Meet The Team

Christopher W. Jones
Co-Founder and Executive Strategic Advisor
Chris Jones is one of the most experienced and globally recognized academic DAC researchers. Dr. Jones’ experience working on DAC technologies since 2008 and his association with several start-ups and large technology firms developing DAC technology give him unique insights into DAC materials and technology options. His laboratory at the Georgia Institute of Technology continues to innovate in DAC materials and processes, providing new insights that can be leveraged and potentially licensed by ZeoDAC. The lab’s proximity to ZeoDAC’s base of operations at the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) in Atlanta enables Dr. Jones to interact with the ZeoDAC team on a daily basis.

Mark E. Davis
Co-Founder and Executive Strategic Advisor
Mark E. Davis is serving as an executive strategic advisor to ZeoDAC. He is a co-founder of the company and has expertise in zeolites and molecular sieves. Additionally, he is the (co)founder of six high technology companies and has been a member of numerous scientific advisory boards. Mark has experience in translating laboratory inventions into commercial products. He will provide insights for both technical and business aspects of ZeoDAC. Mark is currently the Warren and Katharine Schlinger Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology. He has been elected to all the US National Academies (Engineering, Sciences, Medicine, and Inventors). In 2014, he received the Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research from the King of Spain. He has twice received the Donald W. Breck Award from the International Zeolite Association for significant contributions to molecular sieve science and technology.

Kevin Bolin
Chairman & CEO
Before serving as Chairman and CEO at ZeoDAC, Inc., Kevin M. Bolin served as Chairman and CEO of Earth Property Holdings, LLC (EPH) which was focused on executing an acquisition strategy, in the southeast United States and Texas, of organic waste processing companies, primarily composting businesses.
Mr. Bolin also serves on the Board of McGill Environmental Services, Inc. and Airex Industries. McGill is a biosolids composting company which focuses on the large-scale manufacture of compost primarily from wastewater treatment plant residuals. Airex Industries is a torrefaction company which produces biocoal and biochar from organic waste streams. With a commercial plant in Quebec, Canada, Airex is a leader in the space.
Previously, Mr. Bolin was the Chairman of the Board for Community Eco Power, LLC which owned and operated two waste to energy plants in the Northeast. He also was the Chief Executive Officer of Orege North America which provided proprietary equipment that made wastewater processes more efficient. Prior to Orege, Mr. Bolin was the Executive Chairman of the Board for Alter NRG which was the global leader in plasma gasification with multiple commercial facilities and an international customer base. Prior to that, Mr. Bolin was the CEO and Co-Founder of EnerTech Environmental, Inc., which was a renewable energy company with a patented process that cleanly and economically converted biosolids and other high moisture wastes into a high-grade, renewable fuel with significant cost savings over alternative methods.
Mr. Bolin has a B.B.A from the University of Notre Dame, is the co-inventor on two U.S. patents, and has spoken at multiple industry conferences.

Ajay Kshatriya
Board Director
Ajay Kshatriya is a Partner at Wilson Hill Ventures. Within the portfolio, he serves as the Executive Chairman of Barrier Biosciences, a biotech creating a new category of medicines using AI and spatial biology, and as a Board Director of Tera AI, a software company activating superhuman reasoning from the complex physical world. Previously, Ajay founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of Biota, the pioneer in environmental genomics, that was acquired by the industrial biotech leader, Novozymes (NZYM). In 8 years, Biota scaled the microbiome data platform from Professor Rob Knight to a genomics diagnostics business that created $400M in economic value and saved 1.2B gallons of water for 20+ industrial companies. Prior to founding Biota, Ajay was at the world-leading biotechnology pioneer Genentech, where he held various positions in product operations, including two product core teams in early-stage oncology. Ajay holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from U.C. Berkeley, an M.S. in engineering from Stanford University, and an MBA from Berkeley-Haas School of Business.

Taylor Sulmonetti
Vice President of Technology
As Vice President of Technology, Taylor Sulmonetti oversees all technical efforts at ZeoDAC. From developing and operating the Company’s first bench-scale unit, the operation of the pilot plant, and the design of the demonstration plant to begin construction in 2027. He is a chemical engineer whose areas of expertise include direct air capture (DAC), reaction and chemical process engineering, zeolites, and solid adsorbates. He received his B.S. in 2013 from Lehigh University and his Ph.D. under the advisement of the co-founder of ZeoDAC, Dr. Chris Jones in 2017 from Georgia Tech; both in chemical engineering. He is a licensed Professional Engineer who has experience in process design, kinetic analysis, and material science for evaluating adsorption and reaction processes.

Michael Beckert
Principal Engineer
Michael Beckert is a principal engineer at ZeoDAC primarily focused on thermal and mechanical aspects of design. He has more than a decade of broad experience across many engineering disciplines. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Georgia and California who has experience in process and product designs for industrial, commercial, consumer and governmental clients. He received his B.S., M.S, and PhD in mechanical engineering in 2008, 2010, and 2015 from Georgia Tech.

Young-Hee Yoon
Senior Process Design Engineer
Young Hee Yoon is a chemical engineer with expertise in separation processes and process development. She received her B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 2017 and her Ph.D. in the same field from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2023, where she conducted membrane separation research. Her work at ZeoDAC includes process design, optimization, scale-up, and technoeconomic analysis.

Noah Chen
Mechanical Engineer
Noah Chen is a Mechanical Engineer from the with a passion for problem solving, design, and sustainability. His work at ZeoDAC includes operating the Company’s pilot unit where he led the team in designing and building. He received his B.S. in 2020 from the University of California Santa Barbara.

Vivian Higgins
Marketing & Branding Associate
Vivian Higgins serves as the Branding & Marketing Associate at ZeoDAC, where she leads the design of company presentation materials, brand identity systems, and digital marketing assets. She also creates cohesive visuals for press, web, and social campaigns, collaborating closely with the CEO and engineering team to align design with investor and business goals. Before joining ZeoDAC, Vivian designed digital and social content for WABE and ThinkIt Design, and completed a graphic design internship at Alston & Bird, where she supported a Fortune 500 client rebrand and UX/UI initiatives. She earned her BFA in Graphic Communications from Kennesaw State University in 2024.

Conrad Newton
Strategic Planning Associate
Conrad Newton serves as the Strategic Planning Associate at ZeoDAC, working directly with the CEO on market intelligence, customer acquisition strategy, and capital raising. Before joining ZeoDAC, Conrad was the Senior Coordinator for Brand and Communications at Conservation International, where he led marketing campaigns, media relations, and strategic communications to support global fundraising for nature-based climate solutions. He holds a B.A. in International Affairs from the University of Georgia and is currently pursuing his MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
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