Expert Office Hours
The goal of this program is to get people who want to work in climate in the same room with people who do – to share knowledge, to foster interpersonal connections, and to demystify the idea of working in climate and the people in it.
How does it work?
- Find an expert you wish to chat to below, and use the sign-up link to pick a time when they are available.
- Show up (you will receive reminder emails) and have a chat!
- After you meet, share 1 thing you learned on #share-your-path or in the relevant channel.
For more info, see For community members.
- To offer your time through this program (thank you!), please fill out 👉 this form.
- Our experts commit to at minimum 2 hours per month of mentorship.
For more info, see For experts.
Please contact @team-mentorship on the #community-meta channel on Slack if:
- You have trouble booking with somebody
- You would like to be able to talk to an expert in a certain area that isn’t covered
- You have any other feedback/concerns
Our Experts
Please note: several experts host group sessions due to high demand.
Ben Swainbank
Ben Swainbank is the president and founder of Oceanid MRV. They work with companies that use the vast ocean resources to remove CO2 from the air, and offer mCDR companies measurement and verification (MRV) servcies.
- Founding a climate company
- Carbon Markets
- Ocean Science
- CDR pathways
* Recent climate company founder
* Expert on marine CDR pathways
* Works at the intersection of commercial CDR, marine science, and carbon markets
* WoC channel coordinator for #learn-ocean
Sanjoy Sanyal
Sanjoy is the Founder of Regain Paradise and consultant to think tanks (WRI, Santa Clara University), consultancies (adelphi, Tetratech), international financial institutions (KfW), donors (GIZ, USAID) and impact investors.
- Deploying climate finance and impact investing
- Climate innovation and ecosystems landscape
- Learning for a climate career
Sanjoy been consulting in the climate finance field for thirteen years. His clients include both public (international development financial institutions and donors) and private (impact) investors. He worked in climate finance projects in ten countries covering South Asia, Southeast Asia, East and West Africa. He also host of a podcast on climate innovation.
Daisy Pistey-Lyhne
I am a systems thinker and network weaver who designs interdisciplinary strategies and programs that address gaps in the climate movement at the intersections of politics, policy, data, science, business, environmental justice, philanthropy, community organizing, and communications.
- Political Campaigns, community engagement & organizing
- Policy Advocacy, movement building & non-profit fundraising
- Effective communication to a diverse audience
I have worked for 20 years designing and implementing strategies to reach and engage diverse stakeholders and communities across various verticals in climate and energy – solar, sustainable agriculture, urban planning, environmental justice, public health, public utilities, local campaigns, national philanthropy and more. With a wide breadth of experience across sectors, I’m able to offer meaningful insights and coaching to those transitioning sectors.
Ann Stapleton
I manage large agricultural grants programs and have a background in education, workforce development, strategy, and AI/analytics.
- Climate-positive high-impact regenerative agriculture
- Impact at the right scale and timing
- Education and workforce development
- AI and analytics in agriculture
I am a program manager for research, education and extension Climate-smart Agriculture, Justice40, Nutrition Security and Equity US goals, with a special focus on cross-government coordination and AI for Climate-Smart Ag and Forestry. I previously served as National Science Foundation Program Officer for multiple science areas and workforce development, with a focus on under-served states.
Will Wylie-Modro
I am predominantly a software engineer with experience working in AgTech, Cloud, and Real-time 3D startups. I have spent much of the last 2 years attempting to understand the challenges in transitioning to regenerative agriculture and helping startups in that space
- The markets/ecosystem to support regenerative agriculture
- Tech’s potential role in regenerative agriculture
- Software Development / Cloud Infrastructure / Real-time 3D
After graduating in physics, I jumped into the local startup scene with a small Private Cloud company then later went on to work in startups in the Game Development industry and now contributes to a regenerative-focused AgTech startup.
While researching the barriers and supporting ecosystem of regenerative agriculture over the last couple of years I have had the opportunity to connect and learn from many farmers, startups, non-profits, and investors in the space.
Dave Fork
I am a renewable energy technologist at Google and serve as President of Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange, a bicycle repair and exchange nonprofit I founded nearly 30 years ago.
- Energy & cleantech
- Founding and operating a nonprofit
- Lowering your carbon footprint
- Climate-friendly home renovation
I am passionate about helping people take climate action in their personal lives, an avid biker, and a sustainable home renovation aficionado.
Crystal Soo
I am an Energy Justice expert on the clean energy transition. I apply my renewable energy expertise to Energy Justice through the Equity principles of transparency, access, and community engagement.
- Energy Justice Fundamentals
- Equitable Energy Policy
- Clean Energy Transitions
I am a expert on distributed energy technologies including EV charging, energy storage and residential solar. I have worked with renewable energy project investors, developers and utilities. I am a cleantech mentor for early stage start-up companies focused on maritime vessels, offshore wind and real-time city simulations
Marc O'Brien
I help designers become climate designers. From college students to professionals, I share approaches designers can implement in taking climate action in the work they do no matter what creative industry they’re in.
- How to become a climate designer
- How to transfer your skills towards climate solutions and companies
- “Climifying” your existing design work with climate in mind
Since 2016, I’ve become knowledgeable of the science, language, solutions, and approaches needed to address our climate emergency. As a climate designer, brand strategist, and educator, I’m able to take what I’ve learned and apply it to design. Over the past six years running The Determined and Climate Designers, I’ve led teams on a variety of projects amplifying the work of climate-focused initiatives.
Nathan Eidelson
I am a founder, product designer, and software engineer experienced in building software for aquaculture and regenerative agriculture.
- Wireframing and prototyping
- Fish farms
- Carbon credits + web3
- Agriculture
Nathan started his journey as an early product engineer at Airtable, founded a company for nonprofits called TheShareWay (https://www.theshareway.com/), led product engineering at Aquabyte (https://aquabyte.ai/), took a break and built Raddish (https://raddish.app/) for home gardeners, and most recently contracted for Toucan Protocol (https://toucan.earth/) + Farm (https://farmland.fi/).
Ben Swainbank
Ben Swainbank is the president and founder of Oceanid MRV. They work with companies that use the vast ocean resources to remove CO2 from the air, and offer mCDR companies measurement and verification (MRV) servcies.
- Founding a climate company
- Carbon Markets
- Ocean Science
- CDR pathways
* Recent climate company founder
* Expert on marine CDR pathways
* Works at the intersection of commercial CDR, marine science, and carbon markets
* WoC channel coordinator for #learn-ocean
Sanjoy Sanyal
Sanjoy is the Founder of Regain Paradise and consultant to think tanks (WRI, Santa Clara University), consultancies (adelphi, Tetratech), international financial institutions (KfW), donors (GIZ, USAID) and impact investors.
- Deploying climate finance and impact investing
- Climate innovation and ecosystems landscape
- Learning for a climate career
Sanjoy been consulting in the climate finance field for thirteen years. His clients include both public (international development financial institutions and donors) and private (impact) investors. He worked in climate finance projects in ten countries covering South Asia, Southeast Asia, East and West Africa. He also host of a podcast on climate innovation.
Ann Stapleton
I manage large agricultural grants programs and have a background in education, workforce development, strategy, and AI/analytics.
- Climate-positive high-impact regenerative agriculture
- Impact at the right scale and timing
- Education and workforce development
- AI and analytics in agriculture
I am a program manager for research, education and extension Climate-smart Agriculture, Justice40, Nutrition Security and Equity US goals, with a special focus on cross-government coordination and AI for Climate-Smart Ag and Forestry. I previously served as National Science Foundation Program Officer for multiple science areas and workforce development, with a focus on under-served states.
Will Wylie-Modro
I am predominantly a software engineer with experience working in AgTech, Cloud, and Real-time 3D startups. I have spent much of the last 2 years attempting to understand the challenges in transitioning to regenerative agriculture and helping startups in that space.
- The markets/ecosystem to support regenerative agriculture
- Tech’s potential role in regenerative agriculture
- Software Development / Cloud Infrastructure / Real-time 3D
After graduating in physics, I jumped into the local startup scene with a small Private Cloud company then later went on to work in startups in the Game Development industry and now contributes to a regenerative-focused AgTech startup.
While researching the barriers and supporting ecosystem of regenerative agriculture over the last couple of years I have had the opportunity to connect and learn from many farmers, startups, non-profits, and investors in the space.
Crystal Soo
I am an Energy Justice expert on the clean energy transition. I apply my renewable energy expertise to Energy Justice through the Equity principles of transparency, access, and community engagement.
- Energy Justice Fundamentals
- Equitable Energy Policy
- Clean Energy Transition
I am an expert on distributed energy technologies, including electric vehicle charging, energy storage, and residential solar. I have worked with renewable energy project investors, project developers, and electric utilities. I am a cleantech mentor for early-stage start-up companies focused on maritime vessels, offshore wind, and real-time city simulations.
Marc O'Brien
I help designers become climate designers. From college students to professionals, I share approaches designers can implement in taking climate action in the work they do no matter what creative industry they’re in.
- How to become a climate designer
- How to transfer skills towards climate solutions and companies
- “Climifying” your existing design work with climate in mind
Since 2016, I’ve become knowledgeable of the science, language, solutions, and approaches needed to address our climate emergency. As a climate designer, brand strategist, and educator, I’m able to take what I’ve learned and apply it to design. Over the past six years running The Determined and Climate Designers, I’ve led teams on a variety of projects amplifying the work of climate-focused initiatives.
Joe Rollin
I have a Ph.D. in biochemical engineering and currently work in industrial biotech business development.
- Climate and biotech
- Working with the US Department of Energy (DOE)
- Business development
Prior to this role, I was a fellow at both ARPA-E and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and served in the U.S. Army.
Denton Gentry
I’m a long time engineer in the Tech industry now working on climate solutions, most recently working on software models at Project Drawdown.
- How to “break in” to applying SWE/DS to impactful problems
- Starting and evaluating clean energy startups
- Technical topics (optimization, devops, time series forecasting)
- Domain topics (electricity rates/tariffs, energy forecasting and DER optimization)
Irina Fedorenko
I am a serial green tech entrepreneur based in Oxford, UK. I’m currently the Chief Carbon Officer at Vlinder.
- Green tech entrepreneurship
- Nature-based solutions
- Startups & non-profits
- Carbon offsets
In addition to my corporate role, I manage the Caux Dialogue on Environment and Security. Previously, I co-founded BioCarbon Engineering (drone-based mangrove planting), Kindness Collective (social enterprise supporting women’s farming cooperatives in India), and Beta-Earth (sustainable economic development in local communities).
Joe Rollin
I have a Ph.D. in biochemical engineering and currently work in industrial biotech business development.
- Climate and biotech
- Working with the US Department of Energy (DOE)
- Business development
Prior to this role, I was a fellow at both ARPA-E and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and served in the U.S. Army.
Dave Fork
I am a renewable energy technologist at Google and serve as President of Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange, a bicycle repair and exchange nonprofit I founded nearly 30 years ago.
- Energy & cleantech
- Founding and operating a nonprofit
- Lowering your carbon footprint
- Climate-friendly home renovation
I am passionate about helping people take climate action in their personal lives, an avid biker, and a sustainable home renovation aficionado.
Daisy Pistey-Lyhne
I am a systems thinker and network weaver who designs interdisciplinary strategies and programs that address gaps in the climate movement at the intersections of politics, policy, data, science, business, environmental justice, philanthropy, community organizing, and communications.
- Political campaigns, community engagement & organizing
- Policy Advocacy, movement building and non-profit fundraising
- Communicating effectively to a diverse audience
I have worked for 20 years designing and implementing strategies to reach and engage diverse stakeholders and communities across various verticals in climate and energy – solar, sustainable agriculture, urban planning, environmental justice, public health, public utilities, local campaigns, national philanthropy and more. With a wide breadth of experience across sectors, I’m able to offer meaningful insights and coaching to those transitioning sectors
Denton Gentry
I am a long-time engineer in the tech industry with experience in climate modeling at Project Drawdown.
- How to “break in” to applying SWE/DS to impactful problems
- Starting and evaluating clean energy startups
- Technical topics (optimization, devops, time series forecasting)
- Domain topics (electricity rates/tariffs, energy forecasting and DER optimization)
Irina Fedorenko
I am a serial green tech entrepreneur based in Oxford, UK. I’m currently the Chief Carbon Officer at Vlinder.
- Green tech entrepreneurship
- Nature-based solutions
- Startups & non-profits
- Carbon offsets
In addition to my corporate role, I manage the Caux Dialogue on Environment and Security. Previously, I co-founded BioCarbon Engineering (drone-based mangrove planting), Kindness Collective (social enterprise supporting women’s farming cooperatives in India), and Beta-Earth (sustainable economic development in local communities).
Troy Hodges
I am a data scientist at grid analytics company Kevala with extensive clean energy experience.
- Data science for energy
- Getting a data role in clean energy
- Energy policy & regulation
- DEI in energy
I have extensive clean energy experience in both the private and public sectors, including time at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Clean Energy Leadership Institute.
Patrick Sheehan
I’m a data scientist & software engineer at myst.ai, where I use machine learning to forecast the supply and demand of electricity.
- Data science & software for climate
- Clean energy startups
- Technical data science & engineering topics
- Clean energy topics
- Electricity rates/tariffs
- Energy forecasting
- DER optimization
I have been working on software and data science applied to clean energy problems for nearly a decade. Previously, I co-founded Nanogrid to reduce the cost of solar, energy storage, and EVs and I helped reduce costs for clean energy companies as a software engineer at Genability.
Andrew Chang
I am an experienced engineer & entrepreneur with experience building complex hardware, software, and services in energy & clean tech.
- Product development
- Fundraising
- IP strategy
- Manufacturing
- Energy & cleantech
I have experience in climate & energy with the U.S. DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and The Alliance for Climate Protection.
Troy Hodges
I am a data scientist at grid analytics company Kevala with extensive clean energy experience.
- Data science for energy
- Getting a data role in clean energy
- Energy policy & regulation
- DEI in energy
I have extensive clean energy experience in both the private and public sectors, including time at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Clean Energy Leadership Institute.
Patrick Sheehan
I’m a data scientist & software engineer at myst.ai, where I use machine learning to forecast the supply and demand of electricity.
- Data science & software for climate
- Clean energy startups
- Technical data science & engineering topics
- Clean energy topics
- Electricity rates/tariffs
- Energy forecasting
- DER optimization
I have been working on software and data science applied to clean energy problems for nearly a decade. Previously, I co-founded Nanogrid to reduce the cost of solar, energy storage, and EVs and I helped reduce costs for clean energy companies as a software engineer at Genability.
Madeline Fleisher
I am currently the Environmental and Regulatory Counsel at Owens Corning. I have spent the last fifteen years practicing as an environmental and energy lawyer in the United States.
- U.S. energy regulatory frameworks
- U.S. environmental landscape
- U.S. federal, state, and local climate policy
Madeline graduated from Yale University and Harvard Law School, and has since spent the last fifteen years practicing as an environmental and energy lawyer in the United States. She has experience in the government, non-profit, and private sectors including federal, state, and local environmental, energy, and utility regulation; energy transactions and due diligence; and U.S. energy markets.
Luke Squire
I am a product manager at Solstice building software products to help speed the transition away from carbon-emitting energy sources.
- Working in product management
- Building clean tech products
I was an early employee at Arcadia, and I previously worked on political tech and on Capitol Hill.
Steve Isley
I am a sustainable shopping expert, aerospace engineer, policy analyst, and behavioral scientist. I’m passionate about helping people make more sustainable choices.
- Sustainable shopping habits
- Customer experience design
- Customer research
- Policy
- Behavioral science
- Big Tech and sustainability
- Sustainable products
- The Climate Pledge
- My experience has varied widely over the years. I’ve worked in sustainable shopping at Amazon (where I helped launch The Climate Pledge), behavioral science at NREL, policy analysis at RAND Corporation, and wind tunnel management at the University of Washington Aeronautical Laboratory.
Chadia Abreu Manon
I am a law and policy expert in energy and clean technologies with a focus on emerging markets and energy transitions. I have contributed to California’s ground-breaking efforts to become carbon neutral, working with innovative incentives for the adoption of new clean technologies and the integration of climate equity considerations.
- Working on climate policy.
- Climate policy’s role at the global, national, and local levels.
- Clean energy transitions and public policy-making process.
- Regulatory strategies, cost-benefit analyses, and the design and implementation of new legislation and policies.
Olya Irzak
I am the CEO of Frost Methane, a company mitigating methane emissions from the permafrost & coal mining.
- Methane emissions mitigation
- Computer science for climate change
- Getting started in climate
- Cleantech
- Anything other climate topic (the weirder the better!)
I’m currently an advisor to fusion investment fund Strong Atomics in addition to my day job. Previously, I gained extensive experience in electrification and clean tech at Zola Electric, Google Energy, and X, Google’s “moonshot factory.”
Patricia Silva
I am a mentor and advisor to companies in the carbon removal space, an active investor in early stage climate tech startups, and Commercial Officer at a carbon removal startup 44.01.
- Energy & cleantech
- Carbon removal
- Startups – founding, fundraising, and more
I previously co-founded the Carbon Removal Center, a UK-based nonprofit organisation that advances sustainable carbon removal. I have an MSc in Engineering and an MBA in Energy & Cleantech.
Luke Squire
I am a product manager at Solstice building software products to help speed the transition away from carbon-emitting energy sources.
- Working in product management
- Building clean tech products
I was an early employee at Arcadia, and I previously worked on political tech and on Capitol Hill.
Andrew Chang
I am an experienced engineer & entrepreneur with experience building complex hardware, software, and services in energy & clean tech.
- Product development
- Fundraising
- IP strategy
- Manufacturing
- Energy & cleantech
I have experience in climate & energy with the U.S. DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and The Alliance for Climate Protection.
Steve Isley
I am a sustainable shopping expert, aerospace engineer, policy analyst, and behavioral scientist. I’m passionate about helping people make more sustainable choices.
- Sustainable shopping habits
- Customer experience design
- Customer research
- Policy
- Behavioral science
- Big Tech and sustainability
- Sustainable products
- The Climate Pledge
- My experience has varied widely over the years. I’ve worked in sustainable shopping at Amazon (where I helped launch The Climate Pledge), behavioral science at NREL, policy analysis at RAND Corporation, and wind tunnel management at the University of Washington Aeronautical Laboratory.
Chadia Abreu Manon
I am a law and policy expert in energy and clean technologies with a focus on emerging markets and energy transitions. I have contributed to California’s ground-breaking efforts to become carbon neutral, working with innovative incentives for the adoption of new clean technologies and the integration of climate equity considerations.
- Working on climate policy.
- Climate policy’s role at the global, national, and local levels.
- Clean energy transitions and public policy-making process.
- Regulatory strategies, cost-benefit analyses, and the design and implementation of new legislation and policies.
Madeline Fleisher
I am currently the Environmental and Regulatory Councel at Owens Corning. I have spent the last fifteen years practicing as an environmental and energy lawyer in the United States.
- U.S. energy regulatory frameworks
- U.S. environmental landscape
- U.S. federal, state, and local climate policy
Madeline graduated from Yale University and Harvard Law School, and has since spent the last fifteen years practicing as an environmental and energy lawyer in the United States. She has experience in the government, non-profit, and private sectors including federal, state, and local environmental, energy, and utility regulation; energy transactions and due diligence; and U.S. energy markets.
Nathan Eidelson
I am a founder, product designer, and software engineer experienced in building software for aquaculture and regenerative agriculture.
- Wireframing and prototyping
- Fish farms
- Carbon credits + web3
- Agriculture
Nathan started his journey as an early product engineer at Airtable, founded a company for nonprofits called TheShareWay (https://www.theshareway.com/), led product engineering at Aquabyte (https://aquabyte.ai/), took a break and built Raddish (https://raddish.app/) for home gardeners, and most recently contracted for Toucan Protocol (https://toucan.earth/) + Farm (https://farmland.fi/).
Olya Irzak
I am the CEO of Frost Methane, a company mitigating methane emissions from the permafrost & coal mining.
- Methane emissions mitigation
- Computer science for climate change
- Getting started in climate
- Cleantech
- Anything other climate topic (the weirder the better!)
I’m currently an advisor to fusion investment fund Strong Atomics in addition to my day job. Previously, I gained extensive experience in electrification and clean tech at Zola Electric, Google Energy, and X, Google’s “moonshot factory.”
Patricia Silva
I am a mentor and advisor to companies in the carbon removal space, an active investor in early stage climate tech startups, and Commercial Officer at a carbon removal startup 44.01.
- Energy & cleantech
- Carbon removal
- Startups – founding, fundraising, and more
I previously co-founded the Carbon Removal Center, a UK-based nonprofit organisation that advances sustainable carbon removal. I have an MSc in Engineering and an MBA in Energy & Cleantech.
