Welcome to the US Biochar Coalition

Maureen Walsh is the Executive Director at the U.S. Biochar Coalition and Co-Founder & Partner at SMART Policy Group. 

Maureen brings over two decades of legislative, regulatory, and government relations expertise. Her creative, proactive approach to advocacy has generated many critical wins for emerging climate tech industries, including biogas, compost, and advanced recycling. 

Maureen has served as lobbyist for the American Biogas Council for the last 12 years, successfully navigating regulatory hurdles, raising the profile of biogas, and obtaining hundreds of millions of dollars of incentives for the industry. Her record of achievement growing nascent climate tech industries in the U.S. through policy and industry organization is second to none.

Carrie Annand is Policy Director at the U.S. Biochar Coalition and Co-Founder and Partner at SMART Policy Group. 

Carrie is a biomass policy subject matter expert, with unparalleled legislative, regulatory, and industry knowledge and extensive government & private sector relationships. 

She has served as lobbyist for the Biomass Power Association for the last 9 years and has built, run, and achieved tremendous success for numerous industry coalitions and associations including the Renewable Fuel Standard Coalition, the Baseload Power Coalition, and the Circular Economy Coalition, among others.

Markus Videnieks, a strategic advisor at SMART Policy Group, has over 20 years of experience in public policy and communications. He helps clients navigate legislative and regulatory challenges, from securing Congressional appropriations to addressing complex agency rules.  

Specializing in renewable energy, he has guided clients through rulemakings and legislation on converting organic matter into energy. He has also led national advocacy campaigns in transportation policy, including safety and environmental issues. Previously, Markus spent a decade at a top lobbying firm, securing legislative wins in transportation, energy, education, and municipal policy.

Michelle has been serving as a senior researcher, process engineer, portfolio manager, and innovation ecosystem architect on innovative materials and process technologies with profound national security implications for over a decade. And now, she addresses cross-sector science policy and strategic interoperability to fortify U.S. global leadership across defense, diplomacy, and development.

Her background enables her to steward technical insights, commercial ventures, and policy leadership to ultimately deliver organizational and programmatic influence throughout sectors and stakeholders. 

She has authored and co-authored various publications and is also an alumnus of prestigious fellowships such as Udall, Gilman, and ACS, among others. She holds a Master’s degree in environmental engineering with thesis focus on thermodynamics, risk, and supply chain modeling and Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Drexel University.

Deirdre Seling is Communications & Marketing Manager at the U.S. Biochar Coalition (USBC) and Manager at SMART Policy Group (SPG).  

Deirdre comes to USBC & SPG with a B.A. in Political Science and a blend of skills in communication, design, and policy. Her experience includes social media management across platforms, and she has experience with graphic design for professional materials. 

Deirdre knows advocacy related to sustainability, bioenergy, and circular economy, bringing creativity and a thoughtful approach to these important topics.  

Sean Trambley is Policy & Communications Director at the U.S. Biochar Coalition and a Senior Director at SMART Policy Group. 

Sean brings a decade of expertise in strategic communications, public affairs, media relations, and crisis management across the private and public sectors. 

Sean has cultivated strong relationships with reporters, producers, and columnists in markets from coast to coast focused on a variety of issues including government, housing, environment, energy, telecom, and campaigns.