MEET THE TEAM
Joanna Campe
Executive Director
As the founder and Executive Director of RTE, Joanna Campe raises public awareness of the crucial role of soil remineralization with finely ground rock dust, sea minerals and other natural means to regenerate soils, forests and stabilize the climate. She promotes partnerships with foundations and educational institutions, government agencies, international development agencies, the private sector, and NGOs. She has decades of related conference participation, project organization, media development, authorship, public speaking, professional networking, policy advocacy, and public awareness building. She has co-authored several research papers and is the co-editor of Geotherapy: Innovative Methods of Soil Fertility Restoration, Carbon Sequestration, and Reversing CO2 Increase.
In the early 1980s, Joanna read the book The Survival of Civilization by John Hamaker and Don Weaver and what had for her previously been “dirt” under her feet became a vast micro-universe that is the basis of all life. She recognized the tremendous importance of John’s work and joined together with him, Don Weaver and others to get the message out.
Don Weaver
Co-Author of The Survival of Civilization
Don has for 37 years been an ecologist, researcher, writer and organic grower concerned with the health and survival of humanity and the Biosphere. Humanity must quickly transform into the wisely generous species on Earth, if the growing momentum of eco-climatic and health degeneration is to be reversed. He began working with John Hamaker in 1978. John’s early writings inspired an understanding of how local and global soil remineralization with natural gravel (mixed rock) dust can enable us to perpetually grow high-quality crops and trees, the natural foundation for regenerating the socio-ecosphere. John and Don subsequently collaborated to author The Survival of Civilization, produce 11 issues of Solar Age or Ice Age? Bulletin, and numerous articles for the magazines Remineralize the Earth Magazine (1991-1997), Acres USA, Living Nutrition and more. His email contact is: earthdon@yahoo.com
Since John Hamaker died in 1994, Don has continued sharing these crucial insights. From 1997-2002, he researched and wrote To Love And Regenerate the Earth: Further Perspectives on The Survival of Civilization, which includes additional Hamaker writings in its 540 pages. Both Hamaker-Weaver books remain free at www.soilandhealth.org.
Don’s ebook Regenerate the Earth! was published in 2011 and is available here.
Veronika Miranda Chase
Director of the Research Database and Translations (2014-2017)
Miranda is an Environmental Policy Researcher, with a BA in International Relations and MSc in Integrated Water Management. She is a PhD candidate for the UMass program on Global Governance and Human Security, and is a research fellow from the IGERT program of the National Science Foundation. Her research mainly concerns sustainable development in rural communities of the Amazon basin. As a coordinator for RTE, her goal is to provide a state-of-art database with reliable information about remineralization as a sustainable, effective and affordable solution to agriculture worldwide. This knowledge can assist scientists and policy makers, farmers and gardeners, and the general public in making better environmental decisions.
Antonio Zamunér Filho
Research Database Coordinator – Portuguese to English (since 2022)
Antonio has a degree in Agronomic Engineering from the Federal University of Lavras (2007), a master’s degree from the same University (2009) and a doctorate degree in Transport Engineering from the São Carlos School of Engineering – EESC/USP (2015). Since 2014 has been professor of the Mining Engineering course and, currently, a permanent professor in the Graduate Program in Production Engineering; both from the Federal University of Catalão. Develops research in the areas of Agrogeology; Environmental management; Optimization of Agroindustrial Products and Processes; and Transportation Planning.
Meteb Mejbel
Research Database Coordinator
Meteb is a recent graduate of Arizona State University with a master degree in environmental engineering. His area of interest is carbon management and air quality. He joined the Center of Negative Carbon Emission to work on his thesis which was focused on numerical analysis of direct air capture. He is working right to raise the awareness of climate change and carbon mitigations which then he decided to join Remineralize the Earth (RTE). He is committed to understand the role of rock dust in mitigating carbon emission and fighting climate change. In a world with full of hope, he believes that carbon mitigation alternatives can be deployed effectively if we work so hard to clarify these alternatives. So, he will help to shine the role of remineralization in fighting climate change.
Benjamin T. Rancourt
Science Editor and Writer (since 2016)
Benjamin T. Rancourt received his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2016. His continuing philosophical research focuses on understanding, knowledge, and science, among other topics. This research ties into his wider goal of encouraging deeper understanding of ourselves, our strengths, and our limitations. He hopes that greater understanding will help us use the resources available to us to preserve what is good and address what is wrong. Walking is his primary mode of transportation. He appreciates the natural world. He lives in North Carolina with his wife Julia, where he is a Teaching Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University and William Peace University.
Carter Haydu
Science Writer (since 2019)
Carter Haydu is a writer, reporter, and journalist from Canada, currently living in Saudi Arabia. He works for JuneWarren-Nickle’s Energy Group, with regular articles appearing in the Daily Oil Bulletin. He is a freelance columnist with the award-winning Quad Town Forum weekly newspaper, based in Vibank, Saskatchewan. He also contributes content for a series of magazines in and around Regina and Saskatoon. He received a BA in Political Science and Philosophy from Augustana University College in 2001 and a diploma in journalism from Grant Macewan College in 2005.
James Jerden
Science Writer (since 2022)
James is an environmental scientist and science writer focused on researching and promoting sustainable solutions to urgent environmental problems. He holds a Ph.D. in geochemistry from Virginia Tech and a Master’s degree in geology from Boston College. Over the past 20 years, James has worked as a research geochemist and science educator. He joined Remineralize the Earth because of their effective advocacy, research, and partnership projects that support sustainable solutions to urgent environmental issues such as soil degradation (food security), water pollution from chemical fertilizers (water security), deforestation, and climate change. As a science writer for RTE, his goal is to bring the science and promise of soil remineralization to a broad, non-technical audience. When not writing, he can be found at his drum set.
Dyani Frye
Science Writer (since 2022)
Dyani Frye is an environmental scientist passionate about communicating science so that it can be accessible to all audiences. She graduated from California Polytechnic State University (2022) with a Master’s degree in Environmental Science and Management. Her thesis project investigated the use of an emergent spectroscopic technology, portable X-ray fluorescence, to predict physical and chemical properties of California soils. This research showed the viability of these predictive models across a broad geographic range. She believes that to preserve our most precious shared natural resources and achieve true sustainability, science must be paired with inclusive social initiatives and economic incentives. Through her writing at RTE, she hopes to use her science distillation skills to give others a better understanding of earth systems and how we can all positively impact the environment. In her free time, Dyani loves to identify flora and fungi during strolls through the woods, play chess, and read fantasy novels.
Amanda Nevius
Science Writer (since 2022)
Amanda Nevius is a nonfiction writer with 10 years of experience writing, editing, and proofreading educational and academic materials. She has a Master of Library and Information Science from Simmons College and a BA in History and English and American Literature from Brandeis University. She is currently based in Massachusetts with her husband and their talkative tortie. She is passionate about the environment and excited to help spread the word about rock dust.
Debbie Patskowski
Science Writer (since 2021)
Debbie Patskowski is a senior petrophysicist and freelance writer on Medium, covering such topics as geology, science, and space exploration. Her professional areas of expertise include identification of minerals, rock types, and pore fluids using remote sensing (borehole) measurements. She has a BS in Geology and Environmental Sciences from Stanford and an MBA from the German University in Cairo. She and her husband live in Colorado where she enjoys running and hiking in the Rocky Mountains.
Meghan Willcoxon
Science Writer (since 2021)
Meghan Willcoxon is a cognitive science researcher at Brown University. Her research investigates the ways we as pedestrians interact with each other in a crowd. Meghan has a passion for environmental advocacy, as well as puns.
Niels Olfert
Science Writer (since 2022)
Niels Olfert is a M.S. geologist and writer employed as geotechnical engineer at Fugro in the Netherlands. Niels has produced multiple scientific written works, including his Master’s thesis and internship report, that received in-house publication. His preceding work focused on metamorphic and structural geology, and geophysics. His voluntary authorship at Remineralize the Earth mainly emphasizes his ongoing passion for science and zeal to succeed as a writer. Niels is also at present seeking to publish his debut novel.
David Lu
Science Writer (since 2022)
David Lu is a high school junior at William H. Hall High school. He joined RTE because of an interest in being able to support a sustainable future as well as spreading educational awareness around the issues of environmental health. He looks to raise awareness surrounding climate change. In his free time, David loves to make origami and go on hikes.
Emily Grossman
Social Media (since 2022)
Emily is working with multidisciplinary partners to advance the well-being of the environment and human health on domestic and international fronts. She hopes to work in the fields of sustainability, environmental health, and global health equity. She is also interested in global health inequalities, policy and international collaboration around environmental health, as well as community education on rethinking our interaction with the natural world to improve the health and well-being of both the people and the planet.
Angelina Knežević
Grant Writer (since 2017)
Angelina graduated with a BA in Anthropology and Liberal Studies. Her academic background has cultivated strong research and writing skills that are being utilized as a grant writer for the RTE team. She hopes to support the sustainable initiatives RTE is making toward a healthier environment.
Samantha Lee
Grant Writer (since 2022)
Samantha is passionate about wellbeing and mental health, climate action and protection, learning new and challenging things, and exploring the outdoors. She works at GitLab on the Learning and Development team. She is an all-remote work advocate and loves creating high-quality career development programs for the GitLab team. She is dedicated to promoting the regenerative and organic agriculture community.
Dong Seong Lyu
Grant Writer (since 2022)
As a Journalism graduate from Ramapo College of New Jersey, Dong Seong Lyu has always prioritized information based on the subject matter, vetting the appropriate sources, researching and recording the sources that might elevate the material. Currently, he volunteers for Remineralize the Earth, researching foundations to increase funds for various projects, assisting Joanna Campe with writing proposals, and ultimately striving for the non-profit’s goals. While working on grant proposals and research for the non-profit, Dong Seong Lyu enjoys reading literary fiction, writing his own pieces as a hobby.
Matt Theriault
Fundraising and Marketing Coordinator (since 2022)
Matt recently graduated from Queen’s University, ranked 1st in North America and 5th in the world in sustainability. He is passionate about environmental science and sustainability and impact investing. He led an honors project to help plan how his university town, Kingston, ON, could become more sustainable through roofing infrastructure improvements. His other undergraduate highlight was helping research algal blooms through the use drones and DNA sampling. He also served on the Environmental Science department student council (DSC), played Varsity Lacrosse, and acted in numerous theatre productions.
Nyelah Mitchell
Assistant to the Executive Director and Grant Writing (since 2022)
Nyelah Mitchell is a law student at Arizona State University who is interested in working for organizations that advocate for environmental justice. Prior to law school, Nyelah studied Anthropology, Community Engagement, and Forensics at Northern Arizona University. Throughout her college experience, Nyelah volunteered with multiple organizations, working towards making significant changes in the US and the world. Volunteering with Remineralize the Earth (RTE) has taught Nyelah more about sustainable agriculture and has deepened her interest in environmental justice.
Ojaswi Aryal
Assistant to the Executive Director (since 2022)
Ojaswi is an environmental researcher with a background in bioremediation and wastewater treatment. They hold an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Northwestern University and a B.S. in Engineering Science from Smith College. They joined the Remineralize the Earth team because of their interest in restorative agriculture, the intersection between soil degradation and water contamination, and climate change. At RTE, they hope they are able to contribute to work that helps make scientific research concerning important environmental issues and mitigations more accessible to communities that have typically been left out of these conversations. They are a big fan of rivers and banyans.
Avie Niece
Assistant to the Executive Director
Avie Niece grew up in Washington State, and found a love for nature and understood its importance very young. Throughout her degree at the University of Washington, she found a passion for improving the agriculture and food systems we have here in the U.S. and all over the world. After researching to find feasible possibilities for improving these systems, remineralizing the soil seemed to be an important factor in fixing these broken systems. That is what led her to Remineralize the Earth and excited her to work with this organization and be a part of all the positive changes that are coming from their work.
Hans Koehler
Graphic Designer, Video
Hans Koehler recently graduated summa cum laude from Auburn University with a BS in Industrial Design. Growing up in the forests and rivers of Alabama and the southeastern United States, his love for animals and nature began at a very young age. In fact, he’s been a voluntary vegetarian for almost his whole life. Through his work with RTE, Hans hopes to raise awareness and spread the word about remineralization through videos and graphic design. Nothing is as important as saving our planet from climate change, and Hans believes that remineralization is a critical part of the solution.
Hillary Goodness Ekene
Full Stack WordPress Developer (since 2022)
Hillary Goodness is an alumnus of Tekedia Institute, Boston USA (mini-MBA), and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (BTech). He studied Information Technology as his first degree, with a pre-existing background in engineering as a child from his dad’s company.
He is a teacher that transitioned into a software developer with experience in WordPress application development that is user-focused and promotes accessibility for all. From his teens, he loves taking calculated risks and trying out new ways of getting things done faster, better, and more cost-effectively. Giving back to the community has been his pride.
Jeff Bourdier
Information Technology
Jeff Bourdier is a geographic information and computer scientist with a high degree of interest in sustainability. He believes it can be easy for those of us who are not farmers to underestimate just how vital agriculture is to our very survival as a human race. Helping to promote soil remineralization by lending his talents to the development of this website is one way in which he hopes to contribute to agricultural sustainability. Jeff is an active developer of multiple free, open-source software (FOSS) projects, which can be seen at jeffbourdier.github.io. He lives with his wife and four children in Texas, where he works as a GIS developer for Frontier Communications.
