DCCW Leadership Forum
DC Climate Week's Leadership Forum brings together senior policymakers, legislators, 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 – 11:00am: Tech and Climate
Speakers:
Walter Vergara, Vice President, Climate Institute
Udit Garg, SVP Product, Design & Engineering, Arcadia
Evan Chapman, Founder and Senior Director of Policy, Clean Tomorrow
Moderator: Eric Wesoff, Executive Director, Canary Media
11:00am – 11:05am: Lightning Talk: The unique role of space data in supporting climate action. Speaker name to be confirmed
11:05am – 11:25am: Networking Break
11:25am – 12:25pm: Energy, Growth and Climate
Speakers:
Charles Satterfield, Deputy Director for Utility Affordability, DC Department of Energy and Environment
Nekabari Goka, Regional Lead, Global Infrastructure and Energy, Google
Justin Edmiston, Director, Growth and Acquisitions, DTE Energy
Moderator: Uros Simovic, Energy Infrastructure Optimization Specialist, National Public Utilities Council
12:25pm – 12:35pm: In The Spotlight: Climate, Health and Wellbeing
Jaspreet Pahwa, Director, Capital Planning and Construction, DC Public Library
12:35pm – 1:15pm: 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
1:15pm – 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 Additional speakers to be confirmed shortly
Moderator: Dan Delurey, Climate Policy Expert and Senior Fellow, Vermont Law School
3:10pm – 3:30pm: Networking Break
3:30pm – 3:40pm: Where Climate Risk meets Innovation
Dr Nelly Ramírez-Moncada, Senior Climate Ecosystem and Innovation Architect, CIFAR Alliance Secretariat Co-Lead, BFA Global
3:40pm – 4:30pm: 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 Additional speakers to be confirmed shortly
Moderator: David Akana, Program Director, Mongabay
4:30pm – 4:40pm: Final Thoughts, Closing Remarks and introduction to the Happy Hour
C’pher Gresham, Co-Founder, DC Climate Week
Representative, 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.