Friday, March 29th
3:00 pm: Women in Clean/Green Tech Shattering the Glass Ceiling
Hosted by Women in Cleantech and Sustainability
The urgent need for a shift to clean, sustainable technologies is the most important challenge of our time, probably the most crucial our species has ever faced. In this session some trailblazing women leaders in this domain will share their projects, their thoughts on where we stand in the race to a clean and equitable transition, and the challenges they face in what has for far too long been a male-populated sector. Hosted by Sara Fuentes, President of Smart Waste, and Chairwoman of Women in Cleantech and Sustainability. With: Emily Teitsworth, Executive Director of the Honnold Foundation; Charlotte Michaluk, 17, award-winning young scientist and engineer; Kellie Macpherson, Executive Vice President of Compliance & Risk at Radian Generation; Kirthika Padmanabhan, Co-Pilot at X, the moonshot factory.
March 29th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Panelists
Sara Fuentes
Chairwoman | Women in Cleantech and Sustainability
Sara Eve Fuentes, Chairwoman of Women in Clean Tech and Sustainability, is the founder and President of SmartWaste, a minority women-owned and operated start-up with a focus on Waste Technologies, Waste Systems and Vendor Management for Zero Waste programs with core values of “transparency, circularity, and people." With 10 years of experience in the waste and recycling industry, Sara has become a dynamic leader in abating commercial waste as well as a passionate advocate for women.
Emily Teitsworth
Executive Director | Honnold Foundation
Emily Teitsworth is the Executive Director of the Honnold Foundation, which provides grants to community-based organizations advancing solar energy access for marginalized communities all over the world. A passionate advocate for climate justice with over two decades’ experience leading organizations in the nonprofit and philanthropic fields, with a focus on sustainability, public health, and gender and race equity, Emily’s thought leadership on trust-based philanthropy and community development has been featured broadly at global convenings and in media outlets including Inside Philanthropy and The Guardian.
Charlotte Michaluk – Youth Keynote
Engineer, Scientist and Linguistics Researcher | Acnestis By Wind
Charlotte Lenore Michaluk, 17, is a brilliant young, award-winning, multi-disciplinary engineer, scientist and linguistics researcher, passionate about engineering sustainable solutions. Her development of technology for a hybrid wind and fossil fuel powered cargo ship has been widely recognized. Charlotte, who has been certified in freshwater bioassessment for over a decade (!), has been collecting and analyzing field data working with her state’s EPA to preserve ecologically critical wetlands and wildlife corridors in Central New Jersey. Through her organization, Acnestis By Wind, she has been researching using wind power to clean remote shorelines, developing curricula, and protecting wetlands.
Kellie Macpherson
Executive Vice President of Compliance & Risk | Radian Generation
Kellie Macpherson is the Executive Vice President of Compliance & Risk at Radian Generation (a firm offering professional asset management services to the renewable energy industry) overseeing Radian’s NERC (North American Electric Reliability Corporation) compliance and managed security services. For over 15 years, she has been a leader in the renewable asset space and has implemented 200+ compliance programs and completed 40+ NERC audits.
Kirthika Padmanabhan
Co-Pilot | X, the moonshot factory
Kirthika Padmanabhan has had a diverse work experience spanning various roles and industries (finance, healthcare, technology) on three continents. She currently works at X, the moonshot factory (an Alphabet company) as a Co-pilot for an Early Pipeline Project focused on climate tech. Prior positions include (to name only a few): Lead for Customer Success at Tidal, Program Lead for Adwords Sales Strategy & Support at Google, Analytics Manager for Trust & Safety Operation at YouTube, Chief of Staff for India Operations at Google, etc. Her most recent projects have included an early-stage climate startup focused on circular economy principles, and prior to that on ocean supply chain sustainability. Kirthika is also part of several women@ groups and is involved in philanthropic work in her community.
Saturday, March 30th
What can fiber arts and rotor sails have in common? How can we create sustainable technologies that can be implemented in the near future while balancing interests of profit with public health and climate change mitigation? Charlotte Lenore Michaluk, an extraordinary 17-year-old scientist, researcher, biomimetic inventor and passionate eco-activist and conservationist shares her hopeful vision informed by a deep respect of the natural world and powered by brilliant, clean green technologies. Pulling insight from her experiences ranging from cargo ship systems to a novel constructed writing script for greater freedom of expression, she will share the possibilities unleashed by an interdisciplinary mode of thinking that leverages common ground and societal and technological inertia.
March 30th | 10:09 am to 10:20 am | Zellerbach Hall
Keynote
Charlotte Michaluk – Youth Keynote
Engineer, Scientist and Linguistics Researcher | Acnestis By Wind
Charlotte Lenore Michaluk, 17, is a brilliant young, award-winning, multi-disciplinary engineer, scientist and linguistics researcher, passionate about engineering sustainable solutions. Her development of technology for a hybrid wind and fossil fuel powered cargo ship has been widely recognized. Charlotte, who has been certified in freshwater bioassessment for over a decade (!), has been collecting and analyzing field data working with her state’s EPA to preserve ecologically critical wetlands and wildlife corridors in Central New Jersey. Through her organization, Acnestis By Wind, she has been researching using wind power to clean remote shorelines, developing curricula, and protecting wetlands.
Introduction by Teo Grossman, President of Bioneers
Erica Gies is an independent journalist, National Geographic Explorer, and the author of Water Always Wins: Thriving in an age of drought and deluge, published in the U.S., U.K., and China. She covers water, climate change, plants and wildlife for Scientific American, The New York Times, bioGraphic, Nature, and other publications. The honors she has received include the Sierra Club’s Rachel Carson Award, Friends of the River’s California River Award, the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation’s Excellence in Journalism Award, and the Harvey Southam Lectureship at the University of Victoria.
March 30th | 11:19 am to 11:41 am | Zellerbach Hall
Introduced by
Teo Grossman
President | Bioneers
Teo Grossman, President of Bioneers, previously worked on a range of projects from federal range management to state-level assessments of long-range planning to applied research on topics including climate change adaptation, ecosystem services, biodiversity, and ecological networks. A Doris Duke Conservation Fellow during graduate school, Teo holds an MS in Environmental Science & Management from UC-Santa Barbara.
Keynote
Erica Gies
Author & Journalist | Water Always Wins: Thriving in an Age of Drought and Deluge
Erica Gies is an independent journalist, National Geographic Explorer, and the author of Water Always Wins: Thriving in an age of drought and deluge, published in the U.S., U.K., and China. She covers water, climate change, plants and wildlife for Scientific American, The New York Times, bioGraphic, Nature, and other publications. The honors she has received include the Sierra Club’s Rachel Carson Award, Friends of the River’s California River Award, the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation’s Excellence in Journalism Award, and the Harvey Southam Lectureship at the University of Victoria.
Oil, gas and coal are driving the climate crisis yet have, incredibly, largely been ignored in climate talks and policies. That’s starting to change. Millions of people are coalescing around the call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to end the expansion of fossil fuels, phase out existing production, and accelerate a just transition to clean energy and low carbon solutions. Join a panel of civil society, government and Indigenous leaders in a conversation about the growing momentum for a Fossil Fuel Treaty and how this global initiative is shaping the climate conversation, removing industry’s social license and compelling decision-makers to finally take action to end the era of fossil fuels—fast, fair and forever. Hosted by Cara Pike, Senior Communication Advisor to the Fossil Fuel Treaty, founder/Executive Director, Climate Access. With: Osprey Orielle Lake, founder/Executive Director, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network; Eriel Deranger, Founder and Executive Director, Indigenous Climate Action; Michael Brune, Climate and Campaign Strategist; Eduardo Martinez, the Mayor of Richmond; and Bryony Worthington of Worthington and Associates.
March 30th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Panelists
Cara Pike
Founder and Executive Director | Climate Access
Cara Pike, the founder and Executive Director of Climate Access, is a leading thinker in climate communications with 20+ years’ experience. Her expertise has been sought by nonprofits, academic institutions and government agencies including the City of Boston, the State of Vermont, EPA, FEMA, Urban Sustainability Directors Network, the Union of Concerned Scientists and others. Her studies and toolkits on environmental engagement translate complex issues into actionable strategies that are helping thousands of climate advocates more effectively frame sustainability issues and promote behavior change. Cara is also co-founder and Senior Communication Advisor to Climate Access’s partner organization, Re.Climate.
Eriel Tchekwie Deranger
Indigenous Climate Action | Co-Founder and Executive Director
Eriel Tchekwie Deranger (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), a leading global figure in Indigenous Rights and Climate Justice activism, is the co-founder and Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action and is a member of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change. She also sits on a number of boards of notable non-profit organizations (including Bioneers) and activist groups. She has organized divest movements, lobbied government officials, led mass mobilizations against the fossil fuel industry, written extensively for a range of publications and been featured in documentary films (including Elemental).
Michael Brune
Director | Larsen Lam Climate Change Foundation
Michael Brune, a leading national environmentalist for 25+ years (including as Executive Director of the Sierra Club for 12 years and of the Rainforest Action Network before that), has led some of the most effective environmental advocacy initiatives in U.S. history, including the Sierra Club’s massively successful Beyond Coal campaign, which resulted in the retirement of more than two-thirds of U.S. coal-fired power plants. Brune currently directs the Larsen Lam Climate Change Foundation and advises several other NGOs and early-stage clean energy companies, and he also serves on the boards of SOLARCYCLE and Outdoor Afro.
Osprey Orielle Lake
Founder and Executive Director | Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International
Osprey Orielle Lake, the founder and Executive Director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), works internationally with grassroots, BIPOC and Indigenous leaders, policymakers, and diverse coalitions to build climate justice, resilient communities, and a just transition to a decentralized, democratized clean-energy future. Osprey, who sits on the executive committee for the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature and on the steering committee for the Fossil Free Non-Proliferation Treaty, is the author of The Story is in Our Bones: How Worldviews and Climate Justice Can Remake a World in Crisis.
