The people behind NeighbourWood
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Neal Anderson, CEO and Co-Founder. Neal has spent thirty years building ventures. He co-founded the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator and was its COO as it supported more than 500 companies, and co-founded the Net Zero Accelerator. LinkedIn: Neal Anderson
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Esther Anderson, COO and Co-Founder. Esther brings more than ten years of coordinating complex, high-trust work across community-systems design, holistic healthcare and crisis response, including as an Emergency Medical Technician and EMT instructor.
Advisors
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Alan Costello
Strategic Advisor
About Alan
As a Director at Resolve Partners, Alan sources and develops investment opportunities, and supports their global scaling strategy development. He has previously founded a professional services company in strategy and investment consultancy, working with funders, state agencies, international development bodies and private clients from startup to multinational corporate. He is an internationally rated expert in these areas, leading supports for Horizon2020, the Czech Innovation Agency and accelerator development in the Middle East. Original background in science commercialisation, he now has a strong interest in convergent technologies across sectors, particularly Climatetech.
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Ben Stapleton
Strategic Advisor
About Ben
Ben is a premier sustainability executive and advisor operating at the intersection of buildings, climate, and community impact. As the CEO of USGBC California, he leads a statewide network that engages over 600,000 people and partners with 50+ municipalities annually to transition climate policy into real-world outcomes. Previously, Ben launched the internationally recognised La Kretz Innovation Campus in Los Angeles. An award-winning industry pioneer, he holds an MBA from USC Marshall, a BA in Economics from UCLA, and multiple advanced green building credentials (LEED AP, WELL AP, ENV SP), making him an invaluable guide for scalable climate and infrastructure implementation.
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Brian McGlinchey
Strategic Advisor
About Brian
Brian is a Senior Advisor at Elkstone and the Honorary Consul General of Ireland in Delaware. Leveraging an extensive background in government relations, public affairs, and economic development consulting, Brian drives strategic investments that bolster Ireland's economic and civic landscape, including a landmark construction development in Belfast. In his diplomatic capacity, he spearheads cultural advocacy and international cooperation across Delaware and the Tri-State area, seamlessly bridging the worlds of high-impact finance, public policy, and global diplomacy.
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David Slowey
Strategic Advisor
About David
David is a veteran venture leader and advisor with over 30 years of experience building, scaling, and exiting companies, including a notable acquisition by Blockbuster. His distinguished background spans global policy and elite training, from advising the Clinton administration during the Northern Ireland peace process to training royalty at Buckingham Palace and senior directors at the White House. Currently, David is the founder of MVB Ventures. Fully committed to giving back, he personally funds the Slowey MVB Tech Accelerator, a high-impact programme boasting an extraordinary 87% startup success rate, and has recently mentored six alumni onto the prestigious Irish Independent 30 Under 30 list.
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Fred H. Walti II
Strategic Advisor
About Fred
Fred is the President & CEO of the Network for Global Innovation (NGIN) and a globally recognised expert in building innovation ecosystems that drive economic development. Fred is a seasoned venture leader who has been involved as a founder, investor, or principal in several dozen technology startups. Named to the Techweek100 as an impactful technology pioneer, he is a frequent global speaker on public-private partnerships and the "StartUp City" concept for megacity revitalisation. He served on the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee by invitation from the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
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Dr. Emma Hart
Ecological Advisor
About Emma
Emma is a conservation scientist and founder of Habitats – Nature Strategy, an independent consultancy working at the interface of ecological science, policy and land management. She advises organisations on biodiversity strategy, nature restoration and the development of credible, science-based frameworks for emerging nature markets. Emma has over 15 years' experience across research, policy and practice, with particular expertise in EU environmental policy, restoration systems and land-use transitions. She works with clients across the public, private and non-profit sectors on projects spanning biodiversity strategy, regenerative agriculture, rewilding and nature finance.
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Nkem Ndefo
Community and Governance Advisor
About Nkem
Nkem is foremost an alchemist and also a disabled Black midwife, facilitator, coach, and strategist. She is the founder of Lumos Transforms and creator of the Resilience Toolkit, vehicles for healing and liberatory change across borders and at all scales. Her work builds embodied capacity to stabilise the impacts of personal and collective trauma and catalyse structural transformation. Nkem has led multi-year initiatives in embodied antiracism, healing justice, and resilience capacity building across the U.S., the UK, and Palestine, and directs several certification and professional training programmes internationally.
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Vahid Farzan, CWI, ICC
Construction Advisor
About Vahid
Vahid is an expert construction advisor, Certified Welding Inspector (CWI), and ICC Special Inspector at Certerra. Registered as an LA City and Washington Deputy Inspector, Vahid has managed quality, safety, and regulatory compliance on high-stakes, complex projects, including hospitals, high-rise towers, and military installations. His deep technical mastery is backed by years of foundational, hands-on field experience as a welder, ironworker, and contractor in the construction and petroleum industries. This powerful blend of practical grit and rigorous analytical precision makes him an invaluable asset to any project oversight team.
Research partners, Trinity College Dublin
Our research on measuring nature's recovery began in Ireland with this team.
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Prof. Jane Stout
Co-Principal Investigator; Professor of Ecology and Vice-President for Biodiversity and Climate Action
About Jane
Jane is Professor of Ecology in the School of Natural Sciences, and is the Vice-President for Biodiversity and Climate Action at Trinity College Dublin. Her expertise is in the fields of ecology and biodiversity, and in connecting human and natural ecosystems, particularly through urban and agricultural land management, and the Natural Capital approach. Jane is an internationally renowned expert on pollinator and pollination ecology, and a prominent voice for biodiversity and its value. She co-founded the successful conservation initiative, the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, and not-for-profit Natural Capital Ireland, and is the President of the Royal Entomological Society.
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Dr. Catherine Farrell
Co-Principal Investigator; Assistant Professor in Business and Nature
About Catherine
Catherine, Assistant Professor in Business and Nature at Trinity College Dublin, is a pioneer of nature restoration in Ireland and internationally. Having worked in industry as a restoration practitioner for two decades, she maintained close links with academia and research to ensure impact for nature and cultivate awareness of the explicit connections between business and nature. Working in Trinity Business School since 2024, Catherine now brings her keen learnings into the university classroom to inform pathways for nature-responsible business operations. Catherine is a co-founder of Natural Capital Ireland and at present she is Business Programme Advisor for Business for Biodiversity Ireland.
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Dr. Martha O'Hagan
Co-Principal Investigator; Associate Professor of Finance
About Martha
Martha is an Associate Professor of Finance and Director of Undergraduate Teaching and Learning at Trinity Business School. Her expertise is in the fields of sustainable finance, financing nature restoration and investigating how ecosystem services can be valued to ensure that nature capital is included in financial and policy decision making. Martha previously worked in banking in London and Dublin, working in the area of derivatives and structured products.
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Dr. Laqiqige (Zhula) Zhu
Lead Researcher in sustainable finance
About Laqiqige
Dr. Laqiqige (Zhula) Zhu is a researcher in sustainable finance at Trinity College Dublin, specialising in nature and land-use finance. Her work focuses on the economic valuation of biodiversity and ecosystem services, and on designing financial and policy mechanisms to support sustainable land-use decisions. She has previously advised corporates and financial institutions on ESG regulation, reporting, and biodiversity finance.