People

Executive Director of Cox Communications’ New Growth & Development group

Brett Lasher is an innovation leader who heads innovation in the Energy vertical for Cox Communications’ New Growth & Development (NG&D) group. In this role, he is responsible for ideating around new opportunities (both B2B and B2C) in electricity, water, gas and oil and then working to de-risk and commercialize these initiatives. He is very active in the Atlanta entrepreneurial community having served as a mentor on multiple occasions in both the TechStars and Boomtown accelerators. In addition to his work at Cox, Brett currently serves as an advisor to nVenue (AI/ML data analytics company for sports content) and as a Limited Partner Ambassador for Energy Impact Partners helping to evaluate investment theses and start-up companies in the Energy space.

Equity Analyst at Terra Alpha Investments

Hayley is an investment professional with experience in sustainability-focused strategies within public equities and venture capital. As an equity analyst at Terra Alpha Investments, Hayley is responsible for idea generation, sustainability analysis, and fundamental research of global companies within the utilities and healthcare industries. While pursuing her Master's degree at the University of Pennsylvania, Hayley also worked for Energy Impact Partners, an energy innovation venture firm, where she helped with investment diligence and co-authored the firm's inaugural Environmental Metrics Report.

Urban Climate Action Consultant, World Bank and Climate Policy Initiative

John Michael is an urban planner focused on preparing urban infrastructure for climate change globally. He has a master of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor's in international development and architecture from Calvin University. Previously, he worked as an architect on projects in Egypt, Morocco, and the US and at a startup using aerial imagery from drones for building inspections and mapping.

Co-founder and General Partner at Cultivation Capital

Kyle is a co-founder and General Partner at Cultivation Capital, an early stage focused venture capital firm. He focuses on making investments across food and agriculture.

Associate at Prime Impact Fund

Dr. Lauren Hartle is an Associate at Prime Impact Fund, with responsibility to source investment opportunities broadly, manage the Fund’s investment pipeline, and support investment diligence. Lauren’s professional background includes basic and applied R&D, spanning academic and start-up settings, as well as venture investing.

Analyst at EcoAct

Mackenzie Marcotte is an analyst with EcoAct North America’s Advisory team. Prior to joining EcoAct in 2021, she held a variety of sustainability consulting roles with nonprofits, large corporations, and industry coalitions in the natural foods, clean energy, and telecom sectors. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (Master of Environmental Studies, Corporate Sustainability & Food Systems), MINES ParisTech in France (Master of International Environmental Management), and Boston University (Bachelor of Arts, Political Science). She’s currently based in New York.

Director of Technology at Pangaea Ventures Ltd.

Matt joined Pangaea Ventures in 2012. Prior to joining Pangaea Ventures, Matt was part of a start-up in printed electronics utilizing nanotechnology and has experience with companies in biotechnology and environmental bioremediation. He performed various functions ranging from R&D to business development to devising international launch strategies while gaining valuable start-up understanding. He works closely with TruTag Technologies and is on the NREL Investor Advisory Board. Matt holds an MPhil in Micro- & Nanotechnology Enterprise from the University of Cambridge and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a BSE in Materials Science & Engineering.

Investment Operations at Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

15 years’ international experience, focused on integrating sustainability and climate resilience with profitability in energy and infrastructure related investments

Head of Partnerships at Blue Sky Analytics

Amber is currently the Head of Partnerships for Blue Sky Analytics. She has over 15 years of experience across the financial sector, policy, international development, and a range of climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.

Master's student in Climate Change, Management, and Finance at Imperial College Business School, Researcher at Imperial College Grantham Institute

Cynthia Wang has a BA in Environmental Studies and Political Science from Penn and is pursuing an MSc in Climate Change, Management, and Finance from Imperial College Business School in London. She is currently a Researcher with the Grantham Institute, as well as a Graduate Intern with the Asian Development Bank, specializing in private-public partnerships and climate adaptation finance. Prior to London, she was a Princeton in Asia Sustainable Cities Fellow at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in Beijing.

COO of Phood

Jack Policar is a Denver - NY based entrepreneur. He is currently the COO of Phood, a startup that allows college students to use dining dollars to order from DoorDash with free delivery (you can find more information at Phood.co) Outside of Phood, Jack teaches an entrepreneurship course, mentors a number of early-stage college student lead startups and is building a virtual sustainability community.

Partner at Petri

Josh is an entrepreneur and investor in sustainability. Currently, he is a partner at Petri, and previously, he worked on several early-stage ventures in sustainability, food, and agriculture.

Director of Business Development & New Ventures at Lever Advisers

Ted Netland is the Director of New Ventures at a venture studio co-managed by the head of a prominent alt protein venture capital firm. He holds an MBA from MIT Sloan and was previously a senior associate at Cambridge Associates.