Sara Fuentes is the Founder and President of SmartWaste. With 10 years of experience in the Waste and Recycling Industry, Sara is a leader in abating commercial waste. A passionate advocate for women and a tenacious leader, Sara is setting out to alter the cleantech landscape and finding her own niche. Sara draws on her experience working as an educator and Vice-Chair of the Women in CleanTech and Sustainability organization, where she is an impactful mentor and friend.

Smart Waste is a Minority Women-owned and operated start-up with a focus on Waste Technologies, Waste Systems and Vendor Management for Zero Waste programs. Our core values are Transparency, Circularity, and People. Transparency to establish trust. Circularity to explore and validate the downstream community. People are the heart of sustainability. Our Impact will influence our communities to practice a zero-waste lifestyle. We are looking to work with companies that are in alignment with our values and goals.

Lisa Ann Pinkerton is the founder and Vice Chair of Women in Cleantech & Sustainability, an international professional networking non-profit dedicated to the advancement of women in their careers. She served as Chairwoman from the organization’s inception until 2024. She is also the Founder and President of Technica Communications (http://www.technicacommunications.com/), host of the Earthlings 2.0 podcast,  international speaker and moderator, and documentary filmmaker. She was named the PRNEWS 2021 Industry Innovator, PR Executive of the Year by the American Business Awards (2020), Female Entrepreneur of the Year for Advertising and Marketing by the Women in Business and the Professions World Awards (2020), and a Woman of Influence by the Silicon Valley Business Journal (2017).

Before shifting her career to support professionals and startups in the Cleantech and Sustainability sectors, Lisa Ann was an award-winning environmental science journalist who reported for National Public Radio, PBS Television, WPXI-NBC, American Public Media, and Free Speech TV.

Julie is the Interim Volunteer Committee Chair for Women in Cleantech & Sustainability (WCS) and the President of Product Rehab. She is a customer-centric executive with 20+ years of experience identifying new revenue opportunities for Fortune 500 companies in technology, health, and financial services. She is a strategist, a visionary, and a diplomat with a polished and proven approach to leading and motivating key stakeholders to leverage customer voice data, inclusiveness, and objectivity. She holds an MBA from George Washington University.

Cathy serves full-time as R&D Team Lead – Sustainability/Circular Economy at Saint-Gobain, a Fortune 500 manufacturing company committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. At Saint-Gobain, she leads efforts to push the boundaries of material technologies to guide the company towards its sustainability and circular economy goals. Additionally, the team she leads deploys digital tools and training programs to nurture a culture of sustainable innovation across the organization.

Cathy Zhang is guided by a deep passion for cleantech and innovation, and she is on a personal mission to foster diverse, collaborative, inclusive communities that address pressing sustainability challenges. As a female scientist, engineer, and team leader, Cathy has a track record of mentoring women and underrepresented individuals in the fields of STEM and innovation. She is eager to extend impact to even broader communities via her role as a volunteer board member for WCS. Cathy holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from MIT and a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Harvard University.

As a seasoned finance and investment professional, Marine brings to the table a unique blend of experience from Fortum, one of the largest producers of CO2-free electricity in Europe, headquartered in Finland. Her expertise lies in strategic budgeting, process automation, and cost management, which she has leveraged to drive substantial growth in the cleantech industry. Her work in both Venture Capital and Corporate Venture Capital arenas has honed her skills in nurturing innovation while grounding it in sound business strategy. Marine’s career embodies a commitment to environmentally conscious investment and technological advancement, with the ultimate goal of fostering a cleaner world.

Alison brings over 17 years of expertise in staffing within the STEM marketplace, partnering with both dynamic startups and established enterprises to design and implement effective recruitment programs and strategies. Her extensive experience spans identifying top talent, streamlining hiring processes, and building robust teams that drive innovation and growth.
A passionate advocate for diversity in the workplace, Alison is particularly interested in advancing gender diversity in STEM. .
Alison’s commitment to excellence and her deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities in STEM recruiting have made her a trusted advisor and leader in the industry.

With over 25 years of experience in market advisory and consultancy, I have developed a strong expertise in the fields of energy transition, decarbonization, sustainability, and circular economy. I help clients navigate the complex and evolving energy and environment landscape and identify the best growth opportunities and strategies.

As the Industry Director of Growth Advisory Energy and Environment and the Research Director of Digital Grid at Frost & Sullivan, I provide high-quality research, analysis, and insights on the global digital grid market and its impact on the energy transition. I also lead and support various projects on growth pipeline opportunity assessment, acquisition target research, and due diligence, leveraging my deep knowledge of digital grid technologies and solutions, such as smart meters, grid sensors, distributed energy resources, microgrids, energy storage, and grid software. My mission is to enable clients to achieve their goals and vision in the digital grid and energy transition space.

Trish brings deep expertise in business development, demand generation, marketing operations, and strategic partner growth. A LEED Accredited Professional, she began her sustainability journey in green building and renewable energy, where she helped scale market adoption and build momentum for clean energy solutions. Over time, her work has evolved to focus on driving systemic change—connecting technology, policy, community, and storytelling to accelerate climate impact.

Across both tech and cleantech, Trish has built high-impact, revenue-driving programs and strategic partnerships that elevate brands while advancing sustainability outcomes. In recent years, she has expanded her consulting and leadership work into circularity, plastic pollution reduction, and ocean conservation, supporting mission-aligned organizations and innovators to expand the reach of conservation efforts, elevate public awareness, and strengthen climate solutions.

As Marketing Chair at WCS, Trish leads the strategy behind our storytelling, visibility, and community engagement. She is a connector and relationship-builder, known for forging partnerships that amplify mission, support women leaders, and translate climate solutions into meaningful action.

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.