Byron Kominek is the Executive Director of the Colorado Agrivoltaic Learning Center and founder and operator of Jack’s Solar Garden. Byron is a former US diplomat having served with the US Agency for International Development in Zambia and Mozambique working on forestry and wildlife conservation. Through his work in Africa with USAID, the Peace Corps, and Doctors Without Borders, Byron has a long-standing interest in natural resource management and governance. Byron was recently honored as a 2024 US Ashoka Fellow to continue educating and inspiring Americans with his work in agrivoltaics. Other recent fellowships Byron has participated in include the CiviCO Colorado Governor’s Fellowship and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Energy Executive program. He works on his family’s farm raising sheep, ducks, and geese and growing hazelnuts, elderberries, and raspberries. Byron speaks French and Portuguese and has a masters in Environmental Engineering from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.