Our mission is to bring sustainable innovation to the people most at risk from climate impacts.
The best way to predict the future is to invent it. - Theodore Hook
Without access to reliable power and clean water, communities cannot have security, health, and autonomy. Clean, sustainable resources are necessary for the billion people who live in poverty to build a path to prosperity.
The Last Kilometer works to bridge the gap between innovation and the adoption of sustainable technology. Our programs show how clean energy, water, food, and shelter technologies can be used by organizations to grow sustainably and become more resilient.
Introducing new technology to the world beyond the grid comes with unique risks and challenges. As a non-profit, The Last Kilometer helps pilot and study the impact of new climate solutions and help ready them for deployment at a scale needed to address our global resource challenges.
Our Team
Our collective experience includes projects for the United Nations, government agencies including ministries of energy & rural energy authorities, municipal water authorities, community organizations responding to water and energy crises, commercial and industrial agricultural producers, public & private schools, universities, and think tanks.
Jaron Rothkop
Founder, Executive Director
Jaron is a founding member of 501CTHREE and the founder and president of The Last Kilometer, two public charities that are dedicated to advancing sustainability and equitable climate change solutions. After an international career in automotive research and development, Jaron started ventures in data analytics, market research, and was an early innovator in off-grid solar energy with clients that included multiple US and foreign government agencies, the United Nations, and commercial interests. Jaron is an advisor to GreenLancer Energy, Mana Pacific, Ecosystem Fund, and Trends Research and Advisory. Jaron received a degree from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit and holds eight US patents.
Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield, Jr.
Advisor, Board Member
Ambassador Lincoln P. Bloomfield, Jr. is Chairman of the non-partisan Stimson Center in Washington, DC. He was U.S. Special Envoy for MANPADS Threat Reduction from 2008-09, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs from 2001-2005. He previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs (1992-93), Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs (1991-02), and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (1988-89), among other policy positions in the Departments of State and Defense beginning in 1981. Author or editor of two books and many articles, a graduate of Harvard College and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, he is also President of Palmer Coates LLC and non-Attorney Senior Advisor to Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. Having promoted renewable energy innovation for military, government, commercial and development users for seven years, Mr. Bloomfield supports sustainable solutions as Strategic Advisor to Seatrec, Inc. (www.seatrec.com) among other affiliations, and as a Director and National Executive Committee Member of the U.S. Water Partnership
Andrew FitzGerald
Advisor
Drew is one of the co-founders of 501CTHREE and JUST Water, both formed to drive positive social and environmental impact in everyday items while creating awareness around energy, food and water. Drew is the co-founder of the SDG Engine, a two sided digital marketplace to connect social entrepreneurs with stakeholders who have needs pertaining to achieving the United Nations 17 sustainable development goals; one of the founding advisors of The Prime Coalition; a design advisor to change:WATER Labs; the Creative Director for the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, and a creative advisor to the MIT Plasma Science and Nuclear Fusion Center; and as a creative advisor to The Redford Center.
Michelle Klassen-Merrigan
Advisor
Michelle Klassen Merrigan (“MK”) began her career in humanitarian aid, working frequently in resource-restricted environments. For the past decade, MK has worked to facilitate and accelerate the adoption of strategic solutions for resource equity needs, while also educating policymakers to support smart, affordable technologies that enable creative financial models. MK created an innovative model that allows for emerging technologies to be fielded, and commercialized at scale, inside of the communities that need the solutions most. Knowledge transfer, female empowerment, economic development, and clean climate solutions are the very foundation of this vision.