Ep. 50 | Why are only 1.6% of S&P 100 senior executives Latinas & how can this be overcome?| Marta Ronquillo Newhart, Chief Communications & Brand Officer
Why are only 1.6% of S&P 100 senior executives Latinas & how can this gap be overcome? In this Green Light episode, Catherine spoke with Marta Ronquillo Newhart, who has worked for companies like Westinghouse Electric Company, Boeing, Medtronic & Johnson Controls, about this as well as how the ‘chingonas’ & male mentors in her life helped propel her career. They also spoke about how Marta’s African American peers blazed trails in corporate settings for her to follow & why ...
29 Mars 202318min
Ep. 49 | Investing in BIPOC & Women-Owned Cleantech Startups | Constance Thompson of ACORE
How impactful can a renewable energy nonprofit membership program be when it comes to the triple bottom line - people, profit & planet? According to American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), over 75% of its 25 total women or BIPOC-owned cohort member companies have significantly grown their businesses as members of ACORE’s Accelerate Membership Program, a recipient last year of the groundbreaking Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In this Green...
14 Mars 202314min
Ep. 48 | What does it take to found & lead a clean energy investment firm & tech startup simultaneously? | Uche Isiugo of Infranergy
What does it take to found & lead a clean energy investment firm & tech company simultaneously? Catherine spoke with Uche C. Isiugo Jr., PhD, CEO & Founder of Infranergy & Managing Partner at Emerging Infrastructure Capital about this as well as how his upbringing and living on two continents influenced his entrepreneurial path in energy. They spoke about his prior experience outside the industry at Boeing, Chevron, & Citi, and how he transitioned within cleantech at NextE...
28 Feb 202319min
Ep. 47 | Clean Energy Fellowships & Internships | Esther Morales of CELI
Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI) grew its programming by 40% over the past 2 years. Clean energy fellowship & internship programs like these are critical to enable the industry to scale by educating & training new talent & connecting them with leaders in the industry. In this Green Light episode, Catherine spoke with Esther Morales, Executive Director of CELI, about the recent growth & shifts in their programming & the ways in which the organization is enhancing it...
21 Feb 202326min
Ep. 46 | Energy Storage Optimization & AI | Andy Tang of Wartsila
What is it like to lead one of the world’s largest energy storage integrators? Catherine spoke with Andrew Tang, Vice President of Energy Storage and Optimization at Wärtsilä Energy, about this & how, as a first generation Chinese immigrant, he opted to pursue a renewable energy career path over following his siblings’ footsteps with a medical career. They also spoke about how he broke into the clean energy industry, leveraging his experience at a utility, tech startups & within the t...
13 Dec 202221min
Ep. 45 | 1 GW of Community Solar & Breaking Into Cleantech | Kate Henningsen of Arcadia
hat does it take to break into the clean energy industry? Kate Henningsen went from being a corporate litigator with no energy experience to COO & Co-Founder of Arcadia, which now manages 1 GW of community solar & has 800 employees. In this Green Light episode, Catherine spoke with Kate about her transition into, & success within, cleantech, her advice for others looking to do the same, as well as about Arcadia’s acquisition of Urjanet & recent raise of $200M for its Arc platf...
6 Dec 202229min
Ep. 44 | What does it take to start a hydropower company from the ground up? | Gia Schneider of Natel Energy
What does it take to start a hydropower company from the ground up? In this Green Light episode, Catherine spoke with Gia Schneider about this, what it was like to found Natel Energy with her brother & father, as well as their fish-safe hydropower projects with Apple in Oregon & MyHydro in Africa. Natel Energy has been featured by Bloomberg & Time & has been named to Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas 2022 list alongside several other innovative Breakthrough Energy Venture co...
22 Nov 202220min
Ep. 43 | Artificial Intelligence & Wind Turbine Fleets| Danielle Merfeld of GE
How are artificial intelligence & digitization being leveraged to realize huge cost savings for growing wind turbine fleets? In this Green Light episode, Catherine spoke with Danielle Merfeld, VP & CTO of GE Renewable Energy, about this, how she went from winning science fairs across the country as a child with Air Force parents to receiving her PhD in Electrical Engineering & ultimately taking the helm for technology at GE Renewable Energy. They also spoke about how her most inst...
1 Nov 202222min
