Julia Thayne, Harvard Business School

Julia builds climate solutions for cities and people.

From major infrastructure investments in cleaner trucks and ports to policies for open streets and sidewalk dining, Julia has spent 15 years working across sectors to build first-of-a-kind projects that show why – and how – to take equitable climate action.

Julia previously served as Executive Officer to the Mayor of Los Angeles, where she established one of the first public-private partnerships for sustainable transportation technology in the U.S. and raised $300 million for clean trucks at the country’s busiest port. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her programs provided 200,000 meals weekly to 20,000 seniors – employing local restaurants and taxi drivers, donated 1million N-95 masks to 400 non-profits, and opened streets and sidewalks to outdoor dining and safe cycling.

Before that, Julia was a product manager at infrastructure tech company Siemens. She advised 35 cities – from Minneapolis to Mexico City – to set and achieve ambitious climate targets. At global non-profit Rocky Mountain Institute, Julia led research on climate-aligned urbanism and clean industrial hubs, and managed teams to realize investments in dozens of clean energy, industry, and transportation projects across the U.S. She is also a non-profit founder, university educator, and podcast host on the future of mobility. Most recently, she co-founded the advisory firm Two* & Rising to continue advancing climate innovation with start-ups, companies, and governments.

Trained as an economist and urban designer, Julia holds degrees from Emory University and the London School of Economics & Political Science. She is proudly from Atlanta, and also calls Los Angeles home.

Chris Roe , Director of Worldwide Environment & Carbon, Amazon

Chris Roe is Director of Worldwide Carbon at Amazon. In this capacity, he manages the strategy and execution of Amazon’s commitment to reach The Climate Pledge, a goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, ten years ahead of the Paris Agreement. Chris has over 15 years of experience driving initiatives in corporate energy and sustainability. 

Prior to Amazon, Chris led energy, water, and sustainable building initiatives within Boeing’s real estate and manufacturing operations. Chris has a Master's degree in Engineering from Cambridge University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington. He currently serves on the board of the Smart Electric Power Alliance and the Smart Building Center.

Mindy Lubber, President, Ceres

Mindy Lubber is the CEO and President of the sustainability nonprofit Ceres. She has been at the helm since 2003, and under her leadership, the organization and its powerful networks and global initiatives have grown significantly in size and influence.    

As a global thought leader, Lubber has inspired capital market leaders including some of the world’s largest institutional investors and corporate boards and executives to factor responsible investment and business practices into their overall strategies. She regularly speaks to high-level global and national policymakers on the need for stronger climate policies that accelerate the transition to a more just and resilient economy. She is frequently quoted in mainstream business and financial news outlets and pens columns for Forbes.com and Reuters.com on a variety of sustainability topics. In 2015, Lubber helped catalyze the necessary business support to get the historic Paris Agreement across the finish line, leading Vogue Magazine to name her a “Climate Warrior.”  

Lubber has received numerous awards and recognitions for her leadership. In 2020, she was awarded the United Nations ‘Champions of the Earth’ Entrepreneurial Vision award. She has made Barron’s Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential women in U.S. finance for four consecutive years and received the Climate Visionary Award from the Earth Day Network, the William K. Reilly Award for Environmental Leadership from American University, and the Skoll Foundation’s Award for Social Entrepreneurship. Ceres has been named a top 100 women-led businesses in Massachusetts for five years in a row by the Globe Magazine.  

Prior to Ceres, Lubber served as a Regional Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She also founded Green Century Capital Management and served as the director of the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group. She resides in the Boston area.

Daniel Goldman, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Clean Energy Ventures 

Daniel Goldman has been pioneering clean energy and climate technology investing since the early 2000s, and has generated a strong investment track record over multiple decades. He co-founded Clean Energy Ventures (CEV) in 2016, which currently manages $415M across two funds. He has over 30 years of diverse operational and investment experience in the energy sector and has been investing at the project and venture stages for most of his career with over $4 billion of transactions completed. He currently serves on the board of directors of CEV portfolio companies, including Nth Cycle, Carbon Upcycling, ConnectDER, Lithios, Electrified Thermal Solutions, Advanced Ionics, and OXCCU. He is the venture capital representative on the Advisory Board of Net Zero Asset Managers, a co-founder and former member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of Browning the Green Space, member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee (and former Chair of both) of the Alliance for Climate Transition, a member of the Industry Advisory Board of Greentown Labs, and a member of the Governor of of Massachusetts Energy Transformation Advisory Board. During more than two decades, he has been an active advocate for climate-focused policy, both at the local and national level. Mr. Goldman holds an MSc from the London School of Economics and a BS from Cornell University.

Moderated by: Jesse Lazarus, Senior Advisor, Green Tech Alliance

Jesse Lazarus is a senior advisor for the Greentech Alliance, Reaction VC and Matereal, and advises leading climate tech ventures on their global policy advocacy strategy. He works at the intersection of law/policy and business to help drive the growth of the sustainable economy to address the climate crisis and related ecological crises. He previously led the development of the U.S. federal government policy advocacy campaign plan of a Gates Ventures-backed clean energy technology venture ahead of its IPO. He also practiced law with Wilson Sonsini’s Energy and Climate Solutions practice group, helping startups, companies and nonprofits secure over $2B in U.S. federal funding for clean energy technology infrastructure. In addition, he advised the U.S. SEC’s Sr. Advisor on Climate & ESG on developing a climate financial risk disclosure rule, as well as the Environmental Defense Fund on developing clean energy partnerships with Fortune 500 Companies in China. Jesse published the feature article in one of the nation’s most widely-cited environmental law journals – the Environmental Law Institute’s Environmental Law Reporter – on addressing critical legal and policy obstacles facing climate tech ventures. Jesse holds degrees from Stanford (JD), Yale (MBA), and Middlebury College (BA).

Nick Devonshire, Co-Head Investments, CleanCapital

Nick is responsible for valuation, structuring, and execution of investments at CleanCapital and serves as an observer on the firm’s investment committee.

Previously, Nick was an associate at New Energy Capital, a clean energy private equity firm. Before private equity, he co-founded SparkFund, an energy efficiency financing company. Nick also has work experience at the Macquarie Group, ICF International, and Bloom Energy.

Nick is a graduate of Dartmouth College and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management where he earned the Martin Trust MBA Achievement Award and led the MIT Energy Club.

Pablo Ruiz, CEO and CTO, NewGrid

Dr. Pablo Ruiz is an electrical engineer with over fifteen years of experience in electric power systems analysis, research and software development. He specializes in power system operations and planning, renewable power integration and the modeling, analysis and design of wholesale electricity markets. Dr. Ruiz is also an Associate Research Professor at Boston University, where he served as the Principal Investigator for the DOE ARPA-E Topology Control Algorithms project, leading a team of researchers from seven institutions in the development of transmission topology control technology. In addition, he is a Senior Consultant at economic consulting firm The Brattle Group, where he supports utilities, system operators, technology vendors, project developers and other organizations. Previously, Dr. Ruiz was an Associate Principal at Charles River Associates (CRA), and a Power Systems Engineer at AREVA T&D, where he developed and implemented the first stochastic unit commitment software program based on the leading power market engine in North America. Dr. Ruiz has published articles in the IEEE Transactions on Power Systems and has presented papers at international conferences on transmission topology optimization, renewables integration and uncertainty management, power flow analysis, voltage stability, operating reserve requirements, transmission expansion and unit commitment. Dr. Ruiz has held Research and Teaching Assistant positions at the University of Illinois and at Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, Argentina. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

McKenzie Fowler, Director, PowerIntel

McKenzie Fowler is an energy market specialist with expertise in electricity market modeling and analysis, energy transition strategy, resource planning, market and asset related due diligence, and price forecasting. At PowerIntel, McKenzie oversees the team developing long-term electricity market forecasts to support power market stakeholders with premium intelligence and decision support.

Prior to joining PowerIntel, McKenzie worked for Charles River Associates managing client projects related to energy market strategy, transaction diligence, energy procurement and resource planning. She has experience in advisory services, providing clients with education and analysis on opportunities to participate in U.S. energy markets. McKenzie has worked with corporate and industrial clients to identify energy projects to meet ESG goals and assess power purchase agreement economics and market risk. She has also worked for a major electric and natural gas utility in the U.S. Northeast on long-term corporate strategy.

McKenzie received a MASc degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Victoria, and her BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. McKenzie is a 2022 Clean Energy Leadership Institute Fellow and 2023 President of the Boston chapter of Young Professionals in Energy.

Moderated by: Ely Sandler, Fellow,  Harvard Kennedy School

Ely Sandler is a Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School where he teaches HKS’s most over-subscribed course, “Financing the Clean Energy Transition,” and leads research on energy policy and climate finance. Ely’s work has been referenced in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Washington Post, Reuters and Bloomberg, and he has advised organizations such as the World Bank, United Nations and various governments on public policy. Outside his academic work, Ely is Co-Founder of the Article Six Group, raising finance for large-scale infrastructure projects and advising governments on energy and climate policy. In addition, Ely is also a Venture Partner at Aurelia Foundry, a leading Space Tech Venture Capital fund. 

Ely’s background is in economics and finance; he served as a senior consultant to the World Bank and previously worked at Morgan Stanley for a decade across investment banking, capital markets, and senior management.

Ely graduated with distinction from the University of Oxford with a first-class degree in Politics, Philosophy & Economics. He holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, where he received a distinction for his thesis. His doctorate is at Oxford University in Environmental Economics.

Nick O'Donohoe, Former CEO, British International Investment

Nick O’Donohoe CMG was Chief Executive Officer of British International Investment (BII) from April 2017 until November 2024. BII (formerly CDC) is the UK’s Development Finance Institution and one of the largest bilateral DFIs in the World. During his tenure, the organisation grew from 250 to over 700 people. It deployed over $10B in investments across Africa and Asia in support of private sector development and also became the UK Governments leading provider of climate finance to Emerging Economies. It led innovation across a broad range of key areas of development finance including gender lens investment, blended finance, impact measurement and funding to lower income countries, particularly in Africa.

Immediately prior to joining BII, from January 2016 to March 2017, Nick was Senior Advisor on blended finance to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In 2011 Nick co-founded, together with Sir Ronald Cohen, Big Society Capital (BSC). BSC was supported by the UK Government, funded by dormant bank accounts, and is considered the world’s first social investment wholesaler. Nick served as CEO for five years, developed the organisation and led several important policy initiatives that have attracted over £10B to the UK social sector since the creation of the institution.

Between 1996 and 2011 Nick was a senior executive at JP Morgan. Among other roles he was Head of European Equity and then Global Head of Research where he led the creation of the World’s number one ranked research department. He served on the Management Committee of the Global Investment Bank and the Executive Committee of JP Morgan Chase.

While at JP Morgan he helped lead the creation of the Banks Social Sector Finance unit and was the senior author of JP Morgan’s groundbreaking 2010 research report on “Impact Investments – An Emerging Asset Class?”

Between1981 and 1996 Nick worked at Goldman Sachs in London and Zurich in a variety of roles including in equity capital markets and GSAM and also as Head of the Swiss office.

He currently sits on the Group Board of Equity Bank, based in Nairobi, and BlueMark in the US. He is a Senior Advisor to McKinsey and to the CEO of Africa50, a large infrastructure developer and investor. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Private Finance in Development at ODI, of the Africa Capital Hub (ACH), and of British Enterprise International (BEI).

Previously he has served as a board or advisory board member at several leadership organisations in Impact and Development Finance including GIIN, EDFI, GSG and GEAPP. He also chaired the UK Dormant Asset Commission which reported in 2017.

Nick has an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BA from Trinity College Dublin where he was a Foundation Scholar.

He was awarded the title of Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) by Her Majesty the Queen in the 2022 Jubilee Birthday Honours List.

Jonah Wagner, President, Constructive

Jonah Wagner is President and co-founder of Constructive, an independent nonprofit reengineering collaboration across clean energy and climate ecosystems. He is the former Chief Strategist at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Programs Office and served as Principal Assistant Director for Clean Energy at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Prior to DOE, he was Regional Director for Latin America at Delterra, an environmental nonprofit, and Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company, where he specialized in infrastructure, public finance and customer experience design. Mr. Wagner holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an A.B. from Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs.

Joe Blair, General Partner, Bay Bridge Ventures

Joe Blair has dedicated the past 20 years to building and investing in climate tech companies. In 2022, he co-founded Bay Bridge Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in early-stage climate tech companies. Before founding Bay Bridge, Joe led investments at Obvious Ventures, Chrysalix Venture Capital, and Cota Capital. Earlier in his career, he worked as an engineer at FlexEnergy and Ingersoll Rand's Energy Services. Joe holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, where he now serves on the Professional Development Faculty.

Moderated by: Sully Crevecoeur, Nuclear Market Manager NA,
Technetics Group

Alison Poortman, VP Advanced Fuels Commercial NA, Urenco Global

Vice President, Advanced Fuels, Commercial, North America

Alison Poortman is Vice President of Advanced Fuels, Commercial for North America at Urenco, where she leads commercial strategy and customer engagement for the advanced fuels portfolio, including HALEU.

With over 15 years of experience in the energy and nuclear sectors, Alison brings deep expertise in market development, supply chain, and strategic partnerships.

She plays a key role in advancing next-generation nuclear technologies and supports Urenco’s mission to deliver reliable, low-carbon energy that enhances energy security and supports global decarbonization.

A graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, Alison is a strong advocate for clean energy innovation, working closely with policymakers, industry stakeholders, and partners across the region.

Paolo Venneri, Principal Nuclear Engineer, Amazon

Dr. Paolo Venneri is the Principal Nuclear Engineer on the Global Energy Team at AWS leading the technology roadmap and diligence for nuclear power system integration with AWS. In that capacity, he supports commercial and vendor engagements involving nuclear power for AWS. Prior to Amazon, he was the Executive VP of the Advanced Technology Division of USNC where he led the development of space power and propulsion system in support of NASA and DoD missions. He has a PhD in Nuclear and Quantum Engineering.

Moderated by: Brian Trelstad, Senior Lecturer, HBS

Brian Trelstad is a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School in the General Management Unit and the Faculty Chair of the Advanced Leadership Initiative. He teaches elective courses on Social Entrepreneurship and Systems Change and Investing for Impact, and the first-year required courses on the Social Purpose of the Firm (SPF) and Leadership and Corporate Accountability (LCA).  His research focuses on social entrepreneurship, systems change, impact investing, and the role of business in society.

Anthony Howcroft, Founder & Exec Chairman, SWARM

Anthony has a career worth of experience in technology, in a mix of corporate and startup roles that cover software engineering, consultancy, sales and marketing. He is the founder and Exec Chairman of SWARM Engineering, who solve operational challenges using Agentic AI. SWARM's primary market is agrifood with customers such as Cargill, Ardent Mills, Fruitist, General Mills, and Wilbur Ellis. SWARM has been at the leading edge of multi-agent systems for a decade, applying advanced technology to real-world problems. Anthony was previously the co-founder of DATAllegro, the data warehouse vendor acquired by Microsoft for $260M, and subsequently ran Microsoft's Big Data team in EMEA for 5 years. He moved to America from England in 2014 and after a 2-year stint mentoring CEOs and CTOs at a California incubator, founded SWARM.

Adaeze Okoli, Chief of Staff, ReThink Food

Adaeze Okoli Paul is a mission-driven leader transforming food systems and expanding economic opportunity globally. As Chief of Staff at Rethink Food, she drives strategic initiatives and partnerships with government agencies, foundations, and community stakeholders to combat food insecurity. Her experience spans working with social enterprises in Africa to scale climate-resilient agriculture and economic development solutions, to advancing innovation in alternative proteins and agricultural technology. Adaeze holds a BS in Economics from The Ohio State University and an MBA/MPP from Harvard, and is passionate about equity and sustainability. In her spare time, she enjoys biking around Brooklyn and honing her culinary skills.

Charlie Andersen, Founder & CEO, Burro

Charlie grew up on a working farm. This experience led him to believe that all tedious outdoor labor should be automated, and simultaneously to understand the challenges that robots face in industries like agriculture. He founded Burro after working for CNHi, where he reported to the head of the North American operating unit and worked on special projects across sales, marketing, manufacturing, distribution, and autonomy M&A. He received a BA from Amherst College, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Moderated by: Christian Kaps, Asst. Professor, HBS

Christian Kaps is an Assistant Professor of business administration in the Technology and Operations Management (TOM) Unit at Harvard Business School. Kaps' research focuses on emerging topics in renewable electricity generation and storage - notably how new technologies, sustainability behavior, and policies shape the energy market of the future. He teaches the first-year TOM course in the required curriculum.

His primary research interest is in the energy transition with a particular focus on how the evolution of storage technologies shapes capacity and investment decisions in renewable power and fossil-fuel plants. Additionally, he focuses on the role that customers' sustainable behavior plays in accelerating the adoption of new technologies and how local differences influence the setup of power markets around the world. While his main research focus is on the energy field, Kaps' interests lie in the areas of sustainability and technology innovation more broadly. As he believes that no single actor can solve climate change related challenges alone, he has partnered with firms ranging from storage startups to large renewable investors like AWS for his academic work.

Professor Kaps earned his PhD in Operations Management at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a MSc in Supply Chain Management from the Rotterdam School of Management and received his BSc in Business Administration at WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management.

Kathleen Ores Walsh, Chief Underwriting Officer, USAA

Kathleen Ores Walsh is the Head of Underwriting for USAA's Property & Casualty Insurance Group, where she is responsible for integrating climate risk considerations into underwriting strategy and ensuring the long-term resilience of USAA's insurance offerings.

Kathleen brings extensive experience in actuarial science and risk management to the challenges posed by climate change. In her career, she served as Chief Actuary for Personal Lines at The Hartford. She also held leadership positions at COUNTRY Financial, where she led development of new product offerings using modernized technology and earlier in her career, held roles at American Family Insurance Group. Notably, she has navigated product, pricing & underwriting organizations through unprecedented periods, including the recent inflationary cycles.

A Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) and a member of its Board of Directors, Kathleen is engaged with the actuarial community's efforts to address climate-related risks. She previously chaired the Board of Directors for the Highway Loss Data Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing deaths, injuries, and property damage from car accidents – experience that informs her perspective on managing systemic risks.

Kathleen holds a Bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Montana and a Master's degree in Mathematics from the University of Wisconsin.

JT White, Co-Founder & CEO, Forerunner

JT White is the Cofounder & CEO at Forerunner. Prior to co-founding Forerunner, JT led digital product design at Managed by Q, an online marketplace for office services acquired by WeWork in 2019 for $200m and Maven Clinic, a women's healthcare startup, now valued at $1.7b. Earlier in his career, JT worked as a design researcher at the MIT Media Lab, where he helped develop an urban planning platform that would ignite his interest in disaster risk mitigation. JT grew up in Maine where his family owned a home in a coastal community - his personal concerns about the impact of rising sea levels on homes along the coast was a key driver in the decision to launch Forerunner.

Joel Wish, Founder & CEO, Bright Habor

Joel Wish is an entrepreneur focused on building, funding, and scaling climate and health technology companies. He is the Founder & CEO of Bright Harbor, a disaster recovery operating system for communities. Previously, Joel founded Simple Health, which helped millions access essential medications before its exit in 2020, and co-founded Sols Systems, a pioneer in 3D-printed medical devices acquired by Aetrex in 2015. He is also an active early-stage investor in more than 40 companies and funds, often serving as the first outside capital to help sharpen vision and business models.

Moderated by: Wasim Tahir, Research Fellow, Harvard Center for International Development

Wasim A. Tahir is a Research Fellow at Harvard University’s Center for International Development, where his work focuses on climate and development finance, with the goal of mobilizing private capital for sustainable development. He also produces development finance programming for students, serves as Senior Advisor to the Center for Development Finance Studies, and advises ODI Global Advisory, ODI’s new consulting arm.

Previously, Wasim worked at British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution, where he led efforts to scale private capital mobilization and developed BII’s financial sector strategy covering $2.2 billion in investments. A financial services expert, Wasim has advised institutions on corporate strategy, M&A, risk, and operations as a consultant with BCG and Oliver Wyman. He also held strategy roles at Credit Suisse and Lloyds Banking Group.

Morgan Defoort, Managing Principal, Factor[e] Ventures

Dr. Morgan DeFoort has a background in technology development and entrepreneurship with over two decades of experience working in emerging markets – predominantly India and East Africa. Before starting Factor E, Morgan was a Co-Director of the Energy Institute at Colorado State University, supporting over 200 interdisciplinary faculty, teaching, and leading R&D programs in a wide range of technology areas including engine systems, biofuels, and cookstoves. In addition, Morgan was a director at CSU STRATA, supporting university cleantech spinouts during formation and launch. Morgan holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University and a BA in Physics from Hastings College.

Katya Gratcheva, Advisor, Monetary and Capital Markets, IMF

Dr. Ekaterina (Katya) Gratcheva is an Advisor on sustainable and climate finance at the IMF’s Capital and Monetary Markets Department, where she works on implementing the Resilience and Sustainability Trust to help low- and vulnerable middle-income countries build resilience and promote sustainable growth. She is also a visiting lecturer and non-resident fellow at Princeton’s Centers for Public Policy and Finance and for Energy and Environment.

Previously, she led the finance function at the Climate Investment Funds, which has mobilized over $70 billion for climate action in 72 countries. Earlier in her career, she held senior roles at the World Bank, advising central banks, sovereign wealth funds, and pension funds; advancing long-term finance through capital markets; and managing the Bank’s assets and liabilities.

Dr. Gratcheva holds a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School, a Master’s in Applied Mathematics from Moscow State University, and a PhD in Operations Research from George Washington University.

Moderated by: James Koehler, Professor of Practice, Harvard University

James Koehler is an expert in energy markets, innovation, sustainability, and ESG integration. Koehler is a recovering oil and gas analyst who transitioned to cleantech to help build a renewable energy economy. He has served in multiple leadership roles, most recently in building and expanding a venture-backed firm specializing in solar, storage, and software. As Chief Strategist, he led commercial underwriting and market expansion across 12 states and 30 new markets, leading to 400% YoY revenue growth.

Koehler spent eight years on Wall Street and as a director at Berkeley Research Group, a global economic consulting firm with $400 million in annual revenues. During this time, he created a graduate-level course at Georgetown University focusing on energy markets, sustainability, and regulation and served a one-year term as President of the U.S. Energy Economics Association (DC chapter). Koehler has spoken at dozens of public and private forums in the U.S. and abroad on the opportunities and challenges in combating climate change and integrating clean energy alternatives into a traditional system of production, delivery, and consumption. He started his career as an advisor in the U.S. Senate as well as for former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Dipul Patel, CTO, Soluna Computing

Dip is an inventor, engineer, and entrepreneur. He is currently the Chief Technology Officer of Soluna (Nasdaq: SLNH), a company aiming to make stranded green energy profitable using off-grid high-density computing. Prior to Soluna, he was a co-founder of Ecovent, a smart home technology company sold to ConnectM in 2016. Before Ecovent, Dip led the design, development, and production of complex radar systems at Lockheed Martin. Dip has a BSEE from Drexel University, an MSEE from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he currently serves as a lecturer.

Michael Onolememen, Sr. Project Manager, Data Center Power Infrastructure, NextEra

Michael is a Senior Project Manager within the Commercial Team for Data Centers at NextEra Energy Resources. Before this, he worked as an Investment Banker at Goldman Sachs in New York, where he focused on raising private capital for companies within the Technology Media and Telecommunications (TMT) and Natural Resources industries. His primary interest lies in identifying opportunities to create value at the intersection of Energy and Artificial Intelligence.

Taylor Lalemand, Senior Manager, Markets, Treaty Oak Clean Energy

Taylor Lalemand is the Senior Manager of Markets at Treaty Oak Clean Energy, where she drives growth in renewable energy and digital infrastructure projects. Treaty Oak Clean Energy is a community-oriented, full-service provider of solar and battery storage solutions, and a portfolio company of Macquarie Asset Management. Taylor has over a decade of experience in business development and new markets, with leadership positions in energy management at EnerNOC, utilities at Eversource, and greenfield project development at Galehead Development. She holds a degree in Economics and Environmental Studies from the University of Vermont and is based in the Greater Boston area.

Moderated by: John Macomber, Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School

John Macomber is a Senior Lecturer in the Finance unit at Harvard Business School. His professional background includes leadership of real estate, construction, and information technology businesses. At HBS, Mr. Macomber's work focuses on climate adaptation and the future of cities, particularly as aided by the private finance and delivery of public infrastructure projects in both the developed and emerging worlds. His teaching combines infrastructure finance (including public-private partnerships), investing in resilience (notably in the face of sea rise in some areas and drought in others), economic development, and the impact of new technologies in delivering new infrastructure and making old infrastructure more efficient.  His most recent book is Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity (Harvard University Press, 2020)

Digaunto Chatterjee, SVP Engineering, Eversource Energy

Digaunto Chatterjee is Senior Vice President-Engineering. In this role, he is in charge of T&D Planning, Gas-Electric Planning, Asset Management, Transmission, Distribution, Substation and Telecommunications Engineering, Real Time T&D Control Room Operating Systems and Vegetation Management. As head of Engineering, Mr. Chatterjee balances multiple responsibilities – supporting day to day operations of the transmission and distribution system while also overseeing the development and engineering of the 5-Year Capital Plan to improve reliability, address near term asset replacements and connect customers as well as the development and engineering of the 10 and 20 Year strategic Transmission and Distribution Grid Modernization Plan to meet the States’ Clean energy mandates as well as addressing the threats of Climate Change through Resilience investments to mitigate increase in Storm Costs.

Previously, Mr. Chatterjee served as Vice President, Investment Strategy at GE Capital, where he led fundamental Energy and Capacity market analyses to inform investment decisions of over 2 GW of renewables and combined cycle powerplants throughout US.

Mr. Chatterjee earned his Bachelors in Power Electronics Engineering from Nagpur University, India. He earned his Master’s in Electric Power Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from University of Chicago-Booth School of Business. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Pablo Taccioli, Sr. Director, Strategic Growth, Fluence

Pablo Taccioli is the Senior Director of Strategic Growth at Fluence, where he leads new market solutions including data center applications, regional product strategy, and customer segmentation, for battery energy storage projects across the Americas. Prior to this role, Pablo oversaw Fluence's Americas - East Sales Engineering, closing more than 7.5GWh of equipment and services contracts. Before joining Fluence, Pablo managed Pacific Gas & Electric’s utility-scale battery energy storage portfolio and played a critical role in the development and execution of landmark projects. Pablo brings more than 15 years in the energy industry including battery storage, solar, energy efficiency, and oil and gas development. His expertise spans both technical and commercial strategy, with a career-long focus on scalable, data-driven clean energy infrastructure.

 Pablo holds a dual Master’s degree in Business Administration and Environmental Management from Duke University and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Boston University.

Michael Pasternak, Sr. Software Engineer, LineVision

Michael Pasternak is an engineer and strategist with over 10 years of experience working at the intersection of energy transformation and legacy industries. His approach to decarbonization centers on meeting traditional energy sectors where they are. He focuses on building trust, understanding operational realities, and driving incremental improvements that create pathways to larger systemic change.

Michael worked for Terrestrial Energy on advanced nuclear reactor development and led the New York City chapter of the North American Young Generation in Nuclear (NAYGN), where he championed nuclear energy as a critical component of a diversified low-carbon energy future. At Nautilus Labs, he worked directly with shipping owners, charterers, and operators to optimize vessel performance and reduce emissions, as well as meet international regulatory frameworks. Most recently, Michael has worked on utility power transmission infrastructure, focusing on the challenges of scaling and modernizing grid systems to handle increased renewable energy capacity and meet growing electrification demands. His work across nuclear, maritime energy transport, and grid infrastructure has given him first hand insight into how legacy systems actually operate and how to best drive change within them.

Jonathan Schrag, Deputy Chief of Climate & Director of Investment for Decarb. & Resilience, Office of the Governor, MA

Jonathan Schrag is a climate and energy policy strategist with over two decades of leadership experience in government, consulting, and nonprofits. He is currently Deputy Climate Chief and Director of Investment for Decarbonization and Resilience in the Massachusetts Governor’s Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience, leading efforts on clean energy finance, project delivery, and resilience planning. He was the first Executive Director of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the U.S.’s first regional cap-and-trade program, and has also served as Deputy Commissioner for Energy at Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and as Senior Director at the Environmental Defense Fund’s Clean Energy Idea Bank.