Born in NYC, Adler became a lawyer and moved to Washington DC to get involved in energy policy, working with an alternative fuels lobbying group, establishing an energy related nonprofit, and eventually running a group of companies that developed low pollution automotive technology. Together with PBS, he co-produced a film on the President of the Maldives (The Island President, with music by Radiohead, winner of the Toronto Film Festival Audience Award, etc). He co-backed the first synthetic biology company incubator (Launchpad on the Ames campus of NASA), co-founded the first synthetic biology investment fund (Bioeconomy Capital), and created the Advanced Biosequestration Summit (ABsummit.org). Most recently, he is the creator of a virtual briefing platform for legislators, philanthropists, and thought leaders, ClimateBriefing.org.