Women Entrepreneurs Coaching Series

An exclusive virtual coaching series designed to fast-track women entrepreneurs in climate and impact sectors into the top 50% of investable ventures.

Featuring expert-led workshops, webinars, office hours, and peer circles to build critical business skills in fundraising, leadership, marketing, and legal fundamentals. Curated for early-stage founders, the series fosters a vibrant peer community and delivers hands-on guidance from top industry leaders.

Program Overview

FoundHER is a year long virtual coaching experience focused on building the technical and soft skills essential for scaling a women-led venture. Participants gain access to:

  • Hands-On Workshops: Interactive sessions covering storytelling, leadership, and critical startup fundamentals.

  • Expert Webinars: Insights from seasoned investors, founders, and industry leaders.

  • Peer Circles: Intimate cohorts fostering accountability, networking, and shared learning.

Upcoming Events

FoundHer in Climate 2026 | Show the Proof: Traction, Milestones & Financials That Win
Wednesday, April 1, 2026 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PST | Virtual
FoundHer in Climate 2026 | Mastering the Live Pitch: How to Speak with Confidence, Clarity & Impact
Thursday, April 9, 2026 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PST | Virtual

Program Lead

  • Nagashree Manwatkar
    Nagashree Manwatkar Co-Chair of the Entrepreneurship Committee

    Nagashree Manwatkar is a seasoned leader in cleantech with a career dedicated to decarbonization and scaling sustainable solutions. As a Board Member and Co-Chair of the Women in Cleantech and Sustainability Entrepreneurship Committee, she fosters innovation and supports startups in the green economy. With extensive experience in operations, strategy, and business development—spanning Tesla Energy, large-scale infrastructure projects, and climate-focused nonprofits—Nagashree is passionate about empowering women entrepreneurs and accelerating the transition to a clean energy future. She also founded Gaia-Force, an upskilling initiative for climate professionals, demonstrating her commitment to workforce development in cleantech.  

Featured Speakers

  • Cece Zhao
    Cece Zhao Vice President, Vectors Capital

    Cece (Xixi) Zhao, CFA, is a finance and clean-energy investment professional with a decade of global experience spanning asset management, renewable energy development, and climate-tech innovation. Currently a Vice President at Vectors Capital, she leads deal sourcing, due diligence, and strategic portfolio initiatives, with a focus on AI-driven and early-stage decarbonization technologies. Her background includes managing a $10B multi-asset portfolio at AllianceBernstein, driving energy-transition and ESG strategies, and advancing renewable-energy investments at AES Clean Energy. A CFA charterholder with degrees from Columbia University and the University of Hong Kong, Cece also serves on the board of WRISE Bay Area, supporting women’s leadership in the clean-energy sector.

  • Kara Alter
    Kara Alter Head of Marketing & Community, SE Ventures

    Kara Alter leads brand strategy, marketing, and community at SE Ventures, where she also supports portfolio companies through strategic co-marketing opportunities. She brings a strong founder’s perspective to her work, grounded in hands-on experience building and scaling brands from the ground up.

    Prior to joining SE Ventures, Kara served as the founding head of brand marketing at three fast-growing startups. Her work spans a wide range of sectors, including sustainable investing, regenerative agriculture, mobility, sustainable communities, fintech, real estate technology, and biotech. Across each of these domains, she has focused on developing thoughtful go-to-market strategies and cultivating highly engaged, global customer communities.

    Kara holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Southern California, with an emphasis on Business Administration and Communication Design.

  • Karen Baert
    Karen Baert Co-Founder and CEO at Ammobia

    Karen Baert is a co-founder and CEO at Ammobia. Ammobia is a seed-stage start-up out of Stanford revolutionizing ammonia synthesis by enabling cost-effective clean ammonia production. Their novel, innovative integrated reactor and ammonia separation method enable ammonia production at 10x lower pressure, drastically reducing capex/production cost and increasing the flexibility and safety of ammonia production. With their breakthrough technology, Ammobia is on a mission to decarbonize fertilizers, chemicals, marine shipping and heavy industry.
    Prior to Ammobia, Karen Baert was Innovation Strategist at the Stanford Hydrogen Initiative, Investor at Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Strategy Consultant at Bain & Company and worked at multiple climate tech companies.

    Karen Baert holds a degree in Chemical Engineering (Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium), Renewable Energy Engineering (Technical University of Berlin, Germany) and an MBA (Stanford Graduate School of Business, USA).

Sponsorship Opportunities

Partner with us to empower and elevate women in cleantech and sustainability. Contact us at info@womencleantechsustainability.org to explore sponsorship opportunities.