Upskilling Summit #2: Energy/Climate Cycle Project Showcase & Civics/Elections Cycle Kick-Off
What happens when everyday professionals start building with AI? Come see for yourself.
This isn't a conference about the future of work—it's a hands-on demonstration of it. Join us for The Upskilling Labs' quarterly Summit, where our community takes the stage to show what they built in over the Energy & Climate build cycle, and we kick off what's next: Civics & Elections.
Why climate and energy? Why civics and elections?
These are foundational industries—ones that are critical to the future of our country, and where AI will immensely reshape how work gets done. We believe that disruption in sectors this important shouldn't happen to people. It should happen with them. That's why we're building a community where professionals from all backgrounds can learn, experiment, and shape how these tools show up in the real world.
The evening:
4:30pm - Arrive, mingle, connect with The Upskilling Labs' community
5:00pm - Kickoff & About the Upskilling Labs
5:15pm - Keynote closing Energy & Climate
Isabella Beerli, Energy Regulatory and Policy Specialist
5:45pm - Energy & Climate Build Cycle project team demos
🍃 Clean Clarified: A web app that lets homeowners search by zip code and income to instantly find every clean energy incentive they qualify for — no expertise or endless research required.
☀️ Clean Start: A conversational AI guide that meets households at the "curious but overwhelmed" stage, helping them navigate clean energy decisions before they've even started shopping.
💄 Empties: A tool tackling recycling confusion for makeup and beauty products, helping users know exactly what can (and can't) go in curbside recycling… down to the lip gloss cap.
✈️ Get 2 Zero: A browser extension for maps that shows you trip time, price, and CO2 emissions, so that you can pick the route that's best for you and the planet.
6:45pm - Moderated Panel: Civics and Elections
Moderator: Kaela Roeder, Lead Reporter, DC & Virginia at Technical.ly
Panelists:
Nicol Turner Lee, PhD, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies and Director, at Center for Technology Innovation, Brookings Institution
Karissa Minnich, Associate Director of Design at The Lab @ DC
Nick Garcia, Senior Policy Counsel at Public Knowledge
Kenny Diggs, Assistant Political Director, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
7:45pm - Tabling and Networking
The (4) Energy and Climate build cycle project teams
DC Open Government Coalition (https://www.dcogc.org/)
DC League of Women Voters (https://www.lwvdc.org/
Free DC (https://freedcproject.org/)
The Upskilling Labs (https://theupskillinglabs.org/)
8:15pm - Depart for Happy hour
You don't need a technical background to get started—just curiosity and commitment.
About The Upskilling Labs
Ready to be part of it? Join the community of over a thousand Upskillers (and growing) today.
The Upskilling Labs (https://theupskillinglabs.org/) is an open, project-based learning community where you build real things with real people. Every quarter, we run a Build Cycle themed around an industry—participants form pods around real problems, develop AI-enabled solutions together, and showcase what they've built. No credentials required. Just show up ready to learn alongside others.