Spectra A. I. Asala is a startup executive, product development and operations leader, and the founder of B-Side Ventures, a community and pre-seed impact fund that invests in identity, community, health, climate, and justice. They're passionate about startups building in agriculture, renewable energy, waste management, and solutions at the intersection of environmental conservation and indigenous land rights. 

Asala wields two decades of early-stage venture development and startup leadership, with functional expertise across product strategy, operations, and GTM for tech companies, multinational corporations, and social impact ventures around the world. They've held leadership and advisory roles across highly regulated industries, including financial services, healthcare, transportation & logistics, and emerging technology. They currently serve on the board of several non-profits advancing gender, economic, and environmental justice, and speak regularly about the impact of globalization, emerging technologies, and the future of work on climate and society. 

Asala graduated with a B.Sc in Humanities and Mathematics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Aly is an Investor on the Closed Loop Ventures Group team – the seed and pre-seed investment division of Closed Loop Partners focused on catalyzing innovations in the circular economy globally. She has a deep focus in critical minerals, e-waste, and metals processing, supply chain logistics, modularity, and business model transformations keeping materials in circulation for longer. Prior to Closed Loop, Aly worked in McKinsey & Company’s Sustainability and Energy practices on renewables generation and cutting-edge technologies supporting circular business models in textiles, building products, consumer goods, and advanced manufacturing.

Henry leads the market intelligence function of Earth Foundry identifying early innovation trends, evaluating the market potential of investment opportunities, and setting the fund's investment thesis. Henry’s passion for learning new technologies and how they can be used in creating new businesses is key to this role.

Prior to joining Earth Foundry (formerly Energy Foundry), Henry spent six years as a strategy consultant for Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in the Chicago office. Henry focused on Industrials (Chemicals / Materials, Ag) primarily working within the Corporate Development practice area (portfolio / growth strategy, M&A).

Prior to BCG, Henry received his PhD in Chemistry from Northwestern University where he focused on developing theoretical techniques to accelerate development of new organic electronic materials for application in semiconductors and photovoltaics. Henry has a BA from Carleton College in Mathematics and Chemistry.

Christine Martini, as CEO of RenovoBlu, LLC, brings her experience as an investment professional for institutional and private clients as well as deep industry knowledge around investments in water, renewables, and impact sectors to the impact investment banking space.  Her background as a buy-side energy analyst, portfolio manager, and project finance professional provide a unique investor perspective for advising early-stage companies. As an experienced equity analyst and portfolio manager she brings unique skills to the diligence, financial structure and market opportunities facing early-stage companies today. RenovoBlu, LLC is committed to focusing on consulting  and capital raises for Impact-focused companies in the Seed to Series A stage. Christine Martini is a mentor with the NYSERDA EIR Program at Columbia Technology Ventures.

A sought-after investor and advisor for companies at the intersection of technology and sustainability, David Miller brings over twenty-five years of technology startup management experience and over twenty years of seed stage investing experience to Clean Energy Ventures as a founding partner. Previously, David was the founder and Executive Managing Director of the Clean Energy Venture Group. Prior to that, he was a Director in the New Ventures Group at Lucent Technologies, and founder and CEO of Quantum Telecom Solutions. David has been on the board of directors of several clean energy companies, including Boston Materials, Pearl Certification, Volexion, Noon Energy, Pika Energy, and MyEnergy, and has advised and mentored many others. He is an Advisory Board Member of the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative, where he also has an appointment as Research Affiliate, and previously taught electrical engineering at Rutgers University.

Ryan grew up in the central valley, known both as the agricultural heart of California and home to many of the oil reservoirs that supply petroleum and natural gas to California. Ryan started his career as a data analyst in oil & gas and transitioned into clean energy early in his career.

Over the past decade, he has worked with utilities, state and local government, and startups on business model transformation, technology deployment, and industry innovation in the energy sector. Recently, Ryan has shifted his focus towards the capital, specifically Venture Capital and Project Finance, to better understand how they can drive the development and deployment of technology addressing challenges in the energy and climate space. Ryan now works as an Associate at Azolla Ventures, an early-stage fund investing in companies with the potential for gigaton scale emissions reduction potential.

In addition to work, Ryan is passionate about volunteering. Ryan is an alum of the University of California, Davis, and is currently finishing his Masters Degree in Systems Engineering at The Johns Hopkins University.