Fireside Chat: Career Transitions in Cleantech & Sustainability
The cleantech and sustainability sectors are evolving rapidly and so are the careers within them. As climate investment, policy, and innovation accelerate globally, professionals across industries are rethinking what meaningful long-term career growth looks like. Whether transitioning into climate from another sector, advancing into leadership roles within sustainability, or intentionally deepening impact in a current role, many mid-career professionals are navigating complex decisions about purpose, growth, and positioning. At a time when organizations are urgently seeking experienced talent to lead the energy transition, understanding how to strategically navigate career change has never been more relevant.
Join Women in Cleantech and Sustainability for an engaging fireside chat on Career Transitions in Cleantech & Sustainability, designed for professionals exploring what’s next in their careers. This conversation will unpack what separates successful career transitions from stalled ones, the most common mistakes professionals make when pivoting sectors, and the signals hiring leaders look for when evaluating senior talent. Attendees can expect practical insights on breaking into climate, advancing within the industry, building visibility without burnout, strengthening personal brands, and making intentional career decisions that support long-term impact. Through interactive discussion, audience reflection, and real-world case studies, participants will leave with actionable strategies they can apply immediately to their own career journeys.
The session will feature Shannon Houde, Executive and Leadership Coach at Walk of Life Coaching, a recruiter and career strategist with over 30 years of experience who has mentored and trained more than 1,700 impact leaders to maximize their personal brands and advance their careers. The conversation will be moderated by Sadia Raveendran.
Speaker:
Executive and Leadership Coach, Walk of Life Coaching
Certified Coach. Facilitator. Published Author. Connector
Shannon Houde is an ICF-PCC certified Executive & Leadership Coach with 20+ years as a trusted partner to organizations, evolving leaders and the C-suite on their journey to balance progress with human sustainability across technology, finance, professional services, and conservation sectors.
She listens to inspire leaders to reach personal purpose and peak performance, calibrates insights through values-driven assessments, and designs tangible tools to support personal development.
Over 15 years ago Shannon founded Walk of Life Coaching, the first international leadership development and talent advisory business focused on ESG, human sustainability, and corporate responsibility.
Multi-lingual, having lived in Chile, Italy, France, Switzerland, and the UK, she is also a published author and public speaker.
Her coaching is underpinned by her qualifications in the Leadership Circle Profile, Emotional Intelligence for Leaders, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Korn Ferry’s ESCI, The Game Changer Index, and the Harrison Assessment.
She holds an MBA from Thunderbird Graduate School in International Management and a BA in Sociology from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Moderator:
WCS Board Member & Co-Chair; Founding Head of GTM, Hammerhead AI
Sadia Raveendran is an energy and cleantech professional, problem-solver, and leader with 15+ years of experience across regions, functions, and technologies. She previously led Industry Solutions and the Schneider Electric partnership at AutoGrid (later Uplight) selling grid flexibility solutions to global utilities. She also enabled the deployment of utility scale solar and wind capacity through prior stints at GE Renewable Energy (now GE Vernova) and Tata Power. Now, as part of the founding team at a stealth startup, she is tackling AI datacenter capacity challenges to power the next phase of growth.
About Women in Cleantech and Sustainability
Women in Cleantech and Sustainability (WCS) is a global nonprofit community dedicated to advancing women working across climate, energy, and sustainability. Through events, mentorship, career resources, and local chapters around the world, WCS creates spaces where women can connect, learn, grow professionally, and collaborate to drive meaningful climate solutions. Whether you’re an industry expert, a student, a founder, or simply climate-curious, WCS welcomes those who want to build community and accelerate positive change together.
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