The Climate Startup Ecosystem: Founder Q+A | Happy Hour
Join Climate Collective SD in celebrating San Diego's first-ever Climate Week! We'll be catching the sunset at Rivian's beautiful space in Seaport Village, chatting about climate innovation in our local community, and signing up for demo drives 🛻
⚡️ Following a networking happy hour, we'll gather to hear about the stories and perspectives of 4 startup founders from the San Diego/Tijuana region— each of whom is pursuing bold solutions to climate resilience.
‼️ RIVIAN DEMO DRIVES: To sign up for a demo drive during the event, please visit Rivian's registration page here: https://events.rivian.com/sandiegoclimateweekhappyhour
Event Schedule
5:00–5:45 Networking
5:45–6:30 Moderated Panel
6:30–6:45 Audience Q&A
6:45–7:30 Networking + Rivian demo drives
7:45–9:00 extended networking at Mike Hess Seaport
Speakers:
Alisa Valderrama | FutureProof Technologies
Alisa Valderrama is Co-Founder and Co-CEO of FutureProof Technologies and has spent her career focused on the intersection of capital markets and the environment. Prior to FutureProof, she was Director of Water Infrastructure Finance at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). At the NRDC, she initiated and led the organization's work with cities and commercial property owners focused on innovative urban infrastructure water infrastructure, with an emphasis on urban flood risk and stormwater management. Alisa holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, a J.D. from USC, and an LL.M. from the LSE.
Bertram Peterson | Libra Energía
Bertram is a solar microgrid engineer and decarbonization expert, Certified Energy Manager (CEM) by the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), and Certified Photovoltaic Installation Professional (PVIP) by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP). He holds a bachelor’s in sustainability engineering from Tec de Monterrey, an energy administration degree from EGADE Business School, and a master of science degree on Sustainable Energy Technology from TU Delft, in the Netherlands. He has more than 10 years of experience designing, installing, and developing distributed solar + storage projects in more than 8 countries. He teaches renewable energy & decarbonization at Tec de Monterrey, where he also serves as a board member of the National Board of Advisors for Engineering Physics. He co-founded Libra Energia, a climate solutions & decarbonization B Corp., and works with activists and local leaders to accelerate the energy transition in the Baja penninsula.
Carlos F Gaitan | Benchmark Labs
Dr. Carlos Gaitan is the Co-founder and CEO of Benchmark Labs. Dr. Gaitan's work at Benchmark Labs aims to provide actionable weather forecasting and insights to land managers whose operations are affected by weather variability and extreme events in the face of a changing climate. He completed his doctoral studies at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada), working on machine learning applications in the environmental sciences. He also holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and a master's degree in hydro systems from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Bogota, Colombia). He was an elected member of the American Meteorological Society's (AMS) Artificial Intelligence Committee. Previously, he worked at early-stage start-ups in the environmental science field.
Ravi Chawla | Chakra Tech
Dr. Ravi Chawla is the Founder of ChakraTech, where he pioneers carbon-negative biomanufacturing to replace fossil-based plastics and polymers. Using AI and biotech, he develops next-generation sustainable biomaterials that drive decarbonization and accelerate the circular economy. His work forges cross-sector partnerships to scale climate solutions from lab breakthroughs to market impact.
With extensive interdisciplinary expertise spanning chemical engineering, life sciences, and materials science, Dr. Chawla bridges fundamental research and commercial innovation. His pioneering work at the intersection of biology and engineering has produced numerous high-impact publications and earned prestigious recognitions including the American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Research Excellence Award.
Moderator: Laura Brenner Kimes
Laura Brenner Kimes brings nearly two decades of experience across utilities, startups, consulting, and government, with a focus on strategy and policy. She co-founded Greenprint Partners, a B-Corp recognized with the U.S. Water Prize, and later served as Director of Impact & ESG at Resource Innovations, an Inc. 500 clean energy company backed by Morgan Stanley Capital Partners.
Her expertise spans direct insight into the founder experience, ESG integration, decarbonization strategy, impact storytelling, stakeholder engagement, and board advisory. Laura now leads Studio Monarca, her consulting and advisory practice, where she supports founders, investors, and leadership teams in aligning climate ambition with operational and financial value.
By registering for this event, you agree to share your registration information with the organizers of San Diego Climate Week and our event platform partner, Climatebase. Your information will not be shared with third parties.
To check out more San Diego Climate Week events, visit: https://lu.ma/sdclimateweek.