Michael Zilkha

Michael is new to Turtle Conservancy’s Board. He joined as a result of his friendship with Eric Goode, and focuses his Board work on not-for-profit governance issues. Michael also sits on the Board of Seventh Generation, a private company in Burlington, VT, The Menil Foundation in Houston, TX, and co-chairs the film committee at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. He is also on the Board of Cinema Arts Festival Houston and the Kate McGarrigle Foundation. He has a BA from Oxford University where he studied French literature.

After a career in record production and then oil and gas exploration, in 1998 Michael started a wind energy company, now called Horizon Wind, which became the largest independent developer of wind farms in the United States. When Horizon was sold to Energia de Portugal in 2007 Michael started a biomass company, Zilkha Biomass Energy, which is where he works today. His ambition is to displace as much coal as possible with the company’s unique, waterproof, renewable black wood pellet.

Although Michael has not had any past experience with herpetology, he is looking forward to extending his love of the natural world to include an appreciation of turtles and tortoises.