Co-founders: Charlie Szoradi and John New
CHARLIE SZORADI
Charlie Szoradi is the President of The Agrarian Group, LLC (TAG – www.theagrariangroup.com), where he provides multiple decades of hands-on experience and insight across sustainability and next-generation agriculture. Charlie is also a Strategic Advisor of CYTO | PHL (www.cytophl.com). Prior to joining TAG in 2021, Charlie served as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of three interconnected sibling companies that focus on safe and efficient buildings as well as next-generation technologies respectively for LED grow lights, HVAC energy optimization, and indoor air quality to ensure the health and safety of humans and plants.
Independence LED Lighting (now part of https://www.cleansolutiontech.com/) – American Made Lighting + Energy Intelligence Center (now part of https://www.cleansolutiontech.com/) – Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning efficiency + Purge Virus (now part of https://www.cleansolutiontech.com/) – Indoor Air Quality
Over the course of his career, Charlie has filed multiple patents including a building system of tenon engaging edge connecting members for modular construction, a light engine device with direct to linear system drivers for building and indoor farm illumination, and an ultraviolet-c germicidal LED strip kit for HVAC systems to improve air quality for humans as well as plants to thrive in indoor operations.
Charlie is a LEED AP (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – Accredited Professional), a Certified Building Performance Institute (BPI) Energy Auditor, and the Leadership Council Chairman of the American LED Alliance. In 2007, Charlie founded and ran GREENandSAVE, a leading efficiency resource focusing on Return on Investment (ROI), that was one of the finalists of the Sustainability Awards. With GREENandSAVE, Charlie was one of the founding signers of the B-Corp Declaration of Interdependence. In 2009, Charlie was elected to the Board of the Sustainable Business Network and selected as a member of the Green Economy Task Force, with direct participation on the Capitol Hill Delegation. In 2011, Charlie won the Green Business of the Year Award by the Main Line Chamber of Commerce. He has been passionate about food desert relief, and in 2012, Charlie founded the First Light Project (www.FirstLightProject.org). The 501(c)(3) philanthropy focuses on building a network of neighborhood vertical farms and a workforce of 21st-century urban farmers. In 2013, Charlie’s Independence LED won the Best Lighting Retrofit by the U.S. Green Building Council for the Urban Green Award.
Over the past six years, Charlie has developed Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) solutions for growers ranging from the producers of lettuce and basil to microgreens and hemp (Envista Farms, Molly Grubb Farms, Hydroponic Life).
He has also been the lead developer of the CEA plans for the following:
- Philadelphia Zoo – The first zoo in the U.S. with onsite shipping container farming to feed the herbivore primates and other animals leafy greens with advanced sensors and IoT included in the final implementation.
- Conestoga High School – S.T.E.M. education through light-emitting diode (LED) grow lights.
- Pennsylvania Farm Show – Aquaponic showcase with combination fish and vegetable production.
- Penn State University – Custom wavelength modulating grow lights for the Agricultural Studies program.
- Taproot Kitchen – Development of indoor farming for this non-profit that incorporates fresh food and education for people with autism and intellectual disabilities.
- NASA – Development of a Perpetual Food Machine for Mars colonization with fish effluence, nitrifying bacteria, leafy greens and renewable direct current microgrid power, presented at Kennedy Space Center.
Charlie holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Virginia, and he earned his Masters of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania with his 1993 thesis on “Eco-Humanism”. More on Charlie Szoradi with prior educational speaking engagements: https://plan-plant-planet.com/book-charlie/
JOHN NEW
John New is the CEO of The Agrarian Group, LLC (TAG – www.theagrariangroup.com), which he founded in 2012. John is also the founder of and CYTO | PHL (www.cytophl.com). John is one of the early pioneers of Controlled Environmental Agriculture (CEA). Almost a decade ago, he built and managed an indoor hydroponic farm for vegetables as well as a separate operation for biowaste treatment. In 2018 and 2019, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted the utility patents for John’s inventions that he had files several years prior. The patents are foundational for TAG’s work in advancing plant and animal agriculture, through advanced sensors, monitoring, food safety protocols, artificial intelligence, and the overall optimization of the food supply chain.
PATENT: US 10,068,195, issued in 2018: Methods and systems for managing product distribution and data hub for connecting and integrating related systems (https://patents.google.com/patent/US10068195B2/en?oq=US+10%2c068%2c195)
PATENT: US 10,438,160 issued in 2019: Data hub for repurposing of nutrients and reverse distribution system (https://patents.google.com/patent/US10438160B1/en?oq=US+10%2c438%2c160)
John is an innovator and operator with over 25 years of leadership, management, and entrepreneurial experience. In 2002, John co-founded The Hub, an innovative “3rd Space” corporate meeting space platform, disrupting the workplace with on-demand meeting space and all-inclusive pricing. The Hub was also a socially responsible vanguard as a founding B-Corp member and the United States’ first privately-held green meeting facility.
In 2016, he sold The Hub having led the company as CEO for nearly 15 years. The Hub accommodated over 1.2 million guests, serving nearly 80% of Fortune 500 companies and several long-term relationships with some of the nation’s most prestigious universities.
In 2017, John founded WorkMerk. Built upon the belief that employees are born to adapt in a rapidly changing world, WorkMerk provides consulting and technology solutions that enable organizations to thrive. The company achieves this vision by driving optimization in the workplace utilizing proprietary technology to engage, inform, and reward workers. The company is committed to increasing profitability, reducing costs, and minimizing client risk.
As a United States Army Captain, he led the macro-level logistics of $120mil in assets and deployment of over 3,000 soldiers while deployed to the Middle East. John also served as an Infantry Platoon Leader in Bosnia-Herzegovina with the 1st Cavalry Division.
At a young age, John founded and directed a 250-volunteer, non-profit serving the severely impoverished and homeless, contributing an astonishing 11,000 volunteer hours – building 27 homes, four shelters, two education centers, and instruction of 40 GED candidates. He also serves on the Regional American Red Cross Board, Services for the Armed Forces.
John holds a Bachelor of Science in International Affairs from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, with a minor in Mandarin Chinese.