Nature's Original Advantage

About George Taylor

Dr. George Taylor is a life-long gardener, and one of the founding members of the Sweetgrass Garden Co-op, a non-profit community garden on Johns Island, SC. In addition to working the garden, he has participated in a number of field trials and SARE grants testing organic fertilizer approaches. That is how he developed an interest in live algae as a biofertilizer. He was asked to conduct randomized studies comparing live algae with mushroom compost and unfertilized soil. Because of positive results with multiple plant species, he became an early investor in Enlightened Soil Corp. Today, he continues to do field trials and is testing algae’s effectiveness as a bio-stimulant in different settings, most recently, turf. Current studies will determine the optimal application schedule. In his non-gardening life, he is a professor of medicine (cardiology) at the Medical University of South Carolina. He has had broad experience as a clinical researcher and has observed that the design of research trials in medicine and agriculture are remarkably similar.

About Gabrielle Taul

Gabrielle L. Taul is the Chief Executive Officer of Enlightened Soil Corporation, where she leads the company’s mission to advance the production of live algae to improve soil health, support animal and human wellness, and contribute to a more sustainable planet. Gabrielle brings decades of executive leadership experience building and scaling high-performance global organizations across technology, consulting, and innovation-driven industries.

Prior to Enlightened Soil, Gabrielle held executive leadership roles at IBM and Microsoft, carrying significant P&L responsibility and delivering transformational solutions across data, AI, cloud, and enterprise technologies. She brings a strong global selling and management background, having led complex, multi-disciplinary teams across regions and markets. Her leadership blends strategic vision with disciplined execution, enabling organizations to grow responsibly while creating measurable, lasting impact.

At Enlightened Soil, Gabrielle is focused on translating scientific innovation into scalable, real-world solutions that benefit the earth, animals, and people alike—driving sustainable growth through purpose-led leadership.

About Shannon Gnad

With 28 years of experience in the agriculture industry, Shannon has consistently worked with growers, advisors, and businesses to drive profitability and sustainability. A Kansas native and Kansas State University Agronomy graduate, he resides in Manhattan, KS with his wife, Jessica, and their three children. Shannon's career reflects his entrepreneurial spirit. He owned and operated an independent crop consulting company for 17 years, managing business operations and overseeing agronomic duties for 25 Kansas farming operations. This experience provided him with deep insights into crop production and grower decision-making, while fostering his passion for regenerative agriculture and the importance of soil health. More recently, Shannon served as national biological sales director and agronomy director at a rapidly growing ag tech startup for seven years. He gained extensive experience in sales leadership, B2B business development, market expansion, and scaling commercial field trials. He also collaborated with cross-functional teams to develop business and marketing strategies that enhanced brand awareness.

About Frankie Riggs

As Compliance Officer and the first full-time team member at Enlightened Soil Corp, I’ve had the privilege of helping build our groundbreaking agricultural biotechnology company from the ground up. From steering regulatory strategy and securing product registrations across the US, Canada, UK and EU, to mentoring new leaders and designing our company’s creative direction, I love wearing many hats and collaborating with partners worldwide. Whether it’s navigating the complex world of compliance, launching new products, or rolling up my sleeves in fulfillment, my focus is always on supporting our mission: harnessing the power of our algae to create real, positive impact in agriculture, sustainability, and beyond.

About Matthew Salerno

Production Operations Lead

Matthew Salerno - I was raised in upstate South Carolina and graduated from The College of Charleston with a bachelor's degree in Communications. I enjoy attending music festivals and concerts, watching sports with my friends, hiking in the mountains, swimming in the ocean, rescuing animals and traveling to new places. I have a strong understanding that our earth is in need of major help and that humans have to learn to adapt and give back if we want a future for our grandchildren on this planet. After joining ESC, I now have a great opportunity to make a difference in the world and contribute to rebuilding our damaged soil and decreasing carbon from the atmosphere, creating healthier plants, healthier animals, healthier food, healthier people and all in all, a healthier planet.