DCCW Leadership Forum
DC Climate Week's Leadership Forum brings together senior policymakers, private sector leaders, NGOs, and community members to explore the intersection of climate ambition and action.
Designed as a forum for collaboration, the program highlights the most pressing challenges and opportunities shaping today’s climate landscape.
A huge thank you to our location venue host, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library.
AGENDA
9:30am – 10:00am: Registration and Networking
10:00am – 10:05am: Welcome from Forum’s Rapporteur
C’pher Gresham, Co-Founder, DC Climate Week
10:05am – 10:10am: Opening Speech
Jerome Foster II, TIME Next Generation Leader | Ambassador to American Forests | Youngest White House Climate Advisor
10:10am – 10:20am: Climate, Health and Wellbeing
Jaspreet Pahwa, Director, Capital Planning and Construction, DC Public Library
10:20am – 11:15am: From Lab to Law to Market: What It Actually Takes to Scale and Deploy Clean Energy
Speakers:
Walter Vergara, Vice President, Climate Institute
Udit Garg, SVP Product, Design & Engineering, Arcadia
Evan Chapman, Founder and Senior Director of Policy, Clean Tomorrow
Xan Fishman, Vice President of Energy Program, Bipartisan Policy Center
Moderator: Eric Wesoff, Executive Director, Canary Media
11:15am – 11:35am: Networking Break
11:35am – 12:00pm: Fireside Discussion: Affordability in an Era of Surging Demand
Speakers:
Charles Satterfield, Deputy Director for Utility Affordability, DC Department of Energy and Environment
Lidija Sekaric, Vice President of Innovation and Emerging Technologies, NRECA
Moderator: Uros Simovic, Energy Infrastructure Optimization Specialist, National Public Utilities Council
12:00pm – 12:50pm: Rewiring the Grid from Constraint to Opportunity
Speakers:
Nekabari Goka, Regional Lead, Global Infrastructure and Energy, Google
Justin Edmiston, Director, Growth and Acquisitions, DTE Energy
Faraz Ahmad, Head of Energy, Form8tion Data Centers / Thor Equities
Ian Magruder, Founder & Executive Director, Utilize Coalition
Moderator: Uros Simovic, Energy Infrastructure Optimization Specialist, National Public Utilities Council
12:50pm – 1:30pm: Turning Industry’s Climate Commitments into Competitive Advantage
Speakers:
Lorraine Spradley Wilson, Founder & Strategic Advisor, Blue Horizon Economy
Harry Krejsa, Director of Studies, Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy & Technology
Katie McGinty, Vice President and Chief Sustainability & External Relations Officer, Johnson Controls
Moderator: Charles Yang, Executive Director, Center for Industrial Strategy
1:30pm – 2:15pm: Lunch
2:15pm – 2:20pm: Lightning Talk: Energy Affordability
Richard Caperton, Vice President for Public Policy, SPAN
2:20pm – 3:10pm: Scaling Sustainable Urban Development through Local Leadership
Speakers:
Rob Shaut, Chief Operating Officer, Casey Trees
Lacey Shaver, U.S. Polsky Energy Center, World Resources Institute
Jeffrey Stoicescu, Principal, Langan
Moderator: Dan Delurey, Climate Policy Expert and Senior Fellow, Vermont Law School
3:10pm – 3:30pm: Networking Break
3:30pm – 3:40pm: Threat Multiplier: Climate & Global Security in the 21st Century
Sherri Goodman, Secretary General, International Military Council on Climate & Security; and Author of Threat Multiplier
3:40pm – 3:50pm: Where Climate Risk meets Innovation
Dr Nelly Ramírez-Moncada, Building climate resilience by connecting innovation, finance, and real-world solutions across emerging economies
3:50pm – 4:40pm: Nature, Biodiversity and Restoration
Speakers:
Andrew Wetzler, Senior Vice President, Nature, Natural Resources Defense Council
Jeanethe Falvey, VP, Marketing, Mast Reforestation
Fred Stolle, Deputy Director of Forests, World Resources Institute
Moderator: David Akana, Program Director, Mongabay
4:40pm – 4:50pm: Final Thoughts, Closing Remarks and introduction to the Happy Hour
C’pher Gresham, Co-Founder, DC Climate Week
Nasir Khattak, CEO, Microtron Technologies, Vice President and Board Member, Climate Institute
The speakers and organizations participating during the DC Climate Week event do not represent the views of the event space hosts or DC Climate Week.