Brian Barnes
Managing Director & Podcast Host
Recognized for his insight on communicating complex scientific research in relatable terms, Brian has been brought in to keynote at NASA and the U.S. Dept of the Interior for their Climate Risks, Impacts, and Adaptations forum and has served on panels on anthropogenic Climate Change and governmental policy for the likes of the European Commission’s Government Aftershock program and countless nonprofits. Recent accomplishments aside, Brian has been an environmental champion for decades.
An avid adventurer, climber, and mountaineer, Brian fell in love with the outdoors at an early age. After receiving a dual degree in both Marine Engineering and Nautical Science from the prestigious United States Merchant Marine Academy, Brian served 11 years in the U.S. Naval Reserve and traveled the world. He then went on to receive an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis and spent the next decade running one of the world’s largest marine generator manufacturing businesses where he quickly became a leading expert in marine power generation, emissions, and environmental policy.
In 2012 Brian, fed up with what he saw as uneducated policy makers, ran for United States Congress. Sadly, he was before his time in speaking out on environmental policy and lost narrowly in the general election.
In 2016 Brian moved to Australia where he became a champion sailor and spent a large amount of time looking at many U.S. policies from an international perspective. Upon returning to the States, Brian decided that there was a severe lack of understanding of the facts and scientific information on a global scale and committed to finding a way to remedy the issue.
With that goal in mind, Brian launched South of 2 Degrees in 2020 to fill the information void on anthropogenic Climate Change that so many of us face in a modern world where people don‘t know what information to trust.
Sarah Hoessler
Lead Data Scientist
Sarah grew up in France where her father taught her the love of food – and mathematics – from an early age. As a student, she ticked all the boxes, and went on to get a Masters degree in Statistics in Paris. From her mom, Sarah got her love for languages and an uncanny inability to understand humor. The former drew her all the way to China for 6 years of study and work, and now further to New Zealand where she resides with her husband and two sons.
Since 2010, Sarah has worked in the automotive, energy and B2B retail sectors, in mid- to mammoth-sized corporations, on analyst roles. She is now an expert in data-informed decision making and influencing, at all levels of a company, from the operator to the C-level executive.
Sarah’s eco-conscience bloomed in her 30s, as she endeavored to make data-informed choices about food with the aim to maximize her young family’s long term health. Vegan, flexi, paleo, keto, no sugar, there are so many paths that the more she researched about nutrition, the more overwhelmed she felt. When she discovered that it is not so much what we eat but how we produce it that matters most for our health, it all started to make sense to her. Her aha moment happened when she understood the deep connection between human health, plant health and soil health. Taking care of the planet suddenly no longer felt like a chore but like a mission with a direct personal stake in it.
The second best option after converting to becoming a regenerative farmer was for Sarah to use her skills and contribute and make healthy soil an available and more visible choice, for consumers, for farmers, and for our policy makers. It is her privilege to share her doubts, struggles and moments of joy on her path with other fellow humans.