OUR 2024 SPEAKERS

The Honorable Paul M. Dabbar is an Adjunct Senior Research Scholar and former Distinguished Visiting Fellow at CGEP. He is also Co-founder and CEO of Bohr Quantum Technology, developing and deploying technologies for the emerging quantum internet. He is also on the board of Dominion Energy.

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Prior to that in 2017, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Mr. Dabbar to serve as the Department of Energy’s fourth Under Secretary for Science, where he served from 2017-2021. He managed several areas of the Department, as well as serving as the Department’s principal advisor on fundamental energy research, energy technologies, science, and commercialization of technologies. He managed over 60,000 people with a budget of $15 billion p.a. at over 100 sites, including managing the majority of the U.S. National Laboratories.

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Areas of research he managed included basic energy sciences, nuclear and high energy physics, advanced computing, fusion, and biological & environmental research. He also led the largest environmental remediation program in the U.S., addressing the operations of nuclear weapons and commercial power production, completing several multi-billion dollar construction projects. He also led various new efforts to commercialize innovations arising from the National Labs. He co-led several new energy innovation efforts, including the Energy Storage Grand Challenge, as well as the passage and implementation of the National Quantum Initiative Act.

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Prior to confirmation as Under Secretary, Mr. Dabbar worked in operations, finance, and strategy roles in the energy sector. As a Managing Director at J.P. Morgan, he had over $400 billion in transaction experience across all energy sectors. In addition, he had a senior leadership role for the company’s commodity trading business, including energy. Before joining J.P. Morgan, Mr. Dabbar served as a nuclear submarine officer. He has been a lecturer at the U.S. Naval Academy, and conducted research at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Mr. Dabbar is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

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Mr. Dabbar has a bachelors from the U.S. Naval Academy, is a graduate of the U.S. Navy’s nuclear power and nuclear engineer programs, and a masters from Columbia University.

Henry Makansi is a Managing Partner at Kimmeridge. Prior to his tenure at Kimmeridge, Mr. Makansi had a decade of experience as a principal investor in private equity with Warburg Pincus, and three years in M&A and capital markets with Lehman Brothers and GP Bullhound, a London investment bank. He served in a variety of roles at Warburg Pincus, where he was head of the European Energy Practice, responsible for investments in exploration and production, oil services and alternative energy.

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Mr. Makansi is on the Board of Chestnut Carbon, a nature-based carbon removal developer and US Light Energy (USLE), a distributed generation solar developer, specializing in community solar projects. Mr. Makansi holds a Master’s degree from Erasmus University Rotterdam in economic theory and mathematical economics, and completed accredited Master’s courses in game theory, macroeconomics, and international economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Laura Segafredo is Global Head of Sustainable Research at BlackRock, responsible for driving research efforts aimed at the development of sustainable solutions in ETFs, index mutual funds and passive segregated mandates. Formerly, she was Director of the Global Fixed Income Responsible Investing Group at BlackRock.

Prior to joining BlackRock, Laura spent over a decade working both as an Economist and a Researcher at an array of institutions including Electricite de France, the ClimateWorks Foundation, The Earth Institute at Columbia University and the 2 Degrees Investing Initiative. In addition, Laura has published a number of research papers in conjunction with various other industry experts.

Laura has a Ph.D in Energy and Environmental Economics from the University of Padova, an M.Sc. in Economics from Toulouse School of Economics and a B.A. in Economics (Summa Cum Laude) from the University of Padova.

Adam Freed has more than 20 years of experience working on local and global urban issues. Adam leads the Sustainability Practice at Bloomberg Associates, the philanthropic consulting arm of Bloomberg Philanthropies. In this role, he works with cities around the world to craft and implement sustainability strategies and actions covering a wide range of issues, including energy, GHG mitigation, climate resilience, housing affordability, green infrastructure, air quality, solid waste management, and neighborhood revitalization.

Prior to joining Bloomberg Associates, Adam was the Deputy Managing Director of The Nature Conservancy’s Global Water Program, where he worked with cities in more than 30 countries to have safe, sustainable, and reliable water supplies and developed innovative financing strategies for natural infrastructure solutions. From 2008-2012, Adam served as Deputy and Acting Director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, overseeing the implementation of PlaNYC and related sustainability initiatives and developing the city’s first climate resilience program. As part of PlaNYC, the City planted 1 million trees, created more than 240 new community playgrounds, enacted the nation’s most aggressive green buildings legislation, achieved the cleanest air quality in over 50 years, launched a $2 billion green infrastructure program, and lowered its GHG emissions 12%.

Adam is also a Lecturer at Columbia University and a member of the NYC Water Board, which is responsible for setting NYC’s water rates to fund the city’s water and sewer system’s operating and capital needs. In addition, he serves on the Board of the Friends of Governors Island. He previously served on the Board of ioby, a national crowd-resourcing platform to support community-led improvement projects; as an External Advisor to Fannie Mae’s Sustainable Communities Initiative; on the Investor Advisory Group for the UN’s Joint SDG Fund. He received his master's in Urban Planning from New York University and was a Mel King Community Fellow at MIT.

Jason Bordoff is the Founding Director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where he is a Professor of Professional Practice. He is also on the faculty of the Columbia Climate School, where he is Co-Founding Dean Emeritus. He previously served as Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and Senior Director for Energy and Climate Change on the Staff of the National Security Council. Bordoff held senior policy positions on the White House’s National Economic Council and Council on Environmental Quality. Earlier in his career, he was a scholar at the Brookings Institution, served in the Treasury Department during the Clinton Administration, and was a consultant with McKinsey & Company.

Akos Losz, a Senior Research Associate at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), specializes in natural gas markets and the role of gas in the energy transition. He is also advising the World Bank on natural gas-related issues as a short-term consultant. He previously worked as a natural gas analyst at the International Energy Agency in Paris and as a senior research associate at CGEP. Additionally, he held various roles at Westwood Global Energy Group, a UK-based global energy consulting firm, and at the strategy development team of MOL Group, a Hungary-based international energy company. Akos completed internships at CSIS, a leading think tank in Washington DC, and at PFC Energy (now S&P Global). He holds an MA from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and completed his undergraduate studies at Corvinus University of Budapest.

Ari has spent twelve years working to increase electric vehicles (EV) adoption. His career includes roles in government, a distribution utility, the private sector, and non-profits. As the Mayor of New York’s Electric Vehicle Policy Advisor, Ari tackled early EV market barriers through public awareness campaigns, installing hundreds of publicly accessible chargers, and changing building codes to enable future infrastructure. At Con Edison, New York City’s distribution utility, Ari created new business partnerships and the City’s first curbside charging program, fast charging incentives, and the nation’s first vehicle to grid deployment using new school buses. At RMI Ari focuses on increasing medium and heavy-duty truck electrification, and was the primary author on the report, Preventing Electric Truck Gridlock, Meeting the Urgent Need for a Stronger Grid

Laura Popa leads the Bureau of Sustainability’s efforts to help New York City achieve its climate goals through emissions reductions, energy efficiency, and the just transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy systems. In this role, Laura works with her team to implement sustainability laws including Local Law 97, landmark legislation that requires significant carbon emissions reductions from the city’s largest buildings.

Previously, Laura served as Deputy Commissioner of Policy at the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, where she engaged in long-term strategic planning and data analyses focused on the future of the taxi and for-hire vehicle transportation industries. In this role, Laura advanced vehicle electrification, the creation of supportive infrastructure, accessible transportation services, and improved technology and innovation.

Laura is currently a lecturer at Columbia University and previously taught at Fordham Law School. A long-time resident of Brooklyn, Laura earned her B.A. from New York University and her J.D. from Fordham Law School.

Scott Fisher works at Voltera, a company that develops electric vehicle charging sites to help fleets electrify at scale. Scott has taught in Columbia’s sustainability management program since 2011 and currently teaches “The Sustainable Transportation Economy”, which was offered for the first time in the Fall 2022 semester. In the electric transport industry since 2013, Scott has helped build successful EV charging businesses at EVgo and Greenlots (now Shell Recharge Solutions). While at Greenlots, where he was one of the first 15 employees, Scott built the company's business with utilities such as Duke, Exelon, HyrdoOne, and MidAmerica Energy. He then started Greenlots'; fleet and OEM group, which won significant business with customers such as Amazon, Penske, Volvo, and others.

Scott’s earlier career was spent in the utility and energy industries, both at PSE&G and then at NRG Energy. While at NRG, Scott was closely involved in the company’s utility scale solar and carbon capture and storage initiatives. Scott holds a BA from Vassar College and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.

Preeti is the Head of Sustainable Investing for J.P. Morgan’s US Private Bank. In this role, she works with advisors and their clients to incorporate sustainability into their investment portfolios, develops thought leadership, and works with portfolio managers and due diligence colleagues to expand the Private Bank’s sustainable investing platform.

Preeti has over a decade of experience stewarding Sustainable Investments across asset classes and return profiles. Prior to JP Morgan, Preeti worked on post-investment engagement at Calvert Research & Management. Before that, she served as a Vice President of Integrated Capitals at the F.B. Heron Foundation, working to better align the foundation’s endowment with its mission, informing Heron’s long-term strategic direction, and helping to steward its investments across asset classes. Preeti has also served as the assistant director for the Heilbronn Center for Graham & Dodd Investing and a research associate at the Council on Foreign Relations, where she reported on global issues that included the global financial crisis and climate change. Preeti earned a B.A. from Columbia University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

James Guidera has been an adjunct professor at Columbia SIPA since 2014 where he teaches

international energy project finance and has been the faculty advisor to capstone workshops on energy transition topics. Prior to his retirement in 2019, he had a long career in energy finance at US and European banks. Mr. Guidera managed the project finance activities of Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank in the Americas for nearly twenty years; the project finance team Mr. Guidera led has been regularly ranked among the top five banks in the regional project finance league tables. Mr. Guidera continues to provide energy finance consulting to market participants as the principal of Ghent Associates, LLC.

Mr. Collins is the Director of Business Development at HQUS, the U.S. marketing division of Hydro-Québec, based in Hartford, Connecticut. Mr. Collins’ responsibilities at HQUS include the origination of business
development opportunities in the U.S. power markets with a focus on New York, analysis of New York and New England wholesale markets,
and coordination of HQUS outreach efforts, including assessment of state and federal energy policies related to clean and renewable
energy. Prior to joining HQUS, he held several positions in the finance field and has an extensive background in energy and commodity markets.

Mr. Collins holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Union
College and an MBA from the University at Albany.

Professor Rajiv S. Joshi is an economist, community organizer and entrepreneurial leader building global programs at the intersection of environmental, social and economic justice. Originating from Kenya and India, Rajiv was born in Scotland, where he was nationally elected to represent young people. He has directed the world’s largest Global South-led alliance to end poverty and is a steward to climate action initiatives around the world. As a creative and talented facilitator, he helped to design the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and was the Principal Author of the Decisive Decade Inquiry into the Future of Climate Action, commissioned by ex-UN Climate Chief, Christiana Figueres, global climate philanthropy and the Mission 2020 Campaign. He has supported global campaigns and initiatives to phase out fossil fuel, transform transform food systems, end illicit flows of capital, mobilize climate finance, advance the economics of wellbeing and halt biodiversity loss. He is a leading voice in exploring how philanthropy, and other actors, can use catalytic collaboration and high-risk capital to drive systemic change in the face of climate change and other converging crises.

Rajiv served as Associate Dean for Climate Action at the Columbia Climate School, driving its launch with President Obama at COP26 and overseeing programs, including the development of a Global Policy Impact Lab with California Clean Air Regulator Mary Nicholls while advising the Center for Global Energy Policy. As an adjunct Professor at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) he has developed the University’s first class in Climate Technology and Regenerative Entrepreneurship, and is also the Co-Chair of the Earth Network on the Social Climate, exploring the intersection of climate impacts, mental health and psychological resilience.

Rajiv is currently Founder & CEO of Bridging Ventures, an agency driving radical collaboration, through content, partnerships and coalitions, to address systemic challenges across generations, sectors and geographies. He has advised some of the worlds leading brands, incubated global programs and curated campaigns designed to drive changes in policy, practice and public opinion. Rajiv was appointed as an Executive-in-Residence at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School and is an advisor to global leaders, grassroots NGOs, Governments, philanthropy and business. He was appointed as a Commissioner on Scotland’s Just Transition Commission alongside current IPCC Chair Jim Skea.

Rajiv served as the first Managing Director of The B Team, a not-for-profit initiative Co-Founded by Sir Richard Branson & Jochen Zeitz, together with Paul Polman, Mary Robinson, Ratan Tata and a growing group of the world’s leading CEOs, Union leaders and former Heads of State. In this role he worked with a range of leading companies including Nike, IKEA, Apple, SalesForce, Mastercard as well as social movements and NGOs including Extinction Rebellion, 350.org, Avaaz, WWF, GCAP, Transparency International, Action Aid, Business & Human Rights Resource Center, Global Witness and Extinction Rebellion, on climate change, human rights, governance and corporate accountability. He also helped to build the global B-Corp movement.

Rajiv drove the Global Call to Action Against Poverty serving as Executive Director of the campaign and social movement, which was launched by Nelson Mandela and President Lula in 2005 together with Co- Chairs Kumi Naidoo, Sylvia Borren & Amitabh Behar. He served six years on the Council of Trustees of Oxfam GB and as a member of the Board of CIVICUS, the world alliance for citizen participation, based in Johannesburg where he was also on the Executive Committee. Rajiv was elected twice to represent young people in Scotland as Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament and was a Senior Consultant with CapGemini. He holds a BA with a First Class Honors in Economics from the Strathclyde Business School in Glasgow and an MPA in International Finance and Economic Policy from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University in New York.

Zachary is a finance and investment professional with experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. He has served as a U.S. diplomat in a warzone, built sophisticated financial and statistical models to help drive investment and debt financing decisions, worked as Editor-in-Chief of the oldest foreign-affairs academic journal in the United States, advised senior government leaders, and earned a Master's of Public Administration in Development Practice from Columbia University.

Himanshu Saxena is responsible for supervision of the Firm’s investment program and strategy, as well as overall management of the Firm. Mr. Saxena sits on both the Investment Committee and the boards of all portfolio companies. Mr. Saxena is also responsible for the development and management of the investment team. In addition, he maintains responsibilities for origination, structuring, execution, monitoring and exiting investments across the portfolio. Over the course of his career, Mr. Saxena has led the acquisition and development of numerous power generation and transmission projects and midstream and downstream assets in North America, with an aggregate enterprise value of more than $13 billion.

Prior to joining Lotus f/k/a Starwood Energy Group in early 2008, Mr. Saxena was an investment banker with JPMorgan’s global energy and utilities group. Before that, Mr. Saxena worked at American Electric Power, where he focused on managing financial risks in the power trading business and on optimizing a power generation portfolio. Mr. Saxena was previously a Chemical Engineer at industrial gas company Praxair, where he filed for several patents.

Mr. Saxena currently serves on the Advisory Board at Cornell University’s Program in Infrastructure Policy (CPIP), as a Board Member for the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), and on the Advisory Council of Cornell Energy Systems Institute.

Mr. Saxena earned an MBA from Duke University, where he was a Fuqua Scholar, an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University, and a Bachelor’s of Technology in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (“IIT”) in Bombay, India.

Jake Potent serves as Revel’s Director of Public Policy and Government Relations, a role he has held since April of 2023. Prior to joining Revel, Jake was a managing director at Constantinople and Vallone Consulting, a top five government relations firm in New York City. In that capacity he delivered key policy victories for companies like T-Mobile, Electrify America and Lyft. Prior to joining Constantinople and Vallone, Jake was the Director of Communications to Adriano Espaillat. Jake has also held various roles in the New York State Assembly and Senate, along with staff roles on half a dozen political campaigns.

Jane Bartman is a manager on the Sustainability team at Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that advises cities around the world and is part of Bloomberg Philanthropies. In this role, Jane works with city governments internationally to advance priority sustainability and resiliency projects, with a particular focus on built environment decarbonization and green finance.

Jane’s background spans the private, non-profit, and public sectors. Prior to joining Bloomberg Associates, she led real estate market feasibility analyses in more than 50 U.S. geographies as a Senior Manager at the Concord Group. She has also worked on the Policy and Development teams at New York City’s Housing Development Corporation, on the Social Resiliency team at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, and at the NYU Furman Center for Real Estate & Urban Policy.

Jane earned her Master of Urban Planning from NYU's Wagner School of Public Service, where she was a Henry Hart Rice Fellow. She received an A.B. with honors in Geography and International Studies from the University of Chicago. Jane is currently a Fellow in the Urban Design Forum’s Rewire program, leading the Green Homes working group.

Katherine Neebe serves as senior vice president of national engagement and strategy, and chief sustainability and philanthropy officer for Duke Energy. She leads Duke Energy’s stakeholder engagement efforts to develop solutions to meet customer needs for continued reliable and affordable energy – while simultaneously working to achieve the company’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

In addition, Katherine maintains oversight of the Duke Energy Foundation, which provides philanthropic support to help meet the needs of communities where Duke Energy customers live and work.

Katherine joined Duke Energy in August 2020 from Walmart, where she led environmental, social and governance strategy and oversaw stakeholder engagement on behalf of Walmart’s sustainability team.

From 2007-2013, Katherine was at the World Wildlife Fund where she managed one of the world’s largest corporate-NGO partnerships, a $97 million sustainability-driven initiative with The Coca- Cola Company focused on water, agriculture and climate, which was active in over 45 countries.

Katherine is a First Movers fellow through the Aspen Institute, received her Master of Business Administration from The Darden School at the University of Virginia and holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Colorado College.

Leslie Rich, currently an adjunct professor in Columbia University’s Sustainability Management program, has over 25 years of experience as an equity analyst covering the US utility sector for major asset management institutions. Following a multi-decade career on Wall Street, Rich is now a consultant to the U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office. In this capacity, Rich will support the design and implementation of new loan authorities including the $250 billion Energy Reinvestment program. She will also assist in outreach and business development to finance technologies and infrastructure project that enable the energy transition.

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Previously, she worked at JP Morgan Asset Management covering companies in the electric, gas, and water utility sectors. Prior to JP Morgan, Rich held similar equity analyst roles at Columbia Threadneedle Investments and Neuberger Berman. Additionally, she has been on the advisory council of the Electric Power Research Institute since 2018. She regularly speaks at industry conferences on topics including ESG, utility capital allocation, and decarbonization strategies. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Boston College and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Govi V. Rao has had a long and impressive career in the business world. Govi is currently the CEO of Phase Change Solutions, a position they have held since 2018. Prior to this, they were the President and CEO of Noveda Technologies from 2010 to 2018. Before that, they were the Chairman and CEO of Lighting Science Group Corporation from 2007 to 2009. Rao also spent six years at Philips Lighting, where they served as Vice President and General Manager of Solid State Lighting, North America from 2001 to 2007. In addition to their work in the private sector, Rao has also served as an Operating Advisor for Pegasus Capital from 2007 to 2010.

Govi V. Rao has a MS from Villanova University and a Bachelors from Osmania University.

Previously, Cameron was on the project finance team at NextEra Energy, where he helped close tax equity and project debt transactions totaling $2.7 billion for 3.1 GW of renewable energy projects across the US. Prior to that, Cameron was on the investment team at the New York Green Bank, making climate-focused credit investments in New York State. Before business school, Cameron worked in oil & gas investment banking in Houston.

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Cameron earned an MBA from Columbia Business School and undergraduate degrees from the University of Oxford in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and the University of Bristol in English Literature.