NAPA GREEN Team

Megan Scott | Operations Manager

Megan started her sustainability journey working at The Last Resort, an environmental model of sustainable living, whose mission is to discover and perfect sustainable environmental solutions for waste management, water reuse, and food security. From there, she studied Engineering and worked in the Hospitality Industry for over 20 years, streamlining operations and working to reduce waste and improve profitability. Megan has demonstrated her ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship by professionally facilitating sustainability conversations through blogs, public speaking presentations, trainings and webinars featuring green business practices. She holds an MBA, Sustainable Business Enterprises from Dominican University, and a BS in Marketing as well as a BS in Management from Sonoma State University and a Vocational Degree in Electrical & Electronics Engineering. Megan is dedicated to guiding businesses toward a more sustainable future, one climate smart wine at a time.

Ben Mackie | Vineyard Program Manager

For the past 15 years, Ben has been designing and implementing regenerative farming systems in a variety of ecosystems. A New Englander by birth, Ben fell in love with agriculture in the verdant fields of northern California in high school. Ever since, Ben has been managing farms, improving soils, and educating the next crop of environmental stewards with a holistic view of farming with natural systems. No stranger to Napa, he previously lived on Mt Veeder, where he fell in love with the oak and madrone woodlands and made friends with the local ravens. When Ben is not helping Napa’s vineyards adopt 21st century practices, he is spending time with his impressive wife and two wild children in the woods and on the water. Ben currently occupies Nisenan Territory and is a proud alumnus of Sterling College in Northeast Vermont, where he received a BA in Sustainable Agriculture.

Marisa Taylor | Winery Program Manager

Growing up in wine country, it was only natural that Marisa became an early proponent of sustainability practices in Napa Valley. During her tenure as winemaker and general manager of Rutherford Hill Winery she supported sustainable farming and green practices from vineyard to cellar and across all winemaking operations. During that time she successfully obtained Napa Green Winery Certification which included the installation and conversion to solar powered energy throughout the facility. She was a featured winemaker in the 6 part PBS series Vintage 2012 and currently serves on the 2nd cohort of the Napa Valley Vintners Leadership Program. With a B.S. in Chemistry and a M.S. in Food Science from the University of California at Davis, she brings both a wealth of knowledge to her work as well as compassion, respect and stewardship for the land. Known for her compatible work style, authenticity and leadership abilities, Marisa looks forward to her continued collaboration with wineries across the valley which are united in pursuing and upholding the Napa Green mission.

Danielle Cesario | Program Assistant

Danielle’s love for all things wine began during her undergrad program while working for Dr. Margie Ferree Jones at Cal Poly Pomona. Under Dr. Jones, Danielle assisted class during the wine courses which laid a foundational appreciation for viticulture and wine making. Her bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management took her to Napa, Florida and eventually Bordeaux. There she studied Wine Business and began her focus and research on winery and vineyard sustainability certification and practices. Her love for regenerative practices, community and education is what continues to excite her and keep passion alive for the work that Napa Green and all its members do. 

When she’s not working with Napa Green, Danielle is tending to her small property in Norco where she farms and lives on half an acre with her husband, two cows, cats, working dogs and a small flock of chickens and ducks.

Bill Bennett | Winery Program Engineer

Bill Bennett is trained and licensed as a Civil Engineer, and draws on decades of experience with commercial and industrial resource use to help Napa County wineries understand, manage, and reduce energy and water use. Beginning in 2016, Bill led the design and facilitation of “Integrated Resource Audits” for wineries seeking Napa Green Winery certification or recertification. These one-stop, user friendly energy, water and waste evaluations baseline and track resource efficiency over time and provide targeted recommendations for both cost and resource savings. With more than 160 reviews to date, Bill has developed a broad portfolio of operational guidance and recommendations which have helped Napa Green wineries save more than $4 million in energy costs and over 27 million gallons of water (as of July 2021).

Prior to joining Napa Green, Bill was a key team member at Sustainable Napa County (SNC) where he designed and implemented a county-wide energy efficiency program for commercial customers of PG&E (Napa County Energy Watch). Prior to SNC, Bill was the Resident Engineer for the Anheuser-Busch InBev Fairfield brewery, where he led successful and innovative energy efficiency changes at this $500 million facility including 1 MW of ground mount tracking solar, 1.5 MW wind turbine, anaerobic digestion, upgrades and automation of compressed air, boilers, and ammonia refrigeration systems, making it a beacon for energy conservation in an industry, with production issues very similar to those of the winemaking community.

NAPA GREEN BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Molly Sheppard | Board Treasurer 
Assistant Winemaker & Environmental Manager at Spottswoode Estate Vineyard & Winery
Michelle Novi | Board Secretary
Industry Relations and Regulatory Affairs Director, Napa Valley Vintners
Tod Mostero
Director of Viticulture & Winemaking at Dominus Estate
Evyn Cameron
Consulting Winemaker
Will Drayton
Director Technical Viticulture, Sustainability & Research at Treasury Wine Estates
Martin Reyes, MW
Partner, WineWise; Founder, Reyes Wine Group and Co-Founder, Wine Unify
Beth Strachan
Food & Wine Lover, Social Change Consultant
Andrew Alexander
Owner of Del Gallo Advisory LLC, Board Member, CA Municipal Finance Authority & CA Foundation for Stronger Communities
Michelle Egan
Wine Marketing & DTC Consultant at Egan Wine Consulting
Rodrigo Soto
Organic and Biodynamic Pioneer and Winemaker Far Mountain Wines
"Napa Green certification provides a clear and complete path for our wineries and vineyards to reduce climate impacts and to become stronger partners with all of us who are working on climate action in Napa Valley."
Chris Benz, Napa Climate NOW! and Sierra Club Napa Group
"Napa Green certification has improved the way I farm, increasing my understanding of ways to increase the long term stability of the our vineyards’ connection to the land. In the face of evolving environmental conditions, we don’t have any time to lose in building living soils, conserving water, saving energy, and investing in our workers and the strength of our communities. What we have to gain is thriving vineyards, healthier people, and wines that taste as deep and complex as the Valley where they are grown."
Tod Mostero, Director of Viticulture & Winemaking at Dominus Estate
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NAPA GREEN community advisors

Chris Benz
Napa Climate NOW! and Sierra Club Napa Group
Jeri Hansen
Principal, Jeri Hansen Company and President and CEO Napa Chamber of Commerce
Frances Knapczyk
Program Director, Napa County Resource Conservation District
John Garn
President, ViewCraft 
Hailey Trefethen
Viticulture & Winemaking Operations, Trefethen Family Vineyards
Joel Quigley
President, Creative Furnace LLC 
Jaime Araujo
Owner/Founder, Trois Noix Wines
Miguel Garcia
Sustainable Agriculture Program Manager, Napa County Resource Conservation District
Jennifer Becker
Ensemble Marketing Group
Rob Anglin
Attorney, Holman Teague Roche Anglin, LLP
Bill Bennett
Project Engineer
Anna Brittain
Sustainability Consultant