Sean Penrith is the CEO of Gordian Knot Strategies, a climate finance consultancy to multi-national corporations, endowments, agencies, project developers, consortiums, and impact investors and serves clients in the US, South America, Africa, and Europe. He has travelled a deep trajectory of sustainability and climate change over the past two decades. He has built both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations around the globe that enabled him to develop his acumen for strategy development, company building, sustainability, ESG, triple-bottom-line risk management, climate change, environmental policy, conservation finance, impact investing, and environmental markets. Sean previously held the positions of Managing Director of software company Thetus Corp, CEO of Climate Trust Capital, and as Executive Director of The Climate Trust for five years. Sean is a seasoned international business development executive and is passionate about developing market mechanisms and programs for mitigating climate change impacts and revealing value for triple-bottom-line strategies.

Sean works in the sectors of blue carbon, forestry, renewable energy, dairy bio digesters, grasslands, and agriculture. He advises on designs for organizational growth, program implementation, impact fund structures, carbon acquisition portfolios, conservation financing options, and domestic and international carbon policies. Clients include government agencies, NGOs, multi-national corporations, TIMOs, startups, endowments, foundations, and family offices. We have provided advisory and analysis support on climate finance mechanisms and impact fund strategies focused on nature-based climate solutions.

Sean has two decades in carbon markets, climate finance, and impact investing and has charged Gordian Knot Strategies with the goal of igniting climate solutions by mobilizing $1 Billion in impact investment by 2030. Sean is also deploying Enkrateia, a CRIM (Climate Risk and Investment Management) platform in partnership with DECO, that uses predictive analytics, Lydion-data vaults, and AI to help impact investment funds manage portfolios, optimize returns and deepen impact.

Sean was an advisor to the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) over the course of two years (2022/2023), a recognized Portland Connector, an Edison Awards and Pivotal Leader nominee, an alumnus of the EMERGE Leadership for Sustainability program, a member of the Association of Climate Change officers, a UNITAR Climate Change Diplomacy graduate, an advisor to MIT’s Climate CoLab initiative, and an Observer to the Green Bond Principles.

Sean presents frequently on topics that include conservation finance, business scaling, climate smart agriculture, carbon mechanisms, policy, and markets, the future of sustainability, and climate change.

Jacoba has an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science from Humboldt State University and a Master’s in Public Administration from Portland State University with an emphasis in natural resources policy and administration. She has almost 10 years of experience in operations, project management, and office administration. Before joining Gordian Knot Strategies in 2018 in the role of project manager, she worked for The Climate Trust as the operations manager, handling everything from organizational logistics to managing the carbon credit registry.

Jacoba’s experience in working with small nonprofit organizations has been very beneficial to her current role, emphasizing her organized and detail-oriented work ethic. Currently, she is responsible for day-to-day administrative and operational tasks, database and project management software build outs, ensuring tasks are monitored and completed against a work scope and timeline, and overall scheduling and logistics. She has managed both small and large client projects while at Gordian Knot Strategies.

Jay is a passionate environmentalist and nature enthusiast. He is a skilled professional with proficiency in global carbon markets. His knowledge encompasses voluntary and compliance markets, focusing on natural, technological, and market-based solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving climate change resilience. He hosts Gordian Knot Strategies’ podcast “Untangling Climate Finance” and publishes weekly articles via GKS’s two newsletters, Sliced and Virtus. Previously, Jay hosted “Work Green, Earn Green,” a global podcast highlighting the burgeoning green economy and the associated green job opportunities across the United States. Before his career in climate finance, Jay worked for many years in the Hollywood entertainment industry. He holds multiple master’s degrees from esteemed European universities, specializing in Environmental Protection (Poland) and Environmental Management (Germany).

Jimena provides support services at GKS. Her passion for environmental sustainability led her to pursue a master’s degree in Environmental Management at the School of Sustainability, University of Kiel in Germany. During her time there she developed an interest in finding innovative solutions to address environmental challenges through the lens of climate finance. Beyond her academic pursuits, she is actively involved in community initiatives, environmental justice causes, and volunteering.

Kerry F. Morrison is an environmental strategist, relationship-builder, and systems storyteller with more than fifteen years of experience advancing climate resilience, ecosystem restoration, and cross-sector collaboration. As Director of Impact Outreach at Gordian Knot Strategies, he focuses on building trusted relationships and translating complex climate, carbon, and finance concepts into partnerships that mobilize capital and action. Kerry has worked extensively across science, media, government, community leadership, and investment-adjacent initiatives, often serving as the connective tissue between technical experts and decision-makers. He founded and led one of the most visible community-driven environmental restoration movements at California’s Salton Sea, convening nearly one hundred public forums, facilitating multi-stakeholder policy dialogues, and earning national and international media coverage from The Los Angeles Times, WIRED, VICE, and Al Jazeera. These efforts helped catalyze millions of dollars in restoration funding and durable public-private collaboration.His leadership experience extends into governance and economic development, having served as both a mayor and Chamber of Commerce president, as well as on advisory committees within the California Natural Resources Agency. These roles gave Kerry a pragmatic understanding of how environmental ambition, political realities, and financial decision-making intersect.

At Gordian Knot Strategies, Kerry supports business development and client engagement by nurturing relationships with project developers, impact investors, corporates, philanthropies, and public-sector stakeholders. He helps surface aligned opportunities, strengthens trust with prospective clients, and supports the articulation of GKS’s climate finance, carbon market, and investment structuring expertise into clear, compelling value propositions that lead to long-term partnerships. Kerry has completed advanced coursework across communications, psychology, multimedia, and public relations. Outside of work, he enjoys exploring different cultures, spending time in nature, and composing music. He believes that well-designed climate markets and finance mechanisms can play one of the most decisive roles in accelerating solutions that come to balance both people and the planet.

Julie is a principal consultant for GKS with over fifteen years of experience in land investment, development, and conservation. She has managed operations and financial transactions for a soup manufacturing company, a multifamily housing developer and, most recently, a land conservation organization. After earning a master’s degree in environmental management from the Yale School of the Environment, Julie was part of the founding team at Bio-Logical Capital—an impact investment firm which layered sustainable production of food, energy, water, and housing to protect and restore ecosystems. She most recently worked with Forterra, a land trust in the Pacific Northwest. Julie brings a strong mix of project management and financial acumen to her work.