Curtis has been CEO of Hydrostor since its inception and has led the company through technology development into commercial operations. Prior to Hydrostor, Curtis was Sr. Manager in Deloitte’s Corporate Strategy Consulting Practice where he advised and consulted for some of the top energy companies globally. He has also held positions at nuclear generator Bruce Power and wind developer Environmental Electric Company.
Chief Farming Officer, Co-Founder, Carlo Mondavi is a fourth-generation winegrower who has dedicated his life to permaculture, biodynamic and regenerative farming practices, along with a hands-off winemaking approach in the cellar.
In 2016, Carlo founded the Monarch Challenge, an effort focused on elevating farming by eliminating herbicides and powerful chemicals from farms in Sonoma, Napa and beyond. The Monarch Challenge led Carlo to meeting his fellow co-founders; it is the origin and namesake behind Monarch Tractor.
Rebecca is the founder and CEO of Glacier, a recycling startup building AI and robotics to help recyclers, brands, governments, and other stakeholders measure and improve recovery rates for their highest-priority recycled commodities.
Glacier works with several innovative recyclers across the US, major brands including Amazon, Colgate-Palmolive, Coca-Cola, and AB InBev, and municipal and government agencies including the City of Phoenix and Michigan Department of Environment.
Glacier's circularity work has been featured in several leading publications, including CBS, NBC, Fortune, Axios, and TechCrunch.
Rebecca is a Waste360 40 Under 40 winner. Prior to founding Glacier, Rebecca was a consultant at Bain & Company and advisor to several early- and growth-stage startups. She is also a mentor for the Google Circular Economy Accelerator.
Nick Myers is the co-founder and CEO of Phoenix Tailings, a company building a sustainable future by refining metals from mining waste with zero direct carbon emissions or toxic byproducts.
Before founding Phoenix Tailings, Nick worked in Venture Capital at Techstars and was the Director of Finance and Partnerships for Meenta, a medical diagnostic testing startup. He also co-founded Huntington Angels, a strategic angel investment group where he now serves as the lead outside adviser.
Nick was also a founding member of Tengu, an early Web3 startup that created one of the first stable coins. At Tengu, Nick briefed the IMF about decentralized finance and cryptocurrencies' impact on the world economy.
Nick has a Bachelor's Degree from Saint Michael's College, where he was a starting pitcher for the college's baseball team. He also has an MBA from Northeastern University.
Sharina Perry is a serial entrepreneur with a long history of starting and growing new ventures. Sharina perfected a patent-pending plastic alternative formulated into compounded plant- based resins using crops farmers plant in regular crop rotations. Utopia PlastixTM helps solve the problem of plastic waste, carbon emissions and promoting agriculture. Utopia's compounded plant resin allows manufacturers to use their current equipment as they produce the sustainable, alternative plastic products that the world is demanding. Sharina founded Utopia Genetics to distribute products made with Utopia Plastix, as well as Utopia Solutions that makes Utopia PlastixTM. Sharina says she invented Utopia PlastixTM to create solutions, not problems.
Joshua is a certified Data Scientist and the Founder & CEO of SparkCharge. His experience in entrepreneurship and startups spans over 6 years and he is a dynamic figure in the cleantech community. Joshua is also the most recent winner of the world’s largest pitch competition, 43North. Joshua holds a B.A. in Economics and a Masters Degree in Information Management and Data Science from Syracuse University.
https://www.sparkcharge.io/
https://nexuspmg.com/
Anoosheh Oskouian is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Ship & Shore Environmental, Inc. she directs the corporate strategy for marketing and product development with her team of sales engineers, design engineers, project managers, fabricators, service technicians and other support staff to design, fabricate, install and commission state-of-the-art air pollution abatement equipment.
Her reputation in this industry has been proven through the many years of excellent rapport that she has developed with her clients. By studying each application carefully, she understands what data is critical to anticipate their needs for today and in the near future. Each engineering solution is custom designed to not only help a client meet their environmental obligations, but also contemplates how each facility’s unique manufacturing practices and requirements will be integrated into the design and operation of the best pollution abatement solution. Her in-depth process knowledge and expertise provide the foundation for designing superior, innovative, efficient equipment and reliable technologies that help industry to collect and destroy air pollution emissions.
For many years she has served, and continues to serve, as an advocate for manufacturers through active participation on several boards and committees i.e. BACT (Best Available Control Technology) committee member for the SCAQMD (South Coast Air Quality District), board member of Western Region SPI (Society of Plastics Industry), Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) group, board member of WPA (Western Plastics Association) and FBF (Film & Bag Federation). Board and committee participation along with planning of meeting agendas and annual conferences has enabled her to develop close relationships among the membership of these trade organizations. As a member of the Society of Plastics Industry she has served on the Public Policy Committee and Environmental Council and has met with legislators and testified at government hearings on behalf of industry.
Before launching Gridraven, Georg led digitalization at Estonia's national grid, Elering. He spearheaded the digitalization task force, crafted the digital strategy, and guided IT investments. As head of the Smart Grid Unit, Georg also helped build a Europe-wide energy data platform.
Before that, Georg was the CTO and co-founder of Sympower, which now manages 1.5GW of grid flexibility and a team of 200+. He holds a Master's degree in Sustainable Energy from Imperial College London. Georg is passionate about pushing the limits of the grid to power a brighter future.
Brian Sheng is the Co-Founder and CEO of Aquaria, building air-water infrastructure to produce scalable water systems that create clean drinking water from the air. Aquaria’s mission is to safeguard and unlock global access to clean water. As a serial entrepreneur, Brian co-founded The Vanguard, Fresh VC, and he founded Asia Horizon. He served as a General Partner at The Arcview Group, and throughout his career has served as a board member of Eaze, Beam Coffee and FND Technologies.
Brian’s seed stage portfolio is valued at over $3B with 2 IPOs, Fiscalnote and Clever Leaves. While attending Princeton University, Brian wrote his thesis on atmospheric water generation. Brian was honored as a member of Forbes 30 under 30 class of 2024, and Aquaria was named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2024.
John Belizaire is the CEO of Soluna Computing, the world’s first utility-scale company developing power plants and combining them with high-performance computing facilities. As a serial entrepreneur, John has successfully founded and scaled multiple industry-leading technology startups that have achieved market leadership and double-digit growth, including FirstBest, an insurance software company acquired by Guidewire, and The Theory Center, a software company acquired by BEA Systems. Before becoming an entrepreneur, John was the lead architect for Intel’s Digital Enterprise Group.
Soluna Computing builds modular, batchable computing centers for intensive applications like cryptocurrency mining, AI and machine learning. Soluna’s scalable data centers provide a cost-effective alternative to battery storage or transmission lines. Soluna Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: SLNH) is the leading developer of green data centers that convert excess renewable energy into global computing resources. Soluna Holdings was formed when Mechanical Technology, Inc. (MTI) acquired Soluna Computing in 2021.
https://www.solunacomputing.com/
MICHAEL SHELDRICK is a policy entrepreneur and a driving force behind the efforts of Global Citizen to end extreme poverty. As a Co-Founder and Chief Policy, Impact, and Government Affairs Officer, he leads the organization's campaigns to mobilize support from governments, businesses, and foundations. He is the author of the Amazon best-selling book, From Idea to Impact: A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World.
With a career that spans the world of pop and policy, Michael has worked with an impressive roster of international artists such as Beyoncé, Coldplay, Idris and Sabrina Elba, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Priyanka Chopra, Rihanna and Usher, as well as prominent political leaders including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and former Australian Prime Ministers Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd.
He has co-produced some of the world's most impactful social campaigns and events, including the annual Global Citizen Festival in New York, the Guinness World Record-winning virtual concert One World: Together At Home, and the Nelson Mandela 2018 centennial celebration, Mandela 100. These initiatives have reached millions of people in over 150 countries and helped secure over $40 billion in support for local and regional organizations working to provide access to essential resources such as healthcare, education, and climate resilience.
A sought-after speaker and author on policy advocacy, sustainable development, and corporate responsibility, Michael has shared his insights at conferences and summits worldwide. His insights have also featured in leading outlets including Forbes, The Guardian, The Hill, HuffPost, Nikkei and Fairfax Media, and his voice heard on major news networks such as ABC, BBC, France 24, Sky News and CNN.
He has been recognized as a finalist for the 2017 Young Commonwealth Person of the Year and serves on: the board of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global citizens; the Leadership Council of aable, a fintech company connecting compassionate investors with underserved communities; and the Advisory Board of the Nigerian Solidarity Support Fund. He is also a co-host of the Global Town Hall, a North-South, East-West meeting featuring world leaders and leading minds to connect with global citizens.
Lionel Selwood Jr. is a proud US Virgin Islander and Engineer, who has spent his entire career pioneering energy solutions that have reshaped industries. His vision in anything he does, is addressing global energy poverty through the mass adoption of advanced technology. Lionel's experience includes leading a company to IPO via the NYSE and managing a strategic sale of a startup to a major automaker.
He founded his newest endeavor, Zelena AI Inc., which aims to enable data centers that are more innovative, efficient and green, than the AI solutions they power.
Amy Blankson is the Co-founder and Chief Evangelist of the Digital Wellness Institute and the bestselling author of The Future of Happiness. A graduate of Harvard and the Yale School of Management, she’s the only person to receive aPoint of Light award from two US Presidents. She is also a member of Harvard’s AI for Human Flourishing Council, a former member of the UN Global Happiness Council, and a featured professor in Oprah’s happiness e-course.
Most recently, Amy was named to the AI75 by Dallas Innovates. Her newest book, SuperThinkers, will be released in Summer 2025.
Ross Faranso is the CEO of Nexus PMG.
A seasoned leader in advisory, engineering, construction, and technology solutions throughout the energy sector.
Over 20 years in increasing roles of responsibility from project management to operations management to business development. I’ve led multiple initiatives and contracts for clean energy projects for multinational companies and responsible for creating strategic alliances and leading clean energy and EPC project deployments.
I hold a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from University of Houston, and I am a certified Project Management Professional (PMG). I also serve on the Executive Advisory Committee on the Board of Directors for the Association for Capital Projects Engineering & Construction Community (ECC).
Tom Dickson, CEO of New Energy Risk since 2015, has more than 35 years of experience in the insurance and reinsurance industry and finance; including senior executive and underwriting leadership positions in the US, Europe, and Asia; notably as the former CEO and Chief Underwriting Officer of the Centre Group, a $10B reinsurer that pioneered innovative products to address high-value business risks and financing.
Tom has also served on the boards of public and private companies, including Flagstone Re, Paragon Insurance Services, Reformation Insurance Services, and as an advisor to Cellcontrol and Fairmatic. He graduated with honors from Stanford University, where he remains an active alumnus, and received a Master’s degree from John Hopkins University (SAIS). Currently, Tom serves on the Natural Capital Advisory Council at Stanford University and the board of Adara Group, a non-profit engaged in health and education development for women and children in remote communities.
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. Peter is also the author of The Energy Switch - a book about how companies and customers are transforming the electrical grid and the future of power.
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.
https://www.peterkellydetwiler.com/
In POWER METAL, award-winning journalist Vince Beiser chronicles the destructive side effects that the global hunt for critical metals has on our clean energy transition, from environmental damage to political upheaval to murder.
Vince Beiser is an award-winning journalist and author of “The World in a Grain: The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization.” The book has been translated into five languages, was a finalist for a PEN America award and a California Book Award, and spawned a TEDx talk. Vince is currently at work on a new book, “Power Metal”, about how the materials we need for digital technology and renewable energy are causing environmental havoc, political upheaval, mayhem and murder—and how we can do better.
Vince has reported from over 100 countries, states, provinces, kingdoms, occupied territories, no man’s lands and disaster zones. He has exposed conditions in California’s harshest prisons, trained with troops bound for Iraq, ridden with the first responders to natural disasters, and hunted down other stories from around the world for publications including Wired, The Atlantic, Harper’s, Time, The Guardian, Mother Jones, Playboy, Rolling Stone, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.
Vince’s work has been honored by Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Columbia, Medill and Missouri Graduate Schools of Journalism, and many other institutions. He has three times been part of a team that won the National Magazine Award for General Excellence, and shared in an Emmy for his work with the PBS TV series SoCal Connected. He is also a grantee of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
Seth Godin is an author, entrepreneur, and, most of all, A teacher.
Seth is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, and speaker. In addition to launching one of the most popular blogs in the world, he has written 21 best-selling books, including The Dip, Linchpin, Purple Cow, Tribes, and What To Do When It's Your Turn (And It's Always Your Turn). His book, This is Marketing, was an instant bestseller in countries around the world. His latest books are The Song of Significance and The Practice, and creatives everywhere have made it a bestseller.
Though renowned for his writing and speaking, Seth also founded two companies, Squidoo and Yoyodyne (acquired by Yahoo!).
By focusing on everything from effective marketing and leadership, to the spread of ideas and changing everything, Seth has been able to motivate and inspire countless people around the world.
In 2013, Seth was one of just three professionals inducted into the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame. In an astonishing turn of events, in May 2018, he was inducted into the Marketing Hall of Fame as well. He might be the only person in both.
https://thecarbonalmanac.org/
Martin Gross is the founder and chief executive officer of Gross-Wen Technologies. His vision for using algae to clean water and solve many other of the Earth’s problems is driving the rapid expansion of Gross-Wen.
After founding Gross-Wen Technologies in 2016, Gross led the development and commercialization of the revolving algal biofilm™️ treatment technology (RAB™️), a sustainable, next generation wastewater treatment system using algae. The RAB system recovers nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater, produces clean water and air, and yields valuable algae biomass.
Propelling the growth of Gross-Wen, Gross led substantial equity investments, Department of Energy and Agriculture grant funding awards exceeding $3 million, $15 million in equity investments and the approval of more than ten patents. Gross-Wen Technologies won the Carbon Zero Grand Challenge from a project with PUB, Singapore’s water agency.
A frequent speaker and respected thought leader, Gross’ work is essential in pollution mitigation, offsetting climate change, and using algae as a nascent industry. His deep knowledge includes growing algae, fermentation, biofuels, renewable energy, wastewater, and agriculture. He serves on the board of directors of the Algae Biomass Organization and the Iowa Biotechnology Association.
After earning a bachelor's degree in biological sciences from Iowa State University, Gross went on to earn a doctorate in food science and technology and a doctorate in biosystems engineering. Gross is on the faculty at Iowa State University, where he developed and teaches a course called Entrepreneurship for Graduate Students in Science and Engineering.
Gross’ Ph.D. in food science focused on growing microorganisms to make foods and chemical nutraceuticals. To this end, he founded GW Nutrition a food ingredient company that aims to improve the sensory profile of alternative proteins and make them easier to include in food formulations; GW Nutrition, Inc. is a spin-off from GWT.
When he is away from the office, he enjoys spending time with his wife and playing with his four young children.
