2023 EcoCareers Summit Series

April 2023

Thank you for participating in the National Wildlife Federation's 2023 EcoCareers Summit Series!

Downloads:

The following 2023 Summit Downloads are available:

Speakers:

Distinguished Keynote: Dr. Kamal Kapadia; Terra.do		Distinguished Keynote: Asim Hussain; Green Software Foundation
Dr. Kamal Kapadia has 25 years of work, research and teaching experience in the fields of climate change, clean energy and sustainable development. She started her career in the late 1990s working for solar PV startups SELCO in India and Sri Lanka, and Solarcentury (now Statkraft) in the UK. She has consulted on clean energy planning with the World Bank and also managed research and communications for Blue Planet Foundation in Hawaii, the organization that successfully lobbied for the U.S.’s first state-level 100% renewable energy law. Kamal holds an M.Sc. in Environmental Change and Management from the University of Oxford and a Ph.D. in Energy and Resources from the University of California, Berkeley.		Asim Hussain is a developer, author and speaker with over 20 years’ experience working for organizations such as the European Space Agency, Google, Microsoft and now Intel where he is the Director of Green Software. Asim is also the Executive Director and Chairperson of the Green Software Foundation a global industry consortium with a mission to create a trusted ecosystem of people, standards, tooling and best practices for building green software.

Artist Spotlight: Irving Nayvet Cano Gómez, Muralist (biografía española está en el programa)		Filmmaker Spotlight: Alex Cullen, Resonant Pictures
Irving Cano is one of the young Mexican creators whose art has flourished during this fertile period of graffiti art. His original creations are marked by the traditions of his hometown, in which he has developed an artistic identity and nature, united by the roots and colors of his Zapotec culture. From the age of 16, Cano began working in urban art without prior background or academic study but with the burst of creativity to use painting in combination with sculpted clay figures - a characteristic technique that he has developed since his childhood. The streets of his hometown – on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico – with its folklore, its people and language, have been vital tools of focus in his work, which comes together to create an amalgamation of his roots. As a muralist, Irving Cano has distinguished himself for highlighting the endurance of Zapotec culture, which has lasted over two millennia.		Alex Cullen is a director and cinematographer with a passion for nature. His film projects have covered topics ranging from incarceration (16 Bars) to persistence hunting (Fair Chase) to Cabbage Patch Dolls (Billion Dollar Babies). He is a partner at Resonant Pictures, a production company with offices in Atlanta and New York City. Alex has directed commercial work for brands like Delta, Adidas, USAA, and many others, blending cinematic techniques with documentary storytelling. He is likely to be found surfing in Rockaway Beach or baking up a loaf of fresh sourdough bread.

Featured Speaker: Araceli Morales Santos, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service		Featured Speaker: Dr. Ari Renda, University of Michigan
Araceli Morales Santos is a biologist for the Ecological Services branch of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She is the species lead for the Minnesota dwarf trout lily and the northern bog lemming. She is also the new national recovery lead for the Dakota skipper. In her day-to-day work, she focuses on helping federal agencies comply with the Endangered Species Act of 1973 through S7 project consultations. Araceli is also interested in incorporating more community engagement and outreach opportunities as well as mentoring high school and college students interested in a career with a federal land management agency. When she is not working, she enjoys running, hiking, and watching comedies.		Ari Renda, Ph.D. (they/them) is a Career Coach and Wellness Coach who works as the Associate Director of Career Development at the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan. They have 7+ years of experience working with undergraduate students, graduate students, and alumni in navigating their career journeys, especially within the environmental field. In their previous role at the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan, they specialized in supporting students who were interested in Environmental Justice find meaningful career paths that aligned with their values and goals. Ari centers inclusivity in their career services approach through affirming the ways that students' unique experiences, motivations, and backgrounds shape their career exploration processes.

Featured Speaker: Arun Sukumaran, Rubicon		Featured Speaker: Bryce Nash, TeraWatt Infrastructure
Arun Sukumaran is Senior Vice President of Software Development of Rubicon Technologies (NYSE: RBT), a leading digital waste and recycling marketplace and provider of innovative software-based products to businesses and governments worldwide. Arun brings more than 20 years of professional experience to his role and, prior to joining Rubicon he served various technical role in software development. Arun is well-versed in Cloud Architecture, the mobile internet, and SaaS product development. Arun holds a Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech) in Electronics from the Madras Institute of Technology, Anna University, India.		Bryce Nash is the Director of EVSE Hardware Engineering at TeraWatt Infrastructure in San Francisco. With more than 15 years of experience bringing electrification to the commercial vehicle industry, he is focused on bringing compelling solutions to customers that accelerate the world's transition to fleet electrification. Most recently, this means pushing new standards forward for Megawatt Charging System (MCS) and supporting EV charging equipment development for fleet customers. Previous to working in EV charging, Bryce spent many years at Daimler Truck working on high voltage powertrain development, starting with hybrid systems designed in partnership with teams in Japan, Germany, and USA. After getting a taste of international working, he and his family took the leap to work in Germany for several years while he led the technical development of Daimler Truck’s first in-house designed and manufactured high voltage battery.

Featured Speaker: Carly Queen, AECOM		Featured Speaker: Carmen Guerrero Pérez, EPA
Carly Queen is a Sustainable Transportation Specialist and Civil Engineer with AECOM in Atlanta, where she focuses on planning and engineering activities to advance multimodal transportation infrastructure and safety across Georgia. She supports the Georgia Department of Transportation and other clients in analysis and design of safer, more efficient transportation systems, drawing upon her degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and City and Regional Planning from Georgia Institute of Technology. Carly builds on her past experience working in data analysis and as a sustainability advisor and community organizer by bringing a data-driven yet community-oriented approach to problem solving and urban redevelopment. She was formerly the Southeast Campus Field Coordinator for National Wildlife Federation's Campus Ecology Program and has served in a variety of nonprofit leadership roles, including on the Generation Green Young Professionals Board of the Georgia Conservancy and as President of the Board of Directors for Groundwork Atlanta. Ms. Queen has been recognized with several honors and awards for her volunteer service as well as academic and professional accomplishments over the last several years, including an Innovation in Safety Award from the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition and being listed in the Georgia Tech Alumni Association 40 Under 40.		Carmen Guerrero Pérez is the Director of the Caribbean Environmental Protection Division (CEPD) of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 2, covering Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands (USVI). Carmen currently leads EPA’s local team working on disaster recovery work in Puerto Rico and the USVI since the 2017 Hurricanes Irma and Maria and the 2020 earthquakes in southern Puerto Rico. This experience has provided her a practical perspective on the opportunities and challenges related to disaster recovery on island jurisdictions.

Featured Speaker: Carsen Mata, GM		Featured Speaker: Curtis Bennett, National Aquarium
Carsen Mata is the Senior Manager of Sustainability Communications at General Motors, leading dynamic communications strategies for GM’s Sustainability team and the company’s overall environmental efforts. Carsen previously worked at Consumer Reports (CR) as the Associate Director of Sustainability, Climate Change, and Clean Energy, where she built the non-profit’s strategic communications plans to amplify CR’s advocacy positions around federal and state clean car standards. Prior to her work at CR, Carsen served as the Senior Congressional Liaison for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 2 office in New York City for six years, managing communications between the region and 41 Congressional offices across New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Carsen earned her B.A. in International Studies and her master’s degree in Public Administration with a focus on environmental policy, from Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. Carsen is a former Division I athlete and played volleyball at North Carolina State University and Fairfield University.		Curtis Bennett has been with the National Aquarium since August 2014, and is their current Director of Equity and Community Engagement. He began his career in environmental education and community engagement in 2003 as a naturalist at the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission. He is a member of several diversity, equity, inclusion and justice-focused committees and workgroups, including a committee chair role for the Association of Zoo and Aquariums. He also serves on a few organizational boards of directors, including Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake, University of Maryland College Park’s Agriculture & Natural Resources Young Alumni Network Board, as well as the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education Advisory Council, and was recognized with their Robert Finton Outdoor Educator of the Year Award in 2018. He was recognized as a Young, Gifted & Green 40 Under 40 Awardee in 2021, and in 2022 as a top 50 influencer for zoos and aquariums internationally. He has a Bachelor of Science in environmental science and policy with a concentration in wildlife ecology and management from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Master of Science in wildlife conservation from the University of Delaware. In his free time he enjoys spending as much time outside as possible, cooking, gardening, reading, it’s all a big part of his self-care!

Featured Speaker: Dr. Garrett Boudinot, Vycarb Inc.		Featured Speaker: Janet Matta, Terra.do
Garrett Boudinot is founder and CEO of Vycarb, a carbon removal technology startup coupling climate change mitigation with ecosystem restoration. Boudinot received a PhD in organic geochemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder studying the impacts of climate change marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and has a BS in environmental geosciences and BA in religious studies from the College of Charleston focused on ecological impacts of, and sociopolitical adaptations to, climate change. After his PhD, he worked in conservation in Colorado, and on carbon dioxide removal in agriculture at Cornell University. Boudinot also serves on the NY State Climate Impacts Assessment and as a science advisor on the ClimateMusic Project.		Janet Matta has built 10 years of experience observing and solving the career problems that keep people stuck in work that's not a good fit. Her experience working with early career talent includes advising and supervising the work of students and graduates as a Career Advisor at the University of Washington in Seattle, as Career Development Manager at the University of Technology Sydney, as a Career Consultant for SoFi, Career Services Lead for Springboard, and Head of Careers at Terra.do. Janet works with people all around the world on all aspects of managing their careers, including “what do I want to be when I grow up”, remote work and digital nomad strategy, grad school choice, skill development, personal branding, promotion and leadership, and career management strategy for early and mid-career professionals. She is a knowledgeable consultant on the future of work, including workplace changes, remote working, the gig economy, startups, and trends in tech and education, and regularly consult with organizations on these topics. She specializes in unconventional career paths, and in people who want to make more of an impact in their work. She believes that the world needs you to be doing work that matters. Janet has been published in the media a few times, and you can read what it's like to work with her here. When she is not on wi-fi, you can find her in the mountains!

Featured Speaker: Justin Harris, Climate Equity Collaborative		Featured Speaker: Kimmy Gazenski, NWF
Justin J Harris is senior advisor to the National Wildlife Federation’s Climate Equity Collaborative, a public-private partnership centered on environmental justice, children’s health, climate education, and youth. Previously, he served as a senior program manager at EPA’s Office of International & Tribal Affairs for 11 years. At EPA, he established the agency’s second-largest international platform with direct oversight of programs addressing children’s health, climate change, marine litter, e-waste management, enforcement/governance, sustainable schools, and environmental education. Mr. Harris also established one of the agency’s earliest initiatives fusing equity, education, and international opportunities for young people from tribal communities and other underserved groups. Before entering the environmental space, Mr. Harris worked internationally in the Asia-Pacific in the education and human resources field. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and graduated with an M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Justin also completed his executive education at the Harvard Business Analytics Program in 2022.		Kimmy Gazenski is the Senior Manager for Data Strategy at National Wildlife Federation. This involves leading a wide range of data projects to help NWF met their revenue, activism, operations and conservation goals. Kimmy and Data Strategy team aim to drive the Federation’s data culture forward by enabling data-driven decisions. Kimmy’s specific expertise include data visualization, Tableau reporting, GIS analysis, SQL coding, and data storytelling. Kimmy has previously worked at other environmental non-profits like Wildlife Habitat Council and Defenders of Wildlife, and worked for USGS and University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. In all these past positions she worked on large data projects in SQL, R, and GIS to assist with various ecology models and wildlife population studies.Kimmy has a Master of Science in Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology from the University of Maryland where she worked on a GIS and R model to predict the best locations for habitat restoration. Kimmy is also an Environmental Leadership Program Senior Fellow.

Featured Speaker: Lisa Veliz Waweru, Deloitte		Featured Speaker: Mike Burns, Community & College Partnership Program
At Deloitte, Lisa Veliz Waweru assists corporate clients with a broad range of sustainability and ESG topics, including corporate sustainability and ESG strategy, decarbonization solutions, climate-related financial risk assessments, TCFD alignment and reporting, and stakeholder engagement. She has over a decade of experience in the sustainability sector. Her past experience includes teaching STEM and environmental science courses, leading corporate sustainability initiatives for a utility company, and engaging with financial services clients on the methodology and use cases for climate risk analytics products. Prior to joining Deloitte, Lisa was working with The Climate Service, a TCFD-aligned climate risk analytics tech startup, quantifying financial impacts of climate change on corporate operations and supply chains. Lisa holds a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley, a Master of Environmental Management and MBA from Yale. She holds a Certificate from the Global Association of Risk Professionals on Sustainability and Climate Risk. She also is the Co-Founder and former Steering Committee Chair of Women in Climate Tech.		Michael W. Burns earned a B.S. degree from the United States Naval Academy and spent eight years in the Navy, working with people from Japan, Thailand, Korea, New Zealand, the Philippines, the Vanuatu Islands, Mexico, and Guam overseeing engineering repairs and upgrades for his ship stationed in San Diego. After leaving the Navy, he worked as a Marine Chemist for the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard; Director of Public Works at Fort Dix, where he earned his master’s degree Systems Management; Deputy Director of Base Operations for the Army Reserve; Executive Director for Navy Region Southeast; and Chief of Engineering, New Construction, Environment and Repair for the Southeast Region of the National Park Service. While at the Park Service, Mr. Burns was detailed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 4, to create from scratch the College Underserved Community Partnership Program. He was subsequently hired by the EPA to run the program and engaged 70 colleges and universities to provide pro bono technical assistance to over 50 underserved communities in 20 states on various issues of community priority, providing forty-one million dollars’ worth of support at a cost of four point one million dollars. He is currently the Founder and Executive Director of the 501 c 3 nonprofit company Community and College Partners Program, which is engaged in over twenty projects from Alaska to the Bahamas, and works with 50 colleges and universities, as well as with two international schools: the American University of Central Asia, and the Bahamas Agricultural, Marine and Scientific Institute. Mr. Burns is partnering with the US Department of Interior; the American Geophysical Union’s Thriving Earth Exchange; Environmental Defense Fund; Engineers Without Borders; the Environmental Protection Network; and FEMA. He is also one of the founding members of the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) Consortium, which focuses on expanding emergency management certification to students at HBCUs. Mr. Burns received a national award for his work on developing collaborative partnerships. He is married to the former Vera Gordon and has one son and five wonderful grandchildren.

Featured Speaker: Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, Children’s Environmental Health Network		Featured Speaker: Rebecca Nasrey, GM
Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, MPH, serves as the Executive Director for the Children’s Environmental Health Network (CEHN), where her responsibilities include successfully organizing, leading, and managing policy, education/training, and science-related programs. For the past 21 years, she has served as a key spokesperson for children’s vulnerabilities and the need for their protection, conducting presentations and lectures across the country. She is a leader in the field of children’s environmental health, serving on the External Science Board for the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) NIH Research work. She is a Co-Leader the Health/Science initiative of the Cancer Free Economy Network and Co-Chair of the National Environmental Health Partnership Council. Ms. Witherspoon is also the Board Chair for the Pesticide Action Network of North America, Board Member for the Environmental Integrity Project, and serves on the Maryland Children’s Environmental Health Advisory Council. Ms. Witherspoon has held past appointments on the Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee for the Environmental Protection Agency, the NIH Council of Councils, the Science Advisory Board for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Board for the American Public Health Association. She is a past member of the National Association of Environmental Health Sciences Council and the Institute of Medicine’s Environmental Health Sciences Roundtable. Ms. Witherspoon has a variety of publications and has the distinct honor of having one of CEHN’s leadership awards, the Nsedu Obot Witherspoon (NOW) Youth Leadership Award, named in her honor. She is also the recent recipient of the William R. Reilly Award in Environmental Leadership from the Center for Environmental Policy at American University and the Snowy Egret Award from the Eastern Queens Alliance. Ms. Witherspoon has a B.S. in Biology Pre-Med from Siena College and a M.P.H. in Maternal and Child Health from The George Washington University, School of Public Health and Health Services. She is a proud mom to 4 children!		Rebecca Nasrey is an Industrial Electrician at General Motors. She is one of 3 women electricians in a facility of approximately 60 electrical tradespersons. She has been with GM for almost 26 years, of which she worked for two years in assembly production, and in Skilled Trades for the rest of her career. The industrial trades are a very tight-knit community where colleagues support and look out for each other and grow great friendships, many times considering each other a family of sorts Rebecca’s daily routine typically includes troubleshooting robot and automation faults, teaching robots to improve quality, and streamlining the amount of time it takes to build the best vehicles. She has have worked on 13,800-volt substations (the plug in your home is 120 Volts); she has built and installed power distribution panels, and she has worked in aerial lifts 60 feet in the air installing conduit and wires. There are many times she has done project planning and layout, and then fabricated and built the electrical project. As an electrician, safety is of the utmost importance, and they have specialized Personal Protective Equipment and sensitive testing equipment to make sure the equipment they’re repairing or testing has no current energy. Rebecca notes, “The benefits and top pay of Skilled Trades are excellent without the looming burden of student loans. Most locals offer apprenticeship programs and is your foot in the door to on-the-job learning from seasoned Journeypersons who teach you your trade and grow your skillsets. Of all the technology and automation changes, one thing that has not changed is my love and passion for my career!”

Featured Speaker: Risharda Harley, Accokeek Foundation		Featured Speaker: Sarah Tea, GM
Raised in the suburbs of Prince George’s County, Maryland, Risharda believes that your food should be your medicine, and your medicine should be your food, and that the health of a person is bound to the health of the land and waters of where they live. She graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a B.S. in Natural Resources Management and now works as the Stewardship Manager at the Accokeek Foundation in Piscataway Park where she enjoys helping others understand the natural world and their connection in it. When asked about her previous jobs, Risharda’s coworkers are always surprised at her non-linear career path and seemingly non-related skillset.		Sarah Tea is General Motor’s Senior Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Strategies Nature and Packaging Lead. Sarah focuses on identifying emerging ESG areas and develops sustainability programs and partnerships that advance GM’s sustainability priorities. Sarah started at General Motors in 2014 as an Environmental Engineering Intern at the CAMI Assembly plant. In 2016, she returned as a Global Supply Chain Group Leader supervising more than 20 team members before moving into an Environmental Leader role focused on waste compliance, wastewater processes, and air regulatory reporting. In addition to this role, she supported improvements and implementation of more than five new Wildlife Habitat programs, led a multi-departmental site packaging working group and contributed to the creation of a packaging guidance document used throughout the auto industry. Sarah’s earned her degree in Chemical Engineering with a focus in Biochemical and Environmental Engineering from Western University, a Master of Business Administration degree with Business Analytics concentration, and a Professional Engineer license. In her free time, she enjoys doing yoga, travelling, trying new food, reading and spending time with family and friends.

Featured Speaker: Sonal Jessel, WE ACT for Environmental Justice		Featured Speaker: Teresa Mourad, Ecological Society of America
Sonal Jessel (she/her) is the Director of Policy at WE ACT for Environmental Justice. She leads the New York policy team and is responsible for advancing the organization’s policy agenda at the local, state, and national levels, in addition to leading the Northern Manhattan Climate Action (NMCA) Plan. Sonal works with local, city, and state leaders to advance policy changes that improve environmental health and advances a just transition. She is appointed to the New York State Climate Justice Working Group. Prior to joining WE ACT, she conducted research in energy insecurity, housing, and public health at Columbia University. Sonal has an MPH in Population and Family Health with a concentration in Climate and Health from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, and a BA in Organismal Biology from Pitzer College, in California. Her interest is focused on the intersection of environmental and social justice, health, and policy.		Teresa Mourad, M.S. has been the Director of Education and Diversity Programs for the Ecological Society of America (ESA) since 2007 and has three decades of experience in program development and management. She has developed multiple partnerships to facilitate access and discovery of undergraduate education resources and career opportunities. Her work focuses on fostering participation, leadership and mentoring of diverse faculty and students.

Videos:

Week One:

Keynote by Dr. Kamal Kapadia

Panel: Climate Equity Collaborative

Panel: Sustainable Transportation Careers

Artist Spotlight: Irving Cano

Week Two:

Keynote by Asim Hussain

Filmmaker Spotlight: Alex Cullen

Panel: Careers in Climate and Information Technology

Panel: Habitat and Wildlife Careers

Sponsors:

A Special Thank You to Our EcoCareers Conference 2023 Sponsors:

Rubicon Technologies

Colgate University		College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University

Piedmont University		Rowan University

Salisbury University		Tulane University

University at Albany		University of Colorado Boulder

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign		University of the Incarnate Word