Women in Energy and Energy Opportunity Lab at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA is pleased to host Dr. Lauren Ross, deputy director for Energy Justice and Policy in the Office of Energy Justice and Equity at U.S. Department of Energy. Join us for a discussion moderated by Anjaly Ariyanayagam, featuring insights on Dr. Ross’ career and energy justice at the Department of Energy.

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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.

Within days of taking office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to create the Justice40 Initiative. The policy aims to allocate 40% of the benefits of federal clean energy and climate investments to frontline communities. 

For the energy sector, it’s helping to shine a growing light on  “energy justice.” Historically, the current energy system has negatively impacted disadvantaged communities the most – communities that often lack access to affordable energy, are excluded from potential benefits of a clean energy economy, and suffer the greatest harms from climate change. The Energy Opportunity Lab at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs is working to address these challenges, among many others. 

So, what progress has been made in ensuring energy justice for frontline communities? And with the energy transition continuing to accelerate in size and scale, how do we make sure disadvantaged communities aren’t left behind?

This week host Jason Bordoff talks with Shalanda Baker about the historical inequities of energy systems, and the Biden administration’s agenda on energy equity and climate justice.

Shalanda is the director of the Office of Energy Justice and Equity in the U.S. Department of Energy, and the secretarial advisor on equity. She also serves as chief diversity officer for the agency. Prior to her Senate confirmation in 2022, Shalanda served as the nation’s first-ever deputy director for energy justice. Before joining the Biden administration, she co-founded and co-directed the Initiative for Energy Justice, which provides technical law and policy support to communities on the front lines of climate change.

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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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.
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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).

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

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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

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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).