TEAM
CEO – Jules Walter
Jules is a native of Haiti and is currently pursuing a B.S. in electrical engineering and computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Passionate about development work, he has led reforestation projects in his hometown of Port-au-Prince and worked closely with the MIT Development Lab as the Charcoal Project Leader. Since January 2006, Jules has traveled to Ghana and Haiti to establish partnerships with community leaders and local inhabitants and to obtain feedback to improve Bagazo’s charcoal production and business model. Jules has also led the initial market research for Bagazo in Haiti.
VP Marcom – Gerthy Lahens
Gerthy, a Haitian community leader and MIT Research Fellow, is the founder and Executive Director of The Friends of Petite-Anse, an NGO dedicated to helping under-served Haitian communities. She is also a Boston Community Learning Practice Fellow in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. Gerthy has worked with many international organizations implementing aid projects at the grassroots level in Haiti. She has been involved in Bagazo's charcoal project since 2002.
CTO – Amy Banzaert
Amy is a PhD Candidate in the MIT Mechanical Engineering Department, having completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees in the same department. Much of her master’s research involved optimizing the manufacturing process and inputs for the charcoal, as well as characterizing it. Prior to returning to MIT for graduate school, she worked for three years as a design and manufacturing engineer at Texas Instruments in their automotive sensors and controls division, gaining insights into product manufacturing and realization for both highly automated U.S. lines and manual production in Mexico. She also worked for three years as MIT’s first service learning coordinator, honing her ability to work with community partners internationally on engineering-oriented projects.
Marketing – Kendra Leith
Kendra is a Master's student at MIT in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning with a specialization in international development. During her time as a program assistant for the MIT International Development Initiative, she helped implement projects in India and Tanzania. She initially became involved with Bagazo when she established a cost-benefit analysis of the existing technology. Kendra holds a B.A. in Economics from Wheaton College.