ECOSYSTEM INVESTMENT PARTNERS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner
- Co - Founder and Managing Partner at EIP
ADAM DAVIS is a co-founder and Managing Partner at EIP, and is involved in all aspects of the business, from investor relations to project implementation and customer satisfaction. Over the past 35 years, he has worked in various roles that help to align business interests with environmental outcomes, and he is particularly interested in new types of public-private partnerships that support ecological restoration. He believes that practical experience and policy support each other, and strives to help environmental laws and regulations achieve their intended outcomes.
Adam developed his expertise in aligning economic incentives with environmental outcomes in the recycling and composting business, and worked for the world's largest solid waste and recycling company during the 1990's. His experience structuring contracts to reward environmental performance there led to involvement with ecosystem services, and how to get real people in real places paid for the protection and restoration of the natural systems that provide those services.
Adam and his wife Sara live in San Rafael, California. Adam has a BA in Africana Studies from Cornell University. He has served on the Board of the national industry trade association, the Ecological Restoration Business Association (ERBA), and helped to create the new California affiliate, CalERBA.
Q&A with Adam Davis
Tell us about your path to EIP. What interested you about this work?
I grew up in Baltimore in the 1960's. My mother was a nature photographer who introduced me and my brother to the splendor and scale of America on a road trip in 1971. We drove some 7,000 miles and camped for an entire summer in a 1963 Buick station wagon (with no A/C and two dogs). My first job in the environmental field was with a composting company where I gained firsthand experience in using business to improve the environment.
What excites you about EIP's impact in the world?
By developing a model that delivers a fair ROI for institutional investors through environmental restoration activity, we are creating more capacity to help solve important regional and environmental problems. The model can be really powerful anywhere, because when the incentives are aligned right, the more good we can do-and the better our investors do. Today we have the capacity to do some really good work, and I think this kind of capacity will be even more important as the effects of climate change become more evident in the coming years.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Chief Operating Officer of EIP
AIDAN RIORDAN is the Chief Operating Officer of EIP and has more than 25 years of strategic leadership experience building investment management businesses as an operator and investor across multiple asset classes. Prior to joining EIP in 2022, he was a Senior Advisor to Boston Consulting Group providing strategy consulting advice to clients in the asset and wealth management sector. Previously he held senior executive roles at BrightSphere Investment Group, a $250 billion multi-boutique asset manager, and Liberty Mutual Investments with responsibility across a variety of functional areas including: strategy, corporate development, finance, operations and administration, compliance, IT/Data, and global distribution. Aidan began his career in lower middle market private equity and investment banking as a Partner at Calvert Street Capital Partners and as an associate with Castle Harlan, Inc. and Berkshire Capital Corporation.
Aidan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters in Business Administration in Finance from Columbia Business School.
Job Titles:
- Director of Investor Relations
- EIP 's Director of Investor Relations
CATHERINE CARMEN is EIP's Director of Investor Relations, where she is responsible for communicating EIP's investment goals, strategies, and results to existing Limited Partners as well as to prospective investors, regulators, and the communities in which we operate. She is also responsible for marketing the overall EIP franchise.
Prior to joining EIP in 2022, Catherine worked in an institutional client-facing role at T. Rowe Price covering sales and client service, and previously held roles in marketing, client communications, and investment reporting. Within T. Rowe Price's institutional business, Catherine helped raise capital from corporate and public pension plans as well as endowments and foundations nationwide. Catherine's deep experience spans distribution, operations, marketing, brand management, and digital strategy.
Catherine graduated with a BS in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland, College Park, and has an MBA in Finance from Loyola University Maryland. She is based in Baltimore and in the field, working closely with EIP's team across the country.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Operations
- Professional Engineer
DAVID URBAN is a licensed professional engineer with more than 30 years of experience in wetland and stream restoration. As a nationally recognized expert in mitigation banking, he's also a past President of the Ecological Restoration Business Association and a former permit officer at the Chicago District of the Corps. As of 9/30/2020, David has been directly involved in the restoration of 44,203 acres of wetland and 188 miles of stream in 14 USACE Districts across 12 States.
Early in his career, David was involved in the design of multiple water resource projects including reservoirs, spillways, storm sewers and flood control management. He has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University, a MS in Environmental Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology, and was commissioned in the U.S. Navy for 5 years.
Q&A with David Urban
What does your role at EIP entail?
I am directly responsible for the entitlement, construction and delivery of credits as part of EIP implementation strategy. My day-to-day responsibilities include management of a team that partners with local teams on the ground to develop restoration projects - from design, to permitting, construction, and then maintenance and monitoring.
What excites you about EIP's impact in the world?
It's exciting that EIP is able to bridge the environmental and the economic world, bringing solutions to both by conducting restoration and providing a vehicle for environmental outcomes to be understood in financial terms.
Job Titles:
- Investment Analyst
- Investment Analyst at EIP
ETHAN TAN is an Investment Analyst at EIP, where he assists with the firm's asset and data management process while helping the investment team conduct market research and analyze potential investment opportunities. Ethan joined the firm in June 2024 following graduation from New York University, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business with a concentration in Finance and Sustainable Business.
Prior to EIP, Ethan worked as a Summer Analyst at D.E. Shaw in New York City as part of their Renewable Investments (DESRI) team. He also served as an ESG Analyst at Audax Private Equity in Boston, where he assisted with the development and implementation of the firm's ESG programs.
Ethan is originally from the Pacific Northwest and grew up in Bellevue, Washington. He enjoys spending time outdoors, namely climbing, scuba diving, and travelling.
Q&A with Ethan Tan
What does your role at EIP entail?
"My role involves assisting the investment team across several functions including - sourcing and diligence of prospective investments, executing EIP's investment strategy, and managing EIP's existing portfolio."
What drew you to this line of work?
"Through my educational and professional experiences, I have sought to combine my interest in business and entrepreneurship with my passion for the environment. Sustainable infrastructure provides a wealth of opportunities for all stakeholders involved, creating positive impacts at the nexus of environment, economy, and society."
What excites you about EIP's impact in the world?
"EIP's unique model and proven track record allows it to pursue ecological restoration projects at scale. As economic and environmental priorities become increasingly aligned, EIP is well positioned to capitalize on opportunities of meaningful scale and impact."
FRED C. DANFORTH was a visionary environmental investor, accomplished businessman, generous philanthropist, avid outdoorsman, and devoted husband and father. Co-founding Ecosystem Investment Partners with the vision of building the largest private investment firm devoted to land, water and habitat restoration, will forever be a legacy he had always hoped to leave - and proudly did.
Prior to EIP, Fred was a co-founder of Capital Resource Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm. After he retired from CRP, he fell in love with Montana's Blackfoot Valley on a fly-fishing trip. Soon after, when he purchased a ranch in the Blackfoot that included miles of degraded trout streams, Fred found what he often said he was "meant to do": combining his passion for the environment with his talent in business and finance. He began restoring the property's streams and wetlands with his own resources, and was thrilled to witness the return of the property's long-absent bull trout, trumpeter swans, grizzly bears and elk after only two years. The project ultimately became the Upper Clark Fork Mitigation Bank, the first wetland and stream mitigation bank in the state.
Once Fred set his mind to something, he was a force of nature.
Job Titles:
- Western Region Projects Director at EIP
GLEN WILLIAMS is the Western Region Projects Director at EIP, where he has been part of the team managing EIP's investments in the West for the last two years. Glen's responsibilities at EIP are diverse including pursuing new business opportunities, negotiating complex real estate transactions and managing teams of expert engineers and consultants. Glen has the privilege of working across disciplines to support various teams at EIP including Operations, Real Estate, Legal and Entitlement.
Glen's career in conservation real estate spans over 20 years with conservation and restoration projects across the country. Prior to joining EIP, Glen was Vice President of a national non-profit land conservancy and later was founder/principal of a land conservation focused consulting group. A highlight of his time at EIP has been engaging in landscape scale restoration projects that can fundamentally change the trajectory of species threatened with extinction.
Glen lives in Sausalito, California with his wife Christy. They enjoy boating on the San Francisco Bay, skiing/backpacking in the Sierras and biking the endless trails of Marin County. Glen has a BA from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner
- Managing Partner at EIP
HEATH RUSHING is a Managing Partner at EIP, and joined the firm in 2015. He works with the acquisition and underwriting teams in deal sourcing, structuring, and underwriting, with an emphasis on stakeholder alignment of interest and risk management.
Heath has over 20 years of experience investing in natural resource real estate and conservation opportunities across the U.S., including his role as a co-founder in Fountain Investments, Inc. and New Nevada Resources, LLC. He has a BBA from Mississippi State University.
Q&A with Heath Rushing
What led you to this line of work?
I've been involved in conservation real estate deals ever since college. I'm a very practical person, and wherever you have people, you're going to create impacts.
Job Titles:
- Director of Credit Sales at EIP
JOE WILLIAMS is Director of Credit Sales at EIP, where he enjoys developing relationships with environmental consultants, mitigation users, and regulators from around the country. He's grateful that EIP's talented team and partners consistently deliver high-quality environmental restoration in which his clients and regulators can have confidence.
Joe balances essential development projects with these high-quality results. One highlight was providing a mitigation solution for a new county road that was decades in development and will provide needed community growth and increased emergency evacuation capacity. Before coming to EIP in 2016, Joe was Director of Operations for another nationwide mitigation banking company. He also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi, the warm heart of Africa.
Joe lives in Maryland with his wife and daughter, with whom he is always looking forward to a new adventure. Joe holds a BA in Integrated Science and Technology from James Madison University. He also holds a Master of Environmental Management and a Master of Forestry from the Nicholas School of the Environment, as well as a Certificate in International Development Policy from the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy, at Duke University.
Job Titles:
- Certified Public Accountant
- Director of Accounting and Financial Reporting at EIP
JOEL PALLIKAL is the Director of Accounting and Financial Reporting at EIP, where he has primary oversight over the finance and accounting function of the management company. He supports the Managing Director of Finance with financial reporting, tax preparation, compliance, and HR.
Joel is a certified public accountant with a variety of accounting and finance experience. Prior to joining EIP, Joel was an Accounting Manager for Brown Advisory where he focused on financial reporting, financial planning and analysis, and regulatory reporting for the primary US business as well as international entities in London, Ireland, and Singapore. He also worked as a Senior Associate at KPMG where he provided financial management services to Federal government agencies.
Joel earned dual degrees in Accounting and Operations Management from the University of Maryland, College Park. Joel and his wife live in downtown Baltimore City and are originally from Ellicott City and Middletown, Maryland, respectively.
Job Titles:
- Director of Business Development
- Director of Business Development at EIP
KEVIN ROUSH is Director of Business Development at EIP, where he helps permittees navigate the stream, wetland, and endangered species habitat mitigation process. Having worked in the mitigation space for nearly the last decade, primarily in the Appalachian region, he brings a wealth of experience assisting clients to reduce their mitigation liabilities, find cost savings, and accelerate the permitting process for their projects.
Kevin brings a unique perspective to this position having prior experience working within the mitigation industry as an eco-asset developer/provider at a nationwide mitigation firm and directly in private industry as a permittee at one of the nation's largest diversified energy producers. During that time, his responsibilities spanned site search, project management, construction oversight, regulatory engagement, sales, and marketing.
Kevin currently resides in Florida with his wife, Erin, and their daughter. When not working, he can usually be found running or partaking in any outdoor activity that involves water or trails. Kevin holds a BS in Biology from Alderson-Broaddus University in Philippi, WV.
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Manager
- Senior Program Manager at EIP
KYLE GRAHAM is Senior Program Manager at EIP, where he focuses on establishing Pay for Performance contracts to efficiently and effectively implement large scale ecological restoration. Prior to joining the EIP team in January 2020, Kyle was the Executive Director of Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and served as Louisiana's Trustee for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Kyle has a BS in Biology from the University of North Carolina and a MS in Biology from Appalachian State University. Kyle resides in the front range of Colorado where he enjoys all the great outdoors has to offer.
Q&A with Kyle Graham
What does your role at EIP entail?
I utilize my private and public sector experience to help develop Pay for Performance solutions to address regional and national environmental priorities.
What excites you about EIP's impact in the world?
EIP's approach offers the opportunity for us to provide innovative solutions for some of the largest ecological concerns in our nation. From the marsh of Louisiana to California's Sacramento Bay Delta, we are making quantifiable improvements.
Job Titles:
- Director of Underwriting at EIP
LIAM BROOKS is Director of Underwriting at EIP, where he assists with the firm's asset and data management while evaluating potential investments and research strategies. Since joining the firm in 2019, Liam has particularly enjoyed developing new perspectives on the market fundamentals that underlie the firm's strategy.
Liam has experience in environmental policy, commodity markets, data analysis, and research. Prior to EIP, Liam worked as a Research Associate at Karbone, where he evaluated regulatory policy and energy market data to inform investment decisions for a variety of stakeholders. Liam graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges with degrees in Economics and Environmental Studies.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director of Portfolio Analysis and Reporting at EIP
- Assistant Director, Portfolio Analysis & Reporting
MIKE BANKS is the Assistant Director of Portfolio Analysis and Reporting at EIP, where he supports the Managing Director of Finance and works closely with the investment team to oversee and manage the firm's growing portfolio of assets. Mike joined the firm in May 2024 and is responsible for various financial reporting deliverables for EIP's limited partners.
Mike has over 10 years of experience in alternative investments, financial planning and analysis, and data management. Prior to EIP, Mike worked at Oaktree Capital Management in a similar investment analytics and reporting group supporting Oaktree's Opportunistic and Core Real estate funds. Prior to Oaktree, Mike served in Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) roles at two REITS, Douglas Emmet and Westwood Financial.
Mike is originally from Los Angeles, California and graduated from California State University, Los Angeles, with a Bachelors of Science degree in Finance.
Q&A with Mike Banks
What does your role at EIP entail?
"I will be leading the performance reporting and analytics functions for EIP, while looking to create efficiencies through automation and help establish best practices as the firm grows and expands its capabilities."
What drew you to this line of work?
"With my background in the real estate industry, it's exciting to join an innovative firm focused on driving sustainable economic development through environmental restoration and conservation."
What excites you about EIP's impact in the world?
"I am proud to be a part of a team that is able to make meaningful and observable environmental impact through large-scale restoration projects-projects that support thousands of jobs and provide solutions that enable economic growth and development."
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Finance and Chief Compliance Officer for EIP
- Managing Director of Finance, Chief Compliance Officer
NELLY G. PERKINS is Managing Director of Finance and Chief Compliance Officer for EIP, where she manages an accounting/finance team which is responsible for financial statement reporting, banking, LP requests, tax return preparation and compliance. Nelly has over 25 years of banking, finance, real estate and accounting experience.
Prior to joining EIP, she worked for Preston Scheffenacker Properties Inc., a real estate investment and development company based in Baltimore, where she served as Senior Vice President and Controller overseeing all aspects of accounting and tax preparation. Nelly worked for Bank of America and predecessor banks for ten years in several specialty lending groups including Private Banking, Healthcare Banking and the Real Estate Bank-Permanent Loan Group.
Nelly earned a BA in History from Washington and Lee University and her MBA from the University of Baltimore. Nelly, her husband and their two sons live in a 200+ year old farmhouse in northern Baltimore County which they have enjoyed restoring for the last 15 years.
NICK DILKS co-founded EIP in 2006, and has over 24 years of experience in environmental offsets markets, land conservation, real estate investing, and private equity fund management. Prior to EIP, he served as the Vice President for Real Estate with The Conservation Fund. Over the decade he spent there, he completed some of TCF's most complex and innovative transactions-helping TCF conserve over two million acres nationwide, worth $1 billion.
Nick's early life on a family farm on the Chesapeake Bay inspired a passion for land and water conservation work. That passion is woven through his professional career at TCF, led him to co-found EIP, and guides his philanthropic efforts. He was a founding member of the Board of the Chesapeake Conservancy for ten years; in 2019, he helped found a new organization, the Forever Maryland Foundation, which supports land trust across the state. Nick holds an MBA from the University of Maryland and a BA in Environmental Science and Policy from Duke University.
Q&A with Nick Dilks
What does your role entail at EIP?
My goal is to empower our team to do their best work by helping them identify and execute on new investment opportunities, leading the capital formation process, facilitating key stakeholder relationships, and managing our senior leadership.
What interested you about this line of work?
I've been involved in land conservation, both professionally and as a volunteer, since I was 16. I've always been passionate about the intersection between economic development and environmental conservation. We founded EIP with that vision: creating an investment firm that could restore and protect the environment as a business while empowering other businesses, individuals and agencies to realize their conservation and economic development goals.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director of Operations at EIP
STEPHANIE FREED is an Assistant Director of Operations at EIP, where she oversees restoration projects from early baseline assessments at the early due diligence period, through project development, and the post-construction maintenance and monitoring period. As of 1/31/23, Stephanie has been directly involved with restoring and protecting 10,021 acres of wetlands (of which, 6,294 acres is in permitting) across four USACE Districts in California, Alaska, and Texas.
Stephanie joined EIP in 2019. Prior to this, she worked as an environmental consultant in varying capacities, managing projects and providing ecological expertise as a Professional Wetland Scientist and Trainer of the California Rapid Assessment Method. She served as a restoration ecologist in the private sector, working across a variety of ecosystems throughout California and has also worked throughout the northeastern U.S., performing biological assessments, entitlement, and monitoring of remediation.
Stephanie lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she enjoys getting outside and taking road trips to local and far scenic destinations. She graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Ecology.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Controller
- Assistant Controller at EIP
TIM FREEMAN is the Assistant Controller at EIP, supporting the Accounting/Finance department. Prior to joining EIP, Tim was an Audit Manager at KPMG, LLP where his primary responsibilities included the oversight of financial statement audit engagements from planning through completion. During that time, Tim managed audit engagement teams across several different industries, offering a strong and diverse foundation in accounting, finance, and project management.
Tim joined KPMG after earning his Master of Accountancy degree at Towson University and obtaining his CPA. He and his wife live in Arnold, Maryland with their golden retriever, Basil. Outside of work, Tim can be found on the trails, on the golf course, or watching a soccer match (Go Spurs!).
Job Titles:
- Director of Operations, Eastern U.S
- EIP 's Director of Operations
TROY ANDERSON is EIP's Director of Operations in the Eastern U.S., where he primarily focuses on projects east of the Mississippi River. Troy has over 24 years of experience in ecological restoration, monitoring, management, and construction-including prairies, wetlands, savannahs, streams, lakes, rivers, endangered species and unique habitats requiring critical regulatory performance standards. His extensive knowledge in the technical applications of restoration is paired with significant experience managing professionals and contractors. As of 9/30/2020, Troy has been directly involved in the restoration of 8,817 acres of wetland and 183 miles of stream in 7 USACE Districts across 7 States.
In addition to serving as former vice president of a mid-sized restoration firm, Troy has successfully permitted 404 projects in five different United States Army Corps of Engineers districts. Troy is also a frequent speaker at state and national conferences and a contributor to select publications.
Originally from southern Wisconsin, Troy currently lives in Baltimore County, Maryland, with his wife and two daughters. He is an avid outdoors enthusiast, and continues to become familiar with the Mid-Atlantic region. In the fall, there is nowhere Troy would rather be than following his German Shorthair in the field, looking for birds.
Job Titles:
- Director of Real Estate at EIP
TRYGG DANFORTH is the Director of Real Estate at EIP and has managed EIP's real estate acquisitions and portfolio since rejoining EIP in 2016. He previously worked for EIP for two years as an Analyst and Associate prior to leaving for business school at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, where he received his MBA with a concentration in real estate.
A highlight of his time at EIP is his effort to work with over 15 different landowners in Cecil County, Maryland to lease and purchase restoration easements over 16 miles of stream corridors, which generates over two thousand tons of sediment reductions and thirteen thousand pounds of nitrogen reductions per year that EIP was able sell to the State of Maryland to meet their water quality obligations.
Trygg has experience in commercial real estate, land acquisition, natural resources and environmental restoration. He previously worked for EIP for two years as an Analyst and Associate prior to leaving for business school at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, where he received his MBA with a concentration in real estate. Prior to his first stint at EIP, Trygg worked at Trout Unlimited and played professional baseball for the Boston Red Sox organization. He received his BA in environmental studies from Yale University.
Trygg lives in Baltimore with his wife and their newborn son. They enjoy traveling to play golf, go fly fishing, explore new countries and visit old friends. His mellow black lab, Tito, can sometimes be found sleeping on the job as supervisor in chief at EIP's headquarters in Baltimore.
Q&A with Trygg Danforth
What does your role at EIP entail?
I manage the acquisition, disposition, leasing and overall management of EIP's real estate assets nationwide.
What excites you about EIP's impact on the world?
What makes me proud to work for EIP is that through our investment activity we are able to produce meaningful large-scale restoration and conservation outcomes that create and sustain hundreds of jobs across the country.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Managing Director at EIP
ZACHARY DAVIDSON is a Managing Director at EIP, where he helps lead the firm's investment management processes. A highlight of Zack's time at EIP has been his work to collaborate with EIP's financial partners on investment opportunities with EIP and most recently completing the fundraise of EIP IV.