Please join the Women in Energy initiative at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA for a student roundtable lunch and discussion featuring Women in Energy’s advisory board member Jamil Ellis, CEO of Unified Ground. Jamil will discuss the nexus of energy, entrepreneurship, and AI. Jamil will also discuss his path to founding his own organization and how he has used AI to improve his services and programming.
Registration is required. This roundtable is open only to currently enrolled Columbia University students. To register, you must use the email address that contains your UNI.
This event will be hosted in person, and capacity is limited. We ask that you register only if you can attend this event in its entirety.
This event is open only to currently-enrolled Columbia University students.
As the pay gap between men and women persists, join the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA Women in Energy (WIE), in collaboration with the Columbia Women’s Business Society, to learn best practices for negotiating salary. The workshop seeks to shape your approach to salary negotiation and ultimately lead to more equitable pay.
The WIE initiative envisions a world with equal gender representation at every level within the energy sector. Our mission is to elevate women and enhance inclusion within the energy workforce by developing and sharing research, expanding entry into the sector, and supporting professionals. All people are welcome to participate in WIE, as our programming seeks to advance that vision.
Advance registration is required. This event will be hosted in person and capacity is limited.
This event is open to press, and registration is required to attend. For media inquiries or requests for interviews, please contact CGEP Communications (cgepmedia@columbia.edu).
The Center on Global Energy Policy’s Women in Energy initiative co-hosted an event with the New York City Economic Development Corporation’s Women NYC program on April 24, 2024, to inform people interested in entering the sustainability field in New York City. The event began with a networking roundtable, where attendees met with sustainability professionals in small groups. Following networking, the New York City Economic Development Corporation presented highlights from New York City’s Green Jobs Action Plan. The program concluded with a panel discussion by sustainability professionals, including Monica Medina, former president and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society; Miquela Craytor, vice president at Kearns & West; and Jully Merino Carela, program manager of sustainability and social innovation at IBM. The panel was moderated by Columbia University graduate student Anjaly Ariyanayagam.
Only 2% of venture capital funding goes to women-led firms.
Despite women comprising 57% of the life sciences workforce, they only receive 2.6% funding.
The “green economy” in New York City is already significant, with 133,000 jobs.
New York City aims to have 400,000 jobs in the green economy by 2040.
About 70% of job growth is in occupations that will transition to the green economy.
Panel highlights include the following:
Career changers who want to transition into sustainability are encouraged to emphasize their transferable skills.
Transferable skills are skills that can be applied across industry. These skills vary, but examples include communication, problem-solving, and teamwork.
Achieving success in sustainability often relies on relationship-building and making connections.
When people interview for a new job, they are also interviewing the company and should feel confident asking questions to ensure it is a good fit.
A job can often be a stepping stone to another goal, and certain jobs can serve as strategic career moves. Even if the opportunity is not what is sought right now, it can lead to better things.
Candidates should always negotiate salary and benefits.
Building relationships with other women in the field and leveraging female-led sectors for resources is essential.
Many free resources, like IBM SkillsBuild, can help career changers build their skills for career growth or pivot to new industries.
Category: Tags: Career Insights | Comments Off on Careers in Sustainability
Please join the Women in Energy initiative at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA for a student roundtable lunch and discussion with Mary Nichols, a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy. She will discuss her 45-year career as an environmental lawyer and share insights from her experiences working in both local and federal government.
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Registration is required. This roundtable is open only to currently enrolled Columbia University students. To register, you must sign in with your UNI.
This event will be hosted in person and capacity is limited. We ask that you register only if you can attend this event in its entirety.
Please join the Women in Energy initiative at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA for a student roundtable lunch and discussion with Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a Global Research Scholar at CGEP. The discussion will focus on Anne-Sophie’s career and her research focus on Europe, hydrogen, and natural gas.
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Registration is required. This roundtable is open only to currently enrolled Columbia University students. To register, you must sign in with your UNI.
This event will be hosted in person and capacity is limited. We ask that you register only if you can attend this event in its entirety.
On Tuesday, October 8th, Women in Energy hosted Cathy Schreiber, founder and principal of Cathy Schreiber & Associates, a firm that supports climate and clean energy advocacy organizations, foundations, and climate tech startups with strategy, human capacity, and executive searches.
Cathy discussed strategies for getting recruited into energy and shared tips on what organizations are looking for and how to stand out. She shared best practices based on her experience in her consulting firm and more than 20 years of supporting leaders and teams in achieving ambitious goals.
Cathy Schreiber founded her consulting firm in 2017 after more than 20 years of success in the social sector – developing and executing plans that follow a clear North Star of justice and equity; raising money to power those plans; and supporting leaders and teams working to achieve ambitious goals. Her firm helps clients elevate their approaches and operations to be more impactful and leave this world better than we found it. The goal of their work is transformation – of strategies, structures, and systems.
Cathy has overseen every functional area of nonprofit businesses – governance, development, communications, programs, finance, and administration/operations. During her 15+ years with the Women’s Foundation of California, she led strategic planning, budgeting, evaluation and learning, business model analyses, and team restructures for this statewide public foundation, while serving as a primary liaison for high-profile strategic partnerships. She played a key role in raising more than $100 million and drove the evolution of donor-driven giving circles to become global models of inclusive feminist philanthropy.
Today, as a multi-faceted consultant with expertise in equity-centered approaches, Cathy’s work focuses on business strategy and human capacity, including executive search and coaching. Her clients include climate and clean energy advocacy organizations, foundations, and climate tech startups.
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Gender disparities in entrepreneurship are stark. Only one in every three businesses is owned by a woman. Of the organizations that were created between 2009 and 2019, only 20% had a female founder. Join the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA Women in Energy to hear from women who have successfully begun a business in the sustainability space. The event seeks to provide founders with exposure and information to grow their businesses and jobseekers and students with content and connections to access the entrepreneurial space.
The WIE initiative envisions a world with equal gender representation at every level within the energy sector. Our mission is to elevate women and enhance inclusion within the energy workforce by developing and sharing research, expanding entry into the sector, and supporting professionals.
To expand entry into the sector, WIE hosts events to provide opportunities to connect energy organizations recruiting new talent with those interested in pursuing a career. Our events also feature women who have thrived in a specific energy subsector. Join us to learn more about our work or contact us at womeninenergy@columbia.edu.
This event is open to the public and will be hosted in person in New York City.
Advance registration is required. Capacity is limited.
This event is open to press, and registration is required to attend. For media inquiries or requests for interviews, please contact Adam Kilduff (ak5351@columbia.edu). For more information about the event, please contact energypolicyevents@columbia.edu.
Category: Tags: careers | Comments Off on Careers in Sustainable Startups
Energy finance is a rapidly growing field, as more and more investors, businesses, and governments act to support projects that fund climate mitigation and adaptation. The landscape is complex and evolving with growing calls for innovation and reform. The Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA’s Women in Energy initiative and the Columbia Energy Association invite you to gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of energy finance and learn more about professional opportunities available in the space.
Knowledge of the field of climate finance will continue to be a vital tool for addressing the climate crisis in the coming years. This event will feature a variety of representatives from energy finance backgrounds to share their knowledge and discuss the different career paths available.
Women in Energy envisions a world with equal gender representation at every level within the energy sector. Our mission is to elevate women and enhance inclusion within the energy workforce by developing and sharing research, expanding entry into the sector, and supporting professionals.
To expand entry into the sector, Women in Energy hosts events to provide opportunities to connect energy organizations recruiting new talent with those interested in pursuing a career. Our events also feature women who have thrived in specific energy sub-sectors sharing their experiences and career journeys. Join us to learn more about our work or contact us at womeninenergy@columbia.edu.
Participant Bios
Dr. Luisa Palacios is a Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy. She comes to the center after a multidisciplinary career in the intersection of energy, finance and policy. See her full bio here.
Michelle Ahn is an Associate on Rabobank’s Energy Transition North Americas team. As part of a team and bank that is committed to lending to the Energy Transition, she structures and executes across a varied portfolio of transactions, including, but not limited to: utility-grade solar, interconnection, transmission, utility, and battery manufacturing. She is passionate about making the energy transition an inclusive, equitable, and female-forward landscape. She is a 2024 graduate of Columbia SIPA’s Energy and Environment program where she served as President of the Columbia Energy Association and was a teaching assistant for various classes across energy markets and renewable energy project finance. In her free time, you can catch her in Manhattan green space, biking, surfing, and running towards Asian-American pastry shops.
Maksim (“Max”) Rakhman (he/his) is an Executive Director and an ESGProduct Lead in Global Capital Markets at Morgan Stanley. His work includes advising corporate clients on ESG stewardship in preparation for going public,structuring and executing ESG-label led capital raises, and helping companies think through their capital allocation decisions with an ESG lens. He is also involved in the development of SustainableFinance Framework for Morgan Stanley and is part of Morgan Stanley’s ESG Center of Excellence.Prior to joining Morgan Stanley in 2013, Max worked as an Associate Analyst at Moody’s Investors Service performing fundamental credit analysis and research for corporate issuers, focusing on the Technology, Media and Telecom sectors. Max holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Baruch College, City University of New York. His interests include LGBTQ+ advocacy, employee wellbeing, cryotherapy, and horseback riding.
Hayley Dalton is the Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition at Generate Capital. Prior to joining Generate, Hayley started her career with Spencer Ogden, an energy and infrastructure recruitment firm, where she worked for five years on the finance desk focused on project finance, private capital, investment banking, energy corporates, and M&A across renewable energy and infrastructure. From there, she moved to an Executive Search firm, where she partnered with asset managers, private capital firms, and corporates within the energy & infrastructure industry on their talent needs. Based in New York, Hayley now works alongside her team to support Generate Capital on all talent needs. Generate is a leading sustainable investment and operating platform that aims to provide the capital and help that developers, businesses, cities and communities need to accelerate cost savings, resilience and decarbonization. Since 2014, Generate has invested in and operated sustainable assets across six sectors: power, mobility, waste, green digital, water and agriculture, and industrial decarbonization.
Nehan Naim is the ESG Strategy Officer for the Bureau of Asset Management at the NYC Office of the Comptroller, where she assesses the performance of climate solutions investments across all asset classes for the five NYC pension systems, as well as evaluates progress on net zero goals for the three NYC pension systems with decarbonization ambitions. Trained as a PhD economist, Dr. Naim has previously worked as an Assistant Professor of Economics and Finance at the State University of New York – ESF and has experience in consulting in North America and Asia.
Alec Apostoaei is a senior analyst on the Corporate Development team at Relevate Power, a hydropower-centric developer. Prior to Relevate Power, Alec attended Columbia SIPA’s MIA program, where concentrated in energy & environment policy and was a research associate at the Center on Global Energy Policy. In addition, Alec currently serves as a course facilitator for Sustainable Energy Finance at Johns Hopkins SAIS’s MASE program.
This event is open to the public and will be hosted in person in New York City.
Advance registration is required. Capacity is limited.
This event is open to press, and registration is required to attend. For media inquiries or requests for interviews, please contact Adam Kilduff (ak5351@columbia.edu).
CGEP hosted a virtual roundtable with Cathy Schreiber, founder and principal of Cathy Schreiber & Associates, a firm that supports climate and clean energy advocacy organizations, foundations, and climate tech startups with strategy, human capacity, and executive searches.
Cathy discussed strategies for getting recruited into energy and shared tips on what organizations are looking for and how to stand out. She shared best practices based on her experience in her consulting firm and more than 20 years of supporting leaders and teams in achieving ambitious goals.
Biography
Cathy Schreiber founded her consulting firm in 2017 after more than 20 years of success in the social sector – developing and executing plans that follow a clear North Star of justice and equity; raising money to power those plans; and supporting leaders and teams working to achieve ambitious goals. Her firm helps clients elevate their approaches and operations to be more impactful and leave this world better than we found it. The goal of their work is transformation – of strategies, structures, and systems.
Cathy has overseen every functional area of nonprofit businesses – governance, development, communications, programs, finance, and administration/operations. During her 15+ years with the Women’s Foundation of California, she led strategic planning, budgeting, evaluation and learning, business model analyses, and team restructures for this statewide public foundation, while serving as a primary liaison for high-profile strategic partnerships. She played a key role in raising more than $100 million and drove the evolution of donor-driven giving circles to become global models of inclusive feminist philanthropy.
Today, as a multi-faceted consultant with expertise in equity-centered approaches, Cathy’s work focuses on business strategy and human capacity, including executive search and coaching. Her clients include climate and clean energy advocacy organizations, foundations, and climate tech startups.
Category: Tags: career, networking | Comments Off on Best Practices for Getting Recruited Into Energy