Connecting executive women,
sustainable startups, impact investors.
Meet your community of impact investors, climate tech innovators, and executive women at the Emerald Summit, taking place in September 2024.
The theme for this year is focused on increasing venture capital fundraising and project finance for climate startups, particularly those led or owned by women in the sustainability, inclusion, education, and technology sectors.
Will you join us?
The Premium Climate Week NYC Summit
What can you expect from the Summit?
- Opportunities to meet and network with other leaders in business sustainability.
- Attend keynote talks and panel discussions about how to move forward with climate action.
- Participate in interactive workshops and breakout sessions designed to foster collaboration and innovation in climate tech and sustainable business practices.
Join us for an exclusive Climate Week Dinner on September 19th in New York!
- Opportunities to meet and network with other leaders in business sustainability.
- Attend keynote talks and panel discussions about how to move forward with climate action.
- Participate in interactive workshops and breakout sessions designed to foster collaboration and innovation in climate tech and sustainable business practices.
Emerald Summit 2024 Agenda
September 20th, 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM | New York City
EDT = Eastern Daylight Time
09:00 AM - 10:00 AM EDT
Check in & Registration
Start the NYC Climate Week with light snacks and networking with registration for Emerald Summit and meet our speakers/partners.
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM EDT
Kirthi Mani
Jeremy Harper
Oliver Mitchell
Sumeet Shah
Zehra Naqvi
VC Investors Panel: TriNet and CLA
Meet the venture capital investors who believe in climate funding mission for diverse founders and ecosystem partners.
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EDT
Ashley Jefferson
Dan Maccarone
Eliza Erskine
Monika Murugesan
Paul Burani
Founders Funders Fractionals Panel
The panel aims to educate the audience on the fractional talent model, showcasing how it has benefited companies through the experiences of our panelists.
12:00 - 12:30 PM EDT
Lunch & Networking
Network your way through the lunch and meet executives, VCs, and startup founders in climate, fintech, and AI space.
12:30 PM - 12:45 PM EDT
Charlotte Hamilton
N5 Solar Pitch
N5 Solar is making ultra durable solar panels and energy boosting AI software.
12:45 PM - 1:00 PM EDT
Tiya Gordon
it’s electric Pitch
it’s electric has been named as one of the products that will define technological innovation for the rest of this decade and beyond. A public charging solution to address the infrastructural and environmental justice barriers cities face in the deployment of electric vehicle charging. Instead of requiring costly and time consuming new utility connections, it’s electric’s Level-2 charging posts connect behind-the-meter to draw spare electrical supply from adjacent buildings; allowing them to install at zero cost to property owners or cities. Highly scalable, it’s electric is the world’s public charging system powered by buildings.
1:00 PM - 1:30 PM EDT
Yao Huang
Profitably Cleaning the World’s Dirtiest Carbon Polluters in 30 Days
40 gigatons of carbon every year is the problem and most of it is from industrial production. Innovation on harnessing the power of nature through photobioreactors is able to accelerate the natural process of algae absorbing industrial CO2 and convert it into essential products like fertilizer, animal feed, food ingredients, and carbon-negative crude oil. Each ton of algae biomass captures 2-5 tons of CO2, paving the way for heavy polluters like cement, steel, and coal industries to become carbon-neutral. The solution not only combats climate change but also offers a sustainable and profitable path forward.
1:30 PM - 1:45 PM EDT
Jo Norris
Carbon Reform Pitch
Carbon Reform, a woman-led and LGBTQ-owned startup, is transforming access to climate and health technology. Based in Philadelphia and Delaware, the company develops innovative retrofit solutions for commercial HVAC systems. Their technology improves indoor air quality by capturing and removing carbon dioxide, VOCs, particulate matter, and pathogens. Recirculating clean air inside buildings significantly reduces energy consumption and emissions by lowering the HVAC system’s heating and cooling load, allowing buildings to achieve net-zero emissions while ensuring occupants’ health and safety.
1:45 PM - 2:00 PM EDT
Annabel Collinson
Rootd.Earth Pitch
Rootd makes climate action easy, personalized, and fun so millions can act, now. Through gamification, recommendation matching, and social intelligence based on a GenAI Core, Rootd helps users support and build climate organizations worldwide.
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT
Nicole Casperson
Elizabeth Landau
Francisco Martin-Rayo
Samrah Kazmi
Stefania Di Bartolomeo
Fintech is Femme Panel - State of Climate Fintech: Where’s the Growth?
Industry leaders will discuss the impact of financial innovation on climate action, including ESG investing, sustainable banking, and carbon emissions tracking, shaping the future of finance for a greener economy.
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EDT
Breen Sullivan
Caroline McCaffery
Susan Schofer
The Fourth Effect Panel: How Advisory and Governing Boards Can Be Game Changing
Hear from Breen Sullivan (moderator) and Caroline McCaffrey (panelist), both tech GCs turned startup founders, and Susan Schofer (panelist), venture capitalist and climate tech investor, currently a Partner at SOSV, on the often untapped potential of advisory and governing boards to help you fundraise, scale effectively and drive impact. Panelists will also discuss the value of diversity on boards and how diversity of thought can benefit the inclusion and sustainability space and bring us closer to an equitable and sustainable future.
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT
Nicole Casperson
Courtney Cardin
Elisabeth Ballreich
Maggie Wong
Paula DeLaurentis
Perry Teicher
Fintech is Femme Panel - Funding Climate Fintech: Challenges and Opportunities
Explore the unique funding needs of climate fintech startups. Discover strategies to overcome barriers and learn how investors can align financial interests with environmental goals for a sustainable future.
5:00 PM - 5:30 PM EDT
Bhuva Shakti
Carrie Jaquith
Fireside Chat: What's Next After Climate Week
We will discuss how we can continue our conversation to support startups and investors driving people inclusion and planet innovation? Wallet Max expands fundraising for growth-stage startups in sustainability and climate fintech sectors, and connects them with an inclusive community of high-impact venture capital investors globally.
5:30 PM - 5:45 PM EDT
Tatiana Alexa
Sangrove Pitch
Sangrove, a social green tech startup (seed stage, B2B SaaS), tackles overproduction and excess inventory for consumer brands and retailers. By engaging shoppers in advanced Impact purchasing via its proprietary technology plugged into digital commerce, Sangrove enables demand-driven supply, improving profit margins by giving brands real-time demand visibility, optimized inventory, and a quantifiable path to decarbonization. Patent-pending. Supported by Columbia Tech Ventures’ Climate Tech program and Ideaship Fund.
5:45 PM - 6:00 PM EDT
Shanley Harruthoonyan
ABLE ecosystems Pitch
ABLE streamlines farm-level data collection with responsible AI and global self-reporting. We boost reporting frequency and accuracy through smart nudges, easy-to-use tools, and cross-verification, helping suppliers, brands, and farmers improve practices and achieve meaningful results.
06:00 PM - 07:00 PM EDT
Happy Hour & Networking
End the day with casual networking and snacks, and meet with industry experts and ecosystem partners.
Learn from Climate-Conscious Business Leaders
Wallet Max Community Mission
What's Next After Climate Week
Bhuva Shakti is the Chief Sustainable Innovation Officer at Wallet Max, a global community of executive women and venture capital investors with a mission to expand fundraising access for high-growth sustainable startups. With an MBA from Columbia University in New York and as a senior executive director on Wall Street, Bhuva has managed diverse financial portfolios and launched several digital transformation products for investment banks, capital markets, and payment networks. Her leadership and risk governance oversight, during the financial crisis and the pandemic, was pivotal for the success of regulatory compliance and mergers acquisitions at the world’s top banks and credit rating institutions. She is the board director and fractional C-Suite advisor for social impact businesses, and a keynote speaker passionate about economic inclusion and climate-fintech partnerships. Bhuva is the founder of Bhuva’s Impact Global (BIG) that provides board advisory services and enterprise risk management for public and private corporations.
Carrie Jaquith (she/her) is a Global Head of Product at Abaxx Technologies, an Advisory Board Member, and Educator. Previous to Abaxx, she was Global Head of Digital Enablement for AXA XL’s Data, Intelligence & Analytics group. She founded the first IT Emerging Tech group at Lazard Frères and advised their Data Science & Analytics Group. She has taught at Columbia University’s Master of Science in Applied Analytics program, and collaborated with groups at Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, and Merrill Lynch. She’s a member of Think Tanks focused on AI and genomics and is an Advisory Board Member of Smarter Markets PodcastTM. A classically trained musician, she is inspired by experiences in opera, video games, and machine shops for things that go fast.
VC Investors Panel: TriNet and CLA
Kirthi is the Managing Principal of New York and Board Member at CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP). Kirthi helps clients across the globe when opportunities beckon them to uncharted territory; by acting as their trusted advisor alongside management, navigating the myriad of cross-border business, regulatory, operational, personnel and compliance issues. Prior to joining CLA, Kirthi has a decade of private industry experience with multi-nationals like GE Healthcare, Levi Strauss & Co., Thermo Fisher Scientific and Kiewit Corporation. She was part of the International Finance team at Carnegie Mellon University that helped set-up and support their Qatar and Australia campuses. Kirthi is a thought leader and a regular speaker at Global conferences, based on her extensive experience in cross-cultural interactions, working with Global businesses from The Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Australia and the Middle East.
Jeremy Harper is currently serving as a Partner at Remarkable Ventures and Director of Investments at ER Accelerator. Jeremy has held various positions in consulting, marketing, and research roles at companies such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Unilever, and Albourne Partners. Additionally, Jeremy has experience in academia as a Venture Labs Advisor at Brown University. Jeremy co-founded The Backpage and served as Head of Marketing at t5m.com. Jeremy received their education from Brown University and St. Paul’s School, London.
Oliver Mitchell is a Partner at ff Venture Capital, an international firm with 65+ active portfolio companies generating billions in market value. He was previously the founder of Autonomy Ventures, a venture syndicate focused on early-stage investments in business and industrial automation technologies, including robotics, smart mobility, remote sensing, and artificial intelligence. Oliver’s angel portfolio has returned over eight exits, including two IPOs and one unicorn collectively valued at $20 billion. Previous transactions have included selling Holmes Protection to ADT/Tyco, Americash to American Express, and launching RobotGalaxy, a national consumer brand. He is an adjunct professor at Yeshiva University and holds 14 patents.
Sumeet Shah has a career spanning over 16 years within the private equity, venture capital, and startup worlds, managing business development and strategic partnerships for various sizes of consumer-facing organizations as well as investing in the next generation of brands. Currently, Sumeet is the Founder and Managing Partner of VHS Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm investing in the next generation of Consumer Brand and Infrastructure Founders. The firm was launched in June 2023 and currently has 16 companies in its portfolio.
Founders Funders Fractionals Panel
For the past 25 years, Dan has been helping startups and large companies shape their online product strategy. His startup work includes launching Foursquare, Rent The Runway, The Skimm, Blade and Skift.
Eliza Erskine is the principal of Green Buoy Consulting, a sustainability consultancy that provides ESG consulting, strategy and B Corp certification to high-growth, B2B companies.
As the Founder and CEO of APEX Specialist consulting firm, Monika leverages her extensive background to guide energy and cleantech companies through product strategy, development, and market execution.
As the Founder and CEO of APEX Specialist consulting firm, Monika leverages her extensive background to guide energy and cleantech companies through product strategy, development, and market execution.
N5 Solar Pitch
it’s electric Pitch
Tiya holds 20 years experience in design, leadership, and operations across a range of disciplines for some of the country’s top firms and institutions. She is now venturing to spend the next 20 years building companies that use design to wage war against the Climate Crisis.
Profitably Cleaning the World’s Dirtiest Carbon Polluters in 30 Days
Carbon Reform Pitch
Rootd.Earth Pitch
Annabel Collinson, a career grassroots organiser working on critical social justice issues. Community organising has positioned her well to build a platform focused on emboldening people to organise and advocate for climate action. She is currently the Director of Marketing and Operations for a global legal network in more than 50 countries, and she completed her MsC in Environment and Sustainable Development from UCL in September 2023. Through her work in Washington DC, London and Tanzania she learned the importance of intersectional grassroots activism, and understands how to deploy people to create meaningful change.
Fintech is Femme Panel: State of Climate Fintech - Where’s the Growth?
Nicole Casperson is an award-winning journalist, content director, professor, and prominent voice in fintech. As the Founder & CEO of Fintech Is Femme, she leads a media company and community of over 50,000 fintech leaders dedicated to shaping a more inclusive financial landscape. Nicole provides insights and analysis through her newsletter, podcast, and event series and is set to release her debut book, Fintech Feminists, in October 2024.
Elizabeth Landau is COO and Co-Founder of GreenPortfolio, the climate fintech company for people seeking to grow their wealth while driving positive climate impact. With 15+ years of leadership experience in B2B and B2C product and brand strategy, Elizabeth is laser focused on customer-led growth. She led a $100m commercial innovation pipeline while at ABInBev, which included the household names of Stella Artois and Goose Island. Elizabeth is an agile problem solver and spent the last 7 years at startups — first, building out a marketing team at a consumer goods startup, and now, as a founder. She earned a B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from the NYU Stern School of Business.
Francisco is CEO and Co-Founder of Helios, an AI platform that identifies agricultural supply chain disruptions before they happen. Utilizing billions of data points, Helios provides a global, real-time view of the climate and economic risks affecting the commodities and regions you care about. Helios is used primarily by CPG companies, food processors, distributors, wholesalers and commodities traders who depend on the ability to predict price and supply for agricultural commodities. Francisco is a serial entrepreneur, having started his first company, VuShare, during his senior year at UPenn. Most recently, he was Chief Commercial Officer at Deep Labs, an AI start-up in financial services. Before then, Francisco was a Principal at the Boston Consulting Group, where he focused on digital transformations for Fortune 100 companies. He holds a B.Sc. in Economics from the Wharton School, a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University.
The Fourth Effect Panel: How Advisory and Governing Boards Can Be Game Changing
Breen Sulivan began her career as a General Counsel for high growth tech companies where she saw an opportunity to leverage technology and community to democratize access to startup boards to change the board and innovation landscape. She founded The Fourth Effect, a community-driven networking and matchmaking site demystifying advisory boards, governing boards and how boards connect to fundraising, to provide transparent access to a talented and diverse cohort of executives who want to break into the for profit board and investment pipeline as a way to thrive professionally, build wealth and level the playing field.
Fintech is Femme Panel: State of Climate Fintech - Where’s the Growth?
Courtney Cardin is the Co-founder & Chief Product/Business Officer at Aura, a pioneering financial wellness platform dedicated to helping new investors enter the stock market, grow their wealth sustainably, and improve their financial well-being. A Certified Money Coach (CMC), attorney, and seasoned impact consultant, Courtney has masterfully crafted Aura’s holistic program, integrating behavioral psychology, personal development, financial education, and social support to empower investors. With a rich background in law and policy, Courtney has served as Counsel to U.S. Senate Committees, Secretary Clinton’s Presidential campaign, and represented Fortune 100 companies. She is an active member of several impact networks, including Women in Impact Investing Network (WIIN) and Nexus Global, and serves as a Senior Advisor for Coral Vita and the Waterkeepers in The Bahamas.
Maggie Wong is passionate about facilitating climate tech product development and business growth through optimal capital allocation and funding. She currently works in Silicon Valley Bank’s Climate Tech & Sustainability banking team to support New York / East Coast based start-ups and venture capital / private equity firms. Maggie is also a podcast host, citizen scientist and former Chair of Content at NYC Fintech Women. She has extensive product management and capital markets experience globally and is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese.
Paula DeLaurentis, the dynamic CEO of Equities News, is a visionary leader in the financial services industry. Recognized for her outstanding contributions, Paula’s career is a testament to resilience and ambition. From her impactful roles as the Chief Marketing Officer at Portfolia to her visionary leadership at The SRI Conference & Community and strategic acumen at Folio Investing, Paula’s journey serves as a roadmap for aspiring professionals. What sets her apart is her unwavering commitment to individual investors, revolutionizing online investing solutions and advocating for financial independence, particularly for women. Paula’s influence extends beyond the boardroom, as a sought-after speaker and recipient of numerous awards, solidifying her status as a trailblazer in the industry. Despite her professional success, Paula remains deeply rooted in her community, actively contributing to women’s empowerment, financial literacy, environmental sustainability, and social justice. She is not just a senior executive but a visionary leader, passionate advocate, and inspiring role model, inviting others to follow in her footsteps and strive for greatness.
Perry Teicher leads Orrick’s global Impact Finance & Investment practice, advising impact-oriented clients globally and serves as a leader of Orrick’s ESG Initiatives. Perry represents and advises entrepreneurs, companies, fund sponsors, family offices, tax-exempt organizations, and other asset owners across a wide range of transactions, including corporate legal matters, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, private fund formation matters and portfolio transactions, and private placements. Perry advises clients on impact-oriented and ESG matters, integrating social, environmental, and financial outcomes into a comprehensive strategy. Orrick’s Impact Finance & Investment practices serves a global client base across a range of sectors, leveraging Orrick’s unique capabilities to provide innovative, effective, and thoughtful legal services to those clients aiming to create positive social and environmental change alongside targeted financial returns.
Sangrove Pitch
Carbon Reform Pitch
Missed our Last Summit?
Watch the recordings of our last summit in October 2023 on demand.
Our Sustainability Speaker Alumni
The key to positive environmental, social, and governance impact lies in the extraordinary power of knowledge. Our summit is designed to unite powerful, inspiring change-makers and thought leaders who share your passion for creating a better world. See our alumni speakers who have joined us to create a more sustainable and inclusive future.
Bhuva Shakti
Chief Sustainable Innovation Officer, Wallet Max
Emily Lonigro,
President, LimeRed
Rebecca Schwartz Altholz, Sustainability Consultant, Earth to Rebecca
Nimreet Grewal,
Founder, Soneha
Michelle Meineke,
Founder, The Write Intel
Melissa Dusenberry,
Founder, All The Brilliants
Alba Forns,
COO, & Co-Founder, Climatize
Grace Lam,
Founder, NetaCarbon
Ushma Pandya Mehta,
Co-Founder, Partner,
Think Zero LLC
Amy Schultz,
Co-Founder, Bolder Money
Alexandra Raymond,
Finance Product Manager, Amazon Studios
Shivani Ganguly,
CFO/COO, New Sun Road
Lauren van Oss,
Founding Product Manager, FutureProof Technologies
Elizabeth Landau,
COO and Co-Founder, GreenPortfolio
Shubha K. Chakravarthy,
Founder of Achiiv and Financial Expert for Startups
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