Board of Directors

Greg Kiessling is president of Up Capital Ltd., a private investment firm that focuses on early stage companies whose products and services will lead to increased prosperity while reducing environmental impacts. Earlier in his career, Greg was co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Sitraka, which was Canada’s largest self-financed software company when it was purchased in 2002.

Sitraka was recognized as one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies six times and was also named one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers. Greg also served in a variety of fundraising and board leadership roles for the ground-breaking Pathways to Education program between 2002 and 2013.

Why Greg founded Clean Prosperity

“I’ve always believed that a better future requires both economic strength and a sustainable approach to environmental issues. Applying market-based solutions to environmental problems can solve them at the lowest cost to the economy, jobs, and prosperity. It worked with acid rain and it can work with climate change. That’s why I am a foundational donor to Canadians for Clean Prosperity.”

Nathalia is the General Manager of Yves Rocher North America. She began her career as an entrepreneur by founding a consulting startup in digital services and communication in Mexico City. She has over 15 years of management experience.

Nathalia’s experiences in North America, France, and Mexico have helped her understand the sensitivities of different cultures. Through her leadership and convictions, she challenges traditional management practices and brings a new perspective to companies’ organizational structures.

Nathalia is passionate about ecology and sociology, and serves on Group Rocher’s Sustainability Committee, as well as participating in the B Corp certification process of the company’s American subsidiary.

She also enjoys mentoring young entrepreneurs in Montreal. She recently coached a team during the Cooperathon organized by Desjardins Group, and often participates at L’Effet A, by training young women to improve their negotiating skills.

Nathalia holds master’s degrees in business management and regenerative economics.

Why Nathalia joined Clean Prosperity

“I am a pragmatic idealist and I strongly believe that decarbonization and a strong economy not only can coexist, but are essential to our future. I admire Clean Prosperity’s achievements and hope to help them reach their objectives.”

Matthew Holmes has over 15 years of experience in executive leadership, government relations, public policy, non-profit management, and business development.

As the founding executive director of the Canada Organic Trade Association, he helped develop national standards and a new regulatory regime. He advocated for the world’s first organic equivalency arrangement for trade between Canada and the United States, which became a model for mutual recognition agreements between governments around the world.

Matthew has worked in media and Canada’s cultural industries, including his role as president and CEO of Magazines Canada, the national representative body for Canadian-owned news, entertainment, arts, and business-to-business print and digital media. He serves as an advisor to New Canadian Media, a charity dedicated to amplifying the journalism and storytelling of newcomers to Canada within mainstream media.

Matthew also has experience in Canadian higher education, including in the president’s office at York University and leading government and corporate relations for Queen’s University at Kingston, where he is currently employed.

Why Matthew joined Clean Prosperity

“I am convinced that the transition to a decarbonized economy is not only necessary but achievable through a mix of market drivers and regulatory inducements. Clean Prosperity’s focus on simple, cost-effective solutions to Canada’s climate challenges is what we need right now.”

Dana Saric is senior counsel at a publicly listed North American power producer. Prior to this role, she was a partner practicing banking and corporate law at a national business law firm, with a focus on project development, strategic investments, and project finance in the electrical power, agribusiness, technology, and energy infrastructure sectors. With over a decade of diverse professional experience, Dana has observed the impact of climate policy and incentive structures on corporate decision-making and capital investments across Canada. She has significant experience advising resource developers in a variety of industries on the opportunities and implications stemming from Canadian climate legislation and carbon markets, and assisting them with structuring their projects and partnerships to profitably align with their corporate climate ambitions.

Dana also writes and speaks regularly on matters of interest to carbon market participants, including renewable energy procurements, the evolution of provincial, federal and global carbon market mechanisms, and sustainable impact lending structures.

Dana holds a law degree from the University of Toronto and an undergraduate business degree from McGill University.

Why Dana joined Clean Prosperity

“People respond to incentives, both positive and negative. It is imperative that the climate policies adopted in Canada and benchmarked by the rest of the world create an incentive structure that is sustainable, both for the climate and for Canada’s long-term economic prosperity. Clean Prosperity’s focus on market-based emissions reduction policies strike an important balance between the dual goals of environmental and economic prosperity.”

David V. Wright is a professor in the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Law where he is a member of the Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law Research group. David teaches environmental law, environmental impact assessment law, torts, and negotiations, and he is a frequent speaker at national and international events. His research has been published in leading academic law journals. He has also testified before several parliamentary committees on matters of environmental and natural resources law and policy. David is a director on the board of the Canadian Institute of Resources Law, a member of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law, and in 2021 he was named to the federal roster for impact assessment panel reviews.

Prior to his faculty appointment, David held positions with Canada’s Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, the United Nations Development Programme, the law firm of Stewart McKelvey, and the Marine and Environmental Law Institute at Dalhousie University. David was also General Counsel for the Gwich’in Tribal Council in Canada’s Western Arctic region, where he regularly advised on the duty to consult, Indigenous governance, and regulatory matters. He holds a graduate degree and law degree from Dalhousie University and a Master of Laws degree from Stanford University. During his graduate studies at Stanford Law School, David was a fellow with the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.

Why David joined Clean Prosperity

“Conversations around climate law and policy suffer from too much heat and not enough light. This organization generates pragmatic, evidence-based analysis that charts a prosperous, sustainable path forward for Canada and beyond.”