Program

Lynn Simon, FAIA, LEED Fellow, brings more than 25 years of experience in climate, sustainability, and equity across tech, real estate, and AEC sectors. She recently joined Arup as a Principal and West Sustainability Services Leader based in San Francisco. Lynn was previously the Head of Sustainability for Real Estate and Workplace Services at Google and a Senior Vice President of Sustainability at Thornton Tomasetti, who acquired her own successful consulting firm. She has a diverse set of skills in developing client relationships, driving cross-functional programs into organizations, and building multi-disciplinary global teams with a focus on carbon, waste, water, health, and equity. Lynn has a bachelor’s degree in environmental design from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Architecture from the University of Washington. She is also a certified integral coach. Lynn serves on the Board of Directors for the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation and received the SHERO Leadership Award in 2020 from the USGBC Pacific Region.

Brenden is a recognized leader with 20 years of experience in built environment sustainability across public, private, and nonprofit sectors. At JLL, Brenden works with both Investors and Occupiers to decarbonize their real estate portfolios. Trained as an engineer, Brenden has deep technical expertise paired with broad experience in business strategy. Prior to joining JLL, Brenden led consulting work at Integral Group, the global leader in Net Zero Energy design engineering. At Integral, Brenden developed sustainable real estate strategy for 5 global technology companies and created the Equitable Climate Action Plan for one of the largest cities in California Previously, Brenden worked in the nonprofit sector. He led US Green Building Council’s operations across California, Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii, leading program development, fundraising, and strategic partnerships. Before that, Brenden created the Urban Land Institute’s climate resilience and adaptation program. This program developed resources for real estate investors to prepare for and adapt to climate risk. Earlier in his career, Brenden led the Green Building Program at the City of Santa Monica. There he developed one of the first green building codes, that became the basis for the statewide CALGreen code that is used today.

Josh Green is the founder and CEO of Inspiration Mobility (“Inspiration”), the first Electrification Accelerator offering turnkey solutions to decarbonize commercial transportation at scale. In 2021, Josh launched Inspiration  with one goal in mind: dramatically accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles by quickly and easily delivering the outcomes that matter to businesses: lower costs, higher reliability, improved safety and driver satisfaction, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Throughout his career, Josh has launched and managed multiple investment funds focused on the energy transition, including Traverse Venture Partners, CCM Energy, Generate Capital, and Verdeo Group, a leading clean energy project developer backed by Black River Asset Management and Wolfensohn & Company.

Josh holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Dartmouth College, and is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.  

Maryline Daviaud Lewett leads Sales and Partnerships in distributed infrastructure and sustainable transportation for Black & Veatch's Transportation & Logistics business line. BV turn-key solutions includes design and engineering, permitting, procurement, and construction of electric vehicle charging infrastructure networks, fleet solutions, fuel cell vehicle filling stations and behind-the-meter energy storage/microgrid and AV systems. Maryline has over 25 years in the Clean Tech, Life Sciences, and Media industries. Her previous experience includes Management positions for Schneider Electric, Akamai Technologies, and TechSoup Global. Maryline holds a B.A. in Economics and an M.B.A. in Sustainability Management from the Presidio Graduate School. She obtained her Envision Sustainability Professional certificate from the Institute of Sustainable Design in 2022.

Sielen is a highly skilled Industry Executive and Board Director with 24 years of experience in driving global infrastructure and digital transformation Go-to-Market (GTM) sales strategy. As Cisco's Global Sustainability Lead for Industries, she oversees enablement of innovative sustainable solutions and strategic alliances to help customers in 12 industries including utilities, transportation, manufacturing, and financial services reach their Net Zero goals leveraging Cisco technology.

Prior to this role, she was Cisco's Global Digital Transportation and Water Lead, collaborating with teams and ecosystem partners to drive digital transformation of infrastructure, IoT technologies, and IT/Operations Technology (OT) convergence. She brought in-depth experience building innovative industry practices, GTM sales strategy and CXO level collaborations.

Sielen serves as Cisco's Diversity & Inclusion Lead for the Marketing organization and is highly adept in ESG. Prior to joining Cisco in 2018, she spent 20 years at Jacobs, as a Global Strategic Sales Director leading industry sector partnerships and facilitation of complex cross-business multidisciplinary teams to implement innovative and sustainable solutions for energy, water, and transportation customers. She also co-founded Jacobs’ Smart Cities Initiative in 2015, leading the global sales strategy.

She is a board member for Parametrix, a leading engineering, environmental, and planning company dedicated to creating vibrant and sustainable communities of the future. She is also a board member for Leadership Tomorrow (LT), a Seattle civic leadership organization focused on fostering healthy and resilient communities. Sielen served as the Partnership Chair for Smart Water Networks Forum (SWAN), a global organization dedicated to accelerating digital water, and received SWAN’s 'Outstanding Leadership' award. Sielen also served as a Membership Chair for WTS, an organization advancing women leadership in transportation, where she received the ‘Member of the Year’ award.

Sielen has completed the OnBoarding Women and University of Washington's Women Board Directors Development programs. She holds master's and bachelor's degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from University of Washington.

Alex Smith is a Senior Food and Agriculture Analyst at the Breakthrough Institute, an environmental think-tank in Berkeley, California. Alex works on topics related to agricultural innovation, geopolitics, and decarbonization and has written extensively on U.S. agricultural policy, protein transitions, and global food trade.

Emily Bass is the Federal Policy Manager for Food and Agriculture at the Breakthrough Institute, a global research center that works to identify and promote technological solutions to environmental and human development challenges. At Breakthrough, Emily focuses on coalition building and advocacy to implement policies that advance agricultural innovations to decarbonize the sector. Emily holds a BA in Public Policy and Economics from the College of William and Mary and she lives is Washington, DC.

John leads 3Degrees’ global agriculture strategy and brings over 15 years of experience in the agriculture and climate technology space. John has led a variety of projects including the development of regenerative agriculture programs and measurement scorecards that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and drive improvements in soil health, irrigation management, fertilizer use efficiency, and pesticide management. Additionally, John helps clients reduce their agriculture emissions through turnkey or co-developed supply chain intervention projects. John’s expertise in agriculture data management, remote sensing, and nature-based MRV technology, helps clients scale program management across diverse geographies and agricultural production systems. Prior to joining 3Degrees, John was Senior Vice President at Ceres Imaging, the leading data analytics and imaging company for the agriculture industry. In his role he helped CPGs, agriculture retailers, agriculture insurers, and large farming operations reduce risk and improve sustainability outcomes. Prior to Ceres Imaging, John was a Venture Partner at Piedmont Partners Group Ventures (PPGV), where he led diligence for PPGV’s agriculture investment strategy.

Chante Harris is a champion of social and financial innovation. Throughout her career. she has successfully scaled nationwide campaigns, technologies, and ideas for the Obama Administration, Fortune 500 companies, and startups. Her writing and work have been featured by ImpactAlpha, Business Insider, The Milken Institute, and other notable publications.

As an operator, she has secured and effectively deployed millions of dollars for the implementation of climate projects and energy-efficient technologies. In 2020 she built a $10 million early stage climate tech venture studio in the U.S. focused on global companies deploying technologies across mobility, buildings, agriculture, waste, water, materials, and carbon. Chante recently completed a residency with Schmidt Futures and is now developing new financial and deployment models with a broader group of catalytic funders to address the funding gap for hard tech and material science climate technologies at the critical early infrastructure project stage.

Named by Forbes as a 30 Under 30 in the Energy Category, Nasdaq as a Woman to Watch in 2022, ACEEE as a Champion for Energy Efficiency, GreenBiz as 30 Under 30 Leader, America on Tech as an Innovator and Disruptor, and Women Enews as a Pioneering Woman in Sustainability, Chante is at the helm of driving climate innovation and advancing the energy transition across the globe. Chante has traveled the world to speak at global events like COP, GreenBiz, and TechStars.

In addition to her work leading in climate tech and investment, Chante launched and built the only global digital collective and community that is 100% dedicated to advancing women of color working across the sustainability industry. Since its launch in the summer of 2019, the community has brought together over 5,000 women of color through virtual and in-person events, social media channels, a digital community, and online publication. 

Chante is on the advisory committee for the first-ever global Climate Center being built on Governor's Island in NYC and sits on the Board of Summit Impact. She is a lover of nature and music, an avid meditator, and a poet.

Taj Ahmad Eldridge is a 25+ year investment professional whose career has included high level executive roles in banking, asset management, alternative investments, and entrepreneurship. 

Taj serves as Managing  Director of Climate Innovations at Jobs For The Futures (JFF) where he’s leads a cross collaborative team focusing on the intersection of climate and workforce. The first project under Climate Innovations is the $25M 5 year project CREST funded by the Ares Managemrnt Foundation.

As a cofounder of Include Venture Partners , Taj focused on investing in diverse founders and fund managers who want to create innovative ecosystems in their areas - as geographic diversity is just as important as racial and gender diversity. Previously Taj served as Senior Director of Investments at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), Taj has built a long standing career with expertise in the fields of fintech, media, energy, transportation, and the circular economy. 

At LACI, Taj helped establish both the LACI Impact Fund I (LIF I) and the LACI Debt Fund to allow cleantech companies to grow with diverse capital. These funds utilize an equity impact lens to encourage invested companies to have environmental, economic, and social impact - particularly on increasing the number of underrepresented voices in the cleantech industry. In addition, Taj created programs such as LACI Investor Talks (LIT), the LACI Investor in Residence program, and the Player to CEO Athlete-Investor Impact Summit Series with JP Morgan Chase. Taj has been named one of the 53 Investors to Watch in 2021 by Pitchbook & 101 Black Titans in Tech while nurturing and building a team of investment activists.

Prior to LACI, Taj was the Director for the Incubator at the University of California in Riverside, California. During his tenure as Director, Taj’s team brought a $10M venture fund (Highlander Fund) to the Inland Empire - the first for the region.  Because of Taj’s focus on blending entertainment, policy, and entrepreneurship, the region was named the #4 city in the United States for minority entrepreneurs via Entrepreneur Magazine.

Taj began his career as a banker and economist with Wells Fargo Bank, UBS Investment Bank, and TRW Investments. Taj has also been a Founder, Board Member, and Investor in companies such as NCX, Bevy, BlocPower, ILTG Media, Boswell Official Apparel, Voter, Xtopoly, Rookielook, iListen, KYC Hospitality, KIGT, Majira Project, CleanTek Capital and ConCreates. Taj also serves on the Climate Finance Advisory Team of the Community Investment Guarantee Pool (CIGP), the Executive Board of the Homeboy Ventures Fund, The Majira Project, and Advisory Board of VC Include.

Taj has been profiled in publications such as Impact Alpha, Los Angeles Business Journal, Pitchbook, Forbes, GreenBiz, Entrepreneur Magazine, and more regarding his tireless efforts on achieving alpha while also advancing equity. 

Taj has undergraduate degrees in poetry & literature and graduate geopolitical economics from Texas A&M University-Commerce, Pepperdine University, and Claremont Graduate University. Taj also studied abroad at The Universidad Adolfo Ibanez in Santiago, Chile, The Universidad Do Porto in Porto, Portugal, and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in Hong Kong, China. 

Taj is an avid audiobook bibliophile and a lover of music of all genres.

Chris Magwood is obsessed with helping reverse climate change by making carbon-storing buildings that are also healthy, beautiful, efficient and inspiring. Chris has authored seven books on sustainable building, including Essential Sustainable Home Design (2017). He is co-editor of the Sustainable Building Essentials series from New Society Publishers, and recently, he contributed a chapter to the book The New Carbon Architecture.

In 1998 he co-founded Camel’s Back Construction, and over eight years helped to design and/or build more than 30 homes and commercial buildings, mostly with straw bales and often with renewable energy systems.

Chris has completed an MA at Trent University. His thesis, Opportunities for Carbon Removal and Storage in Building Materials which was published in the fall of 2019. Chris is an active speaker and workshop instructor in Canada and internationally.

Neha Palmer is the CEO of TeraWatt Infrastructure, bringing over two decades of leadership experience in the energy industry. Most recently, she led energy strategy for Google’s global data centers. As the first hire focused on data center energy, Neha built out and led the team developing electric infrastructure and electricity procurement for the global fleet, covering dozens of sites over four continents. Key achievements include making Google the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in the world, and the first company of its size to achieve 100% renewable energy for operations, which it has done since 2017. Prior to Google, Neha held leadership roles at Pacific Gas and Electric, and worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. Neha will bring her deep expertise in building out rapidly growing fleets of large scale energy intensive infrastructure to the emerging heavy EV charging asset class, a segment on track to outpace even the incredible growth data centers have seen over the last decade. Neha holds an MBA in Finance from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a BS in Civil Engineering from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo.

Arthur Chow is a Vice President at S2G Ventures. Arthur supports the Food & Agriculture strategy, focusing on consumer brands, marketplaces, and automation across the supply chain. His responsibilities include evaluating and executing investments as well as managing and supporting portfolio companies.

Arthur began his career in investment banking at UBS and later joined Frontenac, a middle market private equity firm, where he focused on food and consumer buyouts. Seeking operating experience, he worked for the Kraft Heinz Company and managed a $2 billion commercial P&L within the Foodservice business unit. Arthur then joined S2G prior to pursuing his MBA, where he primarily spent time working with several early-stage consumer-focused food companies including Tovala, Once Upon a Farm, and Dom’s Kitchen and Market.

Arthur received a BBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business with Highest Distinction and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Ingrid Irigoyen serves as the Associate Director, Ocean and Climate, for the Aspen Institute Energy and Environment Program (EEP) where she leads EEP’s work on ocean and coastal sustainability and decarbonization of the ocean economy. She is also Director of the Aspen Institute Shipping Decarbonization Initiative (Aspen SDI), which partners with leading organizations and companies to drive the transition to zero emission maritime shipping. She is the lead facilitator for Cargo Owners for Zero Emission Vessels (coZEV), a coalition of major multinational consumer products companies and other freight buyers working to accelerate the pace of decarbonization in maritime shipping and is the President and CEO of the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA), a non-profit organization and coZEV initiative to enable companies access to zero-emission shipping solutions that are not currently available. Ingrid holds a Masters of Environmental Management from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from the University of New Hampshire.

As Director of Datacenter Energy Strategy for Microsoft, Mariah leads global policy and strategy, assisting a global energy team in datacenter locations across the globe. Prior to joining Microsoft, Mariah served in multiple roles at Puget Sound Energy, including managing teams assisting in areas at the state, federal and regional levels and in energy markets. She also taught Energy Law and Policy at Seattle University School of Law and, as an attorney, Mariah practiced law at K&L Gates in Seattle, Washington.

Mark Dyson is a Managing Director with RMI's electricity practice. His work focuses on characterizing the technical and economic factors important in improving electric utility planning for the distribution edge, including distributed resource interconnection, resource operational modeling, and rate design. Mark has been involved with RMI in several capacities since 2008.

Aly is an Investor on the Closed Loop Ventures Group team –– the seed and pre-seed investment division of Closed Loop Partners focused on catalyzing innovations in the circular economy. She leads sourcing, diligence, transactions and portfolio management. Prior to joining Closed Loop Partners, Aly was an Engagement Manager in McKinsey & Company’s Sustainability and Energy practices. She has deep expertise in cross-value chain innovations and cutting–edge technologies supporting circular business models in advanced manufacturing, textiles, building products and consumer goods. Aly has supported companies ranging from early- and growth-stage startups to Fortune 50 enterprises with a focus on operations, investment and top-of-house strategy. Aly earned her Master’s from the London School of Economics and Political Science and her BA from Davidson College. Originally from the Midwest, Aly currently resides in New York City where her love for fresh pressed beet juice may have tipped the scales to an obsession.

Chante Harris is a champion of social and financial innovation. Throughout her career. she has successfully scaled nationwide campaigns, technologies, and ideas for the Obama Administration, Fortune 500 companies, and startups. Her writing and work have been featured by ImpactAlpha, Business Insider, The Milken Institute, and other notable publications.

As an operator, she has secured and effectively deployed millions of dollars for the implementation of climate projects and energy-efficient technologies. In 2020 she built a $10 million early stage climate tech venture studio in the U.S. focused on global companies deploying technologies across mobility, buildings, agriculture, waste, water, materials, and carbon. Chante recently completed a residency with Schmidt Futures and is now developing new financial and deployment models with a broader group of catalytic funders to address the funding gap for hard tech and material science climate technologies at the critical early infrastructure project stage.

Named by Forbes as a 30 Under 30 in the Energy Category, Nasdaq as a Woman to Watch in 2022, ACEEE as a Champion for Energy Efficiency, GreenBiz as 30 Under 30 Leader, America on Tech as an Innovator and Disruptor, and Women Enews as a Pioneering Woman in Sustainability, Chante is at the helm of driving climate innovation and advancing the energy transition across the globe. Chante has traveled the world to speak at global events like COP, GreenBiz, and TechStars.

In addition to her work leading in climate tech and investment, Chante launched and built the only global digital collective and community that is 100% dedicated to advancing women of color working across the sustainability industry. Since its launch in the summer of 2019, the community has brought together over 5,000 women of color through virtual and in-person events, social media channels, a digital community, and online publication. 

Chante is on the advisory committee for the first-ever global Climate Center being built on Governor's Island in NYC and sits on the Board of Summit Impact. She is a lover of nature and music, an avid meditator, and a poet.

Katie Hughes oversees the health and safety of Amazon’s global corporate portfolio. She started at Amazon in August of 2011. Katie’s goal is to ensure Amazon is the Earth’s Best (Safest) Employer, which requires monitoring regulatory changes that impact EHS, adjusting internal policies as required, and then ensuring team compliance. Katie drives new initiatives within the corporate space and ensures implementation. While most of EHS is tied to regulation, Katie firmly believes in going above and beyond to implement best practices to keep employees safe and healthy, as evidenced by her work to deploy the indoor air quality program. Katie helped lead the COVID-19 response on behalf of Amazon corporate, and received the Mary L McClinton Patient Safety Award (2022) for her work delivering COVID-19 vaccines to over 145k community members.

John Farner is Executive Director of the Babbitt Center for Land and Water Policy. Bringing more than 25 years of experience as a leader in sustainability, focusing on water, land use, and agriculture, John currently serves as the Executive Director of the Babbitt Center for Land and Water Policy. Throughout his career, John has been at the forefront of promoting solutions to global environmental challenges. Speaking before the United States Congress, the United Nations and various other national and global organizations, John is recognized as one of the leading experts on global water challenges.Part of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, the Babbitt Center advances the integration of land and water management to meet the current and future water needs in the Colorado River Basin and, ultimately, around the world.Prior to joining the Babbitt Center, John served as the global chief sustainability officer of Orbia Precision Agriculture - Netafim, where he oversaw all corporate social responsibility, regenerative agriculture initiatives, water replenishment activities, and circularity programs.John’s background is rooted in water and land policy. Having served as a presidential appointee, working for two members of Congress, and for the United States-based Irrigation Association, John continues his commitment to sustainability, water use and sound policy in his position with the Babbitt Center.John holds a B.A. in political science and communication from Virginia Polytechnic Institute University, in Blacksburg, Virginia. John is also a graduate of the Leadership Development Program from the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina.

A seasoned sustainability expert, Val has been working for over a decade driving funding to projects that protect nature and help mitigate or adapt to climate disruption. Serving Netafim USA in advocacy and new business development, Val brings together government and companies to increase the adoption of drip irrigation. Her work flips the script on the narrative that agriculture is a driver of climate change by featuring our nation’s farmers as a path toward climate resiliency. This is accomplished by modernizing irrigation infrastructure on crops that have some of the highest natural resource use, including water, demonstrating we can farm more efficiently using fewer resources, protecting our nation’s agricultural economy and maintaining food security. Prior to Netafim, Val was Chief Development Officer at the nonprofit, Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF), where she led market development for water restoration as well as BEF’s carbon offset and renewable energy programs. In 2017, she accepted the US Water Alliance’s US Water Prize on behalf of the Change the Course water campaign that catalyzed hundreds of water restoration projects that saved billions of gallons of water across North America.Val has been quoted as an expert in The New York Times and Sustainable Brands, has written articles for GreenBiz and has been on the sustainability speaking circuit for over a decade. She is acknowledged for her role in Change the Course in Sandra Postel’s book Replenish: The Virtuous Cycle of Water and Prosperity.

Max Elder is the co-founder and CEO of Nowadays, a venture-backed foodtech startup making plant-based meats with only a few simple ingredients and an unparalleled nutritional profile. Max is a multidisciplinary researcher, published author, keynote speaker, and trusted advisor to individuals and organizations across the global food system. He was a Research Director at the Institute for the Future (IFTF), the world’s leading futures thinking organization, where he co-led IFTF's Food Futures Lab.

Dr. Friedmann recently served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy where he was responsible for DOE’s R&D program in advanced fossil energy systems, carbon capture, and storage (CCS), CO2 utilization, and clean coal deployment. More recently, he was a Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia. He has held positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, including Chief Energy Technologist.

Dr. Friedmann is one of the most widely known and authoritative experts in the U.S. on carbon removal (CO2 drawdown from the air and oceans), CO2 conversion and use (carbon-to-value), hydrogen, industrial decarbonization, and carbon capture and sequestration.

Dr. Justin Briggs is Co-Founder and COO of Antora Energy. Antora turns low-cost, intermittent renewable energy into a reliable, on-demand source of zero-carbon heat and power to enable deep decarbonization of industry and the electric grid. Dr. Briggs holds a B.S. in physics from UC Berkeley and a Ph.D. in applied physics from Stanford University. During his Ph.D., Dr. Briggs developed next-generation renewable energy technology and conducted research on high-temperature materials for energy generation and storage applications, which provided the foundation for Antora’s technology. At Antora Energy, Dr. Briggs has played nearly every role required to build a long duration energy storage company from the ground up, from technology to operations to policy.

Gregory, from Saint John, New Brunswick, has a youthful passion for aircraft and aerospace. Having first earned his Glider Pilot License (GPL) at the age of 16, he then followed that up by earning both his Private (PPL) and Commercial Pilot Licenses (CPL). As an experienced aerospace executive, Gregory holds both a Bachelor and a Master of Aerospace Engineering from Carleton University, and an MBA from the Haskayne School of Business. Gregory started his engineering career in repair design and then moved into the development of modifications and upgrades for the C-130 Hercules at Marshall Aerospace Canada. After working at Viking Air Limited as their Production Engineering Manager, and Plant Manager at the Twin Otter’s final assembly plant, Gregory led the product support team for the Canadair CL-215 & CL-415 and the organisation’s aftermarket support for a variety of other aircraft.

Anna Robertson is the co-founder and Chief Content Officer for The Cool Down, the first mainstream climate brand. Anna is an Emmy and Murrow Award-winning executive and producer who has shaped media brands and built content that speaks to Americans. Before The Cool Down, she served as Vice President for Content & Partner Innovation for ABC's Owned Television Stations, prioritizing climate coverage and executive produced the special “Our America: Climate of Hope.” She was a significant contributor to the Yahoo News brand, leading Yahoo Studios and becoming Yahoo's Head of Video. Anna began her career at ABC News, first as Diane Sawyer’s producer and then as a senior producer for Good Morning America. She lives with her husband and two children in Park City, Utah, and is very involved in local sustainability efforts.
 

Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin began working on economic development projects with indigenous Guatemalan communities in 1988. He served as a consultant for the United Nations Development Program’s Bureau for Latin America and as an advisor to the World Council of Indigenous Peoples and was a founding member of the Fair Trade Federation in 1994. Since migrating to the US in 1992, Regi has led the creation and launch of multiple enterprises. His first significant contribution to the US social enterprise sector was in 1995 when he founded Peace Coffee, a Minnesota-based fair-trade coffee company. Regi’s social enterprise development work includes woodland owner cooperatives and a multitude of inner-city new immigrant enterprise efforts in Minnesota.Haslett-Marroquin was named one of MN’s Twin Cities International Citizens of the Year in 1996. In 2008 he received two regional Service to Mankind Awards (SERTOMA). He has served on numerous non-profit boards. Regi serves on multiple advisory boards to organizations working on regenerative agriculture with a focus on agroforestry as a global solution to climate, hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. Regi is Co-Founder and CEO of Tree-Range® Farms, a MN-based company, and leads multiple teams in Minnesota, South Dakota, Mexico, and Guatemala that have broken new ground in the regenerative food and agriculture field through an innovative Poultry Centered Regenerative Agriculture System he has pioneered.A native Guatemalan, Regi received his agronomy degree from the Escuela Nacional Central de Agricultura (ENCA), studied at the Universidad de San Carlos in Guatemala, and graduated from Augsburg University in Minnesota. Regi lives in Northfield Minnesota with his wife Amy, they own and operate a 65-acre farm where he continues to do to R&D on regenerative poultry production systems.

Anna Hammond is the Founder and CEO of Matriark Foods, a food waste startup that upcycles farm surplus and fresh-cut remnants into healthy, shelf-stable vegetable products for institutional foodservice. Matriark is building a circular food future, creating products that solve for inefficiencies in the supply chain while combating climate change—at scale. The first Matriark product to market is a low-sodium vegetable broth concentrate that diverts 1,500 pounds of vegetables from landfill and 1,033.35 pounds of methane gas per pallet sold. Since its founding in 2018, Matriark has participated in the Food Systems 6 Accelerator, the global Huhtamaki Circular Economy Start Up Program, and the Foodbuy Accelerator for Minority and Women Owned businesses. Matriark was featured as a leader and innovator in Tetra Pak’s 2020 global sustainability report. 

Prior to founding Matriark Foods, Hammond spent 25 years as a nonprofit leader at The Museum of Modern Art New York and Yale University, successfully building and scaling programs and teams into dynamic, impactful, stable organizations. Most recently, Hammond was Executive Director for The Sylvia Center, which provides evidence-based food and nutrition education programs to teens and families in public housing community centers across the 5 boroughs of NYC and in all 6 school districts in Columbia County in upstate New York. During her tenure, Hammond grew the program from 300 to more than 25,000 students, reducing health disparities in underserved communities and empowering the next generation to lead healthier lives. Hammond is a founding Board member of the Upcycled Food Association, and she serves as an advisor to The Rockland Farm Alliance and Heroic Food, a nonprofit that trains military veterans for careers in sustainable farming and food entrepreneurship.

Ross Bernet is the Monitoring Manager at One Tree Planted where he focuses on the technology an strategy used for monitoring reforestation projects around the world. He is particularly excited about how we combine different technology, like satellites, drones, and phones to help assess restoration every step of the way. He got his start in restoration ecology in 2011 when he was the program manager for a Haitian agroforestry NGO. Since then he received his Masters degree in environmental management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental studies. He is passionate about the intersection of Nature and Technology.

Jesse Simons is Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer at SOLARCYCLE, a tech-driven solar circular economy platform. Prior to founding SOLARCYCLE, Jesse served on the Executive Team of the Sierra Club as Chief of Staff and National Program Director where he led climate and clean energy strategy. He brings in-depth knowledge on climate and the circular economy and has extensive experience scaling and managing large teams in both entrepreneurial and established environments.

Dr. Shyaam Ramkumar is the Head of Growth Strategy in North America at Circularise and has over 10 years of experience in sustainability and circular economy in Europe and the United States. Shyaam has previously worked as the Knowledge and Innovation Manager at Circle Economy in Amsterdam, has interned with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and was a sustainability consultant with Accenture's Chicago office in the United States. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Northwestern University, an MSc in Industrial Ecology from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and a PhD in Economic Sociology at the University of Milan researching the accelerated adoption of circular and sustainable innovations by companies using sociology and social network theories, and one of his papers focused on the REALCAR project by Jaguar Land Rover and its supply chain.

Alyssa Rade is the chief sustainability officer at Sustain.Life , where she leads the company’s strategy for customer-facing sustainability content. Her 10+ years of corporate sustainability experience guides the program recommendations, emissions tracking, and third-party certifications featured in Sustain.Life’s software. Before joining Sustain.Life, Alyssa directed the sustainability program at Vornado Realty Trust, where she managed green building certifications, waste and recycling, energy efficiency, health, and wellness for over 30 million sf of commercial office space. Alyssa is accredited as a LEED and WELL AP and holds an MPA in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University and a BA in Environmental Studies from Washington University in St. Louis.   

2021 Women of Power, 2019 GEN T Honoree, V Label Global Hero, 2 x TEDx Speaker: Serial social entrepreneur & trends forecaster Sonalie Figueiras is a sustainability expert, food futurist and eco-powerhouse who has been inspiring global audiences for over a decade with practical steps on how to fight climate change. Known as the Green Queen of Asia, she is the founder and Editor in Chief of the award-winning Green Queen - the region’s first impact media platform that educates millions of readers on the connection between health, sustainability and the environment and showcases future solutions. She is also the co-founder and CEO of organic sourcing platform Ekowarehouse and climate tech SaaS Source Green, which helps consumer brands quit plastic packaging thanks to proprietary plastic reduction software In addition, Sonalie is a global keynote speaker and an advisor to multiple mission-driven startups and NGOs, and a venture partner to several VC funds.

Abby catalyzes regenerative business leaders with human sustainability and helps them to embrace radically collaborative ways of working together, producing strong business results and sustainable cultures. Abby draws from nearly two decades of experience building human-centered design teams and product development processes; co-founding a mission driven and venture funded startup; over 12 years of mindfulness study and teaching; expertise as a Certified Professional Co-active Coach (CPCC) through the Co-Active Training Institute (CTI); and her roots as a trained product designer and strategist. Abby holds an MFA in Product Design from Stanford University and a BFA in Industrial Design from Carnegie Mellon University.

Christopher Cayten has more than 10 years of experience in building sustainability, architecture and real estate development in the U.S. and around the world. In addition to overseeing CodeGreen’s operations and business development, Cayten manages energy efficiency, LEED and corporate sustainability projects for portfolios and Fortune 500 companies. Cayten also works with state agencies and local utilities to develop and maximize financial incentives for energy efficiency upgrades. He is currently working with the NYC Mayor’s Office of Long Term Planning to develop and communicate the goals of the City’s ambitious energy efficiency legislation, The Greener, Greater Buildings Plan. This plan aims to reduce the carbon footprint of New York City buildings by more than 10% by 2030. He is an active member of the Urban Green Council, and serves on the sustainability committees of REBNY and BOMA-NY. Cayten holds a BA in architecture from Yale University and a Masters of Architecture from the Yale School of Architecture.

Bringing 25 years of industry experience leading, managing, and consulting on a wide range of sustainability, green building, clean energy, and technology issues, Elaine is passionate about the power of multi-stakeholder alignment and helping people understand and respect the interconnectedness of our world. Elaine is currently focused on scaling up Third Derivative (D3) — a vertically-integrated global climate tech accelerator program founded by RMI and New Energy Nexus. D3 has been building an inclusive ecosystem to rapidly find, fund and scale climate tech innovation globally. By uniting and aligning committed investors, global corporates, and RMI's market, regulatory, and policy experts — all the stakeholders needed to bridge gaps faster — supported by financing and insights along the way, D3 increases the rate at which climate innovations can help us achieve a prosperous, equitable, and inclusive 1.5-degrees C world. Prior to joining the D3 leadership team, Elaine was widely recognized as the program director for VERGE at GreenBiz — the premier global event series focused on scaling solutions that bridge technology, sustainability, and systems-thinking across cities and industries. She has also had careers as a green building consultant, utility business strategist, engineer, and technologist. Elaine graduated from Duke University with a Master’s degree in engineering management and a Bachelor’s in biomedical engineering.

20 + years of City government policy and program experience, in City Council staff, public information specialist and program manager capacities.

Over ten years of experience providing racial equity training to build capacity for increasing racial justice in City government and in the community. In this capacity work extensively with cross-racial teams seeking to bring about institutional and structural change to create racial equity in the city of Seattle. In addition to training general audiences scope of work has a purposeful focus on bringing in strategies and perspectives that support People of Color in their leadership development and effectiveness.

Equity in educational opportunity has been a focus as a community activist and ultimately led to running for and serving a four year term on the Seattle Public School Board. This experience was among the most valuable personal challenges of moving from theory to action for racial equity.

In 2016 Darlene accepted the position of Director of the new Department of Race and Equity in Oakland California, where she is currently applying her years of experience public policy and equity expertise to lead and support Oakland’s efforts to create a more just and equitable City.

Dimitry Gershenson is the CEO and Co-Founder of Enduring Planet, a fintech platform offering fast, flexible, founder-friendly credit to all climate entrepreneurs.

Dimitry started Enduring Planet building on his 10+ years of experience across climate tech, operations, and impact investing.

Prior to Enduring Planet, Dimitry led M&A and served as COO for Rango Wireless, an Enduring Ventures portfolio company. Before that, Dimitry built Meta’s Energy Access program, a $15M+ investing initiative that enabled energy access for 3M people and unlocked nearly $500M in additional capital in underserved markets like Kenya and India. While at Meta, Dimitry also led the development of multiple predictive ML products in the cleantech space and built corporate accelerator programs for impact startups in India and Puerto Rico.

Outside of Enduring Planet, Dimitry sits on the board of Ecosafi, a Lowercarbon-backed climate startup enabling clean cooking in emerging markets. Dimitry holds an MS in Energy and Resources from UC Berkeley, a BS in Natural Resource Management from Rutgers University.

Steven M. Rothstein is the founding Managing Director of the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets. Ceres Accelerator aims to transform the practices and policies that govern capital markets in order to accelerate reduction of the worst financial impacts of the climate crisis and other sustainability threats. Steven’s 40 years of experience will be critical to explore the most effective strategies for the Accelerator to focus on and move capital markets towards climate sustainability.Steven has had a successful career starting, managing and growing several non-profit, social change and government organizations. After college he was one of the founding team of Citizens Energy Corporation, the world’s only non-profit oil company. This enterprise, and its related organizations, grew to provide tens of millions of service for low income and needy individuals through oil, natural gas, electricity, energy conservation, pharmaceuticals and renewable energy. After several years, Steven went on to manage a Massachusetts $300 million human service state agency’s programs and facilities for people with intellectual disabilities. He then started and ran Environmental Futures, a management and market consulting company serving a wide range of enterprises in the US and internationally seeking to grow their environmental work. He also ran the New England market for Constellation’s entry and expansion into this market as a successful electricity broker. His career also includes running the world renowned, Perkins School for the Blind, as well as Citizen Schools and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.He has worked at local, state, federal and international levels of government. Steven served on many non-profit and government boards. He has spoken and written extensively and worked with partners in the corporate, non-profit, government and philanthropy sectors.Steven has a BA with Honors in Political Science from Williams College and an MBA from Northeast

Katie Schmitz Eulitt leads the ISSB SASB Standards Investor Advisory Group, comprising over 60 leading global asset owners and managers – with >$53 Trillion AUM – supporting a global baseline standard for the communication of corporate performance on ESG issues relevant to the assessment of enterprise value to investors. This reprises similar roles Katie has played at the Value Reporting Foundation, prior to its merger with IFRS in August 2022 and at the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board prior to that. She also co-leads market engagement in Asia Pacific markets, with an emphasis on Japan, South Korea, and Singapore.

Katie worked with investment bank Salomon Brothers for over a decade in the US, Japan, and Hong Kong. Her experience in project development and finance spans the energy sector (both fossil fuels and renewables), the protection of forested lands, and water disinfection in developing markets.

She holds a BA in Japanese from the University of California, Berkeley, an MBA from l’Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires (INSEAD) in Fontainebleau, France, an executive certificate in sustainability from the Presidio Graduate School of San Francisco, and a Global Competent Boards Designation.

2021 Women of Power, 2019 GEN T Honoree, V Label Global Hero, 2 x TEDx Speaker: Serial social entrepreneur & trends forecaster Sonalie Figueiras is a sustainability expert, food futurist and eco-powerhouse who has been inspiring global audiences for over a decade with practical steps on how to fight climate change. Known as the Green Queen of Asia, she is the founder and Editor in Chief of the award-winning Green Queen - the region’s first impact media platform that educates millions of readers on the connection between health, sustainability and the environment and showcases future solutions. She is also the co-founder and CEO of organic sourcing platform Ekowarehouse and climate tech SaaS Source Green, which helps consumer brands quit plastic packaging thanks to proprietary plastic reduction software In addition, Sonalie is a global keynote speaker and an advisor to multiple mission-driven startups and NGOs, and a venture partner to several VC funds.

Littlefoot Ventures represents a culmination of knowledge and experiences from Eva’s 15 years as a food systems practitioner driving change on global agriculture and food issues within the foodservice, restaurant, and retail industries. As an internationally recognized food systems expert, she has spoken at 30+ conferences reaching thousands of people across the globe. 

Eva was a founding team member of ReFED, the leading non-profit dedicated to reducing U.S. food waste, serving in multiple roles. She secured the initial funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, General Mills Foundation, and Walmart Foundation to establish the organizational framework for ReFED, helping it become the food waste leader it is today. She was also responsible for the wide distribution of the original ReFED Roadmap report which continues to influence corporate and philanthropic food waste strategies, and policy agendas.

Previous to ReFED, she worked at the World Economic Forum serving on the food and agriculture team. There, she supported multi-stakeholder partnerships in 12 countries across Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America to mobilize investment and coordination amongst global food companies (Cargill, Mondelez, Nestle, SABMiller, Syngenta, Unilever, Yara amongst others), heads of state (including the G7), UN agencies (EDP, FAO, WFP) and farmer organizations. She started Littlefoot to provide more dedicated support and services to food businesses, foundations, and nonprofits focused on creating positive environmental, social and economic impact. In becoming a mother (and thus creating “little feet” of her own), Eva has more urgency to ensure we leave a better, safer food system for her children, and yours. She also uses her expertise to serve as President of the Upcycled Food Foundation Board of Directors.

She is based in Boulder County, Colorado with her husband and two beautiful, goofy children.

Jay Watson leads efforts to advance progress on General Mills global impact initiatives, notably the 2030 regenerative agriculture commitment and enterprise climate ambition. In his role, Jay collaborates with farmers, farm advisors, NGOs, suppliers and retailers to deploy programs seeking to improve ecological and economic outcomes of agricultural systems in targeted supply sheds.

Prior to joining the Global Impact Team in 2017, Jay spent 10 years in a variety of buying roles within the company’s global sourcing organization. Jay holds B.S. in Finance and a B.S. in Economics from Arizona State University and a MBA from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management.

Andrew Chen is the Principal for aviation decarbonisation at RMI, where he leads work to accelerate the path to net-zero air transport through investment and production in high-quality sustainable aviation fuel. Andrew has more than 15 years’ experience in net-zero carbon and sustainability strategy development, environmental impact assessment, and emissions modelling and management. Previously, he was head of emissions strategy at Heathrow Airport, where he developed and embedded climate-change and air-quality strategies. He has also advised global brands in aviation, food production and packaging, and motorsports on topics including net-zero target-setting and SBTi, supply-chain decarbonisation and stakeholder engagement.

Kim Carnahan has over 15 years of experience in climate change and energy, including serving as the Chief Negotiator for Climate Change at the US Department of State. Over nearly a decade at the State Department, she managed the 13-government agency team that negotiated the Paris Agreement and its implementing guidance as well as energy and environment agreements at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Maritime Organization (IMO).  

She has a deep background in environmental markets, having previously served as the International Policy Director at the International Emissions Trading Association. She also spent three years leading the alternative fuels and market-based solutions teams in the Americas at ENGIE Impact, a global sustainability consulting firm.  Kim spearheaded the launch of the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA) in 2021 at ENGIE Impact, in partnership with EDF, RMI and nearly 2 dozen large global corporations. SABA, a non-profit initiative, enables companies to decarbonize air transport through investment in sustainable aviation fuel.  She continues to manage SABA today after transitioning to her new role as CEO of Neoteric Energy and Climate, a specialized climate and energy advisory firm she launched in late 2022 to support groups of public, private and non-profit organizations working to solve the world's most intractable decarbonization challenges. Her latest partnership - with Gold Standard and C2ES – is The AIM Platform, which serves as a hub for identifying and removing roadblocks to value chain mitigation and coordinating collective mitigation action in hard-to-abate sectors. She is also leading initiatives to support agricultural methane, heavy duty, long distance trucking and maritime decarbonization.

Dr. Cabiyo uses interdisciplinary approaches to investigate nature-based solutions to climate change. He has recently completed his PhD in the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley, where he studied how policy and innovative technology can enable carbon-beneficial forest management. This work bridges industrial ecology, forest economics, and forest ecology.

Dr. Cabiyo's modeling work has focused on the role of innovative wood use in reducing carbon emissions, both in California and East Africa. His applied policy work focuses on improving forest carbon offset protocols. The intent of this work is to promote the more credible translation of carbon dioxide removals to a market context.

Rafael manages Microsoft’s carbon removal program and has worked on that program since 2020. In that role, he reviews projects across technical approaches, from soil carbon up to direct air capture, for their quality, potential, and cost as Microsoft builds its portfolio. He previously developed climate strategies at the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, including on carbon removal, and started his career working on foreign affairs. He holds a BA (International Relations) from Tufts University and is based in Seattle, USA.

Philip is an engineer with an MBA and is on a mission to build the grid and transportation systems of the future. He has 14 years of experience in the utility and technology industries developing and managing products that include bleeding edge electric vehicle charging management programs, energy management and storage solutions, and industrial scale energy efficiency products. As Manager of Business Strategy and Operations within Panasonic’s Smart Mobility Office, Philip leads efforts to incubate and launch new products at the nexus of energy and mobility that will play a big role in Panasonic’s Green ImpACT goals.

Kelly supports a diverse range of companies on corporate responsibility issues such as sustainability strategy, stakeholder engagement, reporting, human rights, and inclusive economy. Prior to BSR, Kelly spent more than six years consulting on energy efficiency, sustainability, and renewable energy for California’s utilities and public-sector clients, such as the University of California. She started her career with the U.S. Peace Corps in Washington, D.C., where she supported programming and training efforts on collaborative international development initiatives. Kelly also serves on Spark’s Board of Directors, advising the nonprofit on grantmaking for women’s empowerment organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York Metropolitan Area, and overseas. She speaks English and is proficient in Italian. Kelly holds an M.A. in International Relations from San Francisco State University and a B.A. in Global Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara.  

Kristen is currently Sustainability Senior Manager at PepsiCo and is responsible for leading the strategy, engagement, and execution of the pep+ climate and water agenda in the foods North America supply chain. Prior to this, she worked in PepsiCo’s Global Office of Sustainability on the Climate Change team focused on Scope 3 (indirect/supply chain) greenhouse gas emissions.Previously, Kristen was a consultant with Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) where she did a combination of sustainability and change management work. From there, she worked at the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise where she managed their Climate Change and Business Program, as well as the Tamer Fund for Social Ventures to invest in early-stage environmental and social start-ups.Kristen holds a Master of Science in Sustainability Management degree from Columbia University’s Earth Institute where she focused on the sustainability of global food and agriculture systems. She also has her Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science and Leadership Studies from the University of Richmond.

Rodney Cromwell serves as Vice President - Enterprise Accounts at Schneider at Schneider National.

John Boesel is the President and CEO of CALSTART, a national organization with more than 175 member companies that is dedicated to the growth of the clean transportation technology industry. John joined the organization as Vice President and was promoted to his current position in 2001. Prior to joining CALSTART, John worked as a legislative aide, focusing on environmental and energy policy, in the California State Assembly as well as being a commercial banker for Wells Fargo. In 1987, John taught English to graduate students at the Yunnan Institute of Technology in Kunming. John has an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Davis. He currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center at Stanford University and a member of the California Plug-in Electric Vehicle Collaborative.

Dr. Kelly L. Fleming is is director and a senior fellow at the Institute for Transportation Decarbonization and a Vice President at Boundary Stone Partners. Kelly is an expert in energy technology with a focus in transportation energy and energy policy, including the transition to zero-carbon fuel resources, and the role of electricity in transportation decarbonization. She holds a B.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering.

Faraz Ahmad serves as Amazon’s Head of Net Zero Electricity and leads strategy and implementation across Amazon’s worldwide operations. In this role, Faraz partners with Amazon’s business and regional teams to formulate the strategy and implementation approach for electricity in support of Amazon’s overall sustainability goal of reaching net zero by 2040. Amazon is the world’s largest corporate buyer of renewable electricity.Previously, Faraz led strategy, business development and M&A for NextEra Energy’s Retail division which serves residential, commercial, industrial and institutional energy users across the US. In this role, Faraz was responsible for driving strategy and profitable growth, evaluating all venture capital investments and executing all acquisition transactions. During his tenure, he oversaw launches of new business ventures in home energy optimization and energy consulting.Faraz held a series of senior roles with General Electric (GE) focused on the energy sector. His global experience covers working in emerging markets, Europe and North America. In 2012, Faraz was seconded to an internal startup venture for GE Distributed Power, which was mentored by Eric Ries, Harvard Business School's entrepreneur in residence. He has experience in engineering, strategic planning, product management, P&L management and operations. Prior to GE, Faraz was a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group in London serving government, utility and technology clients. His prior professional experience consists of engineering roles at British Nuclear Fuels, bp plc and Cambridge Silicon Radio plc. Faraz has authored a number of publications related to UK energy policy. Faraz is a Fellow of the Energy Institute and a member of the Institute of Engineering & Technology. He holds a First Class Bachelors and Masters degree in Electrical and Information Engineering from Cambridge University and MIT.

Emma Armstrong is Executive Director at Anthesis Consulting Group. Her focus is in assisting corporations to derive tangible business value from the integration of environmental sustainability to their strategies, products, operations and communications.

As Chief Innovation Officer, Toby leads a team that identifies and develops new standards frameworks and related partnerships for Verra and has been responsible for establishing a number of ground-breaking standards initiatives. Toby led the creation of the original VCS framework covering Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU), which has become the foremost global carbon accounting standard for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), being used by hundreds of projects worldwide.

Previously, Toby ran Conservation International’s (CI) Climate and Land Use, Markets and Policy program, after directing the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA), a partnership comprising The Nature Conservancy, CI, Rainforest Alliance, Wildlife Conservation Society and CARE International. CCBA created the leading social and environmental standards for forest carbon projects and government programs.

On the forest carbon policy front, Toby has developed legislative proposals adopted within various U.S. climate bills and has helped establish bilateral agreements between leading U.S., Brazilian, Indonesian and Mexican states.  He also served on the REDD Offsets Working Group, providing recommendations to the California Air Resources Board on how tropical forests could be brought into the state’s cap-and-trade scheme, and has been an adviser to the Carbon Fund of the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility.

Kirk Liu currently serves as a Technology-to-Market Advisor at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), where he helps prepare innovative energy technologies for transition from the agency-funded lab to the commercial market.

Kirk’s career has focused on commercialization and growth of new ideas. For the past 7 years, Kirk served in various growth capacities for early-stage startups. Recently, he served as the Head of Operations at a seed stage payments technology company. Kirk started his career as a chemical engineer at Honeywell UOP R&D, where he evaluated new petrochemical, oil, and gas technologies from conceptional design to commercial implementation.

Kirk earned his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He also holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University.