Jeremy Su is the Executive Director and President of Burn Design Lab. Since stepping into the role in 2025, he has led the organization with a focus on sustainably expanding scale and increasing impact through strong partnerships with manufacturers and communities. He prioritizes practical, systems-driven innovation that applies technical solutions to real-world clean cooking challenges.

Prior to this role, Jeremy worked closely with Paul and led the Engineering team, while also spending extended time in the countries where BDL works. Working closely with users, partners, and local manufacturers, he has helped translate field realities into practical, scalable designs. Jeremy has a degree in mechanical engineering from Northeastern University, and can often be found cycling, climbing mountains, or running the local trails on Vashon Island.

Paul is BDL’s Vice President and Senior Advisor. Prior to this, Paul served as Executive Director for several years starting in 2016. Under Paul's leadership, BDL expanded to new countries outside of Kenya, to include Ghana, Uganda, Guatemala, and Sierra Leone, to name a few. Paul's expertise helped lead the development of the Kuniokoa and Jikokoa (later models) with BURN. Prior to 2016, Paul was the Research and Testing Manager.

Before joining BDL in 2012, he worked for Weyerhaeuser Company in a variety of positions, including R&D, Power Plant Manager, and Project and Process Engineering roles. Paul’s expertise include energy systems, power generation, wood drying, pelletization, and gasification technologies. Paul holds an MS in mechanical engineering and thoroughly enjoys cycling.

Aaron Nyarkotey is a Green economy professional. He is passionate about development, promotion, and dissemination of low-carbon technologies. He aspires to become a cookstoves expert. Aaron has experience and expertise in project management, renewable energy enterprises development, and curating partnerships. He has previously worked with SNV Netherlands Development Organization as an Energy Advisor. Aaron made contact with Burn Design Lab during his time at SNV. After his time at SNV, he embarked on a knowledge brokerage visit to Burn Design Lab; during which time he developed interest in their work and impact. He has, subsequently, joined the BDL team as Project Manager & Business Development Associate. Aaron is an author, podcaster, and song writer and composer.

Kathryn Weber brings nearly two decades of nonprofit leadership in fundraising, program development, and partnership building. Kathryn has led multi-million-dollar humanitarian and development initiatives at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), U.S. Department of State, World Health Organization, International Rescue Committee, and other leading international NGOs.

She is passionate about developing sustainable, community-driven initiatives that improve health and livelihoods, particularly for women and children. At BDL, Kathryn connects the organization’s engineering innovations with the communities and supporters that make impact possible.

A Washington native, Kathryn recently returned to the Pacific Northwest after nearly 15 years working and living in Myanmar, Liberia, Ethiopia, and Sri Lanka. She enjoys traveling and exploring the outdoors with her husband and two young children. Kathryn holds a Master’s in International Relations from the University of Kent and a Bachelor’s in Communications from Western Washington University.

Before devoting her work to BDL, Erika served in marketing and finance roles as well as the shared ownership and development of a small manufacturing company. A Vashon native, Erika enjoys trail running, gardening, and spending time with her family of five.

Sofia got her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Humanitarian Engineering from Oregon State University. She grew up in Clackamas, Oregon, where she developed her love of the outdoors, frequently finding herself hiking, mountain biking, skiing, running, or foraging for chanterelles. Sofia is passionate about cooking, sustainability, and women's empowerment and strives to blend these passions into a more thoughtful, impactful approach to her work.

Patrick Flores is a Project Engineer at Burn Design Lab. Hailing from Chicagoland with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Theatre and Performance Studies minor from Stanford University, he aspires to bring technical expertise and artistic sensibility to solving sustainability problems. In his free time, he enjoys learning new dishes, lifting weights, and studying Sondheim and Shakespeare.

Ram comes from Vizag, India, a coastal city known as the "City of Destiny" for its breathtaking beaches and scenic hill stations. After moving to Chicago to earn his Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, he joined the BDL team with a simple goal: using engineering to improve products and people's quality of life. He is happiest watching the sunrise at the beach and loves dogs. At home, he loves to cook and is a fan of sci-fi action and horror cinema.

Baba Amadu is a native of Tamale, in the northern region of Ghana. He holds a Bachelor of Technology in Health Information Management from the Tamale Technical University, Ghana. He has extensive experience in field work and research; having previously worked with the Tamale Technical University Hospital as a Biostatistician, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) as a Consultant Surveyor, and with Baseline Research Centre ( BRC) as a Field Officer. His passion for community development and public health is a valuable asset to our team. His focus is engaging with shea cooperatives in the Northern and nearby regions where our roasters have been installed, as well as conducting user research and other research/data collection activities, helping us to better understand and serve the communities we work with.

Steph grew up in Quito, Ecuador — the city at the Middle of the World — where living at the crossroads of cultures gave her an early sense that education unlocks our potential. She earned her Bachelor's in Chemical Engineering from Central University of Ecuador believing that engineering should create sustainable solutions for the real problems people face, giving them more room to study, grow, and become independent. Outside of work, she dances, sings karaoke, does embroidery, and explores new cities.

Jonathan Posner is a Professor jointly in Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering at the University of Washington. Jonathan earned his PhD in M.E. at University of California at Irvine. He did his post-doctoral research at Stanford University. Jonathan was the Primary Investigator for a $1,000,000 U.S. Dept. of Energy grant to develop an advanced natural draft biomass cookstove. Under this grant Jonathan lead a team from UW, Burn Design Lab, Burn Manufacturing Corp. (BMC) & Berkeley Air Monitoring Group to develop the Kuniokoa Cookstove, now under production at BMC. Jonathan leads the Posner Research Group.

Susan Reed is Professor Emeritus and past Vice Chair for Research in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, with an adjunct appointment in Epidemiology at the University of Washington. She earned her MD from Stanford University and did her residency training at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Reed was the Division Chief at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and has over 40 years of clinical experience caring for underserved populations. She is passionate about the intersection of air quality and climate change and their impact on women’s lives. Burn Design Lab’s mission and values are in direct alignment with her commitment to improve our environment and positively impact women’s health.

Sarah Naa Dedei Agbey, is an experienced development practitioner with over 25 years of expertise in Planning, Organizational Development and Good Governance. Sarah is a Development Planner by profession with M.Sc. in Regional Planning and Management from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and University of Dortmund (Germany). She also has training in Biodiversity Planning and Natural Resources Management, Renewable Energy, Climate Change, Clean Development Mechanism, Sustainable livelihood Framework, Environmental Impact Assessment, Organization and Systems Development and Good Governance.
As an advisor in SNV-Ghana, she assisted various organizations at National, Regional and Local levels develop their strategic plans, build their capacity in environmental and natural resource management, planning, gender mainstreaming and other environment issues.

She was a member of the National Climate Change Committee at Former Ministry of Environment and Science and a key participant in mainstreaming Climate Change issues in the preparation of Ghana’s Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy. She was instrumental in setting up Ghana Alliance for Clean Cook stoves and fuels and developed a manual for Ghana on mainstreaming Green Economy into National Development Processes.

Currently, she is a farmer, has set up an organization called Growth Solutions and currently serving as a member of a Task Team developing a National Clean Cooking Strategy for Ghana.

Ricardo is contributing to BDL as an advisor on partnership and funding opportunities. He served in the Peace Corp in Kenya, and has worked in a number of industries, including oil and specialty chemicals, non-profits, telecom, railroads, airlines, and financial services. He holds a M.S. in chemical engineering and an MBA.

Ronke Luke has 30+ years working on energy and environmental initiatives mostly focused on delivering first-of-their kind projects and programs including in electric power, oil and gas, chemicals, nuclear waste cleanup management, and energy data sectors. These initiatives included sustainability, and development and commercialization of new technologies.

She has worked closely with public and private stakeholders to expedite the uptake of renewable energy in Africa by proposing and supporting the implementation of policies that remove burdensome hurdles. Ronke created Renewable Energy Day - a fun-filled day of hands-on activities that exposed pupils of all ages in schools in Sierra Leone to solar energy and cook stoves. She holds a Master’s in Chemical Engineering from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany and a Master’s in Business Administration from Warwick University, U.K.

Arie joined BDL after a 36-year long career with an industrial combustion and boiler engineering firm. An MS degreed chemical engineer from The Netherlands, his expertise focused on process aspects of biomass and waste-fueled boiler combustion and operational performance, fuel economy, reliability, corrosion, and air emissions. Well known in various biomass and waste-fuel burning industries, at BDL Arie will help getting BDL’s name and mission out to larger audiences in order to raise awareness and funding.

Bob owns Meadow Creature LLC, a machine shop, that incubated BDL at its start.  MC uses abrasive waterjet machining for rapid prototyping and short run manufacturing of art, architectural and mechanical components, as well as its own product line of agricultural tools.  MC provides BDL a unique advantage in the stove world, enabling it to test and iterate stove designs within hours instead of weeks.  Following MC's charter of giving back, its services are donated to BDL.  Bob holds an EE degree from MIT and was an early Microsoft employee.

Owner and Principal Engineer at Heath & Associates, Inc.

Bryan received a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science from Iowa University and began his career as a programmer at Microsoft from 1984 to 2005. After retiring in 2005, Bryan took up metalworking as a hobby in support of a variety of personal and cookstove projects. Bryan provides invaluable machining, manufacturing and design support to our engineering team at BDL and has become an expert in metal cutting & forming as it pertains to cookstoves. Bryan actively supported the BMC team in designing the manufacturing methods for the Jikokoa.

Justin has traveled the world, trailing his spouse, a US Foreign Service Officer. Justin is an engineer with over two decades of experience with renewable energy, mechanical and industrial design, and project management. Previously, he lived in Antananarivo, Madagascar and developed an in-depth on-the-ground knowledge of the country, which led him to develop a locally appropriate pressure cooker, the Cocotte Minute Gasy. This robust, simple, and locally produced cooking pot is saving people time, money and preventing deforestation by reducing charcoal use by 50% in their daily cooking. He was previously a project manager for Antares Group, Inc. working on large scale biomass system designs and biofuels projects, as well as biomass co-firing and gasification for heat and power production. Before joining Antares Group, he worked at Hansen Transmissions designing custom industrial power transmission equipment for worldwide clients. In addition he has spent several months volunteering full time with Alexandria Seaport Foundation working to mentor and educate underprivileged youth.

Frank grew up in the American SW and attended university at New Mexico Tech and UCLA, finishing up his PhD in Acoustical Physics in 1971. He subsequently studied the low atmosphere with acoustical means and pursued boundary layer science followed by studies of sea ice and related phenomena. His final 24 years were at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he was a research scientist, a group supervisor, a program manager and a contributor to institutional development. He retired in 2005 to spend time in ceramic art, which led to applied ceramic questions and to Burn Design Laboratory. Much of his career was in realizing applications for technologies which is his intention at BDL.

Lou’s journey with Burn Design Lab (BDL) began in 2011 as a part-time volunteer, leading the cookstove design effort.  In 2013 Lou became a full-time employee of Burn Manufacturing Company (BMC), as Chief Technical Officer.  Lou played a crucial part designing and commissioning the production & maintenance operations of the BMC factory in Kenya.  Lou led the stove design and production tooling work for 4 generations of the infamous Jikokoa stove.  Lou retired from BMC last year and he now serves as a key volunteer for Burn Design Lab, providing mentor and guide to the engineering team at BDL.

Gary's experience in the industrial heat transfer, commercial heating, and energy conservation fields will help him to contribute to the mission of developing cookstoves that make their users’ lives better. Outside of work, he likes to be outside on his mountain bike, hiking, skiing, or sailing. He also enjoys reading, baking, and a glass of wine with friends.

Charlie has been active in development engineering for the last 12 years, following a successful career in new product development and manufacturing.  He is an accomplished inventor, and now applies his energies to improving supply chains, products, and manufacturing in emerging markets.  He is passionate about quality, and enthusiastic about the role of digital fabrication in bringing improved products to those who need them most.  He has been engaged on projects for the Gates Foundation, the Peace Corps, the Shell Foundation, Engineers without Boarders, and other institutions dedicated to making a positive difference in the world (like Burn Design Lab).  Charlie has been working with the ELS team at BDL to expand on the methodology for evaluating ceramics and refractories as candidates for combustion chamber materials.  With these materials, determining the best manufacturing process, whether for test samples, prototypes, or for full scale product production, is equally as important as selecting the right material. Charlie has a PhD in Material Science and Engineering, and lives with his wife in Geneva, Switzerland.

As a retired software engineering manager, Max is volunteering at BDL to apply his testing methodology and management experience to BDL’s mission. He’s an avid cyclist, co-op farmer, woodworker, and volunteer for Vashon Island Fire and Rescue.

Richard has begun investigation into cleaner & more efficient institutional cookstoves in Ghana, primarily for large, >60 litre applications, for places like schools, hospitals and prisons. He builds on a full career of technical excellence in high volume product development with companies like Hewlett-Packard and Apple. His international work began in the Peace Corps in the middle east and has continued in Europe and Asia with over 10 years of overseas experience.

Brad serves as the voluntary Chief Financial Officer at Burn Design Lab. Brad has spent 30 years in various accounting, auditing, financial and computer systems positions at Weyerhaeuser Company. In addition to volunteering, Brad enjoys cycling (motor).