Claire Pluard is a Co-Founder of the Carbon Yield Fund. The 2019 winner of the Kellogg-Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investment Challenge, the Carbon Yield Fund is designed to finance Midwestern farmers to make the transition to organic farming by loaning funds to begin the certification process. The capital would be returned by aggregating carbon offsets generated by emission reductions from regenerative agricultural practices. A current part-time MBA student, Claire works at Catholic Charities of Chicago in their data and quality improvement department. Previously, she served in the government relations department, securing more than $40 Million in new funding to support services offered to clients. Claire will graduate in 2020 from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management.