PORTLAND, Ore. (June 20, 2022) — PRESS RELEASE — Resource Innovation Institute (RII) has hired Elyse Greenberg, who has a long track record as a communications expert in the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) sector, as its new Marketing and Membership Director.

In this position, Greenberg will lead RII’s efforts to encourage CEA stakeholders to collaboratively advance resource efficiency via RII’s publicly funded tools and resources, including PowerScore and CEA Best Practices Guides. She will be the point person for RII’s communications and media relations, as well as the chief liaison between RII and its members.

“Elyse brings years of experience communicating with growers about the benefits of efficiency,” said Derek Smith, executive director. “She knows how to scale marketing efforts to drive rapid adoption of efficiency practices, and we are thrilled to leverage her expertise.”

Greenberg spent five years rising through the ranks at Fluence, a leading manufacturer of LED horticulture lighting solutions for commercial food and cannabis production, to become that company’s Director of Marketing Communications. Fluence is one of RII’s Sustaining Partners.

“Resource Innovation Institute and their partners are leading the way the industry defines sustainability and efficiency in controlled environment agriculture,” says Greenberg. “I am honored to join a team who is dedicated and focused on the farmers and their businesses as we work towards creating change conscientious of both the environment and commercial farming. I am eager to work closely with the members of RII, they are true innovators, working collectively to progress the industry forward in a more sustainable way.”

Before Fluence, Greenberg worked for nearly five years as an Environmental Specialist for Hicks and Company, an environmental and archeological consultancy in Austin, Texas. There, she developed expertise on the nuts and bolts of environmental assessment, preparing documentation to comply with various laws and regulations and evaluating the cultural and socioeconomic impacts of a range of projects, including the federal National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA).

Greenberg earned a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and Economics from Allegheny College where she studied the viability of urban farming as a business. She served as the Fundraising Committee Chair for Healing with Horses Ranch, a 501c3 non-profit organization which provides equine-assisted therapy to individuals with physical, cognitive and emotional challenges.

She began her duties on June 6, 2022.