Meet the team behind CleanRobotics

We sincerely enjoy making a difference in the world, one item at a time.

CleanRobotics is comprised of a team of engineers, customer success, and commercial geeks who mix experience with a passion for a sustainable future. Our diverse group is revolutionizing recycling as we know it, and yes, we’re hiring.

Commercial

Charles Yhap

CEO & Co-Founder

Master of Development Economics and International Development, University of Pittsburgh (GSPIA). Charles is a serial social entrepreneur and has worked in the fields of human rights and environmental protection, where he has 10+ years of experience catalyzing mission-driven startup organizations.

Zak Wehman

Associate Director of Business Development​

Zak is creative and solution-oriented, with over ten years of sales experience ranging from home improvement to SaaS. He thrives in the face-paced world of startups, always curious and enthusiastic while prioritizing long-term customer success and partnerships. On the weekends he enjoys mountain biking and exploring the mountains of Colorado where he resides.

Alexandra Niesen

Associate Director of Customer Success​

Driven by her passion for sustainability, Alexandra has worked with F500 companies advising them on their sustainable materials initiatives by helping them evaluate technology for pilot projects. She has a unique background consisting of corporate innovation, venture capital and startup acceleration within the materials industry.

Ellen Soria

Commercial Operations Manager

Ellen is a serial entrepreneur and proven self-starter. From consumer goods in the health and wellness space to SaaS, Ellen continuously leads the pack with her team in streamlining operations and improving efficiency and innovation. She holds 8+ years in sales operations, vendor operations, project management, and strategy development.

Frank Fimbres

Senior Marketing Lead

Frank has managed multiple campaigns for international B2B and consumer brands in the industries of talent acquisition, e-commerce, real estate, and more. He brings expertise in branding, project management, email marketing, SEO, CPC, and overall digital strategy. He speaks fluent Spanish, has a Marketing MBA, and postgraduate degrees in Branding and Fashion Design.

Alejandra Hernandez

Graphic Designer 

Alejandra is a Graphic Designer with over 5 years of experience, she has collaborated as a Graphic Designer in Marketing and web design agencies for different client industries. She has worked in video productions, primarily in the area of post-production and motion graphics. In her career, Alejandra has developed an eye for social media content and print.

Nicholas Castelveter

Business Dev. Representative 

Nicholas has established a career driven by his ambition to make a difference. With sales and marketing experience, his professional journey was initiated through start-up culture while juggling university, which then led him to work within various industries that have allowed him to develop a fresh and creative perspective on building long-term partnerships.

Laurie Arendt

Grant Writer

Laurie is an established grant writer who has successfully written nearly two million dollars in grant funding. She has supported numerous clients in the high-tech, circular economy and sustainability sectors in securing grant funding for early-stage innovations. She brings this well-rounded experience and a passion for sustainability to help us advance our mission.

Engineering

Tanner Cook

CTO & Co-Founder​

Tanner brings a wealth of engineering and research experience from his background as a Nuclear Engineer at Fusion startup Innoven Energy as well as Higea Technologies, the nanotech company he co-founded (IP acquisition Parson’s Engineering).

Richard Galvez Ph.D.

Senior Director of ​ Software/AI

Richard is an experienced data scientist and machine learning expert. He is a former faculty member at NYU Center for Data Science, has studied the cosmos at NASA’s Ames Research Center, and boasts 13 publications to his name. He holds a PhD. in Theoretical Physics from Syracuse University and held postdoctoral appointments in AI at NYU and Vanderbilt University.

Michael Schilling

Director of Hardware Engineering

Michael comes from the industrial automation and energy sector and has a passion for engineered solutions. He has engaged with startups at various phases and worked with them to add value to their technology. He joins our team with over 15 years of R&D knowledge from technical design, to successful deployment into multiple markets.

David Betz

Junior Mechanical Engineer

David has a passion for product development and sustainability solutions. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the project manager for the Baja SAE competition team and a B.S. in Biology from the University of Virginia.

Eje Daniel

Backend Software Engineer

With more than 3 years of experience across software development, security, and cloud engineering, Eje is the creator of Debuggy, a python library contributed to open-source libraries such as Gophie and search-engine-parser. Eje has also defined much of the CI/CD and SRE disciplines at iLearnCloud.

Michael Tesgaye

Frontend Developer​

Based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He brings over 4 years of experience building consumer and enterprise applications, including dashboard analytics for fintech firms. At CleanRobotics, Michael will focus on UI for internal tools and client-facing dashboards.

Michael Calascibetta

Mechanical Engineer

Michael comes from the defense sector where he gained knowledge in Supplier Quality Assurance for rocket systems, and later worked as a designer for future integrated defense systems for aircraft. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Vermont and has a passion for sustainability and renewable materials.

Advisors

Darryl Kirsh

Strategic Growth Advisor

Darryl invests in early-stage tech through Fiddlehead Ventures. He has over 30 years of experience in corporate restructuring and turnarounds and was the leader of Corporate Restructuring at KPMG. Formerly a partner at EVM, a private equity firm, he began his career helping to turn around struggling early-stage tech companies. Darryl advises several companies on strategic alternatives for growth.

Ian Magazine

Advisor 

Ian has been a founder, investor, finance, and operating executive for a host of enterprises in the wireless communications industry and a highly successful serial entrepreneur who has worked with breakthrough innovations in a range of technologies from wireless power transmission, to biotechnology and 360° Videography.

Mukund Menda

Advisor 

Mukund, a graduate of Babson College, is an international entrepreneur and investor with over fifteen years of experience in the energy, telecom & water sectors in the Middle East & India. In addition, he is a director of an NYC-based VC firm where he is focused on strategy, fundraising, and business development.

Ian Netherton

Advisor 

Ian began his career at a boutique accounting firm specializing in tax and valuation matters. He launched Eight One Partners, a CPA firm specializing in supporting emerging and high-growth companies with complex tax planning and fractional CFO services. Ian has supported turnarounds, acquisitions, re-capitalizations, and the raising of millions of dollars in debt and equity.

We’re growing our team

CleanRobotics is looking for smart individuals to take our products to the next level. If you have a passion for creating a greener tomorrow, take a look at our openings.