Brian was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. After high school he spent 5 years working as a firefighter, then studied Geology at Sonoma State University. After leaving university, he became a partner in an international grassroots exploration company based in Brazil prospecting precious metals, which quickly led to a personal interest in pegmatite exploration and mining. Brian is geologist at Brazil, Batalha “Paraiba” tourmaline mine from 1988 to present. In 1989  Nature’s Geometry Inc. was established with his wife Kendra as a lapidary arts, jewelry design & manufacturing family operated business. Recipient of the AGTA Spectrum Award for the Fashion Forward, 2016. An early advocate of responsible sourcing in the jewelry trade, Brian has orchestrated an initiative for an artisanal small-scale mining community in Bahia, Brazil, and concurrently  involved in similar initiatives in the Amazon Basin with SWAROVSKI and the Amazon International Cooperation Agency. Brian advocates for  education and transparency speaking at conferences world wide. Brian & Kendra are based in Tucson, AZ and Bahia, Brazil. They have 3 daughters and 2 grandchildren.

This will be a panel discussion, along with Paul Tullis (National Geographic), Kristen Hund (World Bank), and Linda Woestendiek (US Southern Command).