Who We Are

Olifant was founded by Nicole St. Clair Knobloch, who has had a career developing expertise in climate policy, climate solutions, forest policy, and communications — and in understanding market and economic factors of change. Our company raises funds for time-limited projects with clear policy and market goals after researching what’s needed and figuring out the most direct strategy. We engage a core team of experts to conduct illustrated analyses and target the bottlenecks preventing solutions at scale. And we engage a bigger team of partners on every project, all of whom have a stake in the outcomes, inviting them to make in-kind contributions to put their stamp on it, name behind it, and who have the knowledge and clout to get things done. Below, as an example, is the core staff and consultant team for the Three Regions Mass Timber Project:

MICHELLE LAMBERT, LAMBERT SUSTAINABILITY

Trained as an architect and in urban planning, Michelle has a powerhouse company in Boston that has advised some of the metro area’s biggest developers and design firms on making their projects more sustainable. She’s committed her time and resources to advancing policies that will make sustainability a core part of development in cities that care about climate change. She is the Project Director of the Three Regions Mass Timber project.

BENJAMIN HAYES, SPRINGBOARD FORESTRY

A practicing forester and mill owner in NW Oregon, Ben Hayes is the founding principal of an innovative forestry, conservation and finance consulting firm specializing in acquisition, planning and management of conservation of drinking water source area forests. They bring this expertise to forest resource financial modeling and supply chain/ mill infrastructure gap analysis, fiber supply studies, and cartography and GIS modeling.

OLIVER CURTIS, SPATIAL ANALYST, SPRINGBOARD FORESTRY

Trained at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Oliver is a Geographic Informations System expert, lecturer, and consultant who brings graphic design and geospatial mapping expertise to our cutting-edge, beautiful forest resource and forest supply chain gap analyses.