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About Us

Future Oriented

Our Goal

Triad Growth Partners is a Cleantech Venture Studio dedicated to transforming the standard of living  and quality of life through the development of water treatment technologies.

01

Diverse Portfolio

We manage a diverse portfolio filled with vetted ideas supported by strong forecasting and executing on research development and engineering.

02

Pathway & Scale

We are creating a polished and smooth pathway for developing new environmental technologies and scaling them up.

03

Manfacturing & Production

Successful manufacturing and worldwide delivery of groundwater and water treatment technology is crucial to our company’s success.

Every year, more people die from unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war.

United Nations on Water Quality (source)

How will the world be different

Our why

Environmental changes on a global scale requires responsible innovation. We understand technology has the ability to dramatically increase the standard of living in a single generation. Our ethos, our team, and our busnical(*) approach ensures we deliver products the market desperately needs. 

ESG Movement

The incentive for business to address ESG issues and opportunities is likely to continue to grow. The outcomes can help create opportunities to realize new sources of value creation.

Support Marginalized Communities

Environmental challenges disproportionately affect marginalized communities. Our technologies keep the health of the community at the forefront.

Clean water

Helping clients with better waste management practices reduces negative environmental impact to surface and groundwater.

Recalibrate Industry

We are identifying strategic pathways into the environmental space within an economic system that doesn't value the environment
"The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it."
Robert Swan
Environmental Leader & Author

(*) Busnical

(biz’-ni-kahl)

Adj.

Characteristic of a unique balance of consideration to both scientific and market feasibility. 

The disruptors

Meet the team

Doug Speight

CEO

Doug Speight is CEO of Triad Growth Partners, the founder of five tech startups and an active speaker in startup ecosystem development. He has served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence for: Google’s Google for Startups unit, SF-based CODE2040 and GIGTANK at Co.Lab.

Speight has led commercialization for NC A&T State University, NASA and the Dept of Energy, spinning out twelve startups and licensing over 30 patents. He is a graduate of NC A&T State University and earned an MBA from Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Alexis wells Carpenter, PhD

Chief scientist

Dr. Alexis Carpenter leads the technology development ground. Since joining Triad Growth Partners in 2015, she has attracted the talent of 3 PhDs, 3 MS, and 3 BS, as well as multiple world-class consultants to carry out the vision of commercializing early-stage technologies for the environmental industry. She has expertise in chemistry and material science, water treatment technologies, and technology scale-up and pilot demonstration experience. 

 

Prior to joining the company, Dr. Carpenter performed a 2-year postdoc in the Superfund Research Program at Duke University investigating the use of metal-based nanoparticles for groundwater and surface water remediation. 

Julia darcy, PhD

Research Scientist, Laboratory lead

Dr. Julia Darcy has a background in chemistry and environmental sudies. She received her PhD in inorganic chemistry from Yale University, where her research spanned inorganic, physical, and analytic chemistry. Dr. Darcy focused on the mechanistic understanding of fundamental oxidation-reduction reactions. She has research experience in green chemistry, including rare earth element recycling and copper catalysis. Dr. Darcy has studied social and and economic mechanisms for environmental change. 

Wesley Storm

Product development specialist

Wesley Storm’s technical expertise is at the interface of materials science and sensor development. He has been involved with several scientific startups, where he secured early stage funding, established intellectual property, and de-risked key aspects of technologies for further product development. At Triad Growth Partners, Wesley helps secure non-dilutive funding and intellectual property, and also helps manage the team’s pipeline of new environmental products.

Danilo Meyer-Arrivillaga

Research Associate

Danilo Meyer-Arrivillaga (Dani) received his Bachelor of Science in Environmental Geology from Juniata College in 2017. During his undergraduate, he researched fractionation of silver isotopes in native silver by understanding the redox reactions through a novel method. Through studying silver isotope geochemistry, environmental and hydrometallurgical applications could be better understood. 


Dani conducts key laboratory testing and field deployment of TGP technologies. He has also received training in ArcGIS and been certified through Aquaveo’s MODFLOW training program, which he has utilized to better understand contaminant/oxidant transport and redox reactions in the geological subsurface. Dani conducts key laboratory testing and field deployment of TGP technologies.

Jeff Albano

Technical Service Manager

Jeff Albano helps environmental consultants, site managers, owners, and public-sector agencies remediate contaminated soil and groundwater with innovative approaches and emerging technologies such as controlled release polymer oxidants. Albano has led remediation projects across a broad range of site conditions and formations. Having served as both environmental and remediation consultant, his experience informs the guidance he provides. 

 

 

Laura Grace

Research Assistant

Laura Grace graduated with a bachelors degree in General Chemistry from Western Carolina University. Grace chose to pursue a career in research because she enjoys searching for answers to questions and learning as she goes.

Jeff Albano

Technical Service Manager

Jeff Albano helps environmental consultants, site managers, owners, and public-sector agencies remediate contaminated soil and groundwater with innovative approaches and emerging technologies such as controlled release polymer oxidants. Albano has led remediation projects across a broad range of site conditions and formations. Having served as both environmental and remediation consultant, his experience informs the guidance he provides. 

 

 

The Advisors

Meet the board

James e. dunn, jr.

Board member

“Jed” is a Partner and Member of the Newport Board Group – a National Board and CEO Advisory Firm.  He provides directors and senior executives with deep knowledge of business strategy, operations and capital markets.  His passion is in helping businesses effectively execute on growth and value acceleration strategies.  Jed started his career at First Union Corporation in Charlotte NC as a corporate lender in the World Banking Division.  He has served as the CEO of two companies, has served on numerous Boards of Directors, and is currently a Trustee of Washington and Lee University.

Dennis Stearns

Co-founder & board member

Dennis Stearns is a partner in Triad Growth Partners. He is also President of Stearns Financial Group, a fee-only, award winning wealth management firm with offices in Chapel Hill and Greensboro, NC. 
Dennis regularly uses his firm’s study of colliding “Super Trends” (technology accelerators, globalization, the global age wave and urbanization), to help clients navigate threats and opportunities in their personal and business financial planning and investment strategies. He has been called “one of the leading scenario experts and futurists” by the Financial Planning Association. Recent awards have included being named one of the Triad’s “Most Admired CEOs” and “Most Influential People” by the Triad Business Journal. 

Chad oakley

Board member

Chad Oakley is President of Charles Aris in Greensboro which serves Fortune 500 consumer packaged goods, industrial R&D and manufacturing industries and financial services. Chad’s private equity experience includes former Case Team Leader for Bain & Co. focused on solving strategic challenges for clients in  industries including software, telecommunications, optical networking, manufacturing and financial services. Chad earned an MBA degree from the Wharton School of Business.

Bill mcivor

Co-founder & board member

Bill McIvor, Executive Vice President of SeniorLink Technologies, brings 25+ years as a senior executive in healthcare/life sciences IT to his role as a board member and adviser to Triad Growth Partners. Bill has advised numerous growth companies and venture capitalists and has served on the Board of Accordant Health Services (CaremarkCVS), Sentillion (Microsoft) and MedVantx and as an operating executive for  NovaSom, iHealth Tech (Connelly/Advent & Accordant), Oxford Health and Ernst and Young. Bill started his career at Procter & Gamble.

charles gause

co-founder

“Charlie” is a technology development executive with more than 25 years of experience. His extensive business development experience for commercial and government customers has resulted in over $35 million in contract research. He has successfully developed multiple products developed for multiple markets. After establishing the 24K sq. ft. nanoWorks Division of Luna Innovations (NASDAQ: LUNA IPO June 2006) he founded AxNano,  a strategic leadership and technology development group responsible for driving research and development for Triad Growth Partners.

Bill mcivor

Co-founder & board member

Jeff Albano helps environmental consultants, site managers, owners, and public-sector agencies remediate contaminated soil and groundwater with innovative approaches and emerging technologies such as controlled release polymer oxidants. Albano has led remediation projects across a broad range of site conditions and formations. Having served as both environmental and remediation consultant, his experience informs the guidance he provides. 

 

 

The Partners

Key Collaborators

Stephanie Luster-Teasley, PhD

inventor

Stephanie is Chair of the Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering (CAEE) Department and associate professor at North Carolina A&T State University.  She specializes in environmental engineering, water sustainability, and engineering education. Her engineering courses and mentoring are lauded for their hands-on experience and real-world engagement. As the inventor behind the controlled-release polymer she became the first African-American female faculty member to be named on a patent issued to NC A&T State University  when she received  United States Patent No. 8,519,016 in 2013

Bill mcivor

Co-founder & board member

Jeff Albano helps environmental consultants, site managers, owners, and public-sector agencies remediate contaminated soil and groundwater with innovative approaches and emerging technologies such as controlled release polymer oxidants. Albano has led remediation projects across a broad range of site conditions and formations. Having served as both environmental and remediation consultant, his experience informs the guidance he provides. 

 

 

Learn from our team