Mr. Mertz’s primary responsibilities include setting the strategic direction for the firm and the development and implementation of investment strategies. He is also chairperson of GFP’s Board of Managers, and its Investment and Compensation Committees. Mr. Mertz has over twenty-five years of forest management, analytical, and investment experience in the timberland business. Prior to co-founding GFP, Mr. Mertz was the Managing Director of UBS Timber Investors, the predecessor business to GFP. Before joining UBS in 1995, Mr. Mertz was Division Manager of Acquisitions, Economics and Planning for International Paper Company. Mr. Mertz holds a BS in Forestry and an MBA from the University of Michigan. He is a Certified Forester and a member of the Society of American Foresters and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

Ellen Schneider works at the intersection of story and strategy. She is founder and executive director of Active Voice, a nationally recognized leader in the creative use of story-based media – such as Participant Media’s The Visitor, the feature documentary King Corn, and Court TV’s original movie Chasing Freedom – to put human faces on the issues of our times. Ellen was formerly the executive producer of P.O.V., PBS’s longest running independent documentary series. In the 1990s she created High Impact Television®, a technique for creating links between film, opinion leaders, grassroots organizations and other media. She created and executive produced the pilot TV series, Right Here, Right Now, which Entertainment Weekly called “a blueprint for what reality television should be all about.” Schneider lectures widely and has served on juries ranging from the Sundance Film Festival to the RioCine Festival in Brazil.

Penelope Douglas is President and Co-Founder of Pacific Community Ventures (PCV), a ten-year-old hybrid organization that stimulates economic development in California’s low-income communities. Pacific Community Ventures manages three socially-responsible investment funds and provides innovative resources to emerging businesses and their low-income workers. In addition to leading the nonprofit organization, Penelope Douglas is Managing Director of Pacific Community Management and is also a Partner in Pacific Community Ventures, LLC. Douglas has significant experience in business, as well as a track record of leadership in community-based organizations. Douglas has a strong reputation for leadership that is focused on creativity and human resources in conjunction with bottom line results. As co-founder of the first west coast community venture fund, Douglas is a pioneer and thought leader in the area of community development investment. She has served on the board of directors of the Community Development Venture Capital Association (CDVCA) and is a frequent presenter at industry conferences. Currently, Douglas serves on the boards of New Mexico Community Capital (NMCC), New Vine Logistics, and Evergreen Lodge. Before founding PCV, Douglas was Senior Vice President at Odwalla, Inc., Chief Administrative Officer at Morrison &; Foerster, and chair of the Morrison &; Foerster Foundation. Douglas has also held senior management positions at Ernst &; Young and Wells Fargo Bank. Douglas has been involved with community-based non-profit organizations throughout her career, serving as chair of Larkin Street Youth Center, chair of the Children’s Television Education and Resource Center, chair of San Francisco Friends of the Urban Forest and founding chair of Juma Ventures. Douglas is a California native and her education includes a B.A. from Smith College. She is also an artist and an athlete who has competed in four Ironman distance triathlons and numerous long distance races.

Coming Soon.

Christopher Gebhardt joined Participant Media in September 2008 as Executive Vice President and General Manager – TakePart. Prior to joining Participant, Gebhardt ran his own start-up media firms, beginning in 2003 with Integrated Entertainment Partners, a branded content consultancy that was later acquired by The Firm, where he handled such clients as Toyota and Motorola. Two years later, he launched 2 Degrees, an early stage venture and marketing consultancy and Brand Artifact, an emerging media, technology, brand and marketing strategy consultancy, with clients such as Ogilvy & Mather, Gap, Cisco, Mattel, Conservation International, LeBron James, Live Earth, and Voce. From 1999 to 2003, Gebhardt was based at Oglivy North America’s flagship New York offices, where he served as VP, Client Services Director before being promoted to SVP, Executive Director of Emerging Technology and Innovation. From 1996 to 1999, he served as a brand manager at Pepsi Cola, after relocating to New York from Southern California, where he served as VP of Marketing and General Manager for the auto insurance company, The General. He began his business career in 1989 as a consultant to Coopers and Lybrand in Cleveland. He has an MBA from Kellogg Graduate School of Management.