GEMIA Leadership Committee
Our Leadership Committee provides strategic guidance and governance oversight in support of the organization’s public-interest mission.
Charles Brooke
Chair - Governance & Strategy
Charles Brooke leads Spark’s Livestock Enteric Methane Mitigation program, drawing on deep expertise in science, policy, and practice. His team works to accelerate action and innovation across research, policy, market-making, and collaboration. He coordinates the Global Methane Hub Enteric Fermentation Accelerator science oversight committee and served on the American Academy of Microbiology’s Microbial Solutions for Climate Change advisory group. Previously, Charles was the lead scientist for short-lived climate pollutants at the California Department of Food and Agriculture, where he launched the state’s first enteric methane research program. He has also been an affiliate researcher at UC Davis, studying feed additives, the rumen microbiome, and microbial compounds.
Barrett Olafson
Secretary - Compliance & Coordination
As Program Manager for Spark Climate Solutions' Livestock Enteric Methane Mitigation program, Barrett works to accelerate the science, tools, and partnerships needed to cut methane emissions from livestock at scale, turning a fragmented landscape into a coordinated field.
His work spans stakeholder engagement, strategic roadmapping, convening, and field-building across the enteric methane ecosystem. He helps drive alignment among researchers, industry, nonprofits, and funders, identifying gaps, connecting efforts, and moving promising mitigation pathways toward real-world adoption.
Before Spark, Barrett spent 15+ years as a product and engineering leader, running projects for clients including BNY Mellon, The Emmys, Carhartt, Levi's, and Under Armour. He's led product strategy, software engineering, and globally distributed technical teams, and that systems-oriented background continues to shape how he approaches coordination and problem-solving in the climate space.
Padraig Hennessy
Vice Chair - Membership & Community
Padraig Hennessy is CEO and co-founder of Terra NutriTECH, an international animal nutrition business, and founder of CH4Guard, a dosing and verification system developed to make livestock methane reduction practical, measurable, and trusted in commercial farm systems. His work focuses on supporting the deployment of methane-reduction technologies through precision dosing, farm-level data, and credible verification pathways for farmers, processors, technology providers, and supply chains.
Padraig is the founding Chair of AgTech Ireland and a member of the World Agricultural Forum Council. He brings to GEMIA a practical understanding of farmers, agtech commercialisation, and the barriers that determine whether climate technologies move from research and pilots into real-world adoption at scale.
George Sorensen
Director - Programs & Impact
George Sorensen is a strategy and business development leader with expertise spanning agricultural biotechnology, animal health, emerging market development and international partnerships. He currently serves as Head of Emerging Markets at Ceva Animal Health, where he leads strategic initiatives focused on innovation, partnerships and market expansion across established and emerging markets.
Drawing on experience across industry, academia, intellectual property and technology transfer, George specialises in translating scientific innovation into real-world impact. His work spans strategic partnerships, licensing and transaction support, technology and market assessments and the development of enabling ecosystems that accelerate the adoption of new technologies.
George has a particular focus on Africa and other frontier markets, where success depends on aligning commercial, governmental and philanthropic stakeholders around shared objectives. He has helped shape public-private partnership initiatives and collaborative programmes involving international donors and foundations. Through these efforts, George works to advance scalable pathways for agricultural innovation, sustainability and long-term impact.