Inside OnePointFive: Meet Our Projects Team
At OnePointFive, our Projects Team sits at the heart of our mission, helping organizations move from ambition to measurable climate action.
From finance and engineering to environmental science and policy backgrounds, each member brings a unique perspective shaped by their experiences, disciplines, and personal “why.”
Take a look behind the scenes to meet the people who power our projects: the professionals translating climate goals into real-world outcomes.
Julia Akker
Associate Director
For Julia, sustainability has always been tied to justice and day-to-day reality: “I remember driving past a massive landfill on the way to JFK Airport from our home in Brooklyn, lovingly called Mount Trashmore — you would smell before you saw it. It was eventually transformed into a park many years later, but it made me consider the impact of overconsumption and waste.”
That early awareness stayed with her, even as she built a career in financial services. During the pandemic, she made a decision that would change her path: “I quit my job because I realized that I needed to find a role that aligned with my values, and served a greater purpose. I decided to try my luck at pivoting from financial services to climate — and thankfully it worked out!”
What drew her to OPF wasn’t just the mission, but the culture: “Neil and Matthias had similar consulting backgrounds, and it was clear that they wanted to nurture a different kind of working environment and culture, one that valued its people, and impact, first and foremost, which I resonated with.”
Now, she leads multiple projects across sectors, finding energy in the constant learning and variety.
“This sounds cliche, but we are always learning. Because I’m often managing several projects at a time, I never feel like I am stuck with one big project looming over me. Initially this kind of pace and workflow was difficult to adjust to, but over time, I came to appreciate the variety and exposure to different industries, sectors, and project types.”
Her reflection on the current state of climate action is both honest and hopeful: “You know how babies have phases, where they’ll be sleeping through the night, but then suddenly enter a months-long sleep regression? That’s how it feels working in climate right now. But like any regression, my hope is that this too, shall pass.”
Abby Dateo
Senior Associate
Abby’s connection to sustainability started long before it became her career. Growing up between Massachusetts and Maine, she found peace in the woods and the ocean; two places that would later define her sense of purpose.
While studying at Cornell, she shifted her focus from business to environmental science, combining her analytical skills with her growing environmental awareness: “I always felt connected to nature, from living near forest trails in Massachusetts to working as a beach lifeguard in coastal Maine. I soon became alarmed about the state of the planet and inspired to do something about it.”
At OPF, she’s found the perfect place to bridge those worlds.
“OnePointFive represented the best of both worlds to me. I could build a career in sustainability to make positive impact for the planet, develop core business skills and experience, and gain exposure to different industries and their needs to support sustainable impact outcomes.”
Abby now particularly enjoys working closely with finance clients, a sector she believes holds enormous potential for scaling climate action: ”Finance has direct influence to fund climate solutions. In my current project with a global impact investing fund, I support the client to integrate sustainability impact targets into legal contracts and provide training to enhance fund managers’ capabilities, thus driving organization value.”
Her hope for the future is straightforward: that sustainability becomes standard business practice. “Even if you do not care about the planet, stakeholders do, and climate risk has serious financial implications across industries.”
Jack Kozyrski
Senior Associate
Jack’s path into sustainability began early on, driven by curiosity: “I was introduced very early to oil and gas processes and terminology by my dad who spent his career with them, and those conversations became part of my worldview before I knew how to question them.”
He studied engineering and worked in nuclear energy, but during that time additional questions led him to look for system-level solutions: ways to transform the same industries he grew up around. “Finding that the development of a destructive and extractive economy took interconnected efforts across industries sent me looking for a similarly interconnected but sustainable solution to dismantle it.”
At OPF, Jack found a space to explore that complexity through deep research, stakeholder engagement, and impact design: “I joined OnePointFive for the small, tight-knit leadership team that I continue to look to for building skills, knowledge, and comfort in what I do.”
“I really enjoy the discovery part of projects, when we get a chance to research new topics in depth and consider the possibilities for how our project could unfold. This could involve series of very technical conversations where experts will disagree with each other or even site visits, where we get to visualize what problems we’re hoping to solve.”
He believes the next frontier in sustainability goes beyond carbon and GHG emissions: “Real sustainability means thinking how to expand beyond that. My hope is that we can tackle pollution, overconsumption, and inequality before we have to set time-based deadlines for those issues, as we’ve done for climate.”
Victoria Thompson
Senior Associate
For Victoria, nature was never a distant concept, but rather, it was part of her everyday life: “I grew up with muddy knees and grass-stained clothes. In high school, I co-founded my school's sustainability club, and even when I ended up pursuing medicine and earned a degree in biology, I kept coming back to the environment as the issue we need to prioritize.”
She realized that her path was guiding her to treat symptoms rather than the disease (“Why work to treat asthma when the air itself is becoming toxic?”), and that became the turning point on her career.
Joining OPF allowed her to combine her scientific background with a systems-level approach to impact.
“I love how OPF truly has a flat hierarchy; it fosters collaboration as people at all levels work together to solve different problems. As a lean startup, I also love how we're able to get involved in many different facets. I’ve been able to help with things outside of advisory work, like helping to organize the Academy's happy hour at this year's NYCW!”
And when she’s not managing sustainability initiatives, she’s exploring the planet she works to protect, one national park at a time: “My husband and I are visiting every National Park. He even proposed in Yosemite! Fourteen down, forty-nine to go.”
(Nara) Narandelger Erdenebileg
Sustainability Associate
For Nara, sustainability is rooted in memories: “I grew up near the Khuvsgul mountains in northern Mongolia, where summers meant running along rivers, herding cattle in the forest, and picking herbs with my grandparents. In middle school, I realized that those herbs no longer grow, and much of the forest is now just stumps from logging.”
That experience shaped her worldview, and inspired her to pursue a career in sustainability: “It feels unfair that people lose the chance to witness that kind of beauty (or to feel connected to nature), simply because of when or where they were born. That’s why I work on sustainability.”
Her studies in systems thinking and political science deepened her understanding of how real change happens, and at OPF, she’s able to put that into practice.
“I wanted to see firsthand how organizations identify priorities, design interventions, and implement changes that actually reduce climate risk. The team has been wonderful to work with and learn from, giving me the chance to explore these questions across industries, sustainability challenges, and regions.”
Now based in Boston, Nara continues to bridge local experience and global climate ambition, and it’s eager to meet other people in the space: “I would love to connect with anyone working in sustainability (in its intersectional sense), climate action, or policy. If you’re local or visiting, let’s chat!”
(Disya) Saida Khaliladisya
Sustainability Consultant
Saida’s journey into sustainability began after taking courses on renewable energy and sustainable process design: “At first, I was a bit skeptical about the whole sustainability space. It felt full of buzzwords and greenwashing. But over time, I realized there’s real potential to make a difference if we focus on actual impact, not just nice slogans.”
After earning her degree in chemical engineering, she started her career in oil and gas, but found herself drawn to the other side of the equation: “I was more interested in decarbonization projects than production work. That curiosity eventually led me to study sustainable chemical engineering and figure out how industries can genuinely reduce their environmental footprint.”
She then discovered OPF through OPF Academy and was immediately drawn to its mission.
“The idea of supporting real climate solutions by bridging the sustainability talent gap really clicked with me. It’s also just a great place to learn as someone new to the field, I’ve gotten exposure to everything from LCA projects to climate finance. The team’s super supportive and always encourages you to keep learning, which makes the work even more meaningful.”
Today, Disya is helping connect the dots between technical and financial climate solutions: “It has been surprisingly eye opening to see how funding decisions can make or break real climate solutions.”
Our team: Purpose in Practice
At OnePointFive, every project is a way to help organizations turn climate challenges into strategic advantages.
Through our work across Sustainability, Technology, Finance, and Training, the Projects Team brings our climate solutions to life.
By embedding decarbonization into strategy, operations, and culture, businesses can grow responsibly and thrive in the future economy.
Explore how we can help your organization move from “doing” sustainability to embedding it in everything you do through our tailored climate solutions.
