Welcoming Chris and Nathan to PVG

We are thrilled to announce two new additions to the PVG team—Chris Yahanda and Nathan Smith have joined us as senior associates. Chris and Nathan bring years of experience in renewable energy project development, government relations, carbon market investments, and decarbonization strategy. We are grateful to have their talent and insight. 

Chris brings over 6 years of experience advising leading organizations on corporate strategy and decarbonization issues. Prior to joining PVG, Chris worked as a consultant in 3Degrees’ Energy & Climate Practice, where he focused on decarbonization roadmaps, voluntary carbon market investment, and clean energy procurement. Before 3Degrees, Chris spent four years at Marakon, a boutique strategy consulting firm specializing in “value-based management”. While at Marakon, Chris’ work spanned numerous industries and focused on topics such as M&A valuation, capital allocation, organic growth strategies, and customer segmentation. 

Additionally, Chris is co-founder of an environmentally focused non-profit, for which he produced and featured in a documentary titled Troubled Water. The film follows him and a friend as they complete a 425-mile, 36-day stand-up paddle journey through the Great Lakes, highlighting environmental threats facing the ecosystem. The film has won awards at multiple film festivals and is currently on a national screening tour. Chris graduated from the University of Virginia with an MS in Commerce and a BA in Economics. When not spending time on the Great Lakes or in the mountains, he resides in New York City. 

Nathan is an experienced climate professional with a background in sustainability consulting, renewable energy project development, and government relations. Prior to joining PVG, Nathan worked at Recurrent Energy, where he managed the development of both solar and battery projects across the MISO and ERCOT electricity markets, as well as analyzed a number of greenfield prospects and M&A targets. Before Recurrent, Nathan worked at 3Degrees—a sustainability consulting firm—where he was on the strategy and power markets teams. At 3Degrees, projects he worked on included conducting due diligence on the carbon market aspects of a $1.5B+ joint venture focused on nature-based carbon solutions, analyzing the financial terms of 75+ VPPAs for a multinational automotive manufacturer & supporting the negotiations with developers, and assisting in the creation of an aggregated renewable energy purchasing program for a large US fast food restaurant chain. Nathan started his career at Lot Sixteen, a public affairs & lobbying firm specializing in renewable energy and natural resource policy matters.

Nathan earned his MBA in Management Science & Quantitative Methods from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and has an Economics BA and Society & Environment BS from the University of California, Berkeley. Originally from Pennsylvania, he now lives in Golden, CO with his fiancée, Lindsay. In his spare time, Nathan enjoys being active outdoors, whether it be mountain biking, gravel biking, trail running, or skiing.