Passionate.
Solution generators.
Climate heroes.

We’re passionate about the climate.
And we’re not in the business of incremental change.

75% of the CO2 we emit will remain in the atmosphere for 200–1,000 years and 4% would linger beyond 100,000 years.

Just 36 fossil fuel companies are responsible for over half of the world’s CO2 emissions.

The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred in the past decade.

Every $1 spent on resilience and preparedness prevents $13 in losses.

Our Story

Fresh Coast was constructed from and always embraces ten guiding principles.

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Before we begin...

Fresh Coast co-founders Josh Brugeman and Jenny Oorbeck were colleagues for almost a decade before they started Fresh Coast, and it was from their past work experience that Fresh Coast – and its mission to pursue bold, transformative solutions – was born.

01

Focus on solutions, not problems.

At a previous job together, Josh and Jenny were frustrated by the constraints placed on their ability to pursue real climate change solutions.

02

Know your passions will be supported – at work and home.

They had to tiptoe around their work, even limiting their use of the phrase climate change.

03

Don’t settle for status quo.

At the same time, they saw the potential to drive real, impactful climate solutions and move beyond incremental change. So they started Fresh Coast – to go faster, work at scale, and move beyond pilot projects.

04

We only have enough time to be bold.

At Fresh Coast, we know we have the technology to right the ship, so what are we waiting for?

Josh and Jenny brought their past experiences driving first-of-a kind solutions to their current work at Fresh Coast.

For example, Fresh Coast worked with Just Climate, a $1.5B climate fund, to help evaluate various companies’ game-changing technologies like emission-free steel production.

We also operated the MI Climate Wise program, which has helped 30 businesses in Michigan establish sustainability and climate programs.

05

Treat everyone with kindness and respect.

New members of our team often tell us how welcomed they feel. Frankly, we wouldn’t tolerate anything less.

06

Integrity is paramount.

At Fresh Coast, we stand behind our technical prowess, rigor, and accuracy. We’re never going to cut corners to get a job done. We deliver data you can take to the bank.

07

All voices on our team are valuable.

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Our value is our people; taking care of them comes first.

Our team members are high-performing problem solvers with incredible breadth in our areas and industries of expertise. We’re solutions focused, nimble, and extremely capable. Our work spans private sector, NGO, philanthropy, and government-funded projects. We get up each day to make an impact on climate change through our three service pillars: climate and carbon, sustainability, and water and nature.

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Jenny Oorbeck

Co-Founder + Managing Partner

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Joshua Brugeman

Co-Founder + Managing Partner

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Nick Kemp

Technical Director

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Rae Mindock

Director of Water Programs

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Colin Dean

Project Manager

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Paul Gruber

Program + Engagement Lead

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Matthew Paper

Senior Technical Analyst

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Becca Elder

Senior Technical Analyst

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Rachel Cushard

Associate

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Abby McDowell

Program Analyst

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Brianna Fogal

Program Analyst

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Interested in joining our team?

Check out our current openings:

See All Jobs

In the U.S., clean energy jobs now outnumber fossil fuel jobs — and the gap is widening (DOE, 2023).

09

We will never be assholes, or work with them either.

We consider our clients as friends, and we believe that business success and climate action are not mutually exclusive. With every interaction, we go above and beyond to make sure our clients have the best information, resources, and guidance to make a positive impact on their organization and the climate.

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Respect the environment, knowing we are interconnected with and dependent upon it.

A new chapter begins

In 2025, Fresh Coast joined Cascade Energy as wholly owned subsidiaries of United Cascade Enterprises, Inc., a 100% employee-owned company. Together, we offer comprehensive energy and sustainability solutions, driving lasting, measurable change for your business and community.

Visit Cascade Energy
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Jenny Oorbeck

Co-Founder and Director

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Jenny Oorbeck is Co-founder and Managing Partner of Fresh Coast Climate Solutions. Prior to launching this start-up with business partner Joshua Brugeman, Jenny successfully launched and established sustainability business lines for global businesses while serving as Sustainability General Manager at NSF International and Executive Director at SCS Consulting Services.

Jenny’s 20+ year environmental career has encompassed creating cutting-edge sustainability programs for a wide range of clients including startups to fortune 500 companies, governmental agencies, and non-profit organizations.

She has led teams of sustainability professionals for more than a decade and prides herself on creating and leading thriving teams and work environments where team members feel integral to both the business they are conducting and the change they are implementing in the world. She is an entrepreneur both at work and at home, where she has started up her own regenerative hobby farm on 12 acres in 2020.

Jenny holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Mills College and a master’s degree in environmental policy from the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment.

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Joshua Brugeman

Co-Founder and Director

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Joshua is an experienced, passionate, and sustainability-focused executive with multi-stakeholder expertise in Cleantech, ESG, CSR, and the circular economy. He founded Fresh Coast Climate Solutions to pull these experiences together and guide entities toward a more sustainable future.

He previously built and managed a sustainability consulting team at NSF International, and served as a Director at NextEnergy, a clean energy accelerator, where he advised companies in commercializing and deploying advanced technologies. He has worked with a wide range of clients, from cleantech startups to fortune 500 companies such as Patagonia, McDonald’s, Denso, and Bosch.

Joshua thrives at solving hard problems and working at the front end of the market maturity curve. He gravitates toward assembling necessary industry stakeholders to develop solutions often for the first time. He has successfully helped clients create more resilient supply chains, develop and commercialize advanced technologies, and build brands that increase integrity while reducing risk. All his work coalesces around pushing the needle toward transformative change.

Joshua holds both a bachelor’s and a graduate degree from the University of Michigan where he focused on sustainability, land use, and urban planning.

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Nick Kemp

Technical Director

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Nick Kemp is Technical Director of Fresh Coast Climate Solutions. Prior to joining this start-up with Jenny Oorbeck and Joshua Brugeman, Nick led the technical team at SCS Consulting Services with a focus on GHG emissions inventories, GHG reduction goals (carbon neutrality and science-based targets) and strategies, as well as product sustainability, and ESG strategy development.

Nick’s career includes work as a research specialist at the University of Michigan where he focused on quantifying the environmental impact of emerging technologies and was an integral contributor to the President’s Commission for Carbon Neutrality. He has extensive experience in manufacturing through his years as a production engineer at Dow Chemical and time as a process design engineer for Becton Dickinson.

He emphasizes progress through collaboration, recognizing the knowledge and skill that all team members hold and the importance of inclusion to effective and long-lasting solutions. Whether it’s tackling wicked problems or a long day in the mountains, Nick enjoys the challenge and reward that comes with persevering through complex engagements.

Nick holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in sustainable systems from the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability.

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Rae Mindock

Director of Water Programs

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Rae Mindock is Director of Water Programs at Fresh Coast Climate Solutions and brings extensive technical experience in the water space to the team. Prior to joining Fresh Coast, Rae served as SCS Global Services’ Program Manager leading their Responsible Water Program.

Rae has collaborated with the Alliance for Water Stewardship program since its inception and is credentialed as a Specialist Professional. She expanded the AWS program capturing 40 percent of the global market.

Rae is a results driven leader with substantial program management experience with Fortune 500 companies. With both functional and management experience, she has developed and implemented innovative and impactful environmental and stewardship programs across the globe for a range of manufacturing and industrial clients.
Rae excels at both her people and technical skills. She holds a Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Wisconsin Madison and her graduate work was with the Stuart School of Business, Sustainable Enterprise Certificate, Illinois Institute of Technology.

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Colin Dean

Project Manager

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Colin is a Project Manager at Fresh Coast Climate Solutions. He has over four years of experience in project management as a Captain in the United States Army. He served two overseas tours and held numerous leadership roles as an Army Officer. Colin is committed to public service, and truly enjoys building teams and developing others. He is motivated to transition from the active-duty Army and give back to the community in a new way.

Before joining Fresh Coast, he most recently served as a Human Resource Officer which oversaw a team of ten Soldiers that were responsible for military orders, financial transactions, personnel actions, and postal services for 673 Soldiers and their families. As well, he held the position of Patriot Battery Executive Officer, responsible for maintenance, supply, and logistics programs of a battery of 56 Soldiers at Fort Liberty, North Carolina and forward deployed to Kuwait. Additionally, Colin performed as a Senior Logistics Officer where he coordinated the movement of personnel and equipment from Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to home station in the United States.

Colin holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Dayton. He is a natural problem solver who is always looking for new and innovative ways to tackle complex challenges. He is driven to make transformational change with Fresh Coast Climate Solutions.

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Paul Gruber

Program and Engagement Lead

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Paul has worked for 20 years with interdisciplinary teams in private, not-for-profit, and public sectors to advance environmental, social, and governance goals. He enjoys helping teams find new value in start-up businesses, new products and business strategies, public-private partnerships, and forward-thinking research.

Prior to joining Fresh Coast, Paul designed and managed clean energy pilot projects at Consumers Energy to achieve customer benefits, grid reliability, and decarbonization. At UC Davis, Paul managed a clean transportation research consortium, advising sponsors from Fortune 500 auto and energy companies and US federal and state agencies. Paul has also worked with multi-stakeholder teams to develop a battery management technology start-up, secure funding for battery manufacturing, publish on global lithium availability, develop new waste-to-renewable-energy projects, and deploy a zero-emissions hydrogen locomotive.

Paul has engaged with disadvantaged communities in Mexico to remove carcinogens in municipal drinking water and with apparel suppliers in China to improve factory water management practices. He is honored to have worked with populations of subsistence farmers, ranchers, and apparel providers on agricultural management practices in Central and South America.

Paul received his MBA and MS in sustainable business and cleantech entrepreneurship through the Erb Institute program at the University of Michigan, and he received his BA in international studies from Middlebury College.

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Matthew Paper

Senior Technical Analyst - Biodiversity & Water

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Matthew Paper is a Technical Analyst at Fresh Coast Climate Solutions, focusing on Biodiversity and Water related solutions. Matthew is passionate about using ecological data and creative problem solving to develop actionable solutions for difficult climate change related questions. Prior to joining, Matthew performed research on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems as a Junior Researcher and Implementation Officer for the Centre for Biological Control, Rhodes University. His role involved extensive ecological surveying, performing goal-orientated research, statical data analysis, and developing action plans to effectively manage highly impacted ecosystems.

One of Matthew’s significant contributions was to participate in South Africa’s biological control program by leading research on novel biological control agents and implementing established programs in heavily impacted ecosystems across southern Africa. He has worked with organizations such as Argentina’s Foundation for the Study of Invasive Species (FuEDEI), the USDA and US Army Corp of Engineers and the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CISRO), towards addressing underling anthropogenic issues impacting aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems structure and function. Matthew has published in peer-reviewed scientific journals on the impacts of elevated CO2 on plant-insect interactions and on the geospatial distribution of invasive species in South Africa. He is experienced in ecological data analysis and modelling, aquatic and terrestrial survey methodologies, geospatial mapping, and stakeholder engagement.

Matthew holds a Master of Science (MSc) by research in Entomology from the Centre for Biological Control, Rhodes University, attained while serving as Junior Researcher for the Aquatic Weeds Program. Prior to his MSc, Matthew earned a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Zoology and Botany with Honours in Marine Biology and was awarded the National Research Foundation Innovation Scholarship. Matthew offers a strong scientific perspective on ecological issues and sustainability practices, an extensive ecological data analysis toolbox as well as a unique perspective on social responsibility having grown up in the culturally diverse setting of South Africa.

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Becca Elder

Senior Technical Analyst

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Becca Elder is the Senior Technical Analyst at Fresh Coast Climate Solutions. Becca is passionate about harnessing the power of data to tell compelling stories and generate valuable insights that fuel bold and effective climate action. Prior to joining Fresh Coast, Becca was the Sustainability Analyst for the City of Columbia, Missouri, where she spearheaded efforts to track and evaluate progress on the City’s climate action plan. Her role involved conducting community-wide and municipal greenhouse gas inventories, analyzing emissions trends, and modeling the potential impacts of strategies in the climate action plan.

One of Becca’s significant achievements during her time with the City of Columbia was the implementation of the municipal benchmarking policy, which involved assessing energy performance of all municipal buildings and identifying optimal investments to reduce energy costs and emissions. In alignment with her passion for making data accessible and impactful, Becca built user-friendly dashboards for the public to explore climate action data, along with an internal benchmarking dashboard to empower City staff to make well-informed energy efficiency investments.

Becca holds a Master of Public Affairs (MPA) from the Truman School of Public Affairs, University of Missouri, where she received an AmeriCorps Fellowship and served as a Graduate Research Assistant. Prior to her MPA, Becca earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies/Interdisciplinary Studies from Truman State University. During her undergraduate career at Truman State, Becca founded the Truman State University Sustainability Office, where she continued to work post-graduation to develop programming. Becca also served as an AmeriCorps member in Kirksville, Missouri, in a position focused on improving local food security and providing environmental education for youth.

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Rachel Cushard

Associate

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Rachel Cushard is an Associate at Fresh Coast Climate Solutions and an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan. She is majoring in Environmental Science and Psychology, with a minor in Sustainability. As a Vice President of the Erb Sustainability Institute Undergraduate Fellowship and a member of the Graham Sustainability Scholars Program, she is passionate about working collaboratively to innovate change.

Before joining Fresh Coast, Rachel interned for the City of Sterling Heights, Michigan within the Office of Planning. She facilitated interactive workshops and created materials for hands-on activities to engage the community and gain local input for their premier Climate Action Plan, which she will continue to draft as a member of Fresh Coast. She also assembled resources for an urban forestry grant application to strategically improve the city’s tree canopy and conducted data capture of water and energy usage by municipal facilities.

Rachel has prior experience consulting for a sustainable clothing startup, researching the synthetic materials manufacturing processes to incorporate a powdered filament derived from invasive Zebra Mussel shells in the Great Lakes. As winner of the 2023 Stellantis Student Achievement Award for her research on decarbonizing mobility in the automotive industry, she has experience finding novel solutions. Rachel brings a creative perspective to the team, and she is committed to driving impactful change at the intersection of sustainability and business.

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Abby McDowell

Program Analyst

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Abby McDowell is a Program Analyst on the Fresh Coast team.

Prior to joining Fresh Coast, she was a research assistant at GLISA, the NOAA Climate Adaptation Partnership Team for the Great Lakes region. She developed guidance documents and tutorial videos to make climate, weather, and coastal tools more accessible to Great Lakes practitioners as well as analyzed data to support regional climate resiliency efforts.

As a graduate student, she worked with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to engage stakeholders and conduct research to identify barriers and motivators for farmer adoption of best management practices, ultimately contributing to a watershed conservation plan. She is passionate about developing science communication materials that synthesize complex information and generate actionable insights for her clients.

Abby has an MS in Environmental Policy from the University of Michigan and a BS in Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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Brianna Fogal

Program Analyst

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Brianna Fogal is a Program Analyst on the Fresh Coast team. She is enthusiastic about system-oriented solutions that provide community and environmental benefits. During her time at the University of Michigan, her research focused on creating biomass circular economy pathways in Michigan, such as Michigan Stadium investing in an anaerobic digester for its food waste and diverting sour cherry agricultural waste from the landfill to produce sustainable aviation fuel.

Prior to joining Fresh Coast, Brianna was a Sustainable Systems Consultant for Cooperative Energy Futures (CEF), where she managed the aggregation and vetting of a decade of prospective solar site data. This work helped contribute to CEF’s site acquisition strategy, including helping transition CRM systems and leading the team’s internship program. She held various supply chain roles in the aviation and power generation industry, such as manufacturing engineer for CNC machining, shop floor supervisor, buyer for raw material procurement, and quality engineer for turbine blades. Brianna holds a Six Sigma Green Belt and completed lean manufacturing projects focused on value stream mapping, single-piece flow lines, FIFO, JIT, kaizen, and 5S.

She recently completed dual graduate degrees at the University of Michigan, earning an M.S. in Sustainable Systems and an M.S.E. in Mechanical Engineering. She earned her BS in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Outside of work, Brianna is an avid crafter—she especially enjoys designing and laser-cutting wooden earrings. On the adventurous side, she’s working toward completing the “New England 67,” a challenge to summit all 67 mountains over 4,000 feet across Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.