This is CDR: Direct Air Carbon Capture Superstars
Welcome to the second webinar in the OpenAir Collective's 2026 Carbon Removal Challenge monthly webinar series! We're proud to present a panel of direct air capture (DAC) superstars from leading DAC organizations. They will share their perspectives on current events, career paths, experiences, and advice on working in DAC. We will have plenty of time for audience Q&A.
Participating in the panel will be:
- Andrew Fishbein, Lead, Government Affairs North America, Climeworks
- Jason Hochman, Co-Founder and former Executive Director, Direct Air Capture Coalition, and Founder of a new climate tech investment platform
- Noah McQueen, Director of Science Innovation, Carbon180 and Co-Founder, Heirloom
Andrew Fishbein heads policy and government affairs in North America for Climeworks, global leader in direct air capture (DAC). One of the foremost voices on carbon removal in Washington, Andrew advances policies to enable the commercial scale-up of DAC in the US and Canada. He joined Climeworks in 2022 after more than a decade working in policy and advocacy at the intersections of energy, democracy, and international affairs. He has a M.Sc. in Energy Policy & Climate from Johns Hopkins University and a B.Sc. in Political Science from Carnegie Mellon University.
Jason Hochman is the Founder and Managing Partner of a new climate tech investment platform focused on preserving and scaling breakthrough carbon removal innovation, beginning with efforts to consolidate and advance direct air capture technologies. He is the former Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Direct Air Capture Coalition, which he built from inception into a globally recognized coalition of more than 110 companies, organizations, and institutions. Under his leadership, DACC organized two Global Direct Air Capture Conferences with partners including Columbia University, Breakthrough Energy, and RMI, engaged senior policymakers across the U.S. government, United Nations, and European Commission, and developed shared resources to support the growth of the DAC sector.
Noah McQueen (he/they) is a systems strategist and chemical engineer who co-founded Heirloom, where they helped scale one of the world’s first commercial direct air capture technologies. As Director of Science and Innovation at Carbon180, Noah leads efforts to bridge cutting-edge research with policy and market design, shaping the future of equitable carbon removal. They also advise early-stage climate startups, drawing from technical expertise and lived experience to help founders move bold ideas from zero to one.
For more information about the Carbon Removal Challenge and how you can participate as a student, organizer, judge, mentor, partner, sponsor, visit https://openaircollective.com/CRC.