About Us
Board of Directors
Wei-Tai Kwok
Chair
Wei-Tai Kwok is a renewable energy executive who currently leads Bila Solar, a new US-manufacturer of solar panels. In his other volunteer work, Wei-Tai gives climate talks as a volunteer with Al Gore's Climate Reality Project. He recently stepped down as Vice Mayor and Councilman of the City of Lafayette, CA. His personal areas of interest include regenerative agriculture, biochar and plant-forward diets and their roles as part of the solution to climate change. Wei-Tai has a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Political Science from Yale University.
Lydia Chaudhry
Vice Chair
Lydia Chaudhry has worked with and volunteered for multiple nonprofits, with particular emphasis on public outreach, event planning, and recruitment and support of volunteers and interns. She is a graduate of the chef's training program of the Natural Gourmet Culinary Institute and has experience in plant-based cooking instruction, demos, and recipe development.
Sandeep Patel
Sandeep Patel is Chairman & CEO of Climax Foods, which is commercializing a proprietary protein ingredient and a range of revolutionary high-protein, dairy-free cheeses. Previously, Sandeep led a series of transformations at two consumer products companies as the CFO of Califia Farms, a leader in alternative dairy beverages, and President & CFO of PopSockets, a global lifestyle technology company. Prior to that, Sandeep was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs and Barclays in NYC and Mumbai, where he focused over two decades on the intersection of consumer products, food & agriculture, technology, and sustainability. Sandeep has a B.A. in economics and biology from Williams College, J.D. from Yale Law School, and M.S. in Economics from MIT. He was a Fulbright Scholar and an Aspen Institute Fellow.
Benjamin Happ
Treasurer
Ben is a Partner at BERA, an investment consulting firm focused on alternative proteins and the future of food. Previously, he worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, was an investment analyst at Allianz, headed marketing for a leading Asia hedge fund, and raised billions of dollars from institutional investors. Ben earned a BA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, an MA from UC Berkeley, and is a holder of the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Dr. Ali Saad
Dr. Saad’s work focuses on food’s connection to human and planetary health. He is a former fellow of the University of Colorado's Climate & Health Policy Program where he is currently affiliate faculty. He is board-certified in Neurology, Stroke, and Lifestyle Medicine. Key leadership positions include: founding co-chair of the neurology member interest group at the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, co-director of Neurologists Interested in Climate and Health (NICHe), and board member at Greener by Default.
Katie Excoffier
Secretary
Katie Excoffier served as Sustainability Manager at Genentech for 13 years, where she became passionate about promoting plant-based food in a corporate environment. She is a board member of Acterra in Palo Alto, and an active member of Citizens’ Climate Lobby in Santa Cruz, where she lives. Katie has a BA in Biology from UC San Diego, an MS in Genetics from UC Berkeley, and an MBA in Sustainable Business from Presidio Graduate School.