Brian Von Herzen  Ph.D. is the founder and executive director of the Climate Foundation, which upholds the vision and the mission to regenerate life in the ocean using Marine Permaculture technology. As Executive Director, Brian leads Climate Foundation’s large-scale seaweed mariculture programs to develop sustainable food, feed and fertilizer value chains, provide ecosystem life support, and sustain blue carbon sinks.

Brian graduated magna cum laude in three years from Princeton University with a degree in Physics. He holds a Ph.D. in planetary science from California Institute of Technology where he was awarded the prestigious Hertz Fellowship, and has been awarded  numerous patents. After two decades developing system solutions for companies such as Intel, Disney, Pixar, Microsoft, HP, and Dolby, Brian launched the Climate Foundation in order to investigate groundbreaking nature-based solutions to the climate and other environmental challenges.
Brian leads an international team of scientists, engineers, technicians, social scientists and seaweed farmers. Currently and most importantly, Brian is leading a successful Marine Permaculture seaforestation demonstration project in the Philippines.

Marine Permaculture uses marine solar and wave-driven pumps in the ocean to restore natural upwelling and primary production to grow seaweed ecosystems. Seaweeds fix significant amounts of carbon and have multiple uses including food, feed, fuel, biostimulants, and fertilizer. After sustainable harvesting, residual seaweed can be sunk to the bottom of the ocean sequestering carbon for centuries,  facilitating drawdown of carbon from the atmosphere with extended SeaForestation.  Once deployed at scale Marine Permaculture can regenerate life in seas and soils and restore a healthy climate while building a multi-billion dollar seaweed export market over the next decade.