Meeting/Event Information

"Climate Change and the Race to Net Zero"

SYNOPSIS:

As the Energy Capital of the World, Houston must lead the way in discovering, implementing, promoting and investing in innovative technologies to lower carbon emissions. Many claim their companies will be Net Zero within the next few decades – how will they get there? We’ve assembled a panel of experts on climate change to talk about the Future of Energy; the technologies available today and on the horizon, and how we’ll transition away from fossil fuel dependency to solve the challenges of climate change.

SPEAKER DETAILS:

Dr. Gavin Dillingham

Dr. Gavin Dillingham is Vice President of Research and leads HARC’s Energy team. In this role, he also serves as Director of the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Southcentral and Upper West Combined Heat and Power TAP. Dr. Dillingham joined HARC in 2012 where he leads multi-stakeholder efforts focusing on policy and programs to improve the climate resilience of power infrastructure and built environment and to help usher in the energy transition via a variety of clean energy initiatives.

He builds and leads strong, well-balanced teams of experts to successfully implement large, multi-year clean energy projects. His current projects include being the principal investor for the DOEs Solar Energy Technology Office (SETO) grant on rapid deployment of solar+storage in low-income neighborhoods and the DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) grant to develop a micro-grid feasibility analytics tool. Recently, he led the effort to build out and launch the Texas Clean Energy Hub. The Hub includes a variety of tools, resources, webinars, as well as HARC’s Energy Crossroads Podcast, to help spur along the clean energy transition in Texas.

Dr. Dillingham is also leading efforts to commercialize HARC’s research. With the HARC team, University of Houston and Lehigh University, he led the start-up of Pythias Analytics, Inc. Pythias Analytics is a start-up company focused on providing climate analytics and scenario planning for the energy sector.

Dr. Dillingham received a Bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University and his Ph.D. from Rice University in 2008. He holds the Climate Change Professional (CCP) certification from the Association of Climate Change Officers (ACCO) and the Sustainability Associate (SA) from the Institute for Sustainable Professionals.

Alyse Grumbles

Alyse Grumbles just recently joined the Shell Supply Chain organization specializing in Energy procurement and reducing emissions from the power we purchase for Shell assets, including the Real Estate Portfolio. Prior to this Alyse was the Environment and Sustainability lead for Shell Real Estate. She was responsible for minimizing Real Estate’s exposure to ESG risks, decreasing the carbon footprint of Shell’s built environment, minimizing waste of resources, and protecting biodiversity on our sites. Alyse started her career at Shell as an Occupational Hygienist at Shell’s largest Technology Center where she assessed and found solutions for workplace health hazards. She spent her time in graduate school, working in Upstream Oil and Gas HSSE in the Marcellus Shale and offshore Gulf of Mexico. Alyse has a B.S. in Bioenvironmental sciences from Texas A&M and a Master of Public Health in Environmental and Occupational Health from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Alyse is from Houston, Texas but has spent the last 2 years between home and London. Time away from work is spent traveling, indulging in restaurants, reading, listening to podcasts, and showing her New Zealand (aka Kiwi) fiancé how to be a Texan. Her German Shepherd Shiner keeps them both busy and active!

Dr. Nansen G. Saleri

Dr. Nansen G. Saleri is the Chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Quantum Reservoir Impact (QRI), a leading advanced analytics and AI firm in oil and gas since 2007, headquartered in Houston with global operations. He holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia. He is also the founder and President of the Kristin Saleri Art Foundation.

As the former Head of Reservoir Management for Saudi Aramco for nearly a decade, Dr. Saleri led efforts in managing the company’s 10mm production and played a leading role in its development planning including Ghawar, the world’s most prolific oilfield. Prior to that, he worked for Chevron for 18 years.

In 2006 he was the recipient of the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ prestigious John Franklin Carll Award, and he is both an SPE Distinguished Member and Distinguished Speaker. Dr. Saleri is also cited among the industry’s game-changers in the book titled, Groundbreakers (2015).

Dr. Saleri currently holds seven patents, and he is a sought-after opinion leader on global energy issues with credits including the Wall Street Journal, Houston Chronicle, Reuters, Bloomberg, CNBC, Financial Times, and China Daily News.

Jane Stricker

As the Senior Vice President, Energy Transition and Executive Director of HETI, Jane Stricker is responsible for leading the Partnership’s initiative to leverage Houston’s energy leadership to accelerate global solutions for a low-carbon future. She leads a coalition of industry, academia and community partners to ensure the long-term economic competitiveness and advancement of the Houston region towards a more sustainable and net-zero emissions future.

Prior to joining the Partnership, Jane spent over 20 years at bp, where, among her many accomplishments, she developed and delivered the 2019 National Petroleum Council study on carbon capture, use and storage in coordination with the U.S. Department of Energy.  Her most recent role as Senior Relationship Manager of Regions, Cities and Solutions integrated her as a critical partner to cities and industry to collaborate on low-carbon energy solutions, working closely with the City of Houston to implement their Climate Action Plan.

Jane is a contributing faculty member of the University of Houston’s Center for Carbon Management in Energy, a Regional Advisory Board member for the Energy Industries Council, North & Central America, and a member of the Advisory Board of the Houston Chapter of WRISE.

Moderator Information:

Juliana Garaizar

Juliana Garaizar - Head of Houston Incubator and VP of Innovation, Greentown Labs – Climate Action at Work: Juliana is the Head of Houston Incubator and VP of Innovation for Greentown Labs. A Board Member of the Angel Capital Association, Juliana is a Lead Investor of the Portfolia Rising America Fund that invests in BIPOC and LGTBQ founders, as well as the Portfolia Consumer and Rising Tide Funds. She is also an Advisory Board Member of the University of Houston Cougar Venture Fund, the Houston Diversity Fund, the Investors of Color network and Impulse4women. A Kauffman Fellow experienced in Bridging the Gender Gap in investing, she is part of the City of Houston’s Women Commission. Juliana was the Texas Medical Center Venture Fund Director and the Managing Director of the Houston Angel Network. She was the Manager of the French Riviera's Sophia Business Angels network and Antipolis Innovation Campus and Project Manager of several International Projects funded by the European Commission. Previously, Juliana worked for 5 years in Singapore: first as an International Trade Consultant for the Trade Commission of Spain in a broad range of industry sectors and then as a Project Manager for the Asia Technology Office of Citigroup, leading projects at the international level. Juliana obtained an MBA at the London Business School and Haas School of Business in Berkeley, specializing in Entrepreneurship.

Members $40 / $50 (after price increase)
Guests $50 / $60 (after price increase)

Price increases seven days before the luncheon.

Power Sponsors
2 Attendees to Monthly Luncheons

Illumination Sponsors
2 Attendees to Monthly Luncheons

Cornerstone Sponsors
1 Attendee to Monthly Luncheons

**Please note, IFMA Houston cannot make any refunds within 7 days of the meeting**