Neal Hess

Biography

 Neal Hess has extensive experience and expertise in the conservation and restoration fields. Mr. Hess has a Bachelor of Science from Ohio University and two years of Master’s level coursework in geology.   Mr. Hess has worked in the nonprofit sector (West Creek Conservancy and Trust for Public Land), the public sector (Summit Metro Parks) and the private sector (CT Consultants and EnviroScience). Mr. Hess has an Ohio real estate license and is in the process of earning a real estate broker’s license. He is the founder and principle of Conservation Realty Group LLC (Rubber City Realty broker).  He has acquired and restored properties for clients in every corner of the state.   Since 2006 Mr. Hess has raised and managed over $48 million in grant and other financing for natural resource protection, restoration and park development projects throughout the state of Ohio. His specialty is identifying, financing, developing and managing high-quality ecological protection and restoration projects from the initial concept stage through to implementation and project completion. In addition to traditional grant sources, Mr. Hess is also experienced in the financing and development of stream, wetland and species mitigation projects. At Summit Metro Parks Mr. Hess was instrumental in the development and submission of the state’s first prospectus for an endangered species conservation bank and the nation’s first proposed conservation bank for endangered bats. He enjoys and is constantly looking for new and innovative ways to finance conservation and restoration projects.   Mr. Hess received the 2015 Conservation Achievement Award from the Appalachia Ohio Alliance. He has completed the Ohio Rapid Assessment Method (ORAM) Training for wetland classification through the Ohio EPA and he is undergoing Rosgen Applied Fluvial Morphology Level 1 training.  Mr. Hess is an alumnus of the 2012 Yale Conservation Finance Bootcamp and attended the 2013 Conservation Banking Class taught by The Conservation Fund.

Research Interest

 Green Chemistry, Sustainability, renewable resources, biomass, biofuel, Green Engineering, green industrial applications, green investments, green process, green energy, biomaterials, nanotechnology, waste management, water treatment, bioreactors, bioprocessing, green economy