Speakers
Presentations for each speaker will last 45 minutes each, with a 15 minute break in between.
Join us on May 30th, May 31st, June 6th, and June 7th from 4:00-6:00 PM (PT) by clicking the link above! If you have any problems logging onto the Zoom webinar, please email us at svycazoom@gmail.com.
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Saturday, May 30th, 4:00-6:00 PM (PT)
Girish Balachandran, Chief Executive Officer of Silicon Valley Clean Energy (4 pm)
Clean Energy, the Green Grid of the Future, and Careers in Climate.
As the Chief Executive Officer, Girish Balachandran develops and implements strategies to empower the Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) team and community to achieve its ambitious decarbonization goals. SVCE’s mission is to reduce dependence of fossil fuels by providing carbon free, affordable and reliable electricity and innovative programs for the SVCE community. He leads the passionate employees of SVCE as they creatively solve challenges in the electric supply, built environment and transportation sectors.
Girish has more than 29 years of experience in California utilities, including serving as the General Manager of Riverside Public Utilities (RPU) and Alameda Municipal Power (AMP) and working for the City of Palo Alto Utilities.
Richard Lowenthal, Co-Founder of ChargePoint and Former Mayor of Cupertino (5 pm)
Insight as a green technology pioneer, the technology behind Chargepoint, and advice for young people interested in approaching sustainability through business.
Richard Lowenthal retired in 2014. He is the Founder of ChargePoint and was the CEO of the company from 2007 to 2011 and remains on the ChargePoint board of directors. Previously Mr. Lowenthal was in executive roles at Cisco, StrataCom, Stardent Computers, and Convergent Technologies. Mr. Lowenthal is also a former Mayor of Cupertino, California, and has been heavily involved in the non-profit world. He has a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from UC Berkeley and holds over 30 technology patents. He has two daughters and lives in Cupertino with his wife of 38 years, Ellen.
He is a former Citizen of the Year for Cupertino and was awarded the Character Award by the Santa Clara County Boy Scouts. He has been President of Cupertino Rotary, Cupertino Rotary Endowment Foundation, West Valley Community Services, The Fremont Union High Schools Foundation, the Silicon Valley YMCAs, and the Santa Clara County Library system.
Sunday, May 31st, 4:00-6:00 PM (PT)
Dan Jacobson, California State Director, Environment California (4pm)
The good, the bad and the ugly of California climate policy; What we're doing right, what we're doing wrong, and how you can help.
Dan drives the strategy development and execution of Environment California’s campaigns and lobbying in the California state Capitol. He has successfully advocated for the passage of dozens of bills into law, including measures to ban toxic chemicals, bring 1 million solar roofs to California, and commit the state to divest from coal. He ran the campaign for SB 100, California’s law setting a goal of 100% clean energy by 2045. Dan was named one of Capitol Weekly’s “Top 100 Lobbyists” in California in 2008. Dan lives in Sacramento, California, where he enjoys studying Spanish, playing guitar, hiking through the wilderness and playing in a jug band.
Rod Diridon, Sr., Emeritus Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute (5 pm)
Climate Change and Local Public Transportation: Urgency, Facts, Solutions.
His political career began in 1971 as the youngest person ever elected to the Saratoga City Council. He retired in 1995 because of term limits after completing five terms, six times chairing, both the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and Transit Board. He’s the only person to chair the San Francisco Bay Area´s (119 cities, 27 transit agencies, and 9 counties) three regional governments: The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Air Quality Management District, and the Association of Bay Area Governments. He chaired nine successful rail system development project boards. In 1995 the region’s main train station was renamed the “San Jose Diridon Station” upon his retirement. He’s now focused on combating climate change by convening the Rotary Climate Action Council.
Saturday, June 6th, 4:00-6:00 PM (PT)
Three young professional climate leaders will share their journal on innovative and impactful climate careers involved with policy, advocacy and law at the international level, as well as tips on how to have fun while saving the planet!
Patrick Cage, Master of Science Candidate, Coastal Science and Policy program, UC Santa Cruz (4 pm)
Patrick Cage is a Master of Science candidate at UC Santa Cruz and a climate analyst and activist. Patrick majored in Environmental Studies at Yale, where he focused in on climate change after getting involved in Fossil Free Yale, the movement to divest Yale’s endowment from fossil fuels. After graduating, Patrick worked in climate advocacy for 6 months with 300 churches in Massachusetts. Patrick attended the Paris Agreement negotiations, where he and a team analyzed negotiation progress, receiving coverage from major news outlets, including the Washington Post and Reuters. From January 2016 until May 2019, Patrick worked for the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute and the Carbon Institute, building the workforce of “carbon detectives” required to implement the Paris Agreement. During this time, Patrick worked primarily with institutions in China, Indonesia, and Central Africa. In 2018, Patrick took a 3 month leave to join the “blue wave” and flip a House seat in upstate New York for the Democrats. After the campaign, Patrick lived in Grenada in the Caribbean, spending his days setting up a 12-country carbon analysis “co-op” and his free time freediving and diving. Last September, Patrick enrolled in the Coastal Science and Policy program at UC Santa Cruz as a Master of Science candidate. Patrick will begin his yearlong Master’s Capstone this June. Patrick spends his free time under quarantine running, surfing, and going on “porch safaris” to capture photos of the plants and animals in his front yard.
Ana F. Gonzalez Guerrero, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Youth Climate Lab (Canada) (4 pm)
As Co-Founder and Managing Director at the Youth Climate Lab, Ana leads the operations of the organization, developing and implementing resources needed to accelerate our impact by empowering youth in climate entrepreneurship and policy.
Ana also leads an Innovation Fund through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Partnership for Municipal Innovation in Local Economic Development. This fund provides small-scale granting for innovative solutions that benefit communities, with a particular focus on women and youth, across six countries.
Prior to her current roles, Ana worked with the Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program, supporting over 340 local governments in their efforts to take action on climate change across Canada. She was also a long-time volunteer with Green Economy Canada and Sustainable Waterloo Region where she became passionate about community-led action, and the need to connect those efforts to national and international policy levels.
Alex Gamboa, International Environment Law and Public Policy Specialist (Philippines) (4 pm)
Alex Gamboa is an environmental lawyer in the Philippines. She currently
works on climate change policy as the Manager of Government Initiatives
at Rare, an NGO working in municipal fisheries and specializing in
behavior change. She is also a Professor at De la Salle University in
Manila. In 2016, she worked for the Climate Change Commission, the lead
policy-making body of the Republic of the Philippines for climate change
issues, organizing the Philippines delegation to the United Nations
climate summits. Since then, Alex has continually engaged in the UN
climate summits. Alex earned her Masters in Laws from UC Berkeley and
her J.D. from the University of the Philippines – Diliman. Alex loves
yoga and jokes.
Peggy Brannigan, Sr. Program Manager, Global Sustainability at Linkedin (5 pm)
LinkedIn's Sustainability Initiatives, Corporate Responsibility, and Growth in Climate Careers.
Peggy Brannigan leads global environmental sustainability for LinkedIn. She is driving progress on the company’s ambitious Carbon Negative and Zero Waste commitments. In this role, Peggy develops strategies and programs to ensure the the company is operating with sustainability excellence, and to leverage LinkedIn’s platforms to support the growth of green companies, green skillbuilding and green careers . She collaborates across the enterprise with teams in real estate design and build, workplace operations, events, datacenter operations, procurement, travel and employee wellness to set goals and drive ongoing sustainability progress. Peggy earned an MBA with public management certificate from Stanford Graduate School of Business, and undergraduate degree in International Affairs.
Sunday, June 7th, 4:00-6:00 PM (PT)
Jasneet Sharma, Director, Office of Sustainability, County of Santa Clara (4 pm)
The Climate crisis, sustainability initiatives in Santa Clara County and youth leadership to help build a stronger, resilient community.
Previously, she was the Climate Resiliency Specialist with the San Mateo County Office of Sustainability where she led the County Climate Adaptation Initiatives focused on building resiliency to climate related risks, including sea level rise, extreme heat, wildfires, changing precipitation patterns, and severe storm events. She oversaw the Sea Change SMC Program which worked collaboratively with cities, stakeholder agencies and community groups to address the challenge of sea level rise and erosion and the County Climate Collaborative that strived to foster collaboration and collectively find solutions to make San Mateo County climate ready.
Jasneet is a trained architect and urban planner, has extensive experience working in both academia and local governments and has lead a number of research, policy and community-based initiatives on sustainable land use and food systems, smart growth, and climate change.
Ro Khanna, Congressman for California’s 17th Congressional District (5 pm)
Winning the 21st century with New Opportunities in the Climate Sphere: Congressman Ro Khanna’s vision for climate policy at the federal level, current progress on environmentally-progressive policies, and opportunities for youth to become involved in the passage of these policies and pursue careers in climate.
Congressman Ro Khanna represents California’s 17th Congressional District, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, and is serving in his second term. Rep. Khanna sits on the House Budget, Armed Services, and Oversight and Reform committees and is first vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. He also serves as an Assistant Whip for the Democratic Caucus.