Bigger Than Us

Nicole Grossberg co-founded Zero Waste NYC Workshop Series in August, 2019 to take action against climate change by educating people on how to live a low waste lifestyle. Nicole believes that by reducing consumption and diverting trash from landfills, humans can ultimately lower their impact on the planet. With her workshop series she hopes to bring together the zero waste community in New York City and provide as many tools as possible to make zero waste an approachable way of life. Prior to her work in sustainability Nicole obtained a Masters degree and spent seven years in social media and event advertising. https://www.zerowastenyc.info/

Duncan Campbell is the VP of Project Development at Scale Microgrid Solutions, where he focuses on deploying hybrid microgrid systems for commercial and industrial customers throughout North America. Additionally, Duncan co-founded the NYC DERs Meetup, a monthly education and networking forum for professionals in the distributed energy space. Prior to joining Scale, Duncan was a Business Development Associate at ENER-G Rudox where he was responsible for leading the development of several high-profile distributed energy projects prior to the company's acquisition by Centrica. Duncan also has experience in the energy industry with Veolia Energy, Canterbury Road Partners, and UGI Utilities. Duncan holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Energy Systems from Temple University. In 2016, he earned a professional certificate in Energy and Innovation from Stanford University, and a professional certificate in Business and Financial Modeling from the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School). https://www.meetup.com/NYC-DERs/ https://scalemicrogridsolutions.com/

VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER Dr. Jenkins leads the team responsible for Enviva’s environmental stewardship, from guiding the development and implementation of policies that ensure the sustainability and traceability of the wood supply chain, to interacting with policymakers and other stakeholders on regulatory matters. With a technical background in carbon cycling and ecosystem science, she brings more than 20 years of experience working in government, academia, and the private sector at the interface between forests and climate. She holds a Ph.D. in ecosystem ecology from the University of New Hampshire, an M.B.A. from the University of Maryland’s RH Smith School of Business, a Master of Forest Science from Yale University, and a B.A. in Biology and Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College. http://www.envivabiomass.com/ https://www.mnn.com/money/sustainable-business-practices/sponsorstory/meet-dr-jennifer-jenkins-nobel-prize-winning-scientist-behind-enviva

Katie Wallace is the founder of Hux Sustainables and Chief Marketing Officer at eCarra, an all electric car service. She is an international speaker, eco-entrepreneur, and consultant focused on building a more resilient world. She also does social media and content consulting, working with partners to raise awareness around sustainability, personal discovery, and mental health. Beyond that, she is an avid adventurer and host of an online series and podcast, Sustainable League, discussing what it really takes to build a more resilient world. https://www.huxsustainables.com/about

Matt Myers is head of EarthxCapital.  Matt is a climate trimtab and serial impact platform creator with a wealth of experience designing and driving strategic change within organizations and ecosystems to achieve large-scale, positive impacts on society and the environment.   Matt is Founder and Director of the eCapital Summit, a platform convening private capital, cutting-edge environmental technology companies, ecosystem partners and government to form partnerships having substantial, positive impacts on people and the planet.  Matt engages the federal government throughout the year and is Founder and Director of the Environmental Capital Task Force.  Matt also advised the Inslee for America campaign on cleantech investment policy as well as several members of Congress on the IMPACT for Energy Act.  Additionally, Matt founded EarthxHack, the world’s largest environmental innovation competition.  Previously, Matt was a product manager overseeing the development of digital wealth management and e-commerce platforms for China Merchants Bank.  Matt holds a Masters in Public Administration in International Development from Tsinghua University and is fluent in Mandarin. https://earthx.org/conference/e-capital-summit/ https://earthx.org/

Peter Kelly-Detwiler has 30 years of experience in the electric energy arena. He writes for Forbes.com and other publications on topics related to disruptive innovation and its impact on the electricity infrastructure. He provides strategic advice to clients and investors, helping them to navigate this transitional period. Mr. Kelly-Detwiler has spent much of his career in various areas of competitive power markets. As Senior Vice President at Constellation Energy, he oversaw creation of VirtuWatt – a market leading platform to facilitate real-time awareness of electricity pricing and consumption and bidding of assets into competitive markets. He is currently writing a book on the transformation of electric power markets, to be published by Prometheus Books in the Spring of 2021.

Amy is an Ontario native currently living in Victoria, BC. She received her Master’s Degree in Art History from Queen’s University before working as South Pond Farm’s Wedding & Event Coordinator where she was featured on the series Taste of the Country on Netflix. Growing up in lake country instilled a deep appreciation for the water at an early age and she was able to combine her passions of art and ocean conversation by founding Goldilocks. https://goldilockswraps.com/

Charles Hernick is the Director of Policy and Advocacy at Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions Forum in Washington, DC. Charles leads CRES Forum’s policy work and executes strategies to advance clean energy solutions and innovative approaches to reducing carbon emissions. Charles is an energy expert who understands emerging clean technologies, market barriers, and policies and regulations. For over a decade he has worked at the crossroads of economic development, energy, and natural resource management across the U.S. and on the ground in over a dozen countries in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. He is also a climate change expert who has integrated climate change considerations into U.S. government programs and policies and has authored climate mitigation and adaptation best practice guidelines for over a dozen development sectors. Charles is a proud appointed member of the Maryland Clean Energy Center Advisory Council. https://www.citizensfor.com/

Trey Bowles is Cofounder and Executive Chairman of the Dallas Entrepreneur (DEC) Center where he recently stepped out of his role as CEO. At The DEC lead strategy, vision, and drove the overall planning and development efforts for the DEC. Bowles cofounded and launched the Dallas Innovation Alliance, a public partnership to develop a Smart Cities initiative for the City of Dallas. Bowles is cofounder and Chairman of the Mayor’s Star Council which is created with City of Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings to engage culturally diverse and civically minded group of young professions to make impact on the city.  Trey launched an entrepreneurship department at SMU in the Meadows School of Arts where he still serves as an adjunct professor and most recently Bowles helped relaunch the next stage of the Startup America Partnership as the Startup Champions Network. SCN is national network of professional ecosystem builders working together to support entrepreneurs in their local regions. Most recently Bowles was appointed to the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE) as a special government employee by Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. Bowles, a serial entrepreneur, having built numerous organizations in both the for-profit and nonprofit space, lives in Dallas, TX with his bride and three kids.   https://thedec.co/ https://innocitypartners.com/  

Thomas Ortman is the Chief Technology Officer for Voltabox of Texas, Inc., a subsidiary of Germany-based Voltabox AG, a publicly traded, multi-national corporation manufacturing electro-mobility solutions with highly engineered battery energy storage systems (BESS). These systems are applied in a broad cross-section of industrial sectors from municipal buses, mining, forklifts and agriculture to locomotives and e-bikes. Voltabox also provides BESS to stationary applications. Mr. Ortman served as CEO of Voltabox of Texas, Inc. from July 2018-July 2019. He also serves as Vice President of Voltabox of North America, Inc., Prior to Voltabox, Mr. Ortman was Founder, President and CEO of Concurrent Design, Inc., which was acquired by Voltabox in March 2018. Founded in 1994, Concurrent Design was an engineering consulting firm with core skills in industrial product development, manufacturing automation and test equipment. With a focus on the electronics, semiconductor and clean technology market segments, Voltabox is a natural segue. Mr. Ortman is a mechanical engineer and an expert in product design and development. Thomas Ortman is also active in the following; Founding Member and Board Member, CleanTX; Member, Austin Regional Manufacturers Association (ARMA); Mentor, University of Texas IC2 Austin Technology Incubator Texas Venture Mentor Service (mentoring battery start-ups; Member, Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL). Prior roles include; Chairman, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) Texas Chapter; Founder, Solar Energy Entrepreneur Network (SEEN), Advisor – Physical Sciences for Central Texas Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization (RCIC) of the Texas (State) Emerging Technology Fund (TETF); Member, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce Clean Energy Council (GACC CEC).