The Biden-Harris Administration has named climate change and clean energy innovation as signature priorities and promised to build the most diverse Cabinet in American history. Beyond Vice President Kamala Harris’ historic election, President Biden has exceeded records set by Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush in the number of women he has nominated to his Cabinet. Even without gender parity, Biden’s Cabinet picks set records in diversity, including the first woman to serve as Treasury Secretary and, if confirmed, the first Native American Cabinet member. Please join the Center on Global Energy Policy’s Women in Energy (WIE) program as we host a panel of experts to discuss the policies, finance, and leadership skills that will be needed to drive the energy transition in the United States, and how the leadership of women will shape the transition. With this event, we’re honored to welcome Tufts University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to the WIE network. By joining the WIE network, the Climate Policy Lab, an initiative at Tufts University’s Fletcher School, and the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) will bring WIE programming such as roundtables, site visits, and professional development workshops, to their students, alumni, and the broader Boston area, and support WIE’s mission to bring more opportunities to women who want to work in the energy sector. They join our University partners – NYU, The New School, and Rutgers University – in striving to make the energy sector more inclusive for women and all underrepresented groups. Please join us on March 4 for our first joint Tufts University, MITEI, and Columbia University Women in Energy event. Moderator:

• Amy Myers Jaffe, Managing Director of the Climate Policy Lab & Research Professor at The Fletcher School, Tufts University and Co-Chair, Women in Energy Steering Committee

Panelists:

• Dr. Barbara Kates-Garnick, Professor of Practice & Senior Research Fellow at The Fletcher School, Tufts University and former Undersecretary of Energy for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Speaker with public office policy experience.
• Maria Jelescu, CEO and Founder, Ardinall Investment Management, Board Member, Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA, and Co-Chair, Women in Energy Steering Committee. Speaker with financial leadership experience.
• Dr. Angeliki Diane Rigos, Associate Director for Graduate Programs, MIT Energy Initiative. Speaker with science leadership experience.

— This webinar will be hosted via Zoom. Advance registration is required. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with access details. The event will be recorded and the video recording will be added to our website following the event. This event is open to press, and registration is required to attend. For media inquiries or requests for interviews, please contact Artealia Gilliard (ag4144@columbia.edu) or Genna Morton (gam2164@columbia.edu). For more information about the event, please contact Caitlin Norfleet or Nicolina DueMogensen (energypolicyevents@columbia.edu).

<!–[CDATA[

Please join the Center on Global Energy Policy's Women in Energy program for a virtual roundtable discussion with Cheryl LaFleur, CGEP Distinguished Visiting Fellow, and former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner and Chairman. Ms. LaFleur will discuss her career path in the private and public sectors, her work at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and her current work on the adaptation of the electric grid and markets to address climate change.

Biography
Cheryl A. LaFleur is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy.  She is a nationally-recognized energy leader. Effective October 1, 2019, LaFleur was named to the Board of Directors of the Independent System Operator of New England (ISO-NE), the independent, not-for-profit organization that plans and operates the power system and administers wholesale electricity markets for the New England region.

Previously, LaFleur was one of the longest-serving commissioners on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) nominated by President Obama in 2010 and 2014 serving until August 2019. She served as Chairman from 2014-15 and as Acting Chairman from 2013-14 and during 2017. She successfully navigated nearly a decade of change in the nation's energy industry, power supply, and political leadership, helping FERC respond effectively to major energy challenges and opportunities across the electric, natural gas, and oil sectors.

LaFleur helped lead FERC's work to adapt the nation's energy markets and infrastructure to ongoing changes in the nation's resource mix due to the growth of gas and renewables and to changing climate and environmental goals. She also played a leading role in FERC's efforts to assure the reliability and security of the energy grid in response to emerging security threats.

Earlier in her career, LaFleur had more than 20 years’ experience as a leader in the electric and natural gas industry. She served as executive vice president and acting CEO of National Grid USA, responsible for the delivery of electricity to 3.4 million customers in the Northeast. She led major efforts to improve reliability and employee safety, and led award-winning conservation and demand response programs for customers.

LaFleur has been a nonprofit board member and executive and is a frequent speaker on energy and leadership issues. She has been recognized with several awards for energy policy and leadership, including the Carnot Prize for leadership in energy policy, the Vanguard Award for leadership on energy market issues, a Bipartisan Congressional Award for leadership in addressing emerging hazards to the grid. She began her career as an attorney at Ropes and Gray in Boston. She has a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and an A.B. from Princeton University. 

—

This webinar will be hosted via Zoom. Advance registration is required. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with access details.

For more information, please contact Jully Merino Carela (jem2245@columbia.edu) or Nicolina DueMogensen (energypolicyevents@columbia.edu).

]]–>

<!–[CDATA[

The Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) will host Dr. Leah Stokes, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and Visiting Faculty at CGEP, for a fireside chat moderated by Dr. Scott Barrett, Vice Dean, School of International and Public Affairs and Lenfest-Earth Institute Professor of Natural Resource Economics, Columbia University and Dr. Geoffrey Heal, Donald C. Waite III Professor of Social Enterprise and Paul Garrett Professor of Public Policy and Corporate Responsibility, Columbia Business School.

Leah will cover themes related to her book, Short Circuiting Policy, which explores how to clean up the US electricity system and examines the role that utilities have played in promoting climate denial and rolling back clean energy laws. It will also discuss the federal agenda for climate action in 2021, and how the new Biden-Harris administration can move forward to cut carbon emissions while also battling the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing income inequality and racial injustice. Specifically, Leah will discuss the current debate over a national framework committed to 100% clean power and ways to shape a clean-electricity standard that would qualify for inclusion in a Congressional budget reconciliation bill.

—

This webinar will be hosted via Zoom. Advance registration is required. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with access details. The event will be recorded and the video recording will be added to our website following the event.

This event is open to press, and registration is required to attend.

For media inquiries or requests for interviews, please contact Artealia Gilliard (ag4144@columbia.edu) or Genna Morton (gam2164@columbia.edu).

For more information about the event, please contact Caitlin Norfleet or Nicolina DueMogensen (energypolicyevents@columbia.edu).

]]–>

Please join the Center on Global Energy Policy and the SIPA Pan-African Network (SPAN) for a virtual student roundtable discussion with Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative, UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All. Ms. Ogunbiyi will discuss current and future opportunities in Africa including the digital transformation, fintech, and smart city; economic development and how Africa is shifting positively; and the energy transition in Africa.

Biography:

Damilola Ogunbiyi is CEO of Sustainable Energy for All, Special Representative of the UN Secretary- General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy. She is also a Commissioner for the Global Commission to End Energy Poverty.

Mrs. Ogunbiyi was formerly the Managing Director of the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency,
where she successfully negotiated the Nigerian Electrification Project—a USD 550 million facility—to rapidly construct solar mini-grids and deploy solar home systems across Nigeria. She was also responsible for the agency’s Energizing Education Programme, which will electrify 37 universities and seven teaching hospitals in Nigeria, as well as the Energizing Economies Initiative, which provides sustainable and affordable off-grid power solutions to economic clusters.

She also worked as a Senior Special Assistant to the President on Power and Head of the Advisory Power Team in the Office of the Vice President of Nigeria.

Before joining the Federal Government of Nigeria, Mrs. Ogunbiyi was the first female to be appointed as the General Manager of the Lagos State Electricity Board. Under her leadership, five independent power projects were completed to deliver over 55 megawatts of power to Lagos State hospitals, schools, streetlights and the Government secretariat.

Mrs. Ogunbiyi entered public service as the Senior Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor on Public-Private Partnerships. Prior to her appointment, she was a consultant for the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DfID) on public-private partnerships.
—

This event will be hosted via Zoom, and is only open to current-enrolled students. 

Advance registration is required. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with access details.

For more information, please contact Jully Merino Carela (<a href="mailto:jem2245@columbia.edu” target=”_blank”>jem2245@columbia.edu) or Nicolina DueMogensen (<a href="mailto:energypolicyevents@columbia.edu” target=”_blank”>energypolicyevents@columbia.edu).

Please join the Center on Global Energy Policy for a student-only virtual roundtable discussion with Dr. Leah Stokes, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Dr. Stokes will address the agenda for federal climate policy and her efforts to engage with the public and policy-makers on climate change. She will also discuss key themes from her book, <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/short-circuiting-policy-97801900…” target=”_blank”>Short Circuiting Policy: Interest Groups and the Battle Over Clean Energy and Climate Policy in the American States.

Biography

Dr. Leah Stokes is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and affiliated with the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management and the Environmental Studies Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Her research examines public policy, public opinion and political behavior, with a focus on energy, environment and climate change. Her recent book Short Circuiting Policy (Oxford University Press) examines how interest groups have tried to weaken clean energy laws across the American states. Other ongoing projects include examining protests against energy infrastructure, political staff in Congress, environmentalists’ electoral participation, violence against environmental activists, and effective water conservation policy in California. Prior to academia, Dr. Stokes worked at the Parliament of Canada and Resources for the Future. She is also the co-Chair of the Scholars Strategy Network’s Working Group on Energy & Climate, and a Fellow at the Initiative for Sustainable Energy Policy at John Hopkins SAIS and the University of Calgary School of Public Policy. She completed her doctoral degree in Public Policy in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning’s Environmental Policy & Planning group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received a Master of Science degree from MIT's Political Science Department. Before that, she completed a Master of Public Administration degree in Environmental Science & Policy at SIPA and the Earth Institute at Columbia University. She also has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and East Asian Studies from the University of Toronto.

—

Registration is required. This event is open only to currently-enrolled Columbia University students.

For more information contact <a href="mailto:energypolicyevents@columbia.edu” target=”_blank”>energypolicyevents@columbia.edu.

Carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS) technologies and approaches are critical to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation, industrial, and power sectors, and a key ingredient to creating a more sustainable and equitable energy system. Implementing CCUS more broadly will require navigating technology, policy, and science issues at the state and national level and attention to a broad set of equity and environmental justice concerns.

“Carbon Capture in California” is the second event in a series of panels being convened as part of the Women In Energy CCUS Roadshow. These conversations highlight experts in the field of CCUS with a special focus on local policy and deployment. Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy’s Carbon Management Research Initiative and Women in Energy program are pleased to host this panel of exceptional leaders to discuss the vital role of carbon capture in greenhouse gas emissions reductions and carbon dioxide removal.  

We will discuss the status of carbon removal technology world-wide and in California,  including how carbon removal technology fits into strategies to address climate change and bring global greenhouse gas emission to the equivalent of zero; how it can contribute to a more just energy transition, and how to assure safe and effective deployment of the technology. The panel will discuss recent analysis by Stanford University and the Energy Futures Initiative on carbon capture and storage, state and federal regulations, and technological advances in carbon dioxide use and removal, and efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the industrial sector. 

Keynote: 

• Kate Gordon, Director, Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and Senior Advisor to the Governor on Climate by Governor Gavin Newsom     

Panelists: 

• Professor Sally Benson, Co-Director, Precourt Institute for Energy; Director, Global Climate and Energy Project, Stanford University
• Dr. Ah-Hyung (Alissa) Park, Director of Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy, The Earth Institute, Columbia University 
• Briana Mordick Schmidt, Staff Scientist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 

Moderator:

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

—

This webinar will be hosted via Zoom. Advance registration is required. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with access details. The event will be recorded and the video recording will be added to our website following the event.

This event is open to press, and registration is required to attend.

For media inquiries or requests for interviews, please contact Artealia Gilliard (<a href="mailto:ag4144@columbia.edu” target=”_blank”>ag4144@columbia.edu) or Genna Morton (<a href="mailto:gam2164@columbia.edu“>gam2164@columbia.edu).

For more information about the event, please contact Caitlin Norfleet or Nicolina DueMogensen (<a href="mailto:energypolicyevents@columbia.edu” target=”_blank”>energypolicyevents@columbia.edu).

The two presidential candidates have different visions for the future of energy policy in the United States. The NYUSPS Center for Global Affairs and the Center on Global Energy Policy's Women in Energy Program are excited to host a conversation centered around the energy policy and geopolitical implications of the election. Join us post-election as the panel of experts discuss what pathways and strategies will likely be taken by the next president. 

Panelists:

• <a href="https://fletcher.tufts.edu/people/amy-myers-jaffe” target=”_blank”>Amy Jaffe, Research Professor and Managing Director of the Climate Policy Lab at The Fletcher School, Tufts University
• <a href="https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/faculty/20276-kara-allen.html” target=”_blank”>Kara Allen, Senior Advisor for Policy and Regulatory Affairs at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and Adjunct Instructor, NYU
• <a href="https://www.csis.org/people/sarah-ladislaw” target=”_blank”>Sarah Ladislaw, Senior Vice President; Director and Senior Fellow, Energy Security and Climate Change Program, Center for Strategic & International Studies
• Moderated by <a href="https://www.sps.nyu.edu/homepage/academics/faculty-directory/1309-caroly…” target=”_blank”>Dr. Carolyn Kissane, Academic Director of the Graduate Program in Global Affairs at the Center for Global Affairs and Clinical Associate Professor, NYU

—

This webinar will be hosted via Zoom. Advance registration is required. 

For more information, please contact Jully Merino Carela (<a href="mailto:jem2245@columbia.edu” target=”_blank”>jem2245@columbia.edu) or Nicolina DueMogensen (<a href="mailto:energypolicyevents@columbia.edu” target=”_blank”>energypolicyevents@columbia.edu).

Please join the Center on Global Energy Policy’s Women in Energy program for a virtual roundtable discussion with Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative, UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All. Ms. Ogunbiyi will discuss her academic background, career path, and her top priorities as CEO of SE4all. Biography: Damilola Ogunbiyi is CEO of Sustainable Energy for All, Special Representative of the UN Secretary- General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy. She is also a Commissioner for the Global Commission to End Energy Poverty. Mrs. Ogunbiyi was formerly the Managing Director of the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency, where she successfully negotiated the Nigerian Electrification Project—a USD 550 million facility—to rapidly construct solar mini-grids and deploy solar home systems across Nigeria. She was also responsible for the agency’s Energizing Education Programme, which will electrify 37 universities and seven teaching hospitals in Nigeria, as well as the Energizing Economies Initiative, which provides sustainable and affordable off-grid power solutions to economic clusters. She also worked as a Senior Special Assistant to the President on Power and Head of the Advisory Power Team in the Office of the Vice President of Nigeria. Before joining the Federal Government of Nigeria, Mrs. Ogunbiyi was the first female to be appointed as the General Manager of the Lagos State Electricity Board. Under her leadership, five independent power projects were completed to deliver over 55 megawatts of power to Lagos State hospitals, schools, streetlights and the Government secretariat. Mrs. Ogunbiyi entered public service as the Senior Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor on Public-Private Partnerships. Prior to her appointment, she was a consultant for the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DfID) on public-private partnerships. — This webinar will be hosted via Zoom. Advance registration is required. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with access details. For more information, please contact Jully Merino Carela (jem2245@columbia.edu) or Nicolina DueMogensen (energypolicyevents@columbia.edu).

Are you finding it hard to ask about your career next steps when the world seems like it’s falling apart? You don’t want to seem selfish or “not a team player” when so many are struggling and organizations don’t know what’s next. Thing is, if you are wanting to grow professionally, waiting a year can set you off track.  It’s understandable, and it can be figured out.  Join the Women in Energy program for this workshop where Claire Steichen, career coach with two decades in corporate life, shares how to stay on track. You will learn: — How to have a strategy that can flex to a changing reality — The secret to a difficult conversation that will make your boss eager to support you — Why asking is harder for women, and how to avoid that pitfall — How to know what you want so you find the courage to overcome your hesitation — This webinar will be hosted via Zoom. Advance registration is required. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with access details. For more information, please contact Jully Merino Carela (jem2245@columbia.edu) or Nicolina DueMogensen (energypolicyevents@columbia.edu).

Please join the Center on Global Energy Policy’s Women in Energy program for a virtual roundtable discussion with Kristin Barbato, Founder and CEO of Build Edison and Co-founder of Dynamo Energy Hub. Ms. Barbato will discuss her academic background, career path, and her transition from government and utilities to entrepreneurship.  Biography: With 25 years in energy, Kristin has a background in energy innovation as an executive in utilities, government, and private sector energy operations and investment. She’s founded two companies to scale innovative solutions in the clean energy economy and make a positive impacts in efficiency and the environment. She is Co-Founder of Dynamo – a unique global network of thought leaders and energy hubs in different cities. Kristin is also Founder and CEO of Build Edison, which helps early-stage energy companies get to scaled commercialization faster through utilities advisory and demo project partners. In her previous executive roles, she helped cities and corporations optimize their capital planning, commodity supply, efficiency projects, renewable investments, and smart operations performance. Kristin served as Managing Director of Enterprise Development at Edison Energy, Vice President of Customer Energy Solutions at the New York Power Authority (NYPA), and was appointed to Deputy Commissioner / Chief Energy Management Officer for New York City during Mayor Bloomberg’s Administration to manage the long-term sustainability plan (PlaNYC) for the country’s largest municipal energy infrastructure and operations with an annual budget of $1.3B. Kristin also worked for Veolia Environment, ConEdison, and Florida Power & Light in various technical and strategic leadership roles.   Kristin graduated Cornell University with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. She also holds an M.S. in Organizational Leadership from Mercy College and completed her MBA in Finance and Economics from Columbia University in May 2008. For the last five years, she has been a Professor of energy management for graduate level international policy schools at Columbia and New York University. She also serves on the advisory board for the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund to help families of children with cancer. — This webinar will be hosted via Zoom. Advance registration is required. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with access details. For more information, please contact Jully Merino Carela (jem2245@columbia.edu) or Nicolina DueMogensen (energypolicyevents@columbia.edu).