Agenda & Speakers

1:30-2:00pm: Fireside Chat

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  Eduardo Palacio

  • IEEE-USA | President-Elect
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Eduardo Palacio



• IEEE-USA

  President-Elect

Ed Palacio has over 40 years of experience in directing development and production of complex military electronic systems. He has held profit and loss responsibility at the business unit and sector levels, as well as functional lead positions in Program Management, Engineering and Operations. Currently he is President of P&L Technical Management Solutions, a small business focused on technology, program management, and business development for the military and civilian market.

Prior to this, he was VP of Program Management and Business Operations for ITT/Exelis Electronic Systems. Before joining ITT, Ed was VP of EDO Corporation’s Electronic Warfare Sector. He is/has been a member of multiple advisory boards in industry, academia, and professional organizations. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Werlatone Corporation, in various Executive Boards for the IEEE, and has served on Industry Advisory Boards for The Cooper Union School of Engineering, SUNY Stony Brook Engineering Department and the New York Institute of Technology College of Engineering and Computing Sciences Dean Executive Advisory Board. He currently teaches at Stony Brook University’s Department of Technology and Society.

Ed holds a BEE from the Cooper Union School of Engineering and Science and two MS degrees in Electrical Engineering and Technology Management from the Polytechnic Institute of New York. He is currently the IEEE USA President-Elect and will serve as President in 2023.

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  Justina Nixon-Saintil

  • IBM | Vice President and Global Head, Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG
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Justina Nixon-Saintil



• IBM

  Vice President and Global Head, Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG

As IBM Vice President and head of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts, Justina Nixon-Saintil drives strategic, socially responsible programmatic investments that enable IBM’s technology and talent to address some of society’s biggest challenges worldwide.

The CSR programs Justina manages enable IBM and its employees to transform their altruism into reality. Some of these resources, such as IBM Service Corps, rely on skilled employee volunteerism to foster community success and well-being; they demonstrate the power of technology when combined with humanity. Other initiatives she leads, such as P-TECH, SkillsBuild, Academic Initiatives, and Skills Academy use multi-sector partnerships to help create more inclusive and innovative schools and workforces. She also leads the IBM Sustainability Accelerator, which leverages IBM technologies and expertise to mitigate the effects of climate change in vulnerable communities.

As IBM’s Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) focal point, she spearheads corporate practices that underpin the company’s tradition of uncompromising ethics and transparency in its operations and environmental footprint. Justina communicates these ideals by spearheading the company’s annual ESG report as well as articulating the company’s “Good Tech” narrative to stakeholders, including investors.

Previously, as director of CSR at Verizon, Justina created and led programs to make education more inclusive. She brokered partnerships with community organizations to help bring innovative resources and experiences to under-resourced students in hundreds of schools. Justina was also the liaison to President Obama’s White House Office of Science and Technology, and U.S. Departments of the Interior and Education, in support of Verizon’s ConnectEd commitment. Earlier in her career, she was an Engineer for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Justina, who is an Aspen Institute First Mover Fellow, earned her Master of Business Administration from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business and her bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

2:00-3:00pm: Roundtable Discussion – Technologies for Urban Sustainability

Moderator:

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  Carolyn Kissane

  • NYU Center for Global Affairs | Assistant Dean, and Clinical Professor; Director of the SPS Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab.
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Carolyn Kissane



• NYU Center for Global Affairs

  Assistant Dean, and Clinical Professor; Director of the SPS Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab.

Dr. Carolyn Kissane serves as the Assistant Dean of the graduate programs in Global Affairs and Global Security, Conflict and Cybercrime at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs and is a Clinical Professor, where she teaches graduate-level courses examining the geopolitics of energy, comparative energy politics, energy, environment and resource security, and climate change and security.

She is Director of the SPS Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability Lab, Coordinator of the Energy and Environment concentration at the Center, and is faculty adviser to the Energy Policy International Club. Dr. Kissane was awarded the esteemed NYU Excellence in Teaching Award in 2007, the SCPS Award for Teaching Excellence in 2009, and nominated for the NYU-wide Distinguished Teaching Award in 2008, 2009, 2016, and 2021. She is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the National Committee on US-China Relations and she serves on the boards of the New York Energy Forum, New York Energy Week, and the Clean Start Advisory Board.

She was named Breaking Energy’s Top Ten New York Women in Energy and Top Ten Energy Communicator. She hosts Fueling our Future, an energy series she moderates that bring in energy and environment experts for conversation and debate.

Dr. Kissane received her Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Panelists:

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  Christopher Cavanagh

  • National Grid | Consulting Engineer, Future of Heat Engineering
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Christopher Cavanagh



• National Grid

  Consulting Engineer, Future of Heat Engineering

Christopher Cavanagh is a Consulting Engineer in Future of Heat team at National Grid and is responsible for developing hydrogen demonstration programs in support of National Grid’s Fossil-Free Clean Energy Vision. He has supported the development of a variety of efficiency and renewable gas technologies for customers to support National Grid’s goals and is a member of the board of directors of Utilization Technology Development, a national gas distribution industry research collaborative.

Mr. Cavanagh has 34 years’ experience in product development at National Grid and its predecessor companies. Mr. Cavanagh previously managed research programs in the areas of alternative fuel vehicles, advanced heating & cooling, and distributed generation, including fuel cells. Mr. Cavanagh was a senior engineer with the New York architect-engineering firm Gibbs & Hill on nuclear power and building HVAC projects. Mr. Cavanagh is a licensed professional engineer and a Member of the American Society of Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning Engineers and has been a mentor and judge in the CleanTech Open and Powerbridge NY programs.

Mr. Cavanagh is a member of the Advisory Board of the Clean Energy Business Incubator Program at Stony Brook University and also partnered with the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC) to create the new Institute of Gas Innovation and Technology at the AERTC. He helped develop a STEM program for NYC Middle School students considering Brooklyn Tech High School, is also the Chairman of the Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority and was a regular judge at the NYC FIRST Robotics Competition.

He holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the Cooper Union, an MS from Polytechnic University (now NYU) and an MBA from Dowling College.

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  Jorge González-Cruz

  • Atmospheric Sciences Research Center University at Albany | Empire Innovation Professor
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Jorge González-Cruz



• Atmospheric Sciences Research Center University at Albany

  Empire Innovation Professor

Professor Jorge González-Cruz is the lead scientist of the Coastal-Urban Environmental Research Group (CUERG), was recently appointed the SUNY Empire Professor at the University at Albany, and is the Presidential Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the City College of New York (CCNY).

He teaches and conducts research in urban energy sustainability, urban weather and climate, urban remote sensing, and regional climate modeling and analysis. Prof. González holds several patents in solar energy equipment, aerosol detection, and energy forecasting for buildings, and was recognized as a prominent young researcher by the National Science Foundation with a prestigious CAREER Award. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, has delivered hundreds of conference presentations, and his research has attracted more than $50M in external funding. He is a Fellow Member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) and Former Vice-Chairman of the American Meteorological Society Board on the Urban Environment.

He was appointed in 2015 by the mayor as Member of the Climate Change Panel for the City of New York, and more recently as Senior Visiting Scientist of the Beijing Institute of Urban Meteorology, Senior Scientists of Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Member of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science Scientific Advisory Committee. He is the co-editor of the ASME Handbook of Integrated and Sustainable Buildings Equipment and Systems, and was named in 2019 as the Founding Editor of the newest ASME Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Buildings and Cities.

Prof. González earned his Doctorate (1994) and Bachelor (1988) degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, respectively.

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  Julian Jacobson

  • Fundamental Interactions & ZK Ladder | President
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Julian Jacobson



• Fundamental Interactions & ZK Ladder

  President

Julian Jacobson is Co-Founder of ZK Ladder, Web3 Venture Studio and DAO Incubator. In 2011, Julian co-founded Fundamental Interactions, a leading trading infrastructure provider widely deployed by leading cryptocurrency exchanges, securities exchanges, ATS systems, and market makers worldwide. It is an early pioneer of digital assets integration into regulated trading infrastructure for both retail and institutional uses.

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  Marty Sprinzen

  • Vantiq Corporation | Co-Founder and CEO
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Marty Sprinzen



• Vantiq Corporation

  Co-Founder and CEO

Marty Sprinzen is a visionary leader and successful software entrepreneur. The organizations he created and led have introduced some of the most innovative software solutions in the areas of systems management, relational databases, internet application development and, currently, real-time, event-driven applications.

Mr. Sprinzen founded and became CEO of Vantiq Corporation. Prior to Vantiq, he was CEO and co-founder of Forte Software, which was acquired for over $1B. He also served as VP of International Operations and VP of Engineering at Ingres and VP of Development at Candle Corporation. He holds a BSEE from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.

3:00-4:00pm: Roundtable Discussion – Response to Climate Change and Strategies for Sustainable Development

Moderator:

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  Crystal Black-Davis

  • Head of Impact | ZK Ladder
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Crystal Black-Davis



• Head of Impact

  ZK Ladder

Crystal Black-Davis is a food industry leader who has served in both executive and consulting roles for notable global brands and raw ingredient suppliers. Crystal is the former Executive Vice President (USA) for Italian-based confectioner Loacker, and advisor to numerous brands such as Katjes, Ivory Cashew, and Spero Foods, through her consultancy, Savvy Food. She is currently Head of Impact for Web3 venture studio ZK Ladder.

In her role with ZK Ladder, Crystal draws from her experience of intimately working with agricultural producers to identify and support actionable solutions that address major environmental challenges, particularly related to sustainable food. Awareness, advocacy, and action around sustainable progress are the core tenets of ZK Ladder’s Impact division.

Crystal has been featured in media outlets such as Fast Company, Food Navigator, ABC New York, and Candy Industry Magazine for her insights and expertise on topics related to the food industry. She has served as an editorial board member of Candy and Snack Today Magazine and an advisory board member for Rutgers University’s Center for Innovation Education. Crystal is an avid supporter of the UN World Food Programme, No Kid Hungry, and MOFAD (Museum of Food and Drink).

Panelists:

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  Eric Lilly

  • Buena Ola Capital | Founder and Managing Partner
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Eric Lilly



• Buena Ola Capital

  Founder and Managing Partner

Eric Lilly is Founder of Buena Ola, a quantitative, triple bottom line company. He is an entrepreneurial leader with expertise in building complex valuation models to rationalize financial statements and corporate structures. Prior to Buena Ola, Eric spent 13 years at the New York City-based ValueWorks, a long/short investment firm with a fundamental bottom-up, research-driven, value discipline. He was one of a two-person investment team managing $250 million in assets that generated meaningful returns for clients.

Eric received his B.A. and MBA from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.

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  Jeff Freedman

  • Atmospheric Sciences Research Center University at Albany | Research Professor
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Jeff Freedman



• Atmospheric Sciences Research Center University at Albany

  Research Professor

Dr. Jeffrey M. Freedman is currently Research Faculty at the University at Albany, State University of New York’s Atmospheric Sciences Research Center (ASRC). As part of the Boundary Layer and Renewable Energy groups at ASRC, his main research focus is on renewable energy and atmospheric boundary layer processes. This includes work on improving wind and solar power production forecasting, investigating the effects of climate change on the renewable energy resource, developing outage prediction models for utilities, and developing instrumentation for offshore wind resource assessment and forecasting. Prior to his joining the faculty at ASRC, he was Lead Research Scientist at AWS Truepower (now a part of UL Renewables), a renewable energy consulting firm.

Previously, Dr. Freedman was the lead Principal Investigator on the first Wind Forecasting Improvement Project (WFIP), a two-year Department of Energy/National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration-sponsored study to demonstrate the value of additional atmospheric observations and model enhancements on wind energy production forecasts and led the development of the Solar Wind Integrated Forecast Tool (SWIFT), a state-of-the-art forecasting service for Hawaii’s electric utilities.

Dr. Freedman earned his Ph.D. at UAlbany’s Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences and ASRC. Previously, Dr. Freedman was an Assistant Counsel with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection where he played a key role in development and enforcement of the City’s rules and regulations for the protection of its water supply.

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  Justin Gundlach

  • Building Decarbonization Coalition | New York Senior Regulatory Policy Manager
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Justin Gundlach



• Building Decarbonization Coalition

  New York Senior Regulatory Policy Manager

Justin Gundlach joined the Building Decarbonization Coalition’s New York team in September 2022. He leads that team’s utility policy and regulatory efforts in New York. He is the author of numerous publications on how energy and environmental law and policy interact with the impacts of energy use on the climate and of climate change on infrastructure and public health.

Before joining Building Decarbonization, Justin worked at the New York University School of Law’s Institute for Policy Integrity, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School. He received a J.D. cum laude from NYU School of Law, an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics, and a B.A. magna cum laude from Wesleyan University.

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  Stephen Welby

  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) | Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer
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Stephen Welby



• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

  Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer

Stephen Welby is the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. IEEE and its members inspire a global community to innovate for a better tomorrow with more than 400,000 members in over 160 countries, and through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities. IEEE is the trusted “voice” for engineering, computing, and technology information around the globe.

Prior to joining IEEE, in 2015 Stephen was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. In this role, he served as the chief technology officer for the U.S. Department of Defense, leading one of the largest and most complex research, development, and engineering organizations in the world. He oversaw a $12.5B annual investment portfolio, managed internal and collaborative research and engineering efforts, drove a culture that valued innovation, and supported the department’s global technical engagement.

Stephen has more than three decades of government and industrial experience in technology and product development, including senior leadership positions at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). His technical experience includes development of leading-edge aeronautical and space systems, robotics, machine learning, high-performance software, and sensor systems.

Stephen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, a master’s degree in business administration from the Texas A&M University, and master’s degrees in computer science and applied mathematics from The Johns Hopkins University. He is a fellow of the IEEE.