Board of Directors
N. Ross Buckenham
Board Member, Founder, Chairman and CEO
Ross is a CalBio founder and its Chairman and CEO. He is a general management veteran and builder of technology companies in the biogas, wind, solar, software and wireless arenas, both private and public. He was previously a consultant with Bain & Company. Ross is passionate in his pursuit of California Bioenergy®’s mission to become a large California focused clean tech company leveraging agricultural waste streams for the benefit of farmers and the environment. For over a decade now, he has been vigorously involved in virtually all of California’s regulatory initiatives and technologies focused on creating a viable dairy biomethane industry. Ross has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from Canterbury University, New Zealand.
Neil Black
Board Member, Founder and President
Neil has over twenty-five years of senior management experience and plays a key role in the operations, development and financing of CalBio projects. He has also played an ongoing role in the state programs, incentives and legislation to lead to successful manure-methane capture projects. CalBio works closely with Dairy Cares, AECA, and other agricultural groups. It was also a founding member of the Bioenergy Association of California, and Neil was its first chairman. Working in partnership with the dairy industry, Neil was involved in the development of the BioMAT and is now focused on creating effective revenue programs for vehicle fuels. Prior to joining CalBio Neil was managing principal at GreenOrder, a leading sustainability firm, which worked with GE, GM and other large companies. Neil was also the CEO of two technology start-ups and president of The Nation magazine. He is an advisor to the Broadscale Group. Neil has a BA in American Studies from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
John Bidart
Board Member, Founder and Dairyman
John is the managing partner and operator of Bidart Dairies, a third-generation family dairy and farming operation. The Bidart Dairies include facilities that are located in northern and southern California and South Dakota. John serves on the board of California Dairies Inc. (CDI), the largest member-owned dairy cooperative in California and the second largest in the U.S, currently serving as the Chair of the Finance Committee. He is also a board member of Dairy America. John also serves on the boards of Mission Bancorp and Mission Bank, serving Mission as Vice-Chairman of the Board and Chair of the Compensation Committee. John is one of the founders of California Bioenergy LLC and serves on its Board of Directors. He has an undergraduate degree from Loyola Marymount University. John currently resides in Bakersfield, CA, with his wife Rosemary and their children Ben and Mikaela.
T.J. Glauthier
Board Member
T.J. has served as a Member and Director of California Bioenergy since 2010. T.J. is President of TJG Energy Associates, LLC, a California-based energy consulting firm, since January 2005. He has served on other Board of Directors, including EnerNOC, Inc., a provider of demand response services for electric utilities, from 2007 to 2017, VIA Motors International, a manufacturer of electric drive pick-up trucks and delivery vans, from 2014 to the present, and Union Drilling, Inc., a contract driller of unconventional oil and gas wells in shale deposits, from 2006 to 2012. T.J. served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of the Electricity Innovation Institute, an affiliate of the Electric Power Research Institute, from 2001 to 2004. Earlier, from 1999 to 2001, T.J. served as the Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Department of Energy. From 1993 to 1998, T.J. served as the Associate Director for Natural Resources Energy and Science at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget in the Executive Office of the President. T.J. holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Claremont McKenna College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
