

Desert Rising: How New Mexico is Building the Climate Economy (Live Inevitable Podcast + Founder Panel)
New Mexico is quietly becoming one of the most interesting places in the country for climate tech — and the people driving that transformation are coming to SF Climate Week to tell the story firsthand.
Join us for a founder panel featuring Carrie Von Muench, Founding COO at Pacific Fusion, and Carl Hoiland, Co-Founder at Zanskar Geothermal, both building in New Mexico, followed by a live recording of the Inevitable podcast featuring Rob Black, New Mexico's Cabinet Secretary of Economic Development and Bruce Brown, Head of Strategic Climate Initiatives at the New Mexico State Investment Council (the state's $70B sovereign wealth fund).
Together, they'll explore how the state is deploying public capital, attracting industry, and positioning itself as a hub for the next generation of climate and innovation-driven businesses.
Stay for a one-hour happy hour to connect with our panelists and podcast guests.
More on our podcast guests:
🎤 Rob Black is the Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Economic Development Department, leading the state’s efforts to compete in the next generation of innovation-driven industries. Born and raised in Lovington, New Mexico, he is focused on building a resilient, high-wage economy that delivers long-term opportunity for families across the state.
🎤 Bruce Brown, CFA, is the Head of Strategic Climate Initiatives at the New Mexico State Investment Council (SIC), the state's $70 billion sovereign wealth fund. In his role, Bruce is responsible for developing policies and strategies for investing New Mexico’s permanent funds to promote New Mexico’s climate tech industries while producing market rate returns. Bruce is also an attorney, who has litigated on behalf of investors both at the SIC and previously at the New York Attorney General’s Office. He graduated from Brown University with honors in philosophy and from the University of Michigan Law School.
🎤 Cody Simms, Managing Partner at MCJ and host of the Inevitable podcast. Cody is co-founder of Climate Changemakers, a climate action non-profit, and co-author of the Amazon-bestselling book Levers: The Framework for Building Repeatability into Your Business. He is also a lecturer at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he teaches impact investing and coaches MBA students on making investments via Anderson Venture Impact Partners (AVIP), a student-led investment fund.
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