ESG or Environment, Social, and Governance is at an inflection point. NYU, in collaboration with Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy’s Women in Energy initiative, welcomes Alison Taylor and Chief Sustainability Officers from throughout the business world to discuss ESG in both theory and in practice. In the midst of the current debate about ESG, business leaders are invited to engage in a discussion, and students are welcomed to better understand careers in and reality of ESG.

Panelists and Presenters include:

• Michelle Dunstan, Chief Responsibility Officer, Janus Henderson Investors
• Amy Jaffe, Director, NYU SPS Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability Lab
• Dr. Carolyn Kissane, Associate Dean, NYU SPS Center for Global Affairs
• Dr. Luisa Palacios, Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy
• Giovanna Rueda, Vice President of ESG, Valero
• Tequila Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, Covanta
• Alison Taylor, Clinical Associate Professor, Stern School of Business

The evening will include opportunities to hear from ESG experts, questions and answers from the audience, and a networking reception. This is a hybrid event.

Wednesday, April 26th, 2023

4:00-5:00 p.m. Presentation by Alison Taylor

5:00-6:00 p.m.  Panel with ESG practitioners

6:00-7:00 p.m.  Networking, in-person only

The energy transition is creating new and exciting opportunities throughout the energy sector. In New York City, roles in energy finance are abundant and growing.

The Women in Energy (WIE) initiative at the Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia SIPA 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.

In order to help facilitate entry into the sector, WIE will host a career panel series to highlight and connect women who have successfully entered and thrived in a specific energy subsector. Our second session will focus on careers in energy finance. The panelists will discuss their career trajectories, share advice for students and professionals, and provide information on what skills are required to be successful in their fields.

Panelists:

• Caren Byrd, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley’s Global Power and Utility Group
• Natallia Camargo, Chief People Officer, Greenbacker Capital
• Ellen Friedman, Partner, Global Projects Practice, Baker Botts L.L.P.
• Ouma Sananikone, Board director, IA Financial Group

Biographies

Caren Byrd is a Managing Director in Morgan Stanley’s Global Power and Utility Group. She joined the Investment Banking Division of the firm in 1972 and has focused all her career on the power and utility industry. Ms. Byrd is an expert on the requirements of investors in the equity and debt securities in the energy industry. She is involved in the firm’s activities for the utility industry including, financing, advisory services, restructuring and mergers and acquisitions. Ms. Byrd is the co-founder and organizer of Morgan Stanley’s Executive Women in Energy Group and also Women Energy Directors Network, established in 2004 and 2007, respectively. In December 2019, Ms. Byrd was awarded the Global Energy Lifetime Achievement Award by S&P Global Platts, one of the most respected distinctions in the power and energy industry.

Natallia Camargo is an accomplished global strategic HR professional with over 10 years of experience consulting executives and teams in various businesses in Brazil and the US. Currently, she serves as the Chief People Officer and EVP at Greenbacker, a fast-growing investment management firm focused on renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure investing. With nearly 180 employees spread across the US, Natallia is responsible for overseeing the organization’s people strategy, working closely with business leaders and key stakeholders, and developing initiatives. Natallia’s academic qualifications include a certification in Wharton Executive Education’s HR Management and Analytics Program, an Executive MBA in Strategic and Economic Management in Human Resources from FGV, Integrated Coaching Institute certification from ICI, and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from PUC – Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Sao Paulo.

Ellen Friedman is a seasoned project finance attorney focused on energy projects, including renewable energy, carbon capture and storage and renewable fuel matters. Her practice supports a wide variety of clients, including project developers and sponsors, tax and equity investors, commercial lenders, underwriters and buyers and sellers of projects, insurers and hedge providers. Ellen has a hands-on approach to clients in connection with transaction structure, risk assessment, due diligence, financing, M&A and partnership/joint ventures. Ellen has been recognized as a standout among her peers by a number of the leading legal directories, including Chambers Global & Chambers USA and The Best Lawyers in America for Energy Law.

Ouma Sananikone is currently a non-executive board director of IA Financial Group (Canada, TSX: IAG.TO), Hafnia (Oslo, OSL: HAFNI.OL), Innergex Renewable Energy (Canada, TSX: INE) and Ivanhoe Cambridge (Canada). She also acted as an honorary Australian Financial Services fellow for the USA on behalf of the Australian government. She was CEO of Aberdeen Asset Management (Australia), CEO of the EquitiLink Group (Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada and UK) as well as founding Managing Director of BNP Investment Management (Australia). Ouma holds a BA (economics and political sciences) from the Australian National University and a Master of Commerce (economics) from the University of New South Wales. She is a recipient of the Centenary Medal from the Australian Government for services to the Australian finance industry.

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This event will be hosted in person in New York City. All in-person attendees are required to have received a full COVID-19 vaccination series.

Advance registration is required and free-of-charge. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email.

For more information about the event, please contact energypolicyevents@columbia.edu.

This event is open only to current Columbia University affiliates (students, staff, and faculty).

Please join the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in celebration of Women’s History Month for a fireside chat with Amy Myers Jaffe, Co-chair, CGEP Women in Energy Steering Committee, and Ana Unruh Cohen, former majority staff director, House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.

Amy and Ana will discuss their work and take questions from attendees. A cocktail reception will follow the conversation.

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Registration is required. This event is open only to current Columbia University affiliates (students, staff, and faculty). 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.

For more information about the event, please contact energypolicyevents@columbia.edu.

The use of renewable energy is rapidly expanding and is expected to double by 2050. This projected growth, spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act, will increase the renewable energy labor market.

The Women in Energy (WIE) initiative at the Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia SIPA 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.

In order to help facilitate entry into the sector, WIE will host a career panel series to highlight and connect women who have successfully entered and thrived in a specific energy subsector. Our first session will focus on careers in renewables. The panelists will discuss their career trajectories, share advice for students and graduates, and provide information on what skills are required to be successful in their fields.

Panelists:

• Trixie Blair, Vice President, Greenbacker Development Opportunities
• Salsabil Salah, Engineer, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
• Sarah Porter, Commercial Manager, Ørsted

Biographies

Trixie Blair is a Vice President at Greenbacker Development Opportunities. She focuses on transaction execution, portfolio management, and fundraising. Prior to Greenbacker, she was a Vice President at Evercore, focused on M&A advisory for power, utility and renewable energy companies, having advised on over $15bn of transactions. Before Evercore, she was at HSBC. Trixie graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines, Diliman with a degree in Business Administration and Accountancy, and earned her MBA from Wharton.

Salsabil Salah is an Engineer for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). Salsabil has a BS in Electrical Engineering with a focus on Energy and Power from Purdue University. While at Purdue, she was also involved in solar cell research and electric go-kart projects. After college, she worked at General Motors, primarily in their EV teams on motors and power. Then she attained an MS in Business Analytics from Fuqua School of Business, Duke University. After Duke, she started to work for Electric Power Research Institute in their Electric Transportation team. In her free time, she enjoys running, baking, and doing social media and is also on the board leading marketing efforts at Women’s Energy Network (NYC).

Sarah Porter spent her first years in onshore markets, specifically utility-scale solar, where she focused first on the origination/commercial side of things and later on project execution. Currently, Sarah works as a commercial project manager, overseeing the development of two New Jersey offshore wind projects.

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This event will be hosted in person in New York City. All in-person attendees are required to have received a full COVID-19 vaccination series.

Advance registration is required and free-of-charge. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email.

For more information about the event, please contact energypolicyevents@columbia.edu.

This roundtable is open only to currently-enrolled Columbia University students. 

Please join the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs for a student-only lunch and roundtable discussion with Thilmeeza Hussain, Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations.

A just transition centers on moving to a greener economy in a way that is fair and inclusive of all humans. In order to build a career based on the principles of a just transition, we must be intentional and purposeful. Her Excellency Thilmeeza Hussain will discuss how she has managed to navigate her career utilizing the principles of the just transition. We will also discuss ways to apply the lessons Ms. Hussain has learned to students’ career paths.

The Center on Global Energy Policy’s Women in Energy (WIE) initiative envisions a world where there is 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.

Lunch will be provided.

Biography

Her Excellency Thilmeeza Hussain was the Special Envoy of the 76th President of the General Assembly. She is the Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations, concurrent Ambassador of the Maldives to the United States (2019-2022), and non-resident High Commissioner to Canada.

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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.

For more information about the event, please contact energypolicyevents@columbia.edu

The 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, is rapidly approaching. In order for COP27 to successfully address the scale of the climate crisis, attending nations must consider the gender balance of their delegations and hosted speakers. Women’s political leadership is integral to climate change, political awareness, and government action.

The Center on Global Energy Policy hosted a panel of experts to discuss the contribution of women to climate diplomacy and the important role of a gender framework in promoting successful climate action. The panel featured Catherine McKenna, who launched Women Leading on Climate at COP26 in Glasgow, and Amy Myers Jaffe, who recently released a commentary on women and gender in climate diplomacy.

Welcome Remarks:

• Jessica Weis, Program Director, Women In Energy, Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA

Moderator:

• Amy Myers Jaffe, Research Professor and Managing Director, Climate Policy Lab, The Fletcher School at Tufts University, and Co-chair of the Women in Energy Steering Committee, Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA

Panelists:

• Irina Lazzerini, Principal Specialist, Clean Energy, SEforAll
• Catherine McKenna, Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA and Founder and Principal, Climate and Nature Solutions

Brazil’s energy sector offers a valuable perspective, where the growth of the oil and gas sector is coming alongside the deployment of clean energy technologies in a country that displays one of the largest shares in the world of renewables in its electricity generation mix. 
 
The Center on Global Energy Policy, in partnership with Women in Energy Brasil and Columbia Global Centers | Rio de Janeiro, hosted a discussion to provide insights into Brazil’s pragmatic pathway to a clean energy transition from the perspective of an oil and gas producing country. A stellar panel of women leaders in the energy sector discussed the future of the country’s energy system in the context of global high energy prices, the country’s policy approach towards low carbon fuels, the lessons learned from the deployment of clean technologies, and integration of renewables in the power grid, all while at the same time working towards lowering the carbon footprint of its oil and gas production.
 
Moderator:

• Dr. Luisa Palacios, Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA; and former Chairwoman, Citgo Petroleum Corporation

Keynote Speaker:

• Mrs. Agnes Maria de Aragão da Costa, Head of the Regulatory Special Advisory Office of the Ministry of Mines and Energy

Panelists:

• Fernanda Delgado, Executive Director of IBP – Instituto Brasileiro de Petróleo e Gás
• Elbia Gannoum, President, Brazilian Wind Energy Association – ABEEólica and Vice President of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC)
• Camila Ramos, Founder and managing director of CELA Clean Energy Latin America

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The transition away from a fossil fuel-based energy system to one based on cleaner energy technologies raises profound questions for traditional oil and gas companies. In looking to the world’s future energy requirements, some of these companies are looking for ways to evolve into broader energy companies to reach net-zero targets by 2050. They will require new capabilities, leadership, and cultures as they shift their business models, capital allocation, and organizational capabilities.
 
To better understand the opportunities, experiences, and challenges facing oil and gas companies in adapting to the energy transition, the Center on Global Energy Policy hosted a panel of experts with experience in the sector.
 
Moderator:

• Amy Myers Jaffe, Co-Chair, Women in Energy Steering Committee, Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA and Managing Director, Climate Policy Lab, Fletcher School, Tufts University 

 
Speakers:

• Andrea Galieti, Vice President for Policy and Partnerships, bp
• Sunaina Ocalan, Director, Corporate Strategy and Climate Change, Hess Corporation
• Ariwoola Ogbemi, Senior Advisor, Equinor and Adjunct Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA

Last year, the U.S. Congress passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that included $7.5 billion for electric vehicle charging, $65 billion to upgrade the electricity grid, and $8 billion to establish 4 hydrogen hubs, among other expenditures in clean energy. The U.S. Department of Energy Loan program office is targeting multiple infrastructure and technologies, including battery storage, DERs, advanced vehicle manufacturing and carbon capture and storage.

The new round of public funding comes against the backdrop of attention on social and environmental goals. The Biden administration stated aims to commit 40 percent of new clean energy funds to disadvantaged communities. Historically, women-run firms have been underrepresented in major infrastructure development projects receiving U.S. federal government support, such as the Loan Guarantee programs. For example, between 2009 and 2020, the chief executive officers of ventures that received over $1 billion allocations from the loan guarantee program were all male-run. Women are also underrepresented in grants from the DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR).

The Center on Global Energy Policy hosted a panel of women clean energy CEOs to discuss the potential of the infrastructure bill and other Biden administration policies to fast-track clean energy infrastructure in the United States and the role of women-led firms in accelerating the energy transition.

Welcome Remarks:

• Amy Myers Jaffe, Co-chair of the Steering Committee, Women in Energy Program, Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA

Moderator:

• Emily Chasan, Director, Communications, Generate Capital

Speakers:

• Alexandra Rasch Castillo, Founder and CEO, Caban Systems
• Janice Tran, CEO and Co-Founder, Kanin Energy

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Profound changes in state and federal policy are shaping the landscape for carbon capture, use, and storage in real time. Throughout the United States, these changes may be felt most in Wyoming, where extractive industries have long contributed to the economy, the culture, communities and tax base. As the energy transition mounts, Wyoming’s leaders, companies, and experts will help determine the rate and magnitude of deployment of carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS), which will affect every aspect of life and commerce in the Equality State.

The Center on Global Energy Policy’s Women in Energy program is delighted to announce the fourth event in the Women in Energy CCUS Roadshow series. This initiative aims to highlight the extraordinary accomplishments of women in the CCUS field and empower a workforce that is equitable, diverse, and strong by advancing equality and opportunity. The WIE program seeks to address institutional barriers to entry, help organizations and companies recruit women and improve retention, and empower women to achieve career growth through educational programming, enhanced visibility, and broader networks. The Center works in collaboration with local universities, non-governmental organizations, and public institutions to design cross-cutting, innovative programs that aim to improve the understanding of global challenges through a transdisciplinary, transcultural and applied perspective.

The Center hosted a discussion of the changes in federal and state laws concerning CCUS and how those changes might affect investment, development, climate, and communities in Wyoming. The conversation featured energy experts from Wyoming who also discussed ways to grow women’s share of the energy workforce and what organizations in the public and private sectors are looking for in new recruits.

Moderator:

• Dr. S. Julio Friedmann, Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA

Speakers:

• Dr. Holly Krutka, Executive Director, University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources
• Sarah Forbes, Director, Carbon Capture and Storage, Center on Environmental Quality, Executive Office of the President
• Sheila Hollis, Acting Executive Director, United States Energy Association
• Deepika Nagabhushan, Client Project Manager, Carbon Direct

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