Reverse Pitch

Alicia is an interdisciplinary climate investor committed to unlocking the ocean’s potential to tackle environmental challenges. With over eight years in climate tech, impact investing, gender-lens frameworks, and sustainability consulting, she brings a comprehensive perspective to her role. At SOA, Alicia is dedicated to advancing ocean-centric startups by merging innovative technology with traditional conservation methods to create a sustainable marine future. Her focus is on narrowing the gender gap in climate investments and increasing funding accessibility for emerging market founders.

Arne Tonning is a partner at Alliance VC, one of the Nordic region’s leading venture capital firms, backing exceptional early-stage tech companies solving real problems. He spent five years in Silicon Valley as Alliance’s representative and Investor-in-Residence at Nordic Innovation House. He is also a board member of the Norwegian Venture Capital Association.

Ellen connects founders, investors, companies and community leaders to turn strong ideas into partnerships and growth. Through Engineered to Live and Plus Ultra Capital Partners, she works across technology, venture capital and community building. Her experience spans semiconductors, defense technology, renewable energy, marketing and AI. She brings technical fluency, business development experience and a people-first approach to every room she builds.

Jane joined E8 in June 2026, and has participated in prescreening and due diligence workflows, including the 2026 Decarbon8 selection, and brings operational expertise across supply chain, tech scale up, and climate solutions. In addition to her work at E8, Jane has spent twenty years working across the full length of the food and agriculture system — building farm-direct sourcing models that move value closer to smallholder farmers across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, developing climate strategy for consumer brands, creating avoided emissions methodology for agricultural biotech, and engaging federal agencies on the policy frameworks that shape what’s possible for all of it.

Jill Fuss, Ph.D., is the Managing Director of Activate Berkeley, where she supports scientists and engineers in transforming breakthrough research into commercially viable companies. A scientist-turned-entrepreneur, Jill previously co-founded CinderBio, an industrial biotechnology company, and spent more than a decade conducting research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. A former Activate Fellow herself, she brings firsthand experience in technology commercialization, startup development, and building entrepreneurial communities. She is passionate about connecting innovators with the mentorship, resources, and networks they need to bring transformative technologies to market.

Makenna is a Senior Associate at Starshot Capital. She completed her PhD in Chemistry at Stanford University in 2026, where she specialized in materials chemistry, polymer science, nanoscience, and catalysis. Throughout her studies, Makenna developed novel plastic recycling technologies while leading interdisciplinary teams spanning machine learning and synthetic biology. Makenna has also worked closely with the Stanford Climate Ventures program to critically evaluate emerging sustainable technologies. She is a National Science Foundation fellow and an inaugural Stanford Sustainability Accelerator grantee.