Scott Settelmyer

About Scott Settelmyer

I believe that we’re in the midst of a climate crisis, and that nature is crucial to solving this crisis, able to provide one-third of the climate solution.Our company, TerraCarbon, helps develop carbon offset projects to fund nature-based climate solutions that restore, manage, and protect natural and working lands. Since we started in 2006, we’ve helped 40+ nature-based carbon projects that are protecting over 5 million acres of land and delivering measurable benefits to our climate, wildlife, and people. Through these efforts, we’re helping drive new, market-based funding to forests, rainforests, peatlands, coastal wetlands, and working agricultural lands around the world.TerraCarbon is a Certified B Corporation which means we have been certified by the non-profit B Lab for meeting rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. We became a B Corp to institutionalize our commitment to using our business and markets in new ways to value nature and address the world\'s most pressing challenge of climate change.Before starting TerraCarbon, I was the Chief Financial Officer at the Chicago Climate Exchange and helped develop the business model for the world’s first marketplace for trading greenhouse gas allowances and offsets. I also spent 15 years working in traditional financial markets as a consultant at Arthur Andersen and as the Treasurer for ALLTEL Corporation.I present regularly on climate change and market solutions to universities and civic groups with the aim of increasing public awareness and policy action.Specialties: • Designing carbon finance strategies for organizations that own or manage land.• Evaluating finance potential and key considerations of land-based carbon projects.• Building robust financial analyses and models to support decision making.• Innovating solutions to the trickiest carbon accounting and project development challenges.

Experience

1. Managing Director, Co-founder

   Terracarbon Llc

   Jan 2006 — Present · Peoria, IL, US

   Designing executable carbon finance strategies for organizations that own or manage land.• Evaluating carbon finance potential and key considerations of land-based carbon projects.• Building robust financial analyses and models to support decision making.• Innovating solutions to the trickiest carbon accounting and project development challenges.My current and recent work includes developing a carbon finance business plan for a national organization of land trusts, assessing the feasibility of blue carbon offset projects on the east and west coasts of the United States, and advising on accounting frameworks to measure the carbon benefits of improved agricultural land practices.I\'m a member of the U.S. Blue Carbon National Working Group organized by Restore America\'s Estuaries and have been helping coastal and marine managers in evaluating the opportunity to use carbon markets to restore and conserve coastal wetlands. I\'m also a member of the Verra Blue Carbon Working Group.My past work includes managing the restoration and monitoring of bottomland hardwood forests on behalf of carbon donors for a conservation non-profit and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. I\'ve also advised on numerous carbon project feasibility studies and project registrations in the voluntary and compliance markets including avoided deforestation projects in Brazil, Peru, Chile, and Tanzania.

Education

• Illinois Institute of Technology

  Masters of Science, Financial Markets and Trading

  1995 — 1998

• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  Bachelors of Science, Finance

  1986 — 1990

Skills

• Climate Change
• Sustainability
• Carbon Finance
• Carbon Markets
• Trading
• Carbon
• Forestry
• Marketing Strategy
• Project Management
• Environmental Awareness
• Management