Our Team
.
Marianna Grossman | Founder & Managing Partner
Marianna Grossman is founder and managing partner of Minerva Ventures, a consultancy focused on solutions for a resilient future.
Minerva advises companies, government agencies, and communities on climate risk, adaptation, and resilience, and guides clean tech startups in water, energy, circular materials, remediation, finance, and climate analytics.
Marianna specializes in bringing people and institutions together across sectors to collaborate, invent and implement solutions that enhance sustainability, build resilience, and address the consequences of climate change. She envisions a future based on regeneration, reciprocity, and creativity, as we navigate the cataclysmic impacts from the exploitation of nature and humans.
Previously, she led Sustainable Silicon Valley for seven years, working to create a more resilient region. Before that she had corporate roles in the automotive, computer and semiconductor industries. She served on the 2016 California Climate Adaptation and Resilience Action Plan Technical Advisory Group for Governor Brown, and the Sustainability Committee of the SF Bay Area Super Bowl 50 Host Committee. She is President of the board of Transportation Choices for Sustainable Communities. Other advisory roles include the Sustainable and Resilient Resources Roundtable; the ClimateMusic Project; Havurah Shalom Climate Action Team; and the advisory councils for climate action for the Cities of Palo Alto and Mountain View.
She earned a BA cum laude, with distinction in Policy Studies from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Yale School of Management.
Karl Van Orsdol | Sr. Consultant
Karl advises municipalities and global corporations on energy data management systems, energy markets and risk management, climate action planning and climate mitigation projects.
Karl served as a Principal Consultant in DNV GL’s Sustainable Buildings and Communities group where he focused on energy data management systems, energy markets and risk management, climate action planning and climate mitigation projects.
His clients included the cities of Boston, Metro Vancouver, and Palo Alto. Among other projects, he prepared strategic management reviews of energy consumption.
Karl served Global Strategist for Energy and Sustainability at Hewlett Packard implementing energy management practices across 1,200 HP facilities in 170 countries. Prior to HP, he spent 10 years as energy risk manager for the City of Palo Alto where he led the development of the City’s Climate Action Plan and Roadmap; managed the financial and operational risks associated with the City’s electricity and natural gas procurement portfolio; and, led the negotiations with renewable energy providers for PPA’s for electricity and NAESB gas contracts.
Karl’s international experience includes living and conducting research on human impacts on ecosystems in Uganda. He earned a Ph.D. in Environmental Science from Cambridge University, an MBA from UCLA and a BA in Biology from Grinnell College.
Dinyah Rein | Senior Consultant
Dinyah is a strategy, marketing and communications consultant as well as a business and executive coach with corporate, non-profit and start-up experience.
Dinyah’s seven years in strategic marketing at Apple honed her marketing and communication skills. Her accomplishments at Apple included developing a strategic marketing plan for Apple Learning and presenting it to senior Apple leadership. Working as an internal consultant to Apple Canada, Dinyah supported the expansion of Apple Canada’s education marketing strategy thus increasing Apple’s market share in Canada. As a sought-after presenter, Dinyah spoke at industry conferences and customer briefings, translating complex concepts into easily understandable and engaging product marketing.
Her extensive coaching work with individuals and teams focuses on leadership, vision, communication and alignment. Dinyah has also used her change management expertise to many to help companies thrive through challenging transitions.
Dinyah graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College with a BA in Environmental Policy, and received a masters in Education from UC Berkeley.