This Week in MCJ (9/5/20)
Hey all,
Gosh, this is a crazy time. Pandemics. Wild fires. Rising fascism. Rising inequality. Rising racism. Rising police violence. Rising unemployment. Heat records getting toppled. And so on. Climate change certainly isn’t the cause of all of our ills, but as climate change gets worse, it seems to be an accelerant for lots of other issues we face, as well.
I try not to get political on here, but from a climate standpoint, it is impossible to miss that the most important thing we can do between now and November, at least here in the US, is focus on the upcoming elections and restoring our democracy. Chris Sacca had a great post this week laying out some tangible things that anyone who is so inclined can do to help. There are also some relevant events listed down below, and more soon to follow.
I am proud to be part of this community with all of you, and look forward to finding more ways to have an impact on these core societal problems together.
And I am reticent to say it, but at least here in the US, it all starts with getting Trump out.
Jason
📼Episodes
Here’s this week’s episode, in case you missed it. We have an extra bonus episode this week, as well!
Episode 119 (Member Bonus): Rep. Sean Casten, Illinois’ 6th Congressional District
If you’re already an MCJ Member, you can listen to the full episode here.
Congressman Sean Casten is an American entrepreneur and Democratic politician, serving as the U.S. Representative for Illinois sixth congressional district. A freshmen in the 116th Congress, he is the first Democrat to represent the sixth district in nearly 50 years. We cover a lot in this episode, including Sean’s roots and how he came to care about climate change. We also discuss how his thinking on the problem has evolved from his time as a science and engineering student in college to his career as a clean energy entrepreneur to his current role as a member of Congress. I learned a lot in this one and I hope you do as well.
Episode 120: Nan Ransohoff & Ryan Orbuch, Stripe Climate Team
Nan and Ryan work on the Climate team at Stripe, and I was very excited for the opportunity to interview them. While Stripe is not a climate company, it recognizes that climate change poses a long term risk to its mission of growing the GDP of the Internet. As a result, Stripe is doing a number of things that I think are fascinating. For one, it’s treating the climate team like a product team. The company embraces a culture of experimentation and, as part of that, it’s leaning into negative emissions. The company has been transparent in its efforts, open sourcing much of its work. Second, Stripe is figuring out how to include merchants in its efforts to decarbonize. I can't wait to see what Stripe does in climate over time. It's a fascinating company, and I really enjoyed this discussion.
N.B. Stripe is looking to add a designer an an operations manager to the team. If you’re interested, please email climate AT stripe DOT com.
📼Climate Tech Startup Series (CTSS)
MCJ has launched a new series for members, where we feature founders of early-stage companies, sharing their startup’s business and mission. Members can check out our other episodes below and find an updated list here.
CTSS Episode 7: StormSensor with Erin Rothman
StormSensor is a Seattle-based startup that works with cities to provide them with real-time insights around their storm, sewer and coastal infrastructure. By providing visibility and forecasting around how water is moving through cities, StormSensor enables communities to adapt to rising sea-levels and the risks of catastrophic storms and floods. CEO & Founder Erin Rothman walks me through a company overview, and we have a great discussion about how her team is helping communities become more resilient in the face of climate change.
👋 Welcome New MCJers!
A new section where we feature new members, who joined the community and introduced themselves in the past week. You can read more about them and introduce yourself on #introductions.
Sean Harrington: Entrepreneur, operator & advisor based in the Bay Area, CA.
Richard Muscat: Former SaaS marketer with a background in product design and growth and based in Scotland, U.K.
Nikhil Basu Trivedi: Early-stage investor and writer of “next big thing.”
Scott Hickle: Former aerospace engineer and PM who recently founded Carbon Zero.
Julian Jordan: Wharton MBA Candidate currently based in Philadelphia, PA with a background in data analytics and exploring new opportunities in climate.
Cassie Coash: Stanford GSB MBA Candidate who has lived in East Africa (Kenya, Mauritius) and plans to return pursuing opportunities in agriculture.
Matt Rogers: Co-Founder of Nest and Incite.org, which is hosting a series of election-focused events in September (see events below).
🔦Member Spotlight: Leah Simmet, Attorney & Sustainability Professional
We’re taking the opportunity to share the climate journey of your fellow MCJers. This week’s member spotlight features Leah Simmet.
My climate journey is coming full circle. I started out my career in 2007 by launching the U.S. operations of BIOFerm Energy Systems, a German renewable energy company. From filing Articles of Incorporation, to building out all of our marketing content, and engaging our first clients, I worked as part of a small team on all aspects of the company until our acquisition by Viessman in 2009. From the beginning, I have enjoyed working at small organizations where an “all hands on deck,” mentality is required to ensure success.
With an ardent interest in environmental advocacy and an appreciation for the regulatory challenges faced by BIOFerm and other renewable technology companies, I pursued a law degree while working full-time for an agri-tech company managing their international customer success program. After graduating with a J.D. in 2014, I continued pursing my passion for working on environmental and energy issues by rejoining BIOFerm to help launch their gas upgrading technology, and later Lucid, a leading energy and building analytics SaaS company to build market share and to launch their asset management application.
Upon joining the CA Bar in 2018, I pivoted from the energy space to acquire litigation experience as an Associate at a small civil rights firm. While meaningful work, I knew something was missing. Although I continued to consume information on energy issues and the climate crisis, this wasn’t enough, and so after taking time to have my daughter earlier this year, I have decided that now is the time to make my way back.
Last week I posted that I am looking to re-enter the workforce and hope to find a role that makes use of my legal background while continuing to work on climate and energy issues. My primary interest is in accelerating the adoption of renewable energy and clean technologies and while I am more focused on company mission than job title, I am currently exploring (1) contract management/origination, (2) policy, (3) regulatory affairs/compliance, and (4) legal ops/general counsel roles.
Since joining MCJ, I have been consistently impressed by the caliber, integrity, and genuine passion of the community. I look forward to continuing to connect with and learn from everyone and commit to paying it forward to the best of my ability.
🏗 What You’re Building
Projects and ventures being pursued by fellow MCJers.
MCJer Kevin Meissner shared on Slack that his team was recently selected for ARPA-E's SMARTFARM program. His team will be working with the Soil Health Institute to develop a device for measuring soil carbon.
MCJer & former Wayfair CTO John Mulliken shared on Slack a recent briefing he had with a Stanford team on the subject of climate public policy. He invites anyone interested in how startups can affect climate policy to reach out to him.
MCJer Olli Tiainen is the founder of Mattermore, a collaboration tool for teams focused on climate. He announced that Mattermore is partnering with Project X 2020, a ML research competition focused on climate change, to match participants and advisors. You can learn more on the Mattermore website and sign up to get involved.
💼Climate Jobs
Here are some jobs shared by members of the MCJ community that we think might be of interest to you. Many of these opportunities and the MCJers who shared them can be found in #climatejobs in the MCJ Slack.
Sr. (Data / Mobile / ML Platform) Engineers, Product Designer, Sales Executive at Afresh in San Francisco, CA (career page). MCJer Lyndall Schreiner, a PM at Afresh, invites those with questions to DM her.
Co-Founder & CTO at ecountabl in Alexandria, VA (contact Cody Taylor at cody AT ecountabl DOT com).
BD Manager at Myst AI in San Francisco, CA (job listing).
CTO (software) at Modularity Grid in London, U.K. (MCJer Ryan Barrett is offering an intro to the founder. Feel free to DM him in the MCJ Slack).
Data Visualization & Tableau Developer (Contract) at Indigo Advisory (remote) (job listing).
Sr. Policy Advisor (U.S. Mid-West) at Form Energy in Midwest, Somerville, MA or Bay Area, CA (job listing).
Associate at Prelude Ventures in San Francisco, CA (job listing).
📰🎧Recommended Reading/Listening
Below are recently published articles and content that we find interesting and/or that were shared by fellow MCJers.
The New York Times: “Big Oil Is in Trouble. Its Plan: Flood Africa With Plastic.”
The Guardian: “Rampant destruction of forests ‘will unleash more pandemics’”
RollingStone: “Climate Apocalypse Now”
The Wall Street Journal: “One of the Brains Behind Tesla May Have a New Way to Make Electric Cars Cheaper” (PDF)
🎟Climate Events
As a reminder, we have a new MCJ Events Calendar, where you can view and post events for the rest of the MCJ community to attend. When posting an event, please refer to this checklist.
Upcoming
Meet-a-MCJer Europe-Edition🇪🇺 (Thursday, September 10th, 5 PM CEST / 11 AM EST)
MCJers Alexis Jorge Caporale, Michael Reibel Boesen, & Romain Diaz, who are leading the MCJ Europe community, are hosting the group’s first Icebreaker event. The aim is to bring together members based in Europe as well as those interested in learning more about this new regional community. If you would like a calendar invite, please drop us a note.
Clean Energy For Biden Presents: “#ClimateTech: A Conversation with VCs on Climate Innovation” (Thursday, September 17t at 5 PM EST)
Join Clean Energy for Biden on September 17th for #ClimateTech: A Conversation with VCs on Climate Innovation. This uniquely-formatted event brings together leading climate tech and clean energy VCs for discussion on how the investment landscape will change with a Joe Biden and Kamala Harris victory in November. Event panelists include:
Shayle Kann, Managing Director at Energy Impact Partners and host of The Interchange Podcast
Sierra Petersen, Partner at Lionheart Ventures
Dan Goldman, Managing Director & Co-founder at Clean Energy Ventures
Clay Dumas, Partner at Lowercarbon Capital
And our thoughtful panel moderator, Sophie Purdom, Creator and Author of Climate Tech VC Newsletter
You can learn more about the event and register for it here.
Incite Civics (September 9th, 16th, 21st - 25th; see links for times and information)
Incite.org, co-founded by MCJer and Nest co-founder Matt Rogers, is inviting to anyone interested to a four-part series in September to help you get educated and engaged with this election beyond the presidential bid.
Incite is hosting a four-part civics series each week of September, where attendees will hear from a panel of experts working on the frontlines of campaigns, learn more about voting rights, and better understand down ballot initiatives. These aren’t fundraisers, they’re awareness-raisers. Please see this link for times and to register.
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