Silicon Valley Global Climate Tech Capital Summit

Julia Daviy is the Founder and President of the Sustainable Innovation Council and creator of the Imagine Next Global Innovation Challenge. Her work spans nearly two decades in renewable energy, cleantech, advanced manufacturing, and innovation ecosystems. She holds an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas and is the author of Imagine Next: Inventing Beyond the Goals We Inherited.

Natalie is a climate investor and finance professional with over 12 years of experience in sustainable infrastructure investing, principal investing, corporate strategy and capital advisory. She most recently ran a capital advisory business raising corporate equity and non-dilutive capital for early-stage climate tech companies within mobility, carbon capture, alternative fuels and industrial decarbonization companies. She previously worked as an investor at Generate Capital, investing in sustainable infrastructure across project equity, corporate equity and debt and financed distributed generation solar projects at SunEdison. At Generate, Natalie invested in community solar, battery storage, energy efficiency and RNG projects across tax equity, sponsor equity and project debt. While at SunEdison, she worked on their distributed generation C&I business developing and financing <500 MW solar projects. She began her career at Cleantech Group, where she advised utilities, CVCs and industrial companies on cleantech investing and M&A. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

Julia Grinshpun is Managing Director on the Climate Tech team in San Francisco within J.P. Morgan's Commercial & Investment Bank. Julia has 20 years of experience across client management, business development, credit and portfolio management roles working with middle market and corporate clients across gaming, global banking and financial sponsors. Prior to joining the Green Economy team in 2021, Julia served as a Director on Wells Fargo's renewable energy tax equity team for 4.5 years overseeing counterparty risk underwriting for the $10Bn+ portfolio of solar/wind/fuel cell/storage investments as well as working with senior commercial banking leaders on capital deployment strategy to advance corporate sustainability goals. Julia holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business/Economics and Spanish minor from the University of California Santa Barbara. She also earned a graduate Sustainability Certificate from Harvard Extension School, reflecting her deep commitment to sustainable finance and her dedication to advancing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives in the financial services sector. Julia serves on the CALSTART board, a national non-profit organization founded in 1992 that accelerates the growth of the clean transportation industry.

Bryce Gilleland is a seasoned investor and operator. Previously he served as CEO of the world's top-performing hedge fund in 2020, achieving 846% returns. Prior to that he led energy efficiency, solar, alternative generation and storage programs for PG&E to promote customer adoption, managing over $1B in incentives. In his role now as General Partner of the California Innovation Fund he backs early stage startups that are focused on making the world healthier, cleaner, and safer — and returning 50% GP profits to UC Berkeley and affiliates to promote entrepreneurship. This helps power the flywheel of innovation.

Willie Halsted is a Senior Vice President and Relationship Manager at Silicon Valley Bank, where he specializes in providing strategic financial solutions for the Climate Tech and Deep Tech sectors. Since joining the Climate Tech lending team in 2022, Willie has worked closely with high-growth startups to structure venture debt, equipment financing, and specialized credit facilities that enable the scaling of critical environmental technologies. In addition to his professional work in finance, he is a dedicated advocate for equitable outdoor access, serving as the Treasurer and a Board Member for Environmental Traveling Companions (ETC). Willie brings a unique perspective on the intersection of capital deployment and environmental stewardship.

Nelson Switzer—known as The Gigacorn Hunter—believes solving climate change is not just necessary, but wildly profitable. A trained environmental engineer turned business strategist and investor, he has advised 150+ global corporations, asset managers, and governments across 25 years, guiding them to see decarbonization as a breakthrough opportunity. In 2020, Nelson co-founded Climate Innovation Capital to invest in companies that solve economic inefficiencies, generate outsized value, and deliver deep carbon reductions. He shares his learnings through his book 'The Gigacorn Hunter' and as an active investor, educator, and keynote speaker.

Vicky Lay is Partner and Head of Impact Investments at Artesian, where she leads climate, gender-lens, and sustainability-focused investment strategies across venture and debt. She sits on Artesian's investment committees and works with governments, corporates, institutional investors, and family offices to direct capital toward measurable social and environmental outcomes. Vicky architects funds aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including blended and bond-backed vehicles mobilizing downstream capital into decarbonization and sustainable infrastructure. She is a Forbes 30 Under 30 (VC) honoree and an advocate for increasing the representation of women and diverse leaders in venture and impact investing. A former founder and COO who scaled an Asia-Pacific EdTech company 10x year-on-year, Vicky brings an operator's discipline to capital formation and venture deployment.

Joshua Posamentier is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Congruent Ventures. He has rich experience across ventures (Prelude Ventures, Intel Capital) and operating roles (Intel's first wireless chips, National Semi, TI), and entrepreneurship (CEO of Blipstream). Josh oversees Congruent's investments in Alloy Enterprises, Avalanche Energy, Bellwether Coffee, Climate Robotics, Energetic Insurance, Fervo Energy, Kodama Systems, Lydian Labs, Machina Labs, Muon Space, Parallel Systems, Pico MES, PolySpectra, Rendered.AI, Robigo, VEIR, and Xtelligent. Josh has over 50 patents issued or pending, holds a BA in physics from the University California at Berkeley, and holds MBAs from the Columbia Business School and Berkeley's Haas School of Business. Josh is an avid cyclist, skier, sailor, surfer, and photographer and lives with his family in the SF Bay Area.

Francisco J. Leon is President and Chief Executive Officer of California Resources Corporation (CRC), an independent energy and carbon management company committed to energy transition. Francisco leads the company's energy and carbon management efforts, earning recognition for leadership in this space. He is a member of the National Petroleum Council and Vice Chair of the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) Board of Directors. He is a member of the California Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the California Foundation for Commerce & Education CalCEO Council and the Hispanics in Energy Board. Prior to his current role, Francisco Leon served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of CRC. He also held positions as Vice President of Portfolio Management and Strategic Planning and Vice President of Corporate Development at CRC, overseeing all acquisition and divestiture activities.

Mariam JantzSell is outside general counsel to founders and investors building the future, including sustainability-focused startups, scaling from first check to Series C and beyond. With over a decade advising high-growth companies, she brings a rare combination of legal depth and venture fluency to the companies reshaping how we live and work. Her practice covers the full startup lifecycle: venture financings, corporate governance, equity compensation, commercial contracts, IP strategy, product counseling, global scaling, and M&A. Before founding her own advisory firm, Mariam analyzed growth-stage investments at Sequoia Capital, served as Principal and Head of Legal at Graphene Ventures (early investors in Lyft and Snap), and was seconded as Associate General Counsel at Cumulus Networks (acquired by Nvidia). She is co-author of the ABA-published The Startup's Guide to Non-Disclosure Agreements and an active member of the California State Bar.

Tess manages sourcing, pipeline, due diligence and investments at Alante Capital. She holds an MBA from Berkeley where she specialized in impact venture capital. Prior to her MBA, Tess spent four years with Ocean Conservancy's plastics initiative, bringing together Fortune 500 companies, scientists, and government agencies to develop circular industry. She started her career organizing for the People's Climate Movement and Hillary for America.

Suhani Mohan is an impact investor and healthcare entrepreneur committed to advancing social and planetary well-being. As Director of Impact Investing at Silicon Valley Social Ventures (SV2), she leads early-stage investments across climate, health, education, and economic empowerment. She is also a founding convener of the Bay Area South Asians Climate Association (BASACA), focused on accelerating climate partnerships across South Asia and the U.S. Suhani co-founded Saral Designs, a National Entrepreneurship Award-winning social enterprise addressing menstrual health through decentralized manufacturing, scaling to 150+ entrepreneurs in 13 countries and improving access for over one million people. She previously led the Environment Fund at ACT Capital Foundation and worked at Energy Innovation Capital investing in deep-tech energy and climate solutions. She has delivered two TEDx talks and has been named Forbes India's Top 25 Trailblazing Women in Business and Business Today's 25 Most Powerful Women in Impact. She holds an MBA from Stanford GSB and a B.Tech from IIT Bombay.

Chad Frischmann is the CEO and Founder of Regenerative Intelligence (RegenIntel), a global advisory and education platform superpowered by a network of system thinkers and doers creating a virtuous cycle of collaborative intelligence, enabling the effective implementation of the highest impact 'system of solutions' for the planet and for people at scale. He is also the Founder of the Global Solutions Alliance, an international non-profit organization committed to creating a regenerative future. Prior to launching RegenIntel, Chad was the co-creator of Project Drawdown, architect of the Drawdown Solutions Framework, and the co-author of the New York Times best-seller Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming (Penguin, 2017), the Drawdown Review (February, 2020), and all communications and engagement efforts at Project Drawdown, one of the world's leading resources for climate solutions.

Amit Modi is the Founder of Focus Green Solutions (FGS), an execution-focused project development firm that enables emerging climate technology companies get their first commercial projects built. Amit brings over 20 years of global experience developing unique and challenging infrastructure projects across the energy, transportation, and social sectors, having led more than USD 5 billion in sustainable infrastructure transactions from concept through financial close. Before founding FGS, Amit served as Chief Development Officer at Andion Global, a renewable natural gas platform advancing biogas projects across North America, and as Managing Director of a multinational infrastructure fund. A registered Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) with a Civil Engineering degree from the University of Waterloo, he is recognized for combining technical depth, commercial acumen, and hands-on execution to transform sustainable climate technologies into bankable, scalable infrastructure businesses.

Christina Cairns is an international development and climate finance leader with more than a decade of experience mobilizing public and private capital to advance sustainable growth in emerging markets. She specializes in blended finance, risk mitigation strategies, and structuring partnerships that unlock investment in energy access, climate resilience, coastal and marine ecosystems, and nature-based solutions. Most recently, Christina served as Director at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), where she led transactions across sub-Saharan Africa. Previously, as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer with USAID, she led the Development Partnerships Team for Power Africa, helping secure over $23 billion in commitments that supported 150+ clean energy projects. Her career spans climate adaptation and mitigation, biodiversity conservation, marine spatial planning, and energy infrastructure development across Africa, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Christina holds an MBA in Development Finance from UC Berkeley Haas and a BA from Stanford University.

Scott Walbrun is a principal venture capital investor at BMW i Ventures, the independent venture capital fund managed on behalf of BMW Group based in Silicon Valley, where he focuses on Series A & B investments in cleantech, mobility, and industry 4.0. In this capacity, Scott has served on the board of six companies. He also serves as a mentor and workshop leader for hundreds of startups through various accelerator programs across the country. Prior to joining BMW i Ventures, Scott provided M&A and capital markets advisory as a member of Jefferies' Technology Investment Banking team. Scott joined Jefferies after completing his MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. While completing his MBA, he worked at Kinzie Capital Partners evaluating private equity investments, as well as at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation supporting the commercialization of science-based and deep tech companies. Prior to business school, Scott managed Strategic Finance and FP&A at Truck Hero (a TA Associates portfolio company) and began his career in Fiat Chrysler's Finance Leadership Development Program.

Esther Pan Sloane is Managing Director of Eyre Street Capital, where she is responsible for fundraising, ESG due diligence, and impact reporting. Previously, she was a Managing Director on the Avenue Sustainable Solutions Fund from 2022–2025. Prior to joining Avenue, she was a senior executive at the United Nations Capital Development Fund. From 2006–2016, she was a U.S. Foreign Service Officer serving in bilateral and multilateral posts, including at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, where she helped negotiate the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Esther received a BA from Stanford University with honors in both English and International Relations (1997) and an MA in Theatre and Performance from the University of Cape Town in South Africa (2002).

Victor Yang leads early-stage investments in aerospace and defense at Honeywell Ventures. His background spans institutional venture investing, operating experience at a venture-backed technology company, and investment management at Goldman Sachs. He holds a B.A. from the University of Washington and is currently an Executive MBA candidate at the Wharton School.

Dr. Ryan Gilliam is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Fortera, a climate technology company transforming the global cement industry by converting CO₂ into low-carbon cement. Under his leadership, the company has developed and commercialized the ReCarb® process, which mineralizes captured CO₂ and integrates with existing plants to produce ReAct® low-carbon cement, delivering 75+% CO₂ reductions while maintaining performance and cost parity with traditional cement. Ryan founded Fortera to pave the way to zero-CO₂ cement, addressing one of the world's largest industrial sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Its technology allows cement producers to leverage existing infrastructure while increasing product yield and lowering embodied carbon in concrete, enabling decarbonization at scale. To deliver on Fortera's imperative to "Build What's Next," Ryan is focused on driving adoption across the construction ecosystem, working with developers, contractors, infrastructure owners, and concrete producers to accelerate the transition to low-carbon materials through strategic partnerships and commercial deployment. Ryan is also the founder and a member of the Board of Directors at Verdagy, a company building a gigafactory in California to produce green hydrogen electrolyzers at scale. He previously founded Chemetry, which develops low-energy, low-emissions chemical production technologies. In addition, he has served as a Venture Partner at 1955 Capital, investing in technologies addressing global sustainability challenges across energy, manufacturing, health, and food systems. Ryan holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Toronto. He has authored 10+ peer-reviewed publications with 3,500+ citations, and is an inventor on 100+ patents spanning energy, sustainability, and advanced materials. He has delivered a TED Talk on the future of low-carbon cement and carbon mineralization and was named one of TIME's 2024 100 Climate Leaders.

Adam Bergman is a Managing Director at EcoTech Capital, a boutique investment bank and consulting firm, where he works at the intersection of technology innovation and climate change. A sustainability executive leader with almost 30 years' investment banking experience, Adam has raised capital, executed M&A transactions, and built strategic partnerships across the CleanTech sector. As one of the first investment bankers to focus exclusively on CleanTech starting in 2005, he is recognized as a leading subject matter expert and frequent speaker at industry events. Adam has built or expanded CleanTech Investment Banking practices at Citi, Deutsche Bank, Jefferies, and Wells Fargo, developing strong relationships with CleanTech companies as well as energy, food & Ag, industrial, mobility, technology and utility corporates. He has cultivated deep relationships with key ESG investors including crossover, family offices, pension, private equity, sovereign wealth, and venture capital funds. Adam holds a B.A. in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University (Phi Beta Kappa) and an M.A. in International Development from the International University of Japan.

Peter is the Founder and Principal of Lupoff/Stevens Family Office, his family's vehicle for investments and grants committed to fomenting a just and sustainable world, seeking market financial returns alongside demonstrable social/environmental impact. In 2025, LSFO largely merged its investing activities into Beatrice Advisors Multi-Family Office, where Peter was named Partner with a focus on investments and partnerships. He was formerly CEO of Net Impact (2019-22), a 30-year-old non-profit with 160,000+ members inspiring emerging leaders to make a positive impact, and CEO of GOOD Institute (2021-2022). Peter is a Gabelli Fellow at Fordham University, where he taught impact investing (2018-2024) and supports the Responsible Business Center as Director of Strategy. He is a Special Lecturer at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business on Impact Investing (2024-) and a Member of the Impact Investing & Sustainable Finance Faculty Consortium. Peter is a Board Member of Investors Circle (2024-), a Dean's Council Member of the Harvard Kennedy School (2025-), and was named a Sorenson Impact Institute Global Impact Leader (2023).

Dr. Tobi Ann Petrocelli is a sustainability executive and transition finance strategist who serves as Head of Sustainable Investment Advisory and Senior Manager, Transaction Services at Arup, a global leader in sustainable design, planning, and infrastructure. She leads multidisciplinary teams across the Americas providing ESG strategy, analysis, and performance management for clients in transportation, energy, water, and property. At Arup, she shapes the firm's ESG advisory offering by designing sustainability and ESG programs, advising on governance structures, and aligning clients with evolving regulatory requirements such as CSRD, ISSB, GRI, and SASB. Before joining Arup, she served as Head of Sustainability & Transition Finance Strategy for MUFG Bank Ltd. in the Americas, directing global sustainability initiatives and supporting a $650 billion sustainable finance goal. Previously, she founded Verde Enterprise LLC, a sustainability advisory firm, and held roles including Director of Strategic Initiatives & Sustainability at Clearbrook Global Advisors, Senior Sustainability Advisor at AccountAbility, and Sustainability Advisor to the United Nations Environment Programme. She holds a BA from Fordham University, an MS in Sustainability Management from Columbia University's Earth Institute, and a DBA in International Business from Walden University. She served on the Board of Directors of Terran Orbital (NYSE: LLAP) and the Board of Governors of Multiplying Good.

Cedric (re)joined BMW i Ventures in 2025 as a Principal to focus on investing in the future of manufacturing and industrials, energy, and transportation, across both hardware and software. He was previously at Fifth Wall's Climate Technology Fund, where he invested in technologies that decarbonized the built world and was recognized as a GreenBiz 30 Under 30 in 2023. Cedric started his career in investment banking at Financial Technology Partners, a boutique investment bank focused exclusively on fintech, before joining BMW i Ventures in 2019 as an associate. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Finance from Loyola Marymount University.

Shayna Harris is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Supply Change Capital, a firm investing in early-stage technologies transforming the food system. With over two decades of global operating experience across 20+ countries, Shayna has driven rapid growth as a C-Suite executive at venture-backed startups, including Farmer's Fridge and Sourcemap. At Mars, she developed enterprise-level strategies for commodity risk management and supply chain resilience, and founded several industry-wide leadership initiatives. Shayna serves on several boards, including Celleste Bio, Helios AI, PartnerSlate, and the non-profit Naturally Chicago. A multilingual Fulbright Scholar, Shayna holds an MBA from MIT Sloan and a dual BA in International Relations and Political Science from Boston University. Her achievements have earned recognition as a Chicago Business Journal Woman of Influence, Inc Female Founders 500, and a Top Emerging VC by Venture Forward. Beyond her investment work, Shayna is a published author and Forbes contributor.

Daniel Baruch has spent his career at the nexus of energy markets, investments, innovation and climate strategy. He currently serves as the Executive Director of ClimateTech Investments & Innovation at J.P. Morgan in NYC, driving strategic investments with cutting-edge companies across the ClimateTech ecosystem — early stage through growth equity across Grid Modernization, Energy Resilience, Critical Infrastructure, Supply Chains, and Frontier Technologies. Daniel's background spans physical and financial energy commodity markets, with experience in natural gas & power at Morgan Stanley, crude oil & NGLs at Glencore, and multi-asset alternative investments at AllianceBernstein. Prior to J.P. Morgan, Daniel served as the Vice President of Climate Strategy at Moody's Analytics, and Director of Global Energy Markets & Strategic Business Development at Ursa Space, a satellite geospatial intelligence startup. Daniel serves on the Advisory Boards of the University of Colorado's Global Commodities & Energy Management Program, the Energy Capital Council, the SecondMuse Scale for ClimateTech Accelerator, and NREL's ClimateTech Investor Industry Growth Forum (IGF). He is also part of the Expert Network with MassChallenge ClimateTech and Security & Resilience Accelerator.

Troy Helming is a Unicorn Founder (with 6 company exits) and a modern-day industrialist. He's an inventor (60+ patent claims), an elite athlete (American Ninja Warrior), an author (The Clean Power Revolution), and a clean energy executive. He's founded solar & wind companies that have generated more than $35 Billion of economic impact. Troy has been the founder & CEO of two impactful clean energy companies: TradeWind Energy, which he founded in 1998 and sold in 2004 (the company became the #1 Wind Developer in the USA in 2017 with over $8 Billion in projects built), and Pristine Sun, with 350+ solar projects totaling $500 Million in market value, including the largest floating solar project award in North America. He is the co-inventor of FloatoRack (an innovative floating solar system) and inventor of the Red Gopher, with 60+ patent claims across his ventures. Troy has been driving electric cars since 2012 and was the first customer of the world's fastest production motorcycle, the all-electric Lightning LS-218. He is a longtime wellness practitioner, yogi, rock climber, and family man based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Lafe Vittitoe is the Managing Director and National Sales Lead for the Climate Tech & Sustainability practice at Silicon Valley Bank. He manages numerous client and venture capital relationships across the US and is responsible for delivering the full suite of SVB's banking and credit products. Prior to joining SVB in 2008, Lafe held positions at Square 1 Bank and Comerica Bank providing banking and credit products to a variety of technology companies as well as venture capital and private equity firms. He is a graduate of the University of San Diego.

Vivian Qu is a materials science and energy technology entrepreneur and investor based in Silicon Valley, working at the intersection of advanced materials, biotech, and sustainable energy innovation. She is a co-founder of a venture-backed energy materials startup focused on scalable, resilient energy solutions, and serves as a Venture Fellow at SOSV, one of the world's leading investors in deep tech and biotech startups. Previously, Vivian founded ViaeX Technologies and later served as Chief Product Officer at Tidal Vision following its acquisition, where she led materials innovation and partnerships with major corporates and government agencies.

Álvaro Tukano is an Indigenous leader of the Yepá Mahsã (Tukano) people from the Upper Rio Negro region of the Brazilian Amazon, and a longtime advocate for Indigenous rights and territorial protection.