Electric Ladies Podcast

“We're in this moment right now where we have a very short window to drive the type of transformative change that's necessary to solve a climate crisis. And we believe at One Earth that philanthropy can play a really, really critical role in actually making this transformation possible….But less than 2% of all philanthropic capital goes to climate and environment issues, and just a fraction of that actually reaches efforts on the ground efforts” Justin Winters on Electric Ladies Podcast

We think it’s hot where we are, but emerging and rural areas have it much worse. One strategy to help them is now called “philanthro-activism.” What is it ? Enter One Earth, a new kind of philanthropic organization, run by women who believe that the people on the ground know best what will help their communities and save the planet.

Listen to Justin Winters, Executive Director and Cofounder of One Earth – and former head of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation – explain how they are pooling the resources of both some of the world's richest people and normal people like you and me to help the most diligent, creative people doing the real work every day to avert climate catastrophes in their areas in this fascinating conversation with Electric Ladies podcast host Joan Michelson.  

You’ll hear:

• What Philanthro-activism is and why they coined the term.
• How they developed this creative business model – and what Winter learned at DiCaprio’s Foundation.
• Stories of people on the ground who One Earth is supporting and why
• Which areas of the economy One Earth focuses on and why (such as food security)
• Plus, insightful career advice ….

“I would put purpose at the center, and service because we're in a moment where it really is being ambitious. Doesn't have to be tied to resources, right? Being ambitious can be about the type of change that you want to drive in the world..”

Justin Winters on Electric Ladies podcast

You’ll also want to listen to:

• Zainab Salbi, Cofounder of Daughters for Earth, one of the partners in One Earth – and Founder of Women to Women International and its former CEO
• Rosemary Atieno, Women Climate Centers International – on how they are helping women in rural Kenya grow their economies and address climate change at the same time.
• Natalie Jaresko, former finance minister of Ukraine – on the hidden power of ESG
• Kerry Bannigan, CEO of Fashion Impact Fund and Conscious Fashion Campaign – including reaching women in rural areas across the fashion industry supply chain

·       Sandrine Dixson, Co-president of the Club of Rome (global leaders) – on the need for a new economic model that puts people and planet ahead of profit.

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“For anything to happen on a grand scale, we need to have culture supported… Artists are good at planting these seeds, putting the stories out there and for anybody. The key is repetition. So, if you encounter a certain story, certain type of story in the music you listen to, in the articles that you read, in the billboard that you see or the murals that you see when you walk down the street at some point, it creates a frame that you can start to live in and the changes become something that is natural.” Chantal Bilodeai on Electric Ladies Podcast

How do we reach the “unconverted” – those who do not yet take the threat of climate change seriously? Maybe culture has some answers, because stories, music, art…culture…touches us in ways nothing else does. This is a critical and timely conversation many of us communications leaders had at the Sun Valley Forum recently too.

How do we leverage them to help us talk about the weather differently, as I wrote in Forbes recently? Listen to Sandra Bargman and Chantal Bilodeau, who created, produced and performed the “Earth Intention: A Climate Cabaret,” on Electric Ladies Podcast in this reply of this powerful and inspiring conversation with host Joan Michelson.  

You’ll hear:

• Why culture is vital to massive social, political and economic change.
• How music and the arts move people through “hope.”
• How to communicate climate messages in stories without being preachy or awkward
• About using the arts to reach people who may not naturally “get” the climate message, or who may be overwhelmed.
• Plus, insightful career advice ….

“It's never too late to pivot. I think people who are mid-career, women particularly, we always feel like, ‘oh, my time was then,’ (but) it is never too late to pivot…And the other thing that reflects my career is, don't feel as though you have to pick one lane. You can pick more than one lane and both of those lanes or more can be successful.”

Sandra Bargman on Electric Ladies podcast

Read my articles in Forbes about how we talk about the weather, and about developing a new narrative for the climate effort.

You’ll also want to listen to (some may have been recorded under our previous name, Green Connections Radio):

• Deborah Rutter, President, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts – on managing creative people.
• Ann Friedman, Creator and CEO, Planet Word Museum – on her new museum about the magic of language
• Tracy Edwards, Executive Producer of the documentary “Maiden” about her experience developing and Captaining the first all-female crew to run the Whitbread Round the World Yachting Race.
• Dayna Reggero, Executive Producer of The Climate Listening Project, short films about community climate activists around the U.S.
• Kerry Bannigan, CEO of Fashion Impact Fund and Conscious Fashion Campaign – including reaching women in rural areas across the fashion industry supply chain

·       Sandrine Dixson, Co-president of the Club of Rome (global leaders) – on the need for a new economic model that puts people and planet ahead of profit.

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“72% of CEOs say that innovation is one of their top three priorities. And close to 70% of them say they have a hard time driving innovation in their organization. I would posit, having been in there and been an intrapreneur myself, that the problem is they hire the wrong people. They hire for what I call mediocrity, they hire based on fit. And they hire based on past experience doing exactly what they want that person to do. And that's not where you get innovation. Innovation comes from connecting different dots and connecting dots differently.” Joan Michelson on Lesley Michaels show “Women We Should Know”

This week’s episode is a tribute to a brilliant woman who shined the spotlight on “Women We Should Know” with her podcast of that name, and by helping them publish important books. Lesley passed away unexpectedly recently, and we honor her life by airing her interview with our host, Joan Michelson on Lesley’s Show.

Lesley Michaels climbed the corporate ladder in the male-dominated oil and gas industry, and then channeled her frustration with how women didn’t help other women at the time, into a crusade to lift up other women. Last year, she published her own book, “On the Shoulders of Mighty Women: A Modern Feminist's Guide to an Equitable, Diverse World.”

Listen to Lesley interview Joan and you’ll hear Lesley’s magical gift for supporting women – and her own insights as well as Joan’s.

You’ll hear:

• Why and how to hire creative, innovative people.
• Why women are natural innovators
• Joan’s stories of driving innovation in Corporate America
• Lesley’s insightful questions
• Plus, insightful career advice, such as…

“You're going to change direction like four times in your career. Maybe eight, maybe 12… I've worked in different industries. So when you have a functional skill, you can be in different industries. And you will grow, you will evolve. You'll reach a point where it's like, okay, so been there, done that. I want to do something else now. That's okay. Be in tune with that and understand that. As one of my guests said on my show, don't just go for a dream that you've always had, because you might have outgrown that dream now. You might be ready for something bigger, better, different.” Joan on “Women We Should Know”

Read Joan’s Forbes articles here too.

You’ll also like (some may have been recorded under our previous name, Green Connections Radio):

• Joan on Juliet Clark’s podcast about the importance of writing a book proposal.  (scroll down on the page)
• Joan on Matt Schlegel’s show on Leadership, about the state of climate leadership
• Joan on EisnerAmper’s “Fast Forward” show about ESG and why it’s the 21^st century economy
• Sandrine Dixson-Decléve, Co-President of Club of Rome, on transitioning to a people-planet first economy.
• Jean Case, CEO, the Case Foundation and Chair, National Geographic Society, on ESG and impact investing.

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“What I'm hearing is, how do we go faster? How do we transform the key industries that are driving emissions now? And, that can be the solutions to our climate crisis, to our biodiversity crisis. They're really seeking what are the strategies, where should they be going strategically to shift capital, to shift their operations?...I'm seeing is a great eagerness to learn to act, uh, far ahead of the global targets by governments. So working with companies, working with, uh, local and regional and state governments, um, working with innovators to large corporates. Uh, what I'm hearing is how do we go faster and how do we do it in a way that is truly credible?”

Aimee Christensen on Electric Ladies Podcast

Climate change affects the entire economy – every sector – and therefore, any solution requires a multi-sector, multidimensional approach. But how do those work exactly in real life? What’s working?

Aimee Christensen, CEO of Christensen Global and Founder/CEO of the Sun Valley Forum, has been collaborating with top leaders across sectors in this work every day for 30 years, making the hard choices, running the numbers, identifying financial products and metrics.

Listen to Aimee on Electric Ladies Podcast help us make sense of these strategies in this enlightening interview with host Joan Michelson. 

You’ll hear:

• How to build successful public-private partnerships.
• How to align financial assets with growing a climate positive economy.
• What impact new federal funding, ESG reporting and climate disclosure rules will have.
• What corporates are doing to transition to net zero operations and why.
• Plus, insightful career advice, such as…

“Something that I've tried to do in my career that's been important has been to trust my gut and to be a truth teller….People are looking for community, so even if you think you might be the only one who's raising this issue,…you will find your people. And if you don't speak your truth, if you don't ask the hard question, you won't find the people who are looking to align with that aggressive leadership and trust your gut on that. So trust your gut, whether it's about a new job, about a direction we need to be going in, even if it feels a little bit lonely, because… You'll be proven. People will find you and want to collaborate with you.” Aimee Christensen on Electric Ladies Podcast

Read Joan’s Forbes articles here too.

You’ll also like (some may have been recorded under our previous name, Green Connections Radio):

• Kristina Wyatt, Chief Sustainability Officer & Deputy General Counsel, Persefoni and former leader of the SEC task force developing the Climate Risk Disclosure rules.
• Sandrine Dixson-Decléve, Co-President of Club of Rome, on transitioning to a people-planet first economy.
• Kathy Baughman-McLeod, SVP and Executive Director, Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center, on scaling resilience across the globe and across populations.
• Melissa Lott, Ph.D., Director of Research, Global Energy Policy, Columbia University, on how exactly to get to carbon zero
• Jean Case, CEO, the Case Foundation and Chair, National Geographic Society, on ESG and impact investing.

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“We are a resource hub in that we engage with individuals, organizations, and communities who are on the front lines of climate injustice and ensure that they have, they know what informational, technical, financial, strategic resources are out there to strengthen their work…So that's everything from developing research reports to help folks to have the data that they need to make the case…We are helping communities who might be on the front lines of sea-level rise and they know that the waters are rising around them, but they might not know what systems they need to engage with in order to have the infrastructure that they need to, literally weather the storm.” Jacqui Patterson on Electric Ladies Podcast

The communities that Jacqui Patterson and her organization and partners are helping are those that have been left out of the conversations about community resilience, because they are still in primitive condition, including lacking running water – in the United States. That's why Jacqui was awarded the 2023 Women and the Green Economy Award by Earth Day Network at the Climate Leadership Gala.

Enter Jacqui Paterson, Founder/CEO of The Chisholm Legacy Project. Listen to her explain how they find these people, how they identify and serve their needs on Electric Ladies Podcast in this inspiring interview with host Joan Michelson. 

You’ll hear:

• How Jacqui and her team find these people who are so off the grid that they are nearly invisible.
• How she identifies their needs and serves them, respecting their values and pace.
• Why climate risks make this work especially urgent.
• How you can help
• Plus, insightful career advice, such as…

“First off, reject the myth of scarcity, and embrace the reality of abundance. Bob Marley says, emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds. And recognizing that really there's so much that we can do with that ounce of creativity, boldness, and just vision. The possibilities are endless …Instead of kind of just looking for what's already there…if you were to design your own job, what would it be? If you were to design your own business, what would it be?...Think about that purpose that's going to make them get up in the morning and say, I get to do this today. Because if you have that passion that's going to drive your success.”

Jacqui Patterson on Electric Ladies Podcast

Read Joan’s Forbes articles here too.

You’ll also like (some may have been recorded under our previous name, Green Connections Radio):

• Sarah Cumbers, Ph.D., Lloyd’s Register Foundation, about their massive global risk study, including communities at risk from climate change
• Rose-May Lucotte, COO/Cofounder, ChangeNow, bringing communities together to share solutions to climate change (I spoke at their big Summit in Paris, France)
• Katharine Burgess, Director of Urban Resilience at the Urban Land Institute, on helping communities become more resilient to climate change
• Keefe Harrison, CEO of The Recycling Partnership, helping local communities recycle better and more.
• Beth Gibbons, Institute for Sustainable Communities
• Heidi Binko, CEO/Founder, Just Transition Fund, helping coal communities transition to clean energy jobs.
• Michele Wucker, author of “You Are What You Risk: The New Art & Science to Navigating an Uncertain World.”

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Investing In Companies For Social Impact - Meredith Shields, Citi Impact Fund

“We have an allocated pool of capital that we are investing in early stage startups that are solving some of the world's most critical challenges. And…we care just as much about the financial success of the company as we do the impact that that company is going to make on the world. When I say impact… we think about that in two parts. One, who is running this company? Can we deploy more capital into diverse founders, meaning women, people of color, who have traditionally not received the investment capital that's warranted? And the other impact lens that we take is what we would define as ‘thematic impact,’ which means, what social problems are we solving?...And again, we care about that just as much, if not more than the financial return.” Meredith Shields on Electric Ladies Podcast

To solve the climate and equity crises, we need funders who are willing to back innovative – aka risky – ventures by people who come from different backgrounds with different perspectives. Some big companies are stepping up with venture funds and the like.

One of them is Citi Impact Fund, which provides capital for early stage companies by a range of traditionally underserved founders whose companies are seeking to make a positive social impact. Listen to the head of that Fund, Meredith Shields, explain how they work and what they invest in – and much more – on Electric Ladies Podcast in this value-packed interview with host Joan Michelson. 

You’ll hear:

• How Citi Impact Fund defines “impact” – and how it fits in their focus.
• Tips for what to look for in investors for your entity – and why
• What impact she thinks the SEC’s new climate risk disclosure rules mean.
• What makes up the best board of directors to maximize today’s marketplace.
• Plus, insightful career advice, such as…

“My advice is to get really clear about what you're good at and what your functional skillset is, and what your managerial and or leadership skillset is. And then if you want to make a difference, think about where that's needed….As the world has changed and as this notion of impact has changed, there've become more opportunities to use my skillset in different ways, like many different ways that didn't exist previously. But I think you have to be open to that as a concept. And so just again, getting really clear on what are you good at and is that portable? And many, many things are in lots of different arenas.”

Meredith Shields on Electric Ladies Podcast

Read Joan’s Forbes articles here too.

You’ll also like (some may have been recorded under our previous name, Green Connections Radio):

• Jean Case, CEO of the Case Foundation, Chair of the National Geographic Society board, on ESG and Impact investing
• Kristina Wyatt, Chief Sustainability Officer & Deputy General Counsel, Persefoni and former leader of the SEC task force developing the Climate Risk Disclosure rules.
• Helle Bank Jorgenson, CEO of Competent Boards, on ESG and boards of directors.
• Shelly Porges, Managing Partner & Cofounder, Beyond the Billion, driving investments in women-founded companies.
• Julie Gorte, SVP, Sustainable Investing, IMPAX Asset Management on the SEC’s proposed climate rules
• Michele Wucker, author of “You Are What You Risk: The New Art & Science to Navigating an Uncertain World.”

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“People who have been to space really do speak about it with great reverence. And it is for that reason that we want to take people to space in our car. Neutral zero emission spaceship, spaceship vacuum, which as you saw is not a rocket. Enormous balloons. It's a very gentle flight. We want to take leaders to space. We want to take artists to space. We want to have teachers go to space.”

Jane Poynter at Earth Day Network’s Climate Leadership Gala

With all the news coverage of NASA and private companies going to space, including with civilians, it’s important to remember the carbon footprint of those journeys. Imagine how much energy those trips use. And, though they are also doing climate research up there, the capsules and rockets are not generally carbon neutral. Can they be?

Jane Poynter says they can be carbon neutral and is putting her money and reputation on the line to prove it. The veteran space executive and Biosphere 2 leader now founded Space Perspectives, with the blessing of Carl Sagan’s widow too, to take civilians into space in a carbon neutral way. Listen to Jane Poynter explain how in this extraordinary conversation with Electric Ladies host Joan Michelson conducted at the Earth Day Network Climate Leadership Gala (so there will be a lot of background sound). 

You’ll hear:

• How Space Perspective is making space travel carbon neutral (from fuel to materials).
• Who is paying for it (and what it will cost you to take ride with them)
• The general carbon footprint of today’s space shuttles and private companies’ space travel.
• How her experience in Biosphere 2 led to Space Perspectives.
• Plus, insightful career advice, such as…

“There are so many ways to make a difference, right?... I think at the end of the day, you have to be true to yourself and what is it that fires you up. And, and what is it that that does light that fire within you that you have to pursue, that you're driven to pursue, and then go pursue it. And, you know, sometimes it takes going in at a level that maybe you don't feel is your level. Maybe it's beneath you, but if you are trying to move into a slightly adjacent career, you have to do that. Cuz you have to work your way up sometimes. And it's also the best way to learn.” Jane Poynter on Electric Ladies Podcast

Read Joan’s Forbes articles here too.

You'll also like:

·       Kristen Siemen, Chief Sustainability Officer of General Motors

·       Suzy Deering, Chief Marketing Officer of Ford – on bringing change to a legacy industry as an outsider.

·       Neha Palmer, Founder/CEO of TeraWatt Infrastructure on charging for EV trucks

·       Jackie Birdsall, Toyota, Senior Engineer, Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

• Jennifer Gerbi, Ph.D., Deputy Director and Acting Director, ARPA-E, the innovation arm of the Department of Energy

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“At ON Power, we operate three power plants… and combined we produce just under 20% of the energy produced in Iceland…. We are removing carbon from our operations. So… there are low emissions associated with the production ther, from our operations. There's around seven grams of CO2 per produced kilowatt hour, compared to 800, if you produce the electricity using coal.”…Plus, we have been operating a carbon removal station, since then, mineralizing and removing from the atmosphere just over 10,000 tons (of emissions) a year.”

 Begga Olafsdottir on Electric Ladies Podcast

To expand on a CBS News’ “60 Minutes” segment this past weekend on how Iceland is capturing CO2 and storing it underground, here is a replay of an in-depth interview I did in Iceland last year about this issue, and how this small Arctic country became an 85% renewable energy economy.

Listen to this fascinating interview, live in Reykjavik, Iceland, with  Berglind “Begga” Olafdottir, CEO of ON Power , with Electric Ladies Podcast host Joan Michelson. ON Power operates the largest geothermal plant in the country, which produces 20% of the total energy Iceland produces. It’s also partnering with its sister company Carbfix to remove CO2 from the air.

You'll hear:

• How ON Power captures the CO2 it emits and mineralizes it.
• How ON Power is partnering with its sister company Carbfix and with Climeworks to bring ground-breaking technology to market that captures CO2 from the air. not just their own emissions.
• About their business parks that only take tenants that can share products and byproducts of other tenants, creating a circular economy in each park.
• How geothermal energy works in Iceland.
• Plus, great career advice....such as:

“Women, we have a tendency of underestimating ourselves in general, and I think my advice would be that, if you’re mid- career and you want to take a step up in the corporate ladder…I think it's important for women not to discount their experience and the knowledge. Try to be a bit bold. If you're applying for something that is advertised, don't not submit the application because you don't check all the boxes, because people are also hired on potential….and you might be the right person.” Berglind “Begga” Olafsdottir on Electric Ladies Podcast

You'll also like:

• Halla Hrund Logadottir, Director-General, Iceland’s National Energy Authority, on how the country has become 85% renewable energy.
• Birta Kristin Helgadottir, Director of Green By Iceland, on their unique business parks that are each circular economies.
• Sarah Golden, VP of Energy at Greenbiz, on how geothermal energy works (Sarah traveled to Iceland with Joan in 2022)
• Kathryn Pavlovsky, Deloitte Energy, Resources & Industrials, on the energy transformation and ESG
• Jennifer Gerbi, Ph.D., Deputy Director and Acting Director, ARPA-E, the innovation arm of the Department of Energy

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“The impact investing we focused on, and tried to bring tools and resources together for, really represents areas of investing where you're looking for both a financial return and a social return through the investments that you make. So, it's really that simple. It's asking the question of, ‘is there some kind of social return that's exceptional or different in this investment versus the normal investments I would make?’…I like to remind everyone that every investment has impact. The question is what impact does it have?”

Jean Case on Electric Ladies Podcast

Impact and ESG (environment, social, governance) investing are often confused, and yet today, especially as the Securities and Exchange Commission finalizes its climate risk disclosure rules, the investment community is paying a lot more attention to the impact of investment decisions on the environment and all stakeholders.

One of the people who has been at the forefront of using investment funding to make a positive impact is Jean Case, CEO of the Case Foundation, chair of the National Geographic Society board, author of the best-selling book, “Be Fearless,” and former SVP of AOL. Listen to Jean Case on Electric Ladies Podcast help us make sense of these strategies in this engaging interview with host Joan Michelson. 

You’ll hear:

• How she and the Case Foundation see the differences in impact investing vs. ESG investing.
• How ESG investing is really about minimizing risk as well as maximizing return, and why climate risk is financial.
• What impact she thinks the SEC’s new climate risk disclosure rules will have.
• What the boards of directors of the future will do and how they will need to adapt structurally to a changing economy and marketplace
• Plus, insightful career advice, such as…

“Ladies, you need to own it….And by owning it, I mean, bring confidence that you've got what it takes. Own things that will make you a more profitable, build wealth for yourself, own that.…it's hard for a lot of us to do the things that we think we naturally can't be good at….(but) You can be trained, you can learn into almost anything. I see so many really capable, smart, awesome women and they just really need to own that.”

Jean Case on Electric Ladies Podcast

Read Joan’s Forbes articles here too.

You’ll also like (some may have been recorded under our previous name, Green Connections Radio):

• Kristina Wyatt, Chief Sustainability Officer & Deputy General Counsel, Persefoni and former leader of the SEC task force developing the Climate Risk Disclosure rules.
• Julie Gorte, SVP, Sustainable Investing, IMPAX Asset Management on the SEC’s proposed climate rules
• Helle Bank Jorgenson, CEO of Competent Boards, on ESG and boards of directors.
• Natalie Jaresko, former Finance Minister of Ukraine, on the hidden power of ESG
• Michele Wucker, author of “You Are What You Risk: The New Art & Science to Navigating an Uncertain World.”

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“The goal is net zero, which is a balance between the emissions we put into the air and the emissions we take out….We have solutions and…it’s not that the technologies don't work, it's not that we don't know how to use them. It's because  we haven't made the choice to actually use them at the size and scale that we need to, as quickly as we want to, to avoid all these really terrible, terrible impacts of a changing climate.”

Melissa Lott on Electric Ladies Podcast

An extraordinary new Nova documentary on PBS hosted by veteran science journalist Miles O’Brien gives a deep dive into what “carbon zero” actually means – in plain English for us non-scientists – and how we can get there in time to save the planet and our lifestyle. How?

Listen to Melissa Lott, Director of Research at the Center for Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, and the lead scientists in the documentary, explain it in ways we can all understand in this fascinating discussion with Electric Ladies host Joan Michelson. 

You’ll hear about:

• What carbon zero really is – and how to get there
• The impact of the new trifecta of federal legislation – the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment Act and the CHIPS and Science Act.
• Where we get our electricity from today and what has to change to eliminate emissions
• The impact on each industry – in ways that may surprise you
• Plus, insightful career advice, such as…

“Create your path because it probably hasn't been created before. And follow your passions and the things you want to contribute to…At the end of the day….it's about understanding where you want to have impact and then creating the path forward….When I started in this work, the thing I do now did not exist. It didn't, now it does. And I'm so glad that I positioned myself to be able to do the work that I do today because it speaks to me on many, many levels and it brings together different pieces of me, and it's a way that I can contribute. So,….It's about how are you going to create and be that change you want to see?”

Melissa Lott on Electric Ladies Podcast

Read Joan’s Forbes articles here too.

You'll also like:

• Halla Hrund Logadottir, Director-General, Iceland’s National Energy Authority, on how the country has become 85% renewable energy.
• Sandrine Dixson-Decléve, Co-president of the Club of Rome (global leaders), on how to pivot the global economy to net zero
• Janet Gail Besser, of Smart Power Alliance, on their 5-point plan to get the U.S. energy system to net zero.
• Michele Wucker, thought leaders and author of “You Are What You Risk: The New Art & Science to Navigating an Uncertain World.”
• Jennifer Gerbi, Ph.D., Deputy Director and Acting Director, ARPA-E, the innovation arm of the Department of Energy

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Electric Ladies Podcast listeners requested that we air a collection of career advice from our various guests, and we heard you. Here’s our second collage of advice from five amazing women from different fields.  

The last question in each of our Electric Ladies Podcast episodes is asking for career advice, especially for midcareer women who want to make a difference.  Listeners reached out to us and asked us to publish an episode now and then that is only that advice, so we are doing just that.

This week, you’ll hear career advice from:

·       Erika Wollam-Nichols, President of famous music venue, The Bluebird Café in Nashville, TN

·       Genevieve Cullen, President of the Electric Drive Transportation Association

·       Trisa Thompson, former Chief Sustainability Officer of Dell Technologies

·       Kristen Siemen, Chief Sustainability Officer of General Motors

·       Karen Alonardo, former VP of ESG at Navex software (founder of ESG software company acquired by Navex)

Here’s a hint:

“I do think what's really valuable is to own your expertise. Know what you're good at and absolutely highlight it, monetize it, but don't be afraid to keep adding to it. Don't get stuck in a silo.…Just like, oh, this is where the industry is going and I should get smart about this. So, you have to always keep learning, adding to your skill set, particularly as it like reinforces the thing that you love.”

Genevieve Cullen on Electric Ladies podcast

 Read Joan’s Forbes articles here.

You’ll also want to listen to (some of these are under the name Green Connections Radio):

·       Erica Wollam-Nichols

·       Genevieve Cullen

·       Trisa Thompson

·       Kristen Siemen

·       Karen Alonardo

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“We want data is going to drive impact….It's not as simple as saying that men or women are more worried (about climate change). We need to look at those granular differences at the country level. And, particularly actually when it comes to climate change, it's country income that has an impact. So, women tend to be more worried about it than men in high income countries.”

Sarah Cumbers on Electric Ladies Podcast

Do you feel at risk from climate change? In a massive, global ground-breaking new study, Lloyd’s Register Foundation and Gallup found that men and women differ on their perceptions of risk across a range of issues.

Listen to Dr. Sarah Cumbers of Lloyd’s Register Foundation who led the research explain their findings and what we can all learn from it in this enlightening discussion with Electric Ladies host Joan Michelson. 

You’ll hear:

• How they reached 120,000 people across the globe in 121 countries – and how they conducted the survey.
• How they and their interviewees defined and perceived “risk.”
• How they created a Resilience Index for individuals, communities and countries.
• How and why men and women perceive the risks from climate change differently in different countries – and which factors matter.
• Plus, insightful career advice, such as…

“My advice would be to really think about what you bring to your career that's unique to you. I spent a lot of my career working for the public sector in the UK thinking about the use of evidence in healthcare. And I didn't for a moment think about, until the job at Lloyd’s Register Foundation came up, about the fact that actually that was transferrable to a different field….So it's about thinking outside of the box, and thinking about how you could apply what you do, what you know, your network, in a different field. and just broadening your horizons.” Sarah Cumbers on Electric Ladies Podcast

Read Joan’s Forbes articles here too.

You’ll also like (some may have been recorded under our previous name, Green Connections Radio):

• Jessica Filante Farrington, AT&T Global Sustainability, on their new climate risk portal, created in collaborating with the Argonne National Laboratory and FEMA
• Michele Wucker, author of “You Are What You Risk: The New Art & Science to Navigating an Uncertain World.”
• Gwenaelle Avice-Huet, Schneider Electric Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer, on infrastructure to mitigate climate change
• Melissa Modica, Waste Harmonics, on how to manage waste to reduce climate change

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Geothermal Energy 101 – Sarah Golden, Greenbiz VP of Energy

“Geothermal very broadly put, is just the collection of energy from the heat that comes from the earth's core. And so it's, it's tapped into by just going to underground reservoirs and capturing some of that heat. There's a couple of broad categories I'd like to split geothermal into from the outset, and that's geothermal for electricity generation versus geothermal for direct heat applications. And so primarily with geothermal and electricity generation, it is done through drilling into the earth's crust and tapping into either dry steam… or flash steam…and using that to turn a turbine to generate electricity. The other form in direct applications is usually just tapping into the ground to do some sort of heat pump where it's primarily used for heating buildings or heating water.” Sarah Golden on Electric Ladies Podcast

The new trifecta of federal legislation – the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment Act and the CHIPS and Science Act – include a range of funding for alternative energy sources, one of which is geothermal. But most people don’t know what geothermal is, so today we’ll find out.

Listen to Sarah Golden, VP of Energy at Greenbiz – who traveled with Joan to Iceland last year in part to explore their geothermal energy – in this fascinating discussion with Electric Ladies host Joan Michelson. 

You’ll hear about:

• How geothermal works.
• How geothermal energy gets to the grid to provide electricity.
• How Iceland became a country run on 85% renewable energy, in part by using geothermal energy.
• How the by-products from geothermal energy companies in Iceland are being used by other companies in a truly circular economy.
• Plus, insightful career advice, such as…

“What's top of mind for me right now is, around recognizing the finite nature of what you are able to do and the way the sort of obsession that our jobs have and the way our economy is set up for productivity and churning things out…….So what I'm working on right now, and I would encourage other people to do, is to respect our finite nature, not buy into the never ending cycle of hustle culture and be thoughtful about where you really want to spend your time and design your work and personal life to make space for that without trying to please everyone else.” Sarah Golden on Electric Ladies Podcast

Read Joan’s Forbes articles here too.

You'll also like:

• “Begga” Olafsdottir, CEO of ONPower, geothermal plant & second largest energy company in Iceland, which captures CO2 also.
  
• Halla Hrund Logadottir, Director-General, Iceland’s National Energy Authority, on how the country has become 85% renewable energy.
• Birta Kristin Helgadottir, Director of Green By Iceland, on their unique business parks that are each circular economies.
• Michele Wucker, thought leaders and author of “You Are What You Risk: The New Art & Science to Navigating an Uncertain World.”
• Kathryn Pavlovsky, Deloitte Energy, Resources & Industrials, on the energy transformation and ESG
• Jennifer Gerbi, Ph.D., Deputy Director and Acting Director, ARPA-E, the innovation arm of the Department of Energy

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“Now we are leading a new revolution, which is a environmental and ecology and social revolution…. We launched ChangeNow in 2017 as a social enterprise to accelerate the environmental and social transition…. and the ChangeNow Summit has become in a few years, the world's largest event for the planet. We gather 1000 solutions from all over the world. We gather over 30,000 people in Paris, all committed to make change happen and to accelerate change…. Entrepreneurs, but also, investors, corporates, media talents, so that altogether we can connect and accelerate change.”

Rose-May Lucotte on Electric Ladies Podcast

As Women’s History Month comes to a close, we are taking one more week to celebrate unknown women doing extraordinary work for the planet and people. ChangeNow, a relatively young company connecting changemakers working for positive environmental and social change, just awarded their Women in Sustainability Awards.

Listen to Rose May Lucotte, Cofounder and Chief Operations Officer of ChangeNow, from Paris, France on their huge annual event and the 25 amazing women they honored in this fascinating discussion with Electric Ladies host Joan Michelson. 

You’ll hear about:

• How ChangeNow grew to over 30,000 attendees at their annual Summit in only a few short years, including accounting for when events were shuttered due to covid.
• How they chose the 25 Women in Sustainability to honor this year
• Stories of a few of the remarkable women they honored
• What surprised her most about the women.
• Plus, insightful career advice, such as…

“I will say an advice I was given at the very beginning of my entrepreneurial journey, which is, never under underestimate a meeting. When I mean you’re in your professional life and also personal life, there are some meetings that seem to be very relevant. You have a lot of expectations. And, you have meetings that are random or you don't really know why you've been connected to this person. You have time to go to this meeting, and actually those meetings sometimes are the most powerful ones. So many times I experienced that. So really, never under underestimated meeting.”

Rose-May Lucotte on Electric Ladies Podcast

Read Joan’s Forbes article on the women ChangeNow honored here and other related articles here too.

You’ll also like (some may have been recorded under our previous name, Green Connections Radio):

• Collage of Career Advice From 5 Women – by Listener Demand!
• Jessica Filante Farrington, VP of Global Sustainability at AT&T on their new long-term climate impact-predicting portal.
• Gwenaelle Avice-Huet, Schneider Electric Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer, on infrastructure to mitigate climate change
• Julie White, Deputy Secretary for Multimodal Transportation in North Carolina, on how transportation improves and integrates with communities.
• Melissa Modica, Waste Harmonics, on how to manage waste to reduce climate change
• Michele Wucker, author of “You Are What You Risk: The New Art & Science to Navigating an Uncertain World.”

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“We have now forward looking data, data that allows us to look 30 years into the future and understand how and where we're vulnerable. The different hazards, by the way that we have, are flood, wind, drought, and wildfire. And what we're doing with that is, we're integrating it into the network design and planning processes, as well as the vulnerability modeling for assets that are in the ground today.”

Jessica Filante Farrington on Electric Ladies Podcast

We all experience how we lose power to our homes, businesses, cell phones, etc. in the devastating destruction caused by extreme storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires and more, including due to the rising impact of climate change. I’ve always wondered what it would take to shore up that infrastructure that undergirds our everyday lives.  Well now a partnership between AT&T, Argonne National Labs and FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency are figuring out how to better mitigate it – and its free for all of us.

Listen to Jessica Filante Farrington, AT&T, Director of Global Sustainability describe the partnership and its new portal, and what it could do for us in this enlightening discussion with Electric Ladies host Joan Michelson. 

You’ll hear about:

• How the new ClimRR portal will help cities, companies, real estate developers, and really anyone predict the climate impact in their area for 30 years into the future and increase their resilience.
• How AT&T will use the portal to shore up its own network so its customers have more consistent cell phone service especially in weather crises.
• How the new Infrastructure Investment Act funding will make a difference.
• Plus, insightful career advice, such as…

“Don’t be hesitant to jump into the sustainability space because you don't feel you have the technical chops yet. That doesn't mean you don't have to get them, but like don't let it discourage you at the onset. And it can be an advantage because you're often communicating with people who are not climate savvy. And I guess the other piece in terms of how much risk to bring into your life,…During Covid, a lot of us parents became sort of the chief resilience officers of our own household. So, how do we manage all the risk and how do we adapt?... I just feel so passionate about inviting more women and having more women to work with in this space.”

Jessica Filante Farrington on Electric Ladies Podcast

Read Joan’s Forbes article on this new portal here and others related here too.

You’ll also like (some may have been recorded under our previous name, Green Connections Radio):

• Gwenaelle Avice-Huet, Schneider Electric Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer, on infrastructure to mitigate climate change
• Anne Kelly, Ceres, on the business community’s take on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
• Julie White, Deputy Secretary for Multimodal Transportation in North Carolina, on how transportation improves and integrates with communities.
• Melissa Modica, Waste Harmonics, on how to manage waste to reduce climate change
• Michele Wucker, author of “You Are What You Risk: The New Art & Science to Navigating an Uncertain World.”

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Electric Ladies Podcast listeners requested that we air a collection of career advice from our various guests and here it is!  In fact, we're making it a new continuing part of our series.

The last question in each of our Electric Ladies Podcast episodes is asking for career advice, especially for midcareer women who want to make a difference.  Listeners reached out to us and asked us to publish an episode now and then that is only that advice, so that's what we're doing.

Starting today, we will now air a collage of career advice from about five (5) of our guests once a month.

This week, you’ll hear career advice from:

·       Natalie Jaresko, former finance minister of Ukraine

·       Kerry Bannigan, Founder of the Fashion Impact Fund and head of the Conscious Fashion Campaign

·       Lisa Brown, Ph.D., Region Marketing Manager, SouthEast, Volkswagen of America

·       Julie Lenzer, Chief Innovation Officer, in this episode from the University of Maryland

·       Kristina Wyatt, Deputy General Counsel and in this episode, SVP of Global Regulatory Climate Disclosure (now Chief Sustainability Officer) at Persefoni

For example, this from Kristina Wyatt:

“What's happening now is that as this focus on climate….on diversity equity, and inclusion, all of these things are making their way up to the board. They're making their way to the C-suite, they're becoming central investor issues. They're financial issues…. What we need to have is these women who are sitting over in the CSOs office to make sure that they've got the chops on the financial piece, right? So, if you need to take courses, learn about how to read financial statements, get very familiar with your company’s financials, understand balance sheets, understand income statements, understand cash flow statements and how they work so that you can really speak the financial talk and understand how your sustainability issues integrate with your financial issues.” Kristina Wyatt on Electric Ladies podcast

 Read Joan’s Forbes articles here.

You’ll also want to listen to (some of these are under the name Green Connections Radio):

·       Joan Michelson on Eisner Amper’s “Fast Forward” podcast about “Why ESG Matters.

·       Bridget Hughes, Donnelly Financial Solutions, on ESG software and what to look for.

·       Natalie Jaresko, former Finance Minister of Ukraine, on the hidden power of ESG

·       Michele Wucker, thought leaders and author of “You Are What You Risk: The New Art & Science to Navigating an Uncertain World.”

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“If we want to accelerate all the efforts in order to decarbonize and to fight against climate change, we have to go three times faster, three times stronger. We have all the technologies, but how to speed it up, how to make sure that it's deployed even faster,” Gwenaelle Avice Huet on Electric Ladies Podcast

There’s a quiet transformation happening in our communities that will literally save lives, and it’s led by women who don’t make the headlines. It’s the infrastructure that undergirds our everyday lives.  These are the systems that we only notice when they break down, or we have service delays or other problems, including when extreme weather takes them out.

Listen to Gwenaelle Avice Huet, Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer of Schneider Electric discuss what our infrastructure needs to be more resilient and what’s being done to do so in this enlightening discussion with Electric Ladies host Joan Michelson. 

You’ll hear about:

• How to increase the resilience of our current infrastructure.
• How the new Infrastructure Investment Act funding will make a difference.
• How her experience in France and in various aspects of the energy and sustainability sector, gives her a unique perspective.
  
• Plus, insightful career advice, such as…

“I would say first sometimes we are, as a woman, we are, I would say forbidding ourselves some evolutions because we think it's either inappropriate or because we want to have the right balance between private life and professional life. And we fear that an evolution could jeopardize this balance. I would say that you have to think internally how to make it happen and never give up on what you feel inside.” Gwenaelle Avice Huet on Electric Ladies Podcast

Read Joan’s related Forbes articles here too.

You’ll also like (some may have been recorded under our previous name, Green Connections Radio):

• Anne Kelly, Ceres, on the business community’s take on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
• Julie White, Deputy Secretary for Multimodal Transportation in North Carolina, on how transportation improves and integrates with communities.
• Melissa Modica, Waste Harmonics, on how to manage waste to reduce climate change
• Michele Wucker, author of “You Are What You Risk: The New Art & Science to Navigating an Uncertain World.”

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Thanks for subscribing on Apple Podcasts or iHeartRadio and leaving us a review!

“It has to be cross-functional…It's really leaders in the product group, in global operations, in services and other groups that are coming together as a governance body and saying, ‘What do we need to do holistically and cross-functionally? And what are all of the different parts that add up to a new potential outlook or approach?’ And, ‘How do we go about this as a collective?’ So it is a different way of thinking entirely as you wrestle with these innovation implications.”

Page Motes on Electric Ladies Podcast

Dell Technologies has been a leader in how to integrate sustainable business practices for over 20 years, and now they developed a concept for an eco-conscious computer. 

Listen to Page Motes, head of Sustainability at Dell Technologies, in this fascinating interview on Electric Ladies Podcast with host Joan Michelson tell us about that new computer and how they transitioned their operations to use less energy and water and generate less waste.

You’ll hear:

• How Dell is manufacturing computers using less energy and water, and generating less waste.
• What they are hearing from their customers about the need to be eco-conscious, as well as from their suppliers and employees.
• How they are designing this new eco-conscious computer, including using sustainable raw materials and accessing the all-important minerals from non-conflict sources.
• The impact of the climate change provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS and Science Act on manufacturers.
• Plus, insightful career advice.

And much more!

“You need to open your aperture a little bit more in the opportunities.…(Most people) just don't realize all the different places in a company, especially today where social impact, ESG, and real purpose-driven work happens. They assume it only falls in human resources, diversity and inclusion, corporate social responsibility. They don't realize that it happens in a broader group of places. And so, the first thing that I really do is…really map out all the places in that company where that kind of work can happen. and I think what they find quickly is their avenues for growth explode.”

Page Motes on Electric Ladies podcast

Read Joan’s related Forbes articles here.

You’ll also want to listen to (some of these are under the name Green Connections Radio):

·       Trisa Thompson, former Chief Sustainability Officer, Dell Technologies – on how she would do it today, and what boards are doing to accelerate sustainable manufacturing.

·       Kristen Siemen, Chief Sustainability Officer, General Motors – on how they are pivoting to be more sustainable.

·       Bridget Hughes, Donnelly Financial Solutions, on ESG software and what to look for.

·       Kristina Wyatt, Former head of the SEC Climate Risk Disclosure Rules Task force, now at Persefoni

·       Suzanne DiBianca, SVP, Corporate Relations, Salesforce on ESG tracking software

·       Michele Wucker, thought leaders and author of “You Are What You Risk: The New Art & Science to Navigating an Uncertain World.”

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“On the supply side, we work with project developers who are standing up projects all around the world. Um, anything ranging from nature-based solutions to some of the more, uh, sort of frontier engineered technologies that you might have heard of, like direct air capture…and list their inventory on our platform to sell the carbon credits that they're generating through those projects. And then on the demand side, we work with corporations to enable the purchase of vetted carbon credits via our platform.” Lucy Hargreaves on Electric Ladies Podcast

Managing carbon in the air is job one to keep the planet from heating over 1.5 degrees. There are many ways to do that, and the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report and many others, found that to do so, we need to both stop adding carbon emissions to the air and extract carbon from the air. This requires massive innovation and risk. One company thinks they can help expedite the process by creating a kind of “Airbnb for carbon credits.” Huh?

Listen to Lucy Hargreaves, head of Climate Policy at Patch, to find out about it in this enlightening interview on Electric Ladies Podcast with host Joan Michelson.

You’ll hear:

• What carbon credits are and how they work.
• The kinds of projects that Patch is discovering doing this innovation work and leveraging carbon credits to help fund it.
• How to tell when carbon credits are a strategy by a company trying to avoid reducing their emissions.
• How to talk climate science and policy to lawmakers so they understand it and act on it.
• Plus, insightful career advice such as….:

“The first thing I think is just like, be really clear on what your goals are. Really think about why are you doing what you're doing, what motivates you? Um, and, and just get some clarity around that…(and) be extremely opportunistic and don't be afraid to take risks….(M)ost of my opportunities that I've had have came from me putting my hand up, taking a chance, doing something that feels scary and terrifying, but that is aligned to my core goal and mission of working on climate and sustainability.”

Lucy Hargreaves on Electric Ladies podcast

You’ll also want to listen to: (some might be recorded under our previous name, Green Connections Radio)

·       Pamela Conrad, Landscape architect, on using the exterior built environment to reduce carbon emissions.

·       Kristina Wyatt, SVP of Persefoni and former leader of the SEC task force developing the climate risk disclosure rules that will be finalized shortly.

·       Natalie Jaresko, former Finance Minister of Ukraine, on the hidden power of ESG

·       Michele Wucker, thought leaders and author of “You Are What You Risk: The New Art & Science to Navigating an Uncertain World.”

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Using Landscapes To Combat Climate Change - Pamela Conrad, Landscape Architect

“Landscape architecture involves the planning, design, management, and nurturing of the exterior built and natural environments. So, landscape architects is a professional degree and…we design places like parks and campuses, streetscapes trails, plazas, residences, and other projects that strengthen communities. And … our work also involves increasing resilience to climate impacts and drawing down carbon in communities in an equitable way.” Pamela Conrad on Electric Ladies Podcast

You might take for granted how lovely the park near your home is, or your corporate or university campus,  but every inch of it was deliberately designed (unless it’s a national park), from the way it uses water and integrates with the area’s water systems, to the types of plants, trees and grass – including to mitigate climate change. How?  

Listen to this fascinating interview on Electric Ladies Podcast with Pamela Conrad, Landscape Architect, and you’ll look at parks and campuses in a whole new way.

You’ll hear:

• How water systems are designed in landscapes to conserve and reuse water, including integrating with the nearby buildings.
• What a difference the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment Act will make for communities that want to restore their natural ecosystems,
• How landscaping can mitigate climate change, and reduce emissions, energy use and maintenance.
• What “Go Beyond Zero” means and how to do it.
• Plus, insightful career advice such as….:

“One, knowing and understanding your own strengths and then asking, ‘what action is needed around climate action?’ And then especially, ‘where do you see the gaps?’ And then fill it, jump into those spaces …And then the third… is to ask yourself that question of what brings you joy…And I think that to make sure that what you're doing is something that you love, it can help prevent burnout.”

Pamela Conrad on Electric Ladies podcast

You’ll also want to listen to: (some might be recorded under our previous name, Green Connections Radio)

• Diane Regas, Trust for Public Lands, on how parks mitigate climate change and create healthy communities.
• Julie White, Deputy Secretary for Multimodal Transportation in North Carolina, on how transportation improves and integrates with communities.
• Melissa Modica, Waste Harmonics, on how to manage waste to reduce climate change
• Jackie Roberts, AppHarvest, on indoor farming to save our food supply

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