Speakers & Panels — BERC Energy Summit

Speakers and Panels (Friday)

Panel discussions will cover a broad range of relevant energy sector issues, including such as the commercialization of clean energy technologies in developed and developing economies, financing first-of-a-kind projects, and balancing burgeoning energy demand with low-carbon goals. Dialogue will also address how to equitably distribute the energy transition’s opportunities and risks among communities, countries, and industries. This year’s panels are:

  • Future of Government Policy for Energy Transition

  • Bringing Green Fuels to Airports and Seaports

  • Scaling Clean Energy in Emerging Markets

  • Uncommon Collaborations: Industry-Community Partnerships for the Energy Transition

  • Bridging the Gap: Financing First-of-a-Kind Energy Transition Projects

  • Oil, Gas, and the Path to Net Zero

  • Equity & the EV Transition

  • The Defense-Energy Nexus: Energy Security as National Security

 

Headline speakers

Carla Peterman

Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer at PG&E Corporation

Scott Jacobs

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Generate Capital

Cody Two Bears

Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Indigenized Energy

Gerard Reid

Co-Founder and Partner at Alexa Capital and Co-Host of Redefining Energy

Ali Douraghy

Director of Energy & Climate Advocacy at Google

Mike Thomas

Managing Director at the Lantau Group

Detailed Bios

 

Future of Government Policy for Energy Transition

The federal government has a critical role to play in the energy transition—from shaping the power grid to incentivizing the buildout of U.S.-based clean energy manufacturing. Our panelists will delve into federal clean energy policy’s current trajectory, highlighting both shifts in and continuations of previous trends.

Panelists

Moderator

Kate Gordon

CEO at California Forward

Jason Mark

CEO at Energy Foundation

Dara O’Rourke

Associate Professor of Environmental and Labor Policy at UC Berkeley

Marc Kolb

Partner, Renewable Energy Strategy at Boston Consulting Group

Julia Zuckerman

Senior Director - External and Market Affairs at Clearway Energy Group

 
 

Bringing Green Fuels to Airports and Seaports

Widespread adoption of low-carbon fuels in air and maritime transportation will be critical to meeting climate goals. This panel will dig into what needs to be done to decarbonize the fuel powering medium- and long-haul flights and large vessels.

Panelists

Moderator

Kristi McKenney

COO at the Port of Oakland

David Ung

Senior Grants Lead at Twelve

David Hume

Port and Maritime Advisor at Pacific Northwest National Lab

Detailed Bios

 

Scaling Clean Energy in Emerging Markets

Development agencies and power producers alike are bringing the energy transition to new markets overseas, which pose unique structural and development challenges. Panelists will discuss innovative solutions to bridge the financing and infrastructure gap.

Panelists

Moderator

Sherwin Das

Co-Founder and Managing Director at Energy Peace Partners

Christina Borsum

CFO at New Energy Nexus

Anna Shpitsberg

Power Market and Clean Energy Finance Specialist; Former Chief Climate Officer at the DFC

Sajith Wijesuriya

IEEE Young Professionals Lead on Climate, Sustainability, and Innovation

Detailed Bios

 

Uncommon Collaborations

Industry-Community Partnerships for the Energy Transition

Innovative partnerships can unite industries, communities, and technologies to advance equitable clean energy solutions. Hear perspectives on the financial tools, regulatory strategies, and community-focused approaches that can drive resilience in the energy transition.

Panelists

Moderator

Greg Rosen

Founder and CEO at DoubleLand

Eric Edelstein

Head of Strategic Finance at Rondo Energy

Michelle Levinson

Senior Manager of eMobility Finance and Policy at World Resources Institute

Xueqin Cui

Climate Policy Fellow at the California-China Climate Institute

Evan Mallah

Strategy Associate at Fervo Energy

 
 

Bridging the Gap

Financing First-of-a-Kind Energy Transition Projects

Bringing together key stakeholders from across the capital stack, this panel will unpack the unique challenges and opportunities in funding innovative clean energy technologies at commercial scale.

Moderator

Panelists

Lara Pierpoint

Managing Director at Trellis Climate

David Yeh

Partner and Founder at Precursor

Andrew Yi

Investment Associate at Builders Vision

Greg Dalton

Co-Host at Climate One

Detailed Bios

 

Oil, Gas, and the Path to Net Zero

What role can established oil and gas players have in a cleaner energy mix? Join our panelists for a discussion of the oil and gas industry’s future, the energy transition, and the trajectory of the industry’s investments.

Moderator

Panelists

Daniel Kammen

Founding Director at Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory

Ahmed Badruzzaman

Energy Scientist & Professional Faculty at UC Berkeley

James Rector

Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley

Mike Umbro

Partner at Premier Resource Management

Daniel Cardenas

CEO at National Tribal Energy Association

 
 
 

Equity & the EV Transition

EV adoption rates have continued to rise steadily albeit unevenly. This panel will unpack the emerging political and technological developments in the EV transition that can ensure benefits extend to historically underserved and low-income communities.

Panelists

Sena Soysal

eMobility Program Manager at EDF Innovation Lab

Chanell Fletcher

Deputy Executive Officer of Environmental Justice at California Air Resources Board

Ted Lamm

Associate Director at Berkeley Law's Center for Law, Energy & the Environment

 
 

The Defense-Energy Nexus

Energy Security as National Security

Panelists

 
 

Andrew Reddie

Associate Research Professor at UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy

Rachel Ross

Former Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer at the US Department of Defense

 
 
 

For questions regarding panels and speakers, please reach out to Sam Houmaoui at samuelhoumaoui@berkeley.edu