Speakers - UNC Institute for the Environment

Keynotes and Featured

Robert Blue
Chair, President and CEO
Dominion Energy

Terry Boston
Consultant, Retired CEO of PJM
Grid Protection Alliance

Lachlan Carey
Senior Associate, US Program
RMI

Elizabeth Curmi
Director, Global Thematic Analyst
Citi

Jeff Guldner
Chairman of the Board, President and CEO
Pinnacle West Capital Corporation, Arizona Public Service

Arshad Mansoor
President and CEO
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)

Henry McKoy
Director, Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP)
United States Department of Energy

Joshua Rogol
President
Strata Clean Energy

Dan Shugar
Founder and CEO
Nextracker

Anna Siefken
Senior Advisor, Office of Technology Transitions
U.S. Department of Energy

Panelists

Stan Ahalt
Dean
UNC School of Data Science and Society

Saleem Ali
Chair of the Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences
University of Delaware (USA)

Elisa Alonso
Assistant Chief for the Minerals Intelligence Research Section
U.S. Geological Survey

Eran Amichai
Principal Scientist
Normandeau Associates

Glenn Anderson
Strategic Development Advisor
Cape Fear Ocean Labs

Roy Aneed
Co-Founder & CEO
Edge Natural Resources

Omar Aoun
VP Sales North America
Energy Vault

Stephen Arbogast
Professor of the Practice, Director Energy Center
Kenan-Flagler Business School

Meredith Bandy
Vice President, Investor Relations & Sustainability
Albemarle Corporation

Brian Bartholomew
Battery Trading and Market Analysis
REV Renewables

Damian Beauchamp
President, Chief Development Officer
8 Rivers

Ethan Beaulieu
North Carolina Program Associate
Southeastern Wind Coalition

Brian Bednar
President and Founder
Birdseye Renewable Energy

Doug Beebe
Vice President, Clean Energy
Key Equipment Finance

John Bell, IV
House Majority Leader Republican - District 10
NC House of Representatives

Jeff Benavides
Director of City and Building Performance
U.S. Green Building Council

Carlo Bertani
Sustainability and Decarbonization
Maersk

Ryan Bethencourt
CEO
Wild Earth

Michelle Bolas
Chief Innovation Officer & SVP for University Partnerships
NC Innovation

Mark Braby
CCO
Synop

Zachary Brenton
Founder and Chief Technology Officer
Carolina Seed Systems, Inc

Aaron Brickman
Senior Principal, U.S. Program
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)

Toby Bryce
Policy and Market Development Lead
The Open Air Collective

Olivia Campbell Andersen
Policy & Market Development Manager
ABB E-mobililty

Bill Capp
Founder
Grid Storage Consulting

Sarah Carmichael
Professor
Appalachian State University

Chris Castro
Chief of Staff, Office of State and Community Energy Programs
U.S. Department of Energy

Rina Cerrato
Chief Commercial Officer
Green Star Royalties

Bryan Cheong
Director of Programs and Strategy
The Global America Business Institute (GABI)

Sung-Jin (“Jin”) Cho
Founder and CEO
Soelect., Inc

Christopher Chung
CEO
EDPNC

William M. Clayton
CEO and Co-founder
Sky Harvest

Christopher Clemens
Provost & Chief Academic Officer
UNC-Chapel Hill

Chance Cobb
Co-founder and COO
blip energy

Scott Cockerham
Partner
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Marie Coffin
VP, Science and Modeling
CIBO

Marshall Conrad
Vice President of Government Relations
Strata Clean Energy

Krista Covey
President
First Flight Venture Center

Trish Cozart
Director
NREL’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center

Jonathan Cristiani
Bioenergy and Hydrogen Technology Manager
Black & Veatch

David Cummins
Executive Director, President and CEO
Blue Sky Maritime Coalition

Jay Dauenhauer
Host
Energy Cast Podcast

Alsey Davidson
Associate, Climate Infrastructure Investment Team
Blackrock

Gabe de Paz
Account Manager, SE Gov’t Fleets
Ford Pro Charging

Keegan Dean
Renewable Commodities - Corporate Sustainability
STX Commodities

Rodney Delli-Gatti
Account Executive
Kelly Engineering

Luis DePavia
Innovation Manager
NuScale

Austin Devaney
Chief Commercial Officer
Piedmont Lithium

Gagan Dhillon
Co-founder
Synop

Paul Dobbins
Senior Director, Impact Investments
World Wildlife Fund

Josh Dorfman
Co-Founder & CEO
Plantd

Gary Dorris
CEO and Founder
Ascend Analytics

Max DuBuisson
VP, Head of Sustainability Policy & Engagement
Indigo Ag

Bryan Eagle
CEO
Glanris

Tim Echols
Vice Chair
Georgia PSC

Kelly Erhart
Co-founder and President
Vesta

Guillermo Espiga
VP & Head of Business Development
Nth Cycle

Rachael Estes
Director of State Affairs
Apex Clean Energy

Andrew Fishbein
Senior Climate Policy Manager
Climeworks

Leif Fixen
North America Agriculture Strategy Manager
The Nature Conservancy

Michael Flynn
Partner and co-founder
Unasys

Thomas Foust
Center Director II-Technical
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Sidney Fowler
Senior Associate
Pillsbury

Mike Fox
President
Piedmont Triad Partnership

Peter Freudenstein
Climate Policy Manager
Climeworks

Sam Gattis
Senior Director, Target and Portfolio Strategy
Oerthbio

RD Gauss
Principal
Global Infrastructure Partners

Preston Gillespie
EVP, Chief Generation Officer & Enterprise Operational Excellence
Duke Energy

Megan Gima
Hatcher Manager
Thad Cochran Marine Aquaculture Center at USM

Diana Godlevskaya
Federal Affairs Specialist
American Clean Power Association

Nicholas J. Goeser
Founder and Principal
Carbon A list

Balakrishna (Balu) Gokaraju
Associate Professor, PI for STEPs4GROWTH
North Carolina A&T University

Michael Goldman
Department Head, Project Finance, Infrastructure and Real Estate
Nixon Peabody LLP

Yunhai Gong
School of Transportation & Logistics
Dalian University of Technology

Aleksandra Gosiewski
Co-Founder & COO
Keel Labs

Pete Gould
Senior Vice President
Boundary Stone Partners

Nick Gower
President
HIP Investor Ratings LLC

Ryan Gragnano
Senior Manager | Climate Change and Sustainability Services
EY

Rob Gramlich
Founder and President
Grid Strategies

Patricio Grassini
Sunkist Distinguished Professor in Agronomy & Associate Professor
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Clay Grubb
CEO
Grubb Properties

Mario Guagnelli
VP for Product Development
8 Rivers

Liz Guinessey
Manager, Food and Blue Carbon Innovation
Verra

Darsh Gupta
Head of Commercialization
Sustaera

Bonnie Gurry
Co-founder and CEO
GreenPortfolio

Wilson Hago
Founder and CEO
Hago Energetics

Mark Hardin
Senior Energy Storage Consultant
Leidos

Brandon Hass
Senior Director, Sustainability and Climate Indices
S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI)

Keira Havens
Senior Sustainability Project Manager
Pivot Bio

Ruoying “Roy” He
Founder and President
Fathom Science

Alice Heathcote
Chief Financial Officer
Strata Clean Energy

Maximilian Heering
VP, Investment & Portfolio Management
New York Green Bank

Mark Henderson
General Manager for North America
Skytree

Corey Hessen
Executive Vice-President and President, Power, Storage and Origination
TC Energy

Jake Higdon
U.S. Manufacturing Advisor, Office of the Under Secretary for Science and Innovation
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

Jason Hochman
Co-Founder and Senior Director
Direct Air Capture Coalition

Mariliis Holm
Co-founder and Partner
Sustainable Food Ventures (SVF)

Jennifer Howard
Vice President, Blue Carbon Program
Conservation International

Jacob Hoyle
Lead Research Scientist
Living Carbon

Mark Huang
Co-Founder and Managing Director
SeaAhead

Emeka Igwilo
Chief Data Officer and VP Operations Support
Southern Company

Nick Irvin
Director of R&D, Strategy, Advanced Nuclear, and Crosscutting Technology
Southern Company

Gualtiero Jaeger
Engagement Manager
McKinsey & Company

Tina Jeffress
Senior Manager, Sustainability & Energy
Panasonic Corporation, North America

Zhao Jianlong
Director of Data Analytics, Smart Transportation Business Department
Hisense TransTech

Lloyd Jones
Global Research Lead for Crop Physiology
UPL

Bob Keefe
Executive Director
E2

Montravias D. King
Clean Energy Campaigns Director
North Carolina League of Conservation Voters

Tiffany King
Regional Director of Sustainability
Samet Corporation

Susanne Kjemtrup
Independent Consultant
Phyta Biotech Consulting, LLC

Katharine Kollins
President
Southeastern Wind Coalition

Pete Krull
Partner, Director of Sustainable Investing
Earth Equity Advisors

James Lane
Visualization Lead
HDR

Stephen Lapp
Project Manager II
Advanced Energy

Tony Lathrop
Board Member, Chair of the Finance Committee
NC Board of Transportation

Sean Lawrie
Partner
ScottMadden

Steven Lemeshow
Head of Strategic Partnerships
Cloverly

Anthony Leo
Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer
FuelCell Energy

Karen LeVert
President
Ag TechInventures

Chris Levesque
President and CEO
TerraPower

Bonnie Lind
Vice President, Business Development, Global Energy & Climate Tech
Brown & Brown Risk Solutions

Bill Linton
Principal
Linton Consulting

Eric Lipton
Domestic Correspondent, Washington Bureau
The New York Times

Scott Martin
VP Market Development
NET Power

Nick Martin
COO & Co-Founder
Carbon Reform

Kevin Martin
Executive Director
Carolina Utility Customers Association

Amy McGuire
Director, Market Development
Highland Electric Fleets

Kevin McLaughlin
Vice President, Government Affairs and External Relations
Duke Energy

Steven McManus
Innovation Advisor
RTI International, Innovation Advisors Group

Steven McNulty
Director
USDA Southeast Climate Hub

Justin Merkowitz
Managing Director of Project Finance
CoBank

Chris Mesrobian
Senior Director of Business Development
Monolith Corporation

Rob Mikkelsen
Director, Agronomic Services
Yara Americas

Susana R. Milla-Lewis
Professor and University Faculty Scholar, Crop and Soil Sciences
NC State University

Alex Miller
Founder and Principal
Alex Miller Government Affairs

Will Mitchell
Vice President
Forum Mobility

Jeff Mittelstadt
Executive Director
Ackerman Center for Excellence in Sustainability (ACES)

Stephen Morel
Chief Investment Officer
Montgomery County Green Bank

Brian Morin
CEO
Soteria Battery Innovation Group

Scott Moskowitz
Head of Market Strategy and Public Affairs
QCells

Dmitri Moundous
Director, Energy Storage Strategy and Development
Cypress Creek Renewables

Shahid Murtuza
Principal
EY-Parthenon

Arjun Nair
Manager - Vehicle Programs & Infrastructure Consulting - eMobility
Thomas Built Buses, Daimler Trucks NA

Jeff Navin
Co-founder and Partner
Boundary Stone

Frank Nelms
Director, Energy Practice
ScottMadden

David Nenon
EV Supply Chain Strategy Manager
Ford Motor Company

Doug Nowacek
Professor, Conservation Technology Environment, Engineering
Project WoW

Conn Nugent

International Consultant

Megan O’Connor
Co-founder and CEO
Nth Cycle

Erica Ocampo
Chief Sustainability Officer
The Metals Company

Margaret Oldham
Vice President of Innovation
AgLaunch

Jay Oliver
Managing Director, Grid Systems Integration
Duke Energy

Luke Oliver
Managing Director, Head of Climate Investments
KraneShares

Josh Parrish
Vice President of Carbon Origination
Pachama

Dalia Patino-Echeverri
Gendell Associate Professor of Energy Systems and Public Policy
Duke University

Michael Piehler
Director, UNC Institute for the Environment and Chief Sustainability Officer
UNC Chapel Hill

Frank Pollock
Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer
Blue Recruit

David Pope
Senior Manager, Pre-Sales US Energy
SAS

Jennifer Poppler
Principal Planning Analyst
Duke Energy

Tim Preisenhammer
Head of Commercialization
Carbo Culture

Vishnu Raam
Special Projects
Cloverly

Gary Rackliffe
VP Market Development and Innovation
Hitachi Energy

Robert Reives
Representative, District 54
North Carolina General Assembly

Regis Repko
Senior VP, Generation and Transmission Strategy
Duke Energy

Job Rijssenbeek
Vice President, Energy Storage R&D
Albemarle Corporation

Ken Riley
Aquaculture and Fisheries Scientist
NOAA

Margaret Roberton
VP, Work Force Development
Central Carolina Community College

Antonio Rodriguez
Professor
UNC Institute for Marine Sciences

Dave Rogers
Director, Zero Emissions Truck Business
ETHERO Truck and Energy

Michael Rubino
Senior Advisor for Seafood Strategy
NOAA Fisheries

Mariano Ruiz
Head of International Affairs
Drax

John Salmeron
Managing Director
S Research Partners, LLC

Mahesh Sathe
Vice President, Applications Engineering
Powin

Kent Satterlee
Executive Director
Gulf Offshore Research Institute (GORI)

Luke Sawitsky
Senior Investment Associate
SeaAhead

Amy Schmid
Global Blue Carbon Project Lead
Conservation International

Max Scholten
Head of Commercialization
Heirloom

Chad Schuchmann
President
Daramic, LLC

Devin Sclater
Fleet Business Development Manager
ABB E-Mobility

Ryan Silk
Infrastructure Investment Analyst
InfraRed Capital Partners, Ltd.

Michael Smith
President
Chatham County Economic Development Corporation

Benjamin Smith
Counsel
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP

Daniel J. Soeder
Co-founder
Carbon Blade

Emily Solomonson
Field Marketing Specialist
Guayaki Yerba Mate

Yan Song
Professor, Director of Program on Chinese Cities
UNC- City and Regional Planning

Julia Souder
Executive Director
Long Duration Energy Storage Council

Arlie Sterling
President
Marsoft

Blake Stevens
Vice President – Science & Technology
Alexandria Realty

Don Stewart
Vice President of Manufacturing
Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina (TBMNC)

Lucia Strader
Associate Professor
Climate Plant Innovation Network, Duke University

John Szoka
Former State Representative
N.C. General Assembly

Elina Teplinsky
Partner
Pillsbury

Allison Thomson
AgMission Scientific Program Director
Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR)

Kyle Thumar
Investment Analyst
InfraRed Capital Partners, Ltd.

Laurel Tincher
Co-founder
Pull To Refresh

McKean Tompkins
Vice President, Infrastructure Opportunities
Ares Management Corporation

Chris Vlahoplus
Professor of the Practice
Kenan-Flagler Business School

Joel Vyduna
SVP, Project Execution & Asset Management
Strata Clean Energy

Sheryl Waddell
Director of Economic Development and Innovation Hubs
Office of Innovate Carolina

Jeff Warren
Research Director
North Carolina Policy Collaboratory

Bennet Waters
President and CEO
NC Innovation

Sierra Weaver
Senior Attorney
Southern Environmental Law Center

Christopher Wedding
Founder
Entrepreneurs for Impact

Jennifer Weiss
Co-Director
NC Clean Energy Fund

Deb Wojcik
Executive Director
Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster

David Wood
Director of Engineering
SkyNano Technologies

Mike Woodard
Senator, District 22
North Carolina Senate

Logan Yonavjak
Chief Sustainability Officer
International Farming

Shaopeng Zhong
Associate Professor, School of Transportation and Logistics
Dalian University of Technology