Kevin Self: Senior Vice President, Strategy, Business Development & Government Relations; Schneider Electric

Kevin leads North America strategy development, government policy influencing, and regulatory affairs for Schneider Electric, a 180+ year old global company providing digital energy and automation solutions for greater efficiency, resiliency and sustainability.  He is also responsible for identifying & driving new growth opportunities & partnerships.

Kevin is the Executive Sponsor of Schneider Electric’s Emerging Professionals Network and their relationship with FIRST Robotics.  He also serves on the boards of The Information Technology Industry Council (www.itic.org), The Alliance to Save Energy (www.ase.org), The Advanced Energy Economy (www.aee.net), The University of Michigan Erb Institute (https://erb.umich.edu/) and Northwestern University’s Institute for Sustainability & Energy (ISEN) (https://isen.northwestern.edu/).  

Kevin previously held Strategy & Corporate Development roles with Johnson Controls’ Building Efficiency Business, Miller Brewing Company, GE Healthcare, and McKinsey & Company.

Kevin holds an MBA from Northwestern University, and MS and BS degrees in engineering from The University of Michigan.

Maggie Pakula: Senior Vice President, Strategy; Invenergy

Maggie Pakula serves as Senior Vice President of Strategy at Invenergy, a leading privately-held  developer, owner and operator of sustainable energy solutions. During Maggie’s near decade-long tenure with Invenergy, she established the company’s Performance Analytics Program that  monitors over 6 GW of operating renewable assets and helped develop the commercial and market analytics group. Before leading Strategy at Invenergy, Maggie acted as Director of Regulatory Affairs supporting the company’s activities in the northeast ISO/RTOs and engaging in market policy work. In her current role, Maggie heads the company’s Strategic Roadmap and Initiative efforts, where she is charged with examining new market opportunities for Invenergy to leverage its expertise and to continue its efforts to build a sustainable world.

Maggie holds a B.S. in Engineering from Northwestern University and an M.S. in Engineering from Stanford University. While at Stanford she was a Stanford Graduate Research Fellow and National Science Foundation Fellow.

Ben Lowe: (Moderator) Senior Project Manager, Roland Berger

Katherine Peretick: Commissioner, Michigan Public Service Commission

Commissioner Peretick was first appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to the Michigan Public Service Commission on January 1, 2021. Her term expires July 2027. The Public Service Commission regulates the electricity, natural gas, and telecommunication industries for the State of Michigan, and is comprised of three politically diverse appointees with staggered terms.

Prior to her appointment, Commissioner Peretick worked in the public and private sectors with a focus on energy storage and technology development. She served as Director of Engineering at NRStor Inc., an international energy storage project developer, where she was recognized by the Energy News Network as a national leader and innovator in the energy transition on the "40 under 40" award list. Her past experience also includes leading project engineering for long-duration energy storage technology company General Compression, international rotations in India and Denmark as a mechanical engineer as part of wind turbine manufacturer Vestas global Leadership Development Program, and a fellowship with the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. She also worked on the Juno and Curiosity spacecraft missions with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Ms. Peretick also served as Vice President of Advancing Women in Energy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to engaging and empowering women in the energy industry and energy-related fields for 3 years. Ms. Peretick holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters in Energy Systems Engineering from the University of Michigan.

Jon Newman: Manager, Product Strategy and Market Development, Fluence

Jon Newman joined Fluence in October 2020. At Fluence, Jon is responsible for developing and growing the market for emerging applications of energy storage for Fluence such as storage-as-transmission and Solar + Storage. Before Fluence Jon attended the University of Michigan and worked as a consultant at Deloitte.

He holds an MBA and a Master of Science in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Cornell University.

Annie Baldwin: Director of Product Management, Form Energy

Anna Baldwin is Director of Product Management at Form Energy. She was previously Director of Strategy & Operations at eIQ Mobility. She was nominated for Forbes 30 under 30 Energy.

Anna has an MBA and MS in Energy from Stanford University. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry & Physics from Harvard University.

Chuck Conlen: Vice President, Renewable Energy; DTE

Chuck Conlen is the Vice President of Renewable Energy for DTE Energy. Conlen is responsible for structuring and leading DTE’s carbon reduction commitments and growth projections and all aspects of DTE Electric’s renewable business. Conlen joined DTE Energy in 2005, and has since held various senior leadership roles across DTE, including Vice President of Power & Industrial’s strategy and commercial organization, Executive Director of Energy Optimization and his current position. Conlen earned an MBA from The University of Michigan. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Power Generation Systems from Kings Point, the United States Merchant Marine Academy.

DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE) is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its operating units include an electric company serving 2.2 million customers in Southeast Michigan and a natural gas company serving 1.3 million customers in Michigan. The DTE portfolio includes energy businesses focused on power and industrial projects; renewable natural gas; natural gas pipelines, gathering and storage; and energy marketing and trading. As an environmental leader, DTE utility operations will reduce carbon dioxide and methane emissions by more than 80 percent by 2040 to produce cleaner energy while keeping it safe, reliable and affordable. DTE Electric and Gas aspire to achieve net zero carbon and greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. DTE is committed to serving with its energy through volunteerism, education and employment initiatives, philanthropy and economic progress. Information about DTE is available at dteenergy.com, empoweringmichigan.com, twitter.com/dte_energy and facebook.com.

Parth Vaishnav: (Moderator) Assistant Professor, School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan

Christina Reynolds: Cofounder & Chief Science Officer, Remora

Christina Reynolds is Cofounder and Chief Science Officer of Remora. She pioneered Remora’s technology during her engineering PhD at the University of Michigan, becoming one of the world’s leading experts on mobile carbon capture.

She also served for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a Research Scientist in an advanced testing program for electric vehicles.

Jessie Lund: Senior Associate for Carbon-Free Mobility program, RMI

Jessie is a Senior Associate with RMI’s Carbon-Free Mobility program, specializing in emissions reductions from heavy-duty transport. She works closely with the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) to advance electric truck adoption. Jessie's work also includes research, analysis, and stakeholder engagement around transit bus electrification, charging infrastructure, subnational climate action, and corporate responsibility.

Prior to joining RMI in 2016, Jessie served as the City and County of Denver's Sustainability Program Coordinator. She earned an MS in Natural Resources from Colorado State University and a BA in International Studies from the University of Missouri. Jessie is on the board of Drive Clean Colorado, a Clean Cities Coalition and is the Co-Lead of the Colorado Front Range Chapter of Women of EVs (WEV).

Tadeu Carneiro: Chairman & CEO, Boston Metal

Tadeu Carneiro has forty years of experience in R&D, market development, and management. He is currently Chairman & Chief Executive Officer for Boston Metal. Mr. Carneiro worked for 30 years at CBMM - Companhia Brasileira de Metalúrgia e Mineração, the world leader in the supply and development of niobium technology. He was CBMM’s Chief Executive Officer for the last ten years of his tenure with the company.

Mr. Carneiro received an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh and his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Sao Paulo.

Julia Reichelstein: Investor, Piva Capital

Julia is an investor at Piva Capital, a $250M VC fund that invests in climate & deep tech. She focuses on innovations in agtech, carbon removal & carbon markets, and supply chains.

Prior to Piva, Julia led digital expansion for Entrepreneurial Finance Lab (EFL), a global fintech that increases access to credit in emerging markets through alternative data credit scoring. She has previously held positions with Accion Venture Lab, Opportunity Fund, the World Bank, and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA).

Julia holds an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, and a B.A in Economics from Stanford University.

Volker Sick: Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, Mechanical Engineering, DTE Energy Professor of Advanced Energy Research, Director, Global CO2 Initiative, University Michigan

Professor Volker Sick has been teaching at the University of Michigan for 24 years. His research focuses on accelerating deployments of CO2-utilization technologies that will innovate existing infrastructure and manufacturing processes, thereby finding sustainable decarbonization solutions to help address the climate crisis.

His responsibilities range from roles at UM, editorial roles for Frontiers in Climate -Negative Emissions Technologies, Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, International Journal of Engine Research, to committees at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Combustion Institute, and several advisory board roles.

Yi Jean Chow: (Moderator) Investment Principal, Future Energy Ventures

Amaury Fastenakels: Chief Marketing Officer, BBOXX

Amaury Fastenakels is the Chief Marketing Officer at BBOXX. He joined BBOXX as one of its early employees and helped define the Pay-As-You-Go model during his tenure.

Previously he used to consult for the Boston Consulting Group. His interests lie in customer insights, product management and innovation.

Michael Sudarkasa: Chief Executive Officer, Africa Business Group

Michael Sudarkasa is a U.S. trained attorney and African economic development specialist based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Michael has significant experience in facilitating economic development, trade and investment projects involving business expansion within Africa, as well as between Africa and other parts of the world.

His firm, ABG, currently serves as the Country Coordinator for South Africa, Eswatini and Lesotho of the Private Finance Advisory Network (PFAN) which is co-hosted by UNIDO and the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership and his interests are in the role that productive use initiative development can plan in improving the viability and sustainability of rural electrification projects.”

Karl Skare: Managing Director of Global Partnerships and Strategy, d. light

Karl works on d. Light’s strategic planning, industry outreach, fundraising, business development, and government relations. Prior to joining d.light, Karl served as Director of Operations at BBOXX and was based in both Kenya and Uganda.

He has dedicated his career to the mission of delivering affordable and reliable clean energy solutions to the two billion people in the developing world that lack access to reliable energy.

Emily McAteer: Founder & CEO, Odyssey Energy Solutions

Prior to starting Odyssey, Emily was Chief Revenue Officer of Frontier Power, a SunEdison subsidiary developing solar microgrids in India and Africa. Emily also worked in advanced energy management at EnerNOC and Yahoo, developed climate investment solutions at RiskMetrics Group, and received a Fulbright Fellowship to address off-grid solar lighting solutions in rural India. Emily holds a BA from Brown University, an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Raghav Sachdeva: Chief Investment Officer, Nithio

Raghav is Chief Investment Officer at Nithio, an AI-driven platform for clean energy investment, focusing on the off-grid solar sector in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Previously Raghav was Director of Structured Finance at Standard Chartered Bank in New York focusing on offshore energy finance. He has experience across various teams including capital markets, financial markets, client coverage and commodities finance. Raghav has also held positions with Lehman Brothers in London and ABN Amro Bank in India.

Sarah Mills: (Moderator) Lecturer at the School for Environment and Sustainability, Senior Researcher at the Graham Sustainability Institute, University of Michigan

Justin Schott: Project Manager, Energy Equity Project

Justin is an avid social entrepreneur and a recognized sustainability leader in Detroit. Prior to EPP, Schott designed and managed the launch and operations of numerous community programs. Schott has also worked closely on the creation of utility programs, including the Home Energy Consultation Program.

Schott has chaired the Coalition to Keep Michigan Warm and is a member of steering committees of the Detroit Environmental Agenda; Housing, Health and Heatwaves project; and Southeast Michigan Stewardship Coalition.

Shimekia Nichols: Executive Director, Soulardarity

Shimekia Nichols is the Executive Director of Soulardarity, a community-based organization focused on education, organizing, and people-powered clean energy in Highland Park, Michigan (a community near Detroit).

As Executive Director, Shimekia has trained and supported dozens of community members, contributed to gathering 3000 public comments in their successful campaign to push for changes to DTE's 2019 Integrated Resource Plan, and organized the the Work For Me, DTE! campaign in the community and media.

On a personal level, Shimekia was born and raised in Highland Park. She is a mother of two awesome sons, and is dedicated to growing Black leadership in environmental justice work and ensuring that the pursuit of clean energy is just, equitable, and democratic.

Nathaniel Smith: Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Partnership for Southern Equity

Since 2008, as founder, Chief Equity Officer, and CEO of the Partnership for Southern Equity (PSE), Smith has led efforts to promote sustainable growth and opportunity in the metropolitan Atlanta region and the American South as a whole.

Nathaniel takes on problems resulting from racial, economic, and class disparities, fighting for energy equity, economic inclusion, and equitable development.