Paul Levine
A native Memphian, Paul Levine is a graduate of the University of Memphis. After earning a BBA with an Accounting major, Paul has amassed over twenty-eight years of experience in Finance and Accounting. In 1980, Paul became the Assistant Comptroller at The Memphis Group, a company involved in the market for new and used aircraft parts. He was employed by The Memphis Group until 1991. At that time, Paul joined the staff of Manpower Employment Services as a staff accountant. During his tenure at Manpower, Paul was promoted to Comptroller and Secretary Treasurer of the corporation. Upon the sale of the Manpower operation, Paul began PM Enterprises, an accounting and business advisory firm serving the small to mid-size market. Paul is a member of the Memphis Chapter of The Institute of Management Accountants where he has received the Institute’s President’s Award on multiple occasions. Paul provides BioDimensions with key skills in the areas of Finance and Accounting.
Strategic Advisory Board
Robert A. Harris
For the last six years Mr. Harris has served in several capacities at Tennessee Valley Authority including Project Manager of Emerging Technologies, Research & Technology Applications and Renewable Projects Program Manager for Public Power Institute. Before that time he was a Schedule C Presidential Appointee of President Clinton and served as the first Bioenergy Coordinator at the U.S. Department of Energy where he was instrumental in implementing and participating in the Biobased Products and Bioenergy Initiative. Previous to his work in Washington, DC, Mr. Harris was the Director of the Nebraska State Department of Energy for eight years as appointed by Governor Benjamin Nelson (now Senator Nelson). He has been instrumental in the formation and/or advancement of organizations including New Uses Council, Biobased Manufacturers Association, Governors Ethanol Coalition., and the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition.
Geofrey G. Kime, P.Eng.
Mr. Geof Kime was a founding Director of Hempline Inc. (operating as Stemergy) and has been instrumental in re-establishing hemp as a valuable fibre commodity in North America. He has been responsible for creating the Company’s expertise in hemp and flax fibre production, processing technology and creating new market opportunities for hemp and flax. He is considered to be a world authority in this industry. Geof received a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Queen's University at Kingston in 1990. He has been a licensed Professional Engineer in the province of Ontario since 1993. While working with Big'O' Inc. from 1990 to 1997 in equipment and product design he received US patents for his designs of plastic processing equipment. Geof was a founding director of the North American Industrial Hemp Council from 1995 to 2001. He helped start the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance and has served as a director since its inception in 2003 and is presently the Vice President. Geof served on the board of Trustees for the London Waldorf School Board of Trustees from 1998 to 2006, as a volunteer community member active on numerous committees, including overseeing the construction of a new building for the school in 2004. Geof was raised on a cash crop and livestock farm near London, Ontario and lives in London with his wife and two young sons.
Arielle Moinester
Arielle Moinester began consulting with BioDimensions in 2008 to aid in economic analyses of alternative crop and valued-added agricultural enterprises in the Mississippi Delta. Arielle brings to BioDimensions her experience and passion for designing, implementing and managing business and development projects that seek new intersections between traditional approaches to sustainable agricultural development and free market economic efficiency. Arielle has worked with the International Food Policy Research Institute, IFPRI, in Washington, DC and with AVRDC, The World Vegetable Center in Arusha, Tanzania researching African indigenous vegetables and sustainable productivity growth of horticulture in sub-Saharan Africa. She has also worked in coffee production, cooperative development and women’s income generation in Honduras. Arielle is co-founder of Manos de Madres, a non-profit organization building sustainable women’s businesses around the world as well as Coordinator for the Women's Earth Alliance 2009 Transformative Advocacy Exchange for Women in Sustainable Agriculture in India. Arielle earned her M.S. in Agricultural and Resource Economics and an M.S. in International Agricultural Development from the University of California, Davis. Currently, Arielle lives in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where she is a 2008/2009 International Development Fellow in Agriculture with Catholic Relief Services.
Christopher Ramezanpour
Mr. Christopher Ramezanpour began working with BioDimensions in 2006. He assisted the organization in researching and drafting the proposal for the Strategic Development of the Mississippi Delta Bio-Economy. Mr. Ramezanpour has several years of international development experience in Africa. From 2003-2005 he was a field agent in Kilifi, Kenya for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (through a partnership with the US Peace Corps). There he led agribusiness and crop diversification training programs and assisted in crop marketing for the 1,300 farmers affiliated with the FAO Farmer Field School Program in the district. Mr. Ramezanpour is currently pursuing his Master in Public Policy at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
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