NCAT Announces its New Executive Director

The National Center for Appropriate Technology’s (NCAT) Board of Directors today announced it has selected Fred Bahnson to lead the organization.

Bahnson joins NCAT after a competitive national search.

“Fred brings to NCAT two decades of leadership experience in regenerative agriculture and climate advocacy,” said NCAT Board Chairperson Jackie Hutchinson. “His depth of knowledge, and passion for our work, will benefit NCAT as it leans into its next chapter.”

Created as a result of the energy crisis of the 1970s, NCAT’s mission to build a more sustainable future is focused today on providing trusted and practical tools for communities, farmers, local governments, and other nonprofits working toward regenerative agriculture and renewable energy efforts. With staff in 12 states, NCAT is headquartered in Butte, Montana. Bahnson lives in southwest Montana and will work in a hybrid capacity, connecting regularly with the Butte office while also traveling to connect with NCAT’s many partners and field staff around the country.

Bahnson is the founding director of two environmental nonprofits. In 2005 he co-founded and directed a congregation-supported agriculture project in North Carolina to support local food security, and in 2012 became the founding director of the Food, Health, and Ecological Well-Being Program at Wake Forest University School of Divinity, a program that trains faith and nonprofit leaders to create more just and healthy food systems.

Bahnson is also a journalist, author, and documentary filmmaker. His work has been published in venues like Harper’s, Christian Science Monitor, Orion, and Best American Travel Writing, and has been supported by journalism grants from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and Boston University’s Religion and Environment Story Project fellowship. He was awarded a two-year W.K. Kellogg Food and Society Policy Fellowship, which allowed him to research small-scale regenerative agriculture practices. That work culminated in his first book, Soil & Sacrament: A Spiritual Memoir of Food & Faith (Simon & Schuster, 2013). Most recently he worked for a climate tech company helping catalyze nature-based solutions to the climate crisis.

“I’m hugely honored to be joining NCAT at this pivotal moment in the organization’s history,” Bahnson said. “From the Soil for Water and Armed to Farm programs, to its AgriSolar Clearinghouse and energy assistance work, NCAT is known nationally as a trusted and reliable partner that helps underserved communities become more resilient. In the face of a changing climate, that work has never been more vital and necessary. I’m excited to help share NCAT’s story with wider audiences, grow our partnerships, and expand our funding base to better support the communities we serve.”

To learn more about NCAT and its mission visit, NCAT.ORG.