Which innovations are the most attractive business opportunities, and how do different types of investors evaluate climate tech? In this panel discussion, we'll introduce you to the ecosystem of climate investing.

Speakers:

Radhika Lalit, Initiative Director, Industry, Climate Imperative

Helenka (Lenka) Nolan, Lecturer in Strategy at Northeastern University

Elaine Hsieh, Partner and COO for VoLo Earth Ventures

Elaine is a Partner and COO for VoLo Earth Ventures. With over 20 years of experience advancing innovation across the energy industry, she is passionate about accelerating clean energy commercialization and deployment through investment, policy, and industry engagement. Elaine previously served as a Senior Advisor to the U.S. Department of Energy’s first Under Secretary for Infrastructure catalyzing the market liftoff of critical energy infrastructure technologies through Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding. Before joining the DOE, she co-founded RMI's global climate tech startup accelerator Third Derivative.

Elaine also supported the relaunch of Generate Capital in early 2020, led the VERGE climate tech conference at GreenBiz (now Trellis), and served as a global utility strategist and sustainability manager at DNV after switching careers as a green building consultant and engineer. Elaine holds a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and an M.S. in Engineering Management from Duke University.

Radhika is Initiative Director, Industry at Climate Imperative, where she oversees grantmaking strategy to accelerate industrial decarbonization in the US and India. Previously, she was a Principal at RMI leading global cement sector decarbonization, and served as Chief Strategy Officer at Mission Possible Partnership, advising on strategy across aviation, shipping, chemicals, cement, aluminum, and steel. At RMI, she also co-led the Global Cooling Prize, an international innovation competition to award and scale a breakthrough and climate friendly air conditioning technology. 

Lenka is a Lecturer in Strategy at Northeastern University and the university's liaison to ClimateCAP.  A strategist, educator, and advisor, she specializes in global business, strategy, and climate. She began her career developing renewable energy projects globally for Bechtel.  In addition to teaching undergraduate and MBA students, she advises climatetech startups through Greentown Labs and works to connect leaders across academia, industry, and the climate innovation ecosystem to accelerate impactful solutions.