Natel Energy

Michael Spolum is a proud Colorado native who relocated to Southeast Asia in 2002, where he currently lives with his wife, Kingkan, and their rambunctious one-year-old daughter, Jeydah Marley. Michael currently leads the regional business development efforts of Natel Energy, a California-based manufacturer of the Restoration Hydro Turbine (RHT) — a new low-head hydropower turbine designed to enable the near 100% safe downstream passage of entrained fish. With respect to fisheries, his interests include the conservation and restoration of watershed, wetland and delta ecosystems and the linked rice-fish aquaculture systems that underpin the food and nutritional security, as well as the overall resilience, of vulnerable populations throughout the Lower Mekong Region.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies from St. Olaf College and a Master’s Degree in International Development Policy from Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. Michael brings 15+ years of experience to FCF as an entrepreneur, development consultant and project developer in geographies spanning mainland Southeast Asia on issues and projects related to sustainable natural resource management and the water-energy-agriculture nexus. Michael is passionate about people, all forms of life (on land and in water), and the limitless potential of the human spirit to help create of a more equitable and compassionate world. He enjoys slow-cooked food, star-filled skies, deep breaths of crisp mountain air, fine sand between his toes, and long hikes with his wife and family.