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Describe your career journey and aspirations. My cleantech career started with an internship at a non-profit called Climate Solutions where I realized that the analysis skills I was developing in [...]




2021 WCS Year in Review
2021 was a pivotal year for Women in Cleantech & Sustainability. Marking the 10 year anniversary of our organization, it was a year of expansion, accomplishments, and catalytic call to action [...]

“I can trace my interest in infrastructure back to being a kid building Lego cities complete with railroads, flying cars, and a space station; even with dolls, I was mostly building cities around them.”
SUE YANG NOVEMBER 2021 MEMBER OF THE MONTH “I can trace my interest in infrastructure back to being a kid building Lego cities complete with railroads, flying cars, and a space station; even with [...]

“I always knew that I wanted to be an entrepreneur because I am a builder. I find joy in that.”
“I always knew that I wanted to be an entrepreneur because I am a builder. I find joy in that.” Jhana porter launched frakktal labs LLC in July 2020 in the midst of a global pandemic. She aims to [...]

“Being part of a community means being a part of something greater than you. It’s about sharing, growing and opening up to who you are and what you believe in.”
JUNE 2021 MEMBER OF THE MONTH– CHRISCILIA COX, MA Founder and CEO, SUMA Consulting LLC “Being part of a community means being a part of something greater than you. It’s about sharing, [...]

“Exclusion does not lead to inclusion – I don’t want to exclude white males, I just want to provide a rainbow of profiles.”
May 2021 Member of the Month: Catherine McLean How did you hear about WCS and what prompted you to join? I was introduced to Abigail Carson as someone who is a serial networker, like myself, and [...]


Once a large ship starts to turn towards change, large change can happen
March 2021 Member of the Month: Yuko Masuda How did you hear about WCS and what prompted you to join? My company Marubeni Corporation sent me to New York from Tokyo for a few years, and then to [...]

Ten Scholarships by Women in Cleantech and Sustainability Seek to Expand Access for Underrepresented Groups Seeking Careers in Climate Tech
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – (April 6, 2021) –Celebrating ten years of furthering the roles of professionals within the green economy, Women in Cleantech & Sustainability (WCS), today announced [...]

“How early education in STEM helped shape my career”
April 2021 Member of the Month: Joy Larson How did you hear about WCS and what prompted you to join? I was looking specifically for a meetup group for women in STEM. I wanted a space to interact [...]

Going from “I’ve never coded, I hate statistics and I’m not sure how AI and machine learning works” to “I can now build useful machine learning models.” Copy
February 2021 Member of the Month: Gayathri Gopalakrishnan How did you hear about WCS and what prompted you to join? I was among the first to join once WCS started its membership program. When I [...]

A celebration of HERstory 2021 WCS Talks – Part III
March is women’s history month. In the madness of a pandemic year when we’ve been pushed to reach new levels of resilience, achievement, and perseverance, I have been listening and wanting to [...]

Waiting to be Ready is a Hindrance
WAITING TO BE READY IS A HINDRANCE Background: Linda Merritt is the Director of Quality for Signal Energy, a Chattanooga-based renewable energy company responsible for large scale and [...]
The Importance of Representation: Women in Cleantech & Sustainability Vice-Chair Interviews WCS Pitch Competition Team
A CONVERSATION WITH KELLY RATCHINSKY, CO-LEAD ON THE PITCH COMPETITION COMMITTEE AND SARA FUENTES, VICE CHAIR OF WCS Sara: Let’s hear about your role and the history of the Pitch Competition. [...]


From Horses to Automobiles in 13 Years : Informing the Transition to Clean Transportation
Background: Dr. Elizabeth A. Kocs Director, Partnerships & Strategy, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Energy Initiative Adjunct Faculty, CUPPA & Faculty Fellow, Honors College [...]


TerraPro Solutions CEO Kimberlee Centera to Present a Negotiation Skills Webinar Series in Association with Women in Cleantech & Sustainability (WCS)
SAN DIEGO (PRWEB) AUGUST 18, 2020 TerraPro Solutions CEO Kimberlee Centera will present a three-part webinar series with Women in Cleantech & Sustainability. The series is designed to empower [...]

Black Lives Matter to Cleantech & Sustainability
Dear WCS Community, WCS condemns injustice against the Black community in recent events and the long-standing, systemic racism throughout American society. As an organization, we have spent the [...]

Sindhu Kotha: February Member of the Month
WCS Member of the Month highlights the amazing stories of female leaders in the industry. This month, we spotlight Sindhu Kotha, Finance and Strategy at Proterra.Is it true that you [...]

Morgan LaManna: January Member of the Month
WCS Member of the Month highlights the amazing stories of female leaders in the industry. This month, we spotlight Morgan LaManna, Senior Manager, Investor Engagement at Ceres.Please introduce us [...]

Maria Saltz: December Member of the Month
WCS Member of the Month highlights the fantastic stories of female leaders in the industry. This month, we spotlight Maria Saltz, Sr. Manager, Marketing and Customer Insights at AdobeWCS: What [...]

WCS Talks 2018 Pitch Competition Winner
Artveoli Wins First Startup Pitch Competition for Women-Led Cleantech and Sustainability Companies in the United StatesArtveoli Inc.'s breathable art takes home the prize at 5th Annual Women in [...]

From Bees, and Sustainability to Startups Competing for Prizes, WCS Talks Packs in the Inspiration for a Cleaner Future
It’s that time of year again, the time to be inspired by some of the brightest minds in Cleantech at WCS Talks 2018. Women in Cleantech and Sustainability (WCS) has been hosting informative [...]

Ranyee Chiang: August Member of the Month
WCS Member of the Month highlights the amazing stories of female leaders in the industry. This month, we spotlight Ranyee Chiang, Technology Officer for Bay Area Air Quality [...]

Sara Prochasson: May Member of the Month
WCS Member of the Month highlights the amazing stories of female leaders in the industry. This month, we spotlight Sara Prochasson, Smart Grid Analyst for Enedis. WCS: Please introduce us to [...]

March Member of the Month: Courtney Condon
WCS Member of the Month highlights the amazing stories of female leaders in the industry. This month, we spotlight Courtney Condon, Senior Project Manager at Lucid. WCS: Please introduce us to [...]

4th Annual WCS Talks Recap: Find Your Tribe to Reveal Your Path
Every year in Silicon Valley, WCS Talks brings together bright minds, inspiring stories, and valuable wisdom. This year, more than 250 men and women gathered at Google’s new Sunnyvale [...]

WCS Member of the Month: Stephanie Jumel
WCS Member of the Month highlights the amazing stories of female leaders in the industry. This month, we spotlight Stephanie Jumel, Energy Services Program Director at Électricité de France [...]

California’s Place in Global Climate Policy
From left: Leila Salazar, Amazon Watch; Danielle Fugere, As You Sow; Larissa Koehler, Environmental Defense Fund; Mary Solecki, Environmental Entrepreneurs; Dana Zartner, University of San [...]

WCS Talks 2017: Hear from Levi’s, Google, OPower, and more!
WCS Talks is back, now in its fourth year! The full-day event is on Saturday November 4, 2017, at Google’s beautiful new Sunnyvale Campus. Come learn and get inspired as sustainability [...]

WCS Member of the Month: Deepika Nagabhushan
WCS Member of the Month is our new initiative to highlight the amazing stories of female leaders in the industry. One woman from WCS will be featured every month to share her accomplishments, [...]

WCS Member of the Month: Susan Kasper
WCS Member of the Month is our new initiative to highlight the amazing stories of female leaders in the industry. One woman from WCS will be featured every month to share her accomplishments, [...]

WCS Member of the Month: Melanie Lucas-Conwell
WCS Member of the Month is our new initiative to highlight the amazing stories of female leaders in the industry. One woman from WCS will be featured every month to share her accomplishments, [...]

WCS Mentorship Program
By Ana Galan and Elyse Green Since we were kids, we have been surrounded by mentors, though we usually call them by some other name. They may have been teachers, trainers, managers, or, of [...]

WCS Member of the Month: Kathryn Verna
WCS Member of the Month highlights the amazing work of female leaders jn the cleantech and sustainability sector. This month, Kathryn Verna of GE Renewable Energy is in the spotlight. WCS: What [...]

WCS Member of the Month: Adrienne Pierce
WCS Member of the Month is our new initiative to highlight the amazing work of female leaders in the cleantech and sustainability realm. One woman from WCS will be featured every month to share [...]

Ladies, You Need to Step Up
By Lisa Ann Pinkerton Orginally published on The Huffington Post I recently attended a renewable energy conference in San Francisco, where over lunch a woman introduced me to her male colleague [...]

Sustainability’s New Sales Pitch Has Nothing To Do With Saving the Planet
By Lisa Ann Pinkerton Orginally published on The Huffington Post NASA released a report in August that showed the average global temperature in 2015 was the highest it’s ever been since record [...]

Making Connections and Finding Inspiration at WCS Talks 2016
By Rosana Francescato The annual flagship event of Women in Cleantech & Sustainability is always informative, enlightening — and fun. The 300 women and men who attended this year were [...]

Inspiring a Movement of Women, One Talk At a Time
by Anjali Manghnani and Poonum Agrawal WCS Talks is an annual TED Talks style event hosted by Women in Cleantech and Sustainability (WCS). This event aims to redefine the female experience [...]
Booth Babes Redux: Why Are We Still Having this Conversation?
By Rosana FrancescatoOriginally published on PV Solar Report In 2013, the booth babes at Intersolar North America included the now infamous caged dancers at the Recom booth. They certainly drew a [...]
4 Common Mistakes People Make with their Finances
Strategies for Sustainable Finances By Pat Christianson and Rosana Francescato What’s the formula for healthy personal finances? It comes down to 20% knowledge and 80% behavior. That’s according [...]
Why women are critical to clean energy
By Joan MacNaughton, Executive Chair, World Energy Trilemma, World Energy CouncilOriginally published on GreenBiz While climate change has been recognized as an urgent, global issue, the [...]
Is a Zero Waste Lifestyle Possible?
By Rosana Francescato Special thanks to Amie Lewis and Mariya Kravchenko for organizing this excellent WCS event. We’d all like to go zero-waste. But what does that mean? WCS Chair Lisa Ann [...]
WCS Talks 2015
In case you missed our event at Google in November of 2015, here’s the complete list of videos from the event.
Does Energy Policy Matter?
By Pam Seidenman While technology and capital both drive the clean economy, policy is just as important. Women in Cleantech and Sustainability (WCS) recently held a panel discussion on the role [...]
LuminAID: Women Offering Relief With Solar Energy
By Maria Ava In 2015, two brilliant entrepreneurs, Andrea Sreshta and Anna Stork, amazed the world by pitching LuminAID on Shark Tank. The CBS program gives hopeful entrepreneurs the opportunity [...]
Politics and You !
Join us for a panel discussion with state and federal experts: California legislation affecting renewable energy Key players in California energy politics Successes that have inspired women to [...]
How You Can Save Money, Help WCS, and Help the Planet
What if you could help Women in Cleantech and Sustainability while helping yourself? And what if doing that would also help the planet?These aren’t hypothetical questions. Through our [...]
This Changes Everything: Climate Change vs. Capitalism
By Maria Ava The nightmare of global warming and climate change is usually blamed on pollution from vehicles and manufacturing. However, what many concerned with climate change fail to realize [...]
15 for 2015: Women in Cleantech
By Dawn LippertOriginally published on Energy Excelerator Aloha, Dawn here. As 2015 comes to a close, the Energy Excelerator team would like to recognize our fellow innovators paving the way for [...]
Can Tech Solve Climate Change?
Yes, it’s possible to make money and save the world from climate disaster. By Elena Lucas All eyes are on Paris for the 2015 U.N. Climate Change Conference. But what if solving the global climate [...]
Energy, Pollution, and Human Beings: The True Cost of Fast Fashion
By Maria Ava With the holiday shopping season upon us, there’s no better time to consider your fashion choices — and the impact they have on people and planet. Maria Ramos sheds light [...]
2nd Annual WCS Talks Exceeds Expectations
By Rosana Francescato If you’ve attended many cleantech events, you’re probably familiar with this scene: a panel of men, with maybe a token woman thrown in — maybe not — addresses an [...]
Prepare for a Day of Boundless Inspiration at 2nd Annual WCS Talks
By Rosana Francescato Where can you learn about, and be inspired by, the many cleantech and sustainability solutions happening all around us — and the women making them happen? At WCS Talks [...]
Are Women Breaking the Solar Glass Ceiling?
By Rosana Francescato You can’t go to a major solar conference without hearing about women in solar. It was a recurring theme at Solar Power International this year. So, what’s the buzz? The [...]
A Climate Change Fashion Show and Tell
By Paricha Duangtaweesub Palo Alto Grand Opening of Apocalypse Project Catherine Sarah Young believes in the power of experiences and the impact of sharing them. “If you experience something, it [...]
Top Cleantech Women to Follow on Twitter
When you think of women in cleantech these days, quite a few come to mind. We’d venture to guess that most of them are on Twitter. That makes us especially proud that our Women in Cleantech [...]
Luminalt’s Jeanine Cotter: How Solar Loses Without a Diverse Workforce
By Rachel BarronThis article originally appeared on SolarEnergy.net, and is reprinted with permissionJeanine Cotter, CEO of solar installation company Luminalt, has witnessed profound resiliency. [...]
Today’s Outlook for Women in Cleantech
By Maria Ava Despite all the advances women have made in the world, we’re still underrepresented in tech. Cleantech is no exception. Why is this happening, and what can we do about it? Perhaps it [...]
Sign the #NationWISE Pledge for Women in Solar
Posted by Rosana Francescato Have you signed the pledge yet? Don’t know what I’m talking about?What the pledge is all aboutIt’s simple: The #NationWISE Pledge, fromWomen in Solar Energy (WISE), [...]
How to Kick Coal Out of Your Portfolio
Posted by Rosana FrancescatoHave you been watching the trend of institutions and cities divesting from coal? Are you wondering how you can get in on the action?As it turns out, it’s not that hard [...]
#NationWISE 14-City Event Kicks off Actions to Support Women in Solar
Posted by Guest ContributorBy Elizabeth GalushaWomen in Solar Energy (WISE) hosted a#NationWISE Multi-City Roundtable in 14 cities on February 24, 2015. The mission of WISE is to advance women in [...]
How Erica Mackie Leads Grid Alternatives’ Push for Low-Income Solar
Posted by Guest ContributorBy Rachel BarronThis article originally appeared onSolarEnergy.net, and is reprinted with permissionFor some of the country’s most financially vulnerable families, a [...]
What Does It Take to Successfully Implement Corporate Sustainability?
Posted by Guest ContributorBy Saskia JuretzekSustainable development is becoming more and more an integral part of our daily life, and more companies are willing to incorporate sustainability [...]
Start Small: How I Went from Junior Analyst to Startup CEO in One Year
Posted by Elena Foukes Lucas One year ago, I was the lowest-level analyst at a Fortune 200 company. Now, I’m a co-founder and CEO. Two catalysts began my year-long path to entrepreneurship: Kate [...]
Bernadette Del Chiaro Wants to Make California Solar a Force of Nature
Posted by Guest ContributorBy Rachel BarronThis article originally appeared on SolarEnergy.net, and is reprinted with permission.It’s no secret that California is king when it comes to the U.S. [...]
How I Became “The LED Lady” — Hawaiian Style?
Posted by Guest ContributorBy Lindsay Wood“I have to write a blog” to “I get to write a blog” to “this blog is going to write me” – these are the thoughts that come to mind when sitting down at [...]
TechWomen Is Not Just an Exchange Program
Posted by Guest ContributorBy Christie McCarthyOriginally published on the Vista Solar blogAdvanced nations are beginning to understand this phenomenon: that healthy economies cannot exist [...]