metabolix, where she was responsible for Global Business Development for Mirel™, a family of patented biobased / biodegradable PHA polymers. 

Kristin earned a Master of Plastics Engineering degree from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. She is a former Activate Fellow (2020-2022) and was named to the Forbes Next 1000 List of entrepreneurs working to redefine the American Dream (2021).

Kirsten co-founded Revolution Foods in 2006 and grew it to over $130 million in revenue when she stepped down in 2024. At Revolution Foods, Kirsten established, grew and oversaw many aspects of the business, including product strategy, stewarding mission and impact, business expansion, B Corp certification and conversion to a Public Benefit Corporation. Revolution Foods was named by Fast Company as one of the world’s 50 most innovative companies and was listed as one of Fortune Magazine’s “Seven World-Changing Companies to Watch.” Today, Kirsten is the Chief Operating Officer of the Save the Redwoods League, a nonprofit dedicated to landscape-scale conservation of redwood forests throughout California.

Kirsten has served as a member of the Board of Directors for Mercaris as well as serves on the boards of nonprofits ARTA River Trips and Amigos de las Americas. She is a social entrepreneurship fellow for the Schwab Foundation, an Ashoka Fellow, and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network since 2010. Kirsten and her co-founder Kristin were listed among Fortune’s 40 under 40 for 2013, and were identified as Time Magazine’s Education Activists of 2011.

Kirsten holds an AB from Brown University and an MBA from UC Berkeley.

Ian has extensive entrepreneurial and executive-level leadership experience managing brand building and marketing activities for some of the world’s most influential consumer product companies. From The Body Shop, to Patagonia, to Nike, to Nau, he has been instrumental in building and stewarding brands that have defined and differentiated themselves based on their strong commitment to innovation and sustainability. He has also served as an advisor and board member for several early-stage companies and non-profit organizations. Early in his career, he merged his passion for the outdoors with his interest in human development as the Executive Director of Outward Bound in Canada.

Ian earned a BA from Antioch College and received a post graduate Research Fellowship from the Thomas J. Watson Foundation that enables “university graduates of unusual promise” to engage in independent study abroad. He is also a graduate of the Program for Executive Development at the Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia.

Prior to Closed Loop Partners, Ron was the Deputy Commissioner of Sanitation, Recycling and Sustainability in New York City in the Bloomberg Administration. He oversaw the collection and processing of NYC’s paper, metal, glass, plastic, textile waste, electronic waste, organics, and hazardous waste as well as public policy. In 2013, NRDC and Earth Day New York named Ron as the Public Official of the Year in New York City.

During his career, Ron has been recognized with a number of business and environmental awards including recognition as a ‘Champion of the Earth’ by the United Nations Environment Program which is the highest distinction for environmental protection given by the United Nations and recognizes outstanding visionaries and leaders in the fields of policy, science and entrepreneurship and the Medal of Excellence from Columbia University which recognizes alumnus under the age of 45 for excellence in scholarship, public service and professional life The companies that he has led have been recognized as innovators in sustainable business practices. Recognitions include The Conference of Mayors – Public/Private Partnership of the Year, Technology Pioneer from the World Economic Forum and the Wall Street Journal’s #1 Venture Backed Cleantech Company of The Year.

Ron is the author of a number of patents in the areas of technology and environmental science.

Ron received his MBA from Columbia Business School. He returned to Columbia as an Adjunct Professor for several years. His first book, The Waste-Free World, was published by Penguin Random House in 2022.

Tazia Smith is a Managing Partner and the CEO of Closed Loop Capital Management, Closed Loop Partners’ investment group. Previously, she served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Head of Capital Partnerships of Closed Loop Partners. She is currently responsible for the Closed Loop Capital Management business, as well as stakeholder management, capital formation and investor relations across the firm, and she is a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Tazia joined Closed Loop Partners in 2019, after 18 years of experience within investment banks, working with institutional family offices across the capital structure, and has seized leadership opportunities accelerating the integration of sustainable finance into capital markets. 

Prior to joining Closed Loop Partners, Tazia was a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank (DB), covering institutional family offices. Tazia helped establish Deutsche Bank’s Key Client Partners business, which delivered private market opportunities, structured lending, and trading capabilities to qualified private clients. Throughout her last year at Deutsche Bank, Tazia worked with the CEO’s strategy team focused on the integration of ESG, impact and sustainable finance. Before she joined Deutsche Bank in 2011, Tazia spent 7 years at Goldman Sachs providing institutional cross-asset sales coverage for private clients.  

In 2019, Tazia co-founded and served as a Strategic Advisor for the IMP+ACT Alliance, an independent nonprofit technology initiative funded by Deutsche Bank, with the purpose of advancing market participants’ assessment of impact investments, that is now part of The Global Impact Investing Network (The GIIN). 

Tazia holds her Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. She graduated magna cum laude with her B.A. degree in Environmental Science & Policy from Duke University. 

Jessica brings over two decades of experience, helping organizations increase competitiveness and drive profitable growth while creating positive economic, environmental and societal impact. Prior to joining Closed Loop Partners, Jessica was a Managing Director with Accenture, leading their North America Sustainability and Responsible Business practice. In this role, Jessica led engagements with companies in energy, food, fashion and technology to advance their ESG goals, drive economic value through responsible business and scale circular business models. In addition to working with Fortune 500 companies, she drove multi-stakeholder efforts with the World Economic Forum and the United Nations Global Compact. Prior to that role, Jessica was based in East Africa, leading the company’s work at the intersection of business, international development and emerging markets.

Before joining Accenture, Jessica worked in the United States Senate on issues related to affordable housing and immigration. She is a speaker and author of several papers and studies, including the recently published The Circular Economy Handbook: Realizing the Circular Advantage.

Jessica serves as an advisor to 17 Rooms, the Business & Sustainable Development Commission, the Global Community Engagement & Resilience Fund, the Global Teacher Prize and Rise. She was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Prior to joining Closed Loop Partners, Talia was the Chief Legal Officer of CreateMe Technologies, an apparel technology company, where she was responsible for the company’s global legal, human resources and compliance teams. Talia has served as general counsel to several rapid growth tech startup companies and has deep experience building and leading global teams across corporate functions to optimize efficiency, enhance collaboration and facilitate achievement of business objectives.

Prior to her in-house roles, Talia was an associate at Latham and Watkins, where her practice focused on private equity transactions, mergers and acquisitions, strategic transactions and general corporate law. Talia holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and a law degree from the University of Houston School of Law (magna cum laude, law review).

Prior to joining Closed Loop Partners, Kate served in New York City government for more than a decade, most recently as Senior Vice President at the NYC Economic Development Corporation. At NYCEDC Kate led a team launching innovative business development programs to foster the growth of entrepreneurship, strengthen New York City’s anchor and emerging industries and create new jobs. She managed a portfolio across sectors including smart cities, healthcare, cleantech, fashion, tech, media and advanced manufacturing. Kate previously served as the Executive Director of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Kate earned a Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Bridget has spent the last 20 years building movements to help drive a more sustainable economy – from the local food movement to the circular economy. This work has included a national campaign to improve quality of life with less consumption; building and executing campaign tools to move consumers to Buy Fresh, Buy Local; a start up turned growth company incentivizing consumers to recycle right and Purpose, a consultancy and incubator leveraging the tools of movement building to solve global challenges.

Bridget earned a BA in Sustainable Development from the University of Wisconsin Madison

Bridget spends much of her free time scaling the vertical world of rock and ice, frequently finding ways to mix climbing trips into work trips.