DBT40 Honoree: Nickolas Martin

Title: Co-founder & COO

Workplace: Carbon Reform 

Age: 27

When Nickolas Martin was 23, he lost both his parents unexpectedly and, being the oldest child, was immediately thrust into a leadership position for his family. Even during his lowest moments, he used his trauma as an opportunity to grow.

Martin has led several efforts throughout his life, from his carbon-capture startup Carbon Reform to Startup My City, a podcast focused on social entrepreneurship, to Fouryouth Productions, a nonprofit that educates underserved youth about STEM fields.

While Martin wears two vastly different career hats, they both combine his passion for the intersection of emerging technology, innovation and social impact. As chief operating officer of Carbon Reform, he engages in customer and investor relations, human resources and overseeing financial and legal matters. Carbon Reform is creating first-of-its-kind technology to capture gigatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, to have a noticeable impact on reversing the effects of climate change.

As an emerging tech consultant for Delaware libraries, Martin also leads a telehealth and device loaning initiative to give thousands of Delawareans better access to healthcare and the Internet. He’s raised more than $650,000 in less than two years to support the idea

The pilot program has since deployed telehealth booths in several rural Sussex County libraries, disseminated hundreds of Chromebooks and WiFi hotspots to libraries throughout Delaware and employed a traveling nurse to treat uninsured and underinsured Delawareans.

Martin has always been drawn to philanthropic causes. He built up Fouryouth Productions, a Wilmington-based nonprofit, for the past eight years to offer photography courses combined with science, engineering and culinary arts for young people from underserved communities.

Recently, Martin received funding from the U.S. Department of State to help build a solar energy training center in Nigeria. The center is run by the women of the village and was designed to provide jobs, teach about entrepreneurship and provide clean electricity to the community.