Speakers

Hugh Gallagher serves as the Director of IT Services, North America at Carrix Inc, where his responsibilities include business engagement, operations technology strategy, field services, and vendor relations. His transition to Carrix IT followed a series of leadership roles in software product management, operations research, and client success at Tideworks Technology, a Carrix affiliate. At Tideworks, Hugh focused on delivering technology solutions to rail and marine terminal operators across the U.S., Latin America, Europe, and Oceania regions.  

Before joining Carrix, Hugh held operational roles with Ports America and Inchcape Shipping. A graduate of the California Maritime Academy and a US Army veteran, Hugh resides in Woodinville, WA, with his family.

Dr. Gustafsson is an experienced leader in research, innovation, collaboration, and internationalization. She is leading Vinnova’s office in Silicon Valley since 2018 with the mission to accelerate a strong innovation ecosystem between Sweden and California. Nordic Innovation House is an important component for transatlantic collaboration.  Under Dr. Gustafssons management the member base has expended to include both academia and agencies in addition to startups and corporates.

Jayson is a co-founder of i-SUSTAIN and has consulted with clients on a wide range of issues related to sustainability in the built environment, including researching global best practices. While with IMT, a Washington, DC NGO, he worked with more than 30 state and local jurisdictions to help them develop strategies for reducing their energy use and carbon footprint. Jayson has led numerous national stakeholder processes to inform the development of new tools and standards in this area. He previously served as the Energy and Climate Change Policy Advisor for the City of Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and the Environment, where he developed and led programs to meet the City's energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction goals. Jayson holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and an MS in Sustainable Energy Planning from Aalborg University in Aalborg, Denmark.

Jessyn Farrell, J.D., is a leader in building public consensus on difficult issues related to the environment, housing, transportation, and the economy.   A long-time environmental advocate, Jessyn’s career has spanned the public, private, non-profit, and philanthropic sectors as a state legislator from the 46th District, Executive Director of Transportation Choices and most recently as the Director of the Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE) for the City of Seattle.  As a legislator, Jessyn passed ground-breaking legislation on oil-by-rail safety, affordable housing near transit centers, education supports for low-income and homeless youth, protections for pregnant workers and restrictions to cell-phone use while driving.  As Director of OSE, Jessyn leads efforts to reduce climate pollution and ensure a clean and healthy environment for all residents of Seattle.  She has three kids, a dog, two cats and is working on her first book.

Jim Brisimitzis stands at the forefront of technological innovation, boasting a career that spans over 24 years in business development, product management, strategic alliances, and developer relations. As the founder of the 5G Open Innovation Lab, he has galvanized a community partnership championing advancements in connectivity, edge computing, and artificial intelligence. Under his leadership, the Lab has garnered the support of 18 global technology partners and has mentored over 118 multi-stage startups that have collectively raised an impressive $2.088B in venture capital. This groundbreaking initiative is further strengthened by its diverse backers, which include global platforms, telecom giants, consulting firms, and enterprise leaders. 

Over the years, Jim's knack for identifying and nurturing potential has found him collaborating with industry stalwarts, including Bell Canada, Nortel Networks, PeopleSoft, Oracle, and Microsoft. Some standout achievements from his illustrious career include: 

• Spearheading the Microsoft for Startups program across the US and Canada, successfully onboarding over 2,800 startups to the Azure platform. 
• Pioneering global operations for Microsoft Ventures and architecting the "HiPo" program, a unique incubator for high-potential startups. 
• Playing an instrumental role in developing the foundational prototypes for the Microsoft Cloud Platform Solution (also known as Azure Stack) and being credited with a patent for an innovative predictive algorithm. 
• Providing strategic direction as a Managing Partner at Quake Capital, a venture capital firm dedicated to nurturing early-stage startups. 

A proud alumnus of Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Jim holds a degree in Business Management. He currently resides in Seattle, WA, with his family. Beyond his professional endeavors, Jim is deeply committed to fostering entrepreneurial success and believes in harnessing the power of technology to catalyze positive societal change. 

Born and raised in the 34th Legislative District, Sen. Joe Nguyễn has deep roots in the community. His experiences and involvement with the community makes him an ardent champion for investing in Washington families and residents, expanding economic opportunities, and marks him as a bold leader in our fight against the climate crisis.

Joe is the Chair of the Environment, Energy & Technology Committee. He also serves as the Vice Chair of the budget-writing Ways & Means Committee and sits on the Human Services Committee. Elected to the Senate in 2019, he has spent his tenure advocating for working families and community members who historically have been left out of the political process. His priorities mirror the committees he serves on.

Throughout his first term, Joe has prioritized increased funding for social services. He has championed legislation to modernize and increase access to basic needs programs, like raising funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. He has helped make historic investments in affordable housing and alleviating the homelessness crisis. Joe has also been a staunch leader to reform our criminal justice system. For example, legislation he championed has expunged cannabis-related misdemeanors, a measure that works to address the disproportionately higher rates at which BIPOC and lower-income communities have been prosecuted.

Joe has been a thoughtful and innovative leader in his efforts to mitigate the climate crisis. He knows only too well how marginalized communities experience environmental harm disproportionately, and that to ensure that our communities thrive as a whole, we need to act urgently. His sponsored legislation has increased availability of zero emissions vehicles and expanded the Clean Buildings Act.

Joe recognizes the talent and potential of Washington’s students. To provide students equal access to education, he sponsored legislation to allow Community and Technical Colleges to offer four-year computer science degrees. That work has allowed Washington students, particularly students of color and low-income students, to access opportunities in a rapidly growing and competitive computer science industry.

Joe resides in West Seattle with his family.

Jonas serves as President of Stellar Holdings where he leads the company's day-to-day operations and strategic vision and oversees the company’s development and investment activities. Jonas leads strategic acquisition efforts for Stellar’s real estate portfolio and is on the Board of Bansvik Holdings AB. Prior to a career in real estate, he was an entrepreneur and technologist. Jonas is focused on applying innovative process thinking to development. Jonas served as CEO of System73 and is currently serving on its Board. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Southern California.

Jordan Haverly joined Neste in 2021 and leads the company's federal advocacy in the U.S. and Canada. Based in Washington, DC, Jordan brings more than a decade of Capitol Hill experience to Neste having previously served as the top policy and communications aide to former Congressman John Shimkus of Illinois. In that role, Jordan was actively engaged in the future of the Renewable Fuel Standard and other climate policy development. He also staffed the bipartisan House Recycling Caucus. Jordan holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from American University in Washington DC.

A Fellow of the British Advance Higher Education Academy, Prof. Joseph Iannelli serves as the education and research liaison to European Universities for the entire Washington State University (WSU) system, where he also serves as a full professor in the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture. He has been contributing to global-engagement initiatives for over 14 years, having negotiated  transatlantic-collaboration Memoranda of Understanding between WSU and 17 European Union (EU) universities and 8 Reciprocal Student Exchange agreements with as many EU universities, including 4 universities in Denmark and Sweden. He finds himself at home in the Scandinavian cultures, having visited Denmark and Sweden five times in as many years,  met with internalization officers in those countries’ universities, forged mutually beneficial partnerships, and led cohorts of US students to study in Sweden. His work in international relations is guided by three strategic objectives:

•  Educating diverse internationally-minded students for leadership in multicultural globalized societies

•  Establishing mutually-beneficial international partnerships to advance knowledge more effectively than allowed by the resources of any single institution

•  Securing transatlantic domestic and international funding to support students, professors, and staff in international experiences.

His contributions include an international double internship program with Bosch, the development of a transatlantic plant science research collaboration between WSU and the University of Cologne, the establishment of WSU’s International Double Master’s degree program, jointly with Switzerland’s Zürich University of Applied Sciences, and the development of an international Mission-to-Mars workshop, presented at France’s University of Lorraine and produced online by Austria’s Technology University of Graz. Together with colleagues at Linköping University he has developed the STARS.Se (Student Training And Research Semesters ) international program in Sweden, which integrates a traditional exchange semester with research projects carried out by integrated teams of US and Swedish students. The program fosters the development of deep relations among US and Scandinavian students and has attracted support from Boeing, Saab,  NSF, STINT, and Erasmus+.

A former executive with Microsoft and Sun Microsystems, Dr. Joseph Williams was recently the Dean of the School of Business, Government and Economics at Seattle Pacific University, the Seattle Director for PNNL, and the Global Cybersecurity Consulting Partner for Infosys. He recently returned to the public sector to serve as the tech industry policy adviser to the Governor, and the tech industry economic development director for the state of Washington.  Dr. Williams co-founded 4 startups in his career, 3 of which had successful exits. In 2019 Joseph was a Berkman Klein fellow at Harvard University for AI Ethics.

Ms. Williams is NW Natural’s Vice President, Chief Public Affairs and Sustainability Officer. She held the position of Vice President of Public Affairs and Sustainability from 2019 to May 2023. She has management responsibilities in government affairs, environmental policy, community relations, and corporate giving. Prior to that, Ms. Williams had been serving since April 2018 as NW Natural’s Government and Community Affairs Director. Before joining NW Natural, Ms. Williams had been the State Affairs Manager at the Port of Portland, where she oversaw the Port’s state government relations efforts, since November 2015 and the Business and Rail Relations Manager from January 2007 to November 2015. Prior to her employment at the Port, she was an associate at the regional public affairs consulting firm, Imeson & Carter, and spent over a decade working on issues on behalf of transportation providers, utilities, infrastructure companies and nonprofit organizations. Ms. Williams currently serves on the board of Identity Clark County, Oregon Business and Industry, Board of Trustees for WorldOregon, and is a board member of the non-profit Urban Gleaners and is a past board member of the Oregon Transportation Forum, Oregon Public Ports Association and Innovation Partnership/Partners in Diversity. She is involved with numerous leadership and community-based organizations, including Metro’s Regional Transportation Funding Task Force.

Ms. Williams is a graduate of The Colorado College where she received a bachelor’s degree in History and Latin American Studies. She completed an executive education program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government on Economics and the Environment and is a graduate of the Portland Business Alliance’s Leadership Portland program.

Linda Andrén is the Executive Director of the Sweden-US Green Transition Initiative. With over 20 years in global management, she excels at embedding sustainability within strategic business growth. Linda's past leadership roles include heading business units and acting as the Vice President of Business Development & Sustainability. She champions the green transition, striving to turn strategies into reality, and firmly believes in sustainability as both a vital responsibility and a vector for business innovation through digital and eco-friendly solutions. Currently, she is focused on propelling this transition through transatlantic partnerships from her base in Washington, D.C.

GeekWire’s Lisa Stiffler tells the stories of the burgeoning, multi-billion-dollar climate tech sector in the  Pacific Northwest and beyond, profiles tech startups and leaders, and covers the intersection of technology with social, environmental, diversity and education issues.  

Lisa is a University of Washington graduate twice over, with a background in cell biology that was jettisoned  for the excitement and nearly instant gratification of journalism. Her first media gig was at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, where for a decade she covered environmental issues. 

Other roles include a freelance reporter for the Seattle Times, an editor for Seattle’s Child and a researcher at Sightline Institute. 

Follow @lisa_stiffler and email lisa@geekwire.com. 

Marcus Rönngren Liu is a senior manager and business developer working across the border between the public and private sectors regarding business development, investment, and funding. Based out of Palo Alto, he is accelerating the green transition by supporting companies in venture programs, matching solution providers with city challenges, and collaborating with universities and companies to secure the matchmaking of human capital to enable the transformation.

Mary brings her experience and perspective from over 35 years at Microsoft to lead strategic AI initiatives in the Office of the Vice Chair and President. She is a frequent speaker on issues related to Microsoft’s corporate and social responsibility as well as technology policy, including in relation to AI.

She formerly led Microsoft’s Global Philanthropies, investing the company’s technology, financial support, employee talent, and voice to partner with nonprofits and communities to create lasting positive impact. Prior to that, Mary was Deputy General Counsel leading legal support for Microsoft’s engineering organizations. 

Mary has been an active board member for many nonprofit organizations, including the YWCA of Seattle, King, and Snohomish County, the Seattle Art Museum, the National 4-H Council, Washington STEM, and Farm Foundation. She also serves on the University of Michigan’s President’s Advisory Group, and on the National FFA Foundation’s Corporate Sponsors’ Board.

Mary joined Microsoft in 1988 as its fourth attorney, and first female attorney. She grew up in Newton, Kansas, where she still has close family, and graduated from the University of Kansas School of Journalism before earning her law degree at the University of Michigan.

Mike Chapman served for a decade as a local law enforcement officer and U.S. Customs Inspector. He then served four terms as a Clallam County Commissioner.

He received his master’s degree in Leadership and Liberal Studies from Duquesne University, his bachelor’s in Organizational Management from Northwest College and his Associates of Arts and Sciences from Shoreline College.

Mike currently chairs the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and also serves on the Transportation and the Consumer Protection & Business Committees in the State House of Representatives.

Mikko heads portfolio and architecture for Network as Code Platform in Nokia. Network as Code Platform, founded on Mikko’s vision and incubation, offers simplified global 5G and advanced network programmability for application ecosystems. 

Mikko drives the long-term portfolio and technology vision and differentiating offering for Network as Code Platform, and through that the transformation on how networks are consumed and monetized in enabling entirely new, ecosystem created next generation experiences and enterprise applications.  

Previously in Nokia, Mikko led Advanced Technology Group in advanced technology evaluations, rapid prototyping and first-time implementation and incubation of advanced solution prototypes and concepts. Advanced Technology Group’s successful incubations included Nokia SaaS delivery and operations vision leading to the foundation of Nokia SaaS, and Network as Code Platform.  

Mikko has over 24 years of experience in telecommunications software and has worked even longer than that with data, analytics and AI software solutions. During his professional journey he gained experience in scientific research, product training, product marketing, technical sales and business development, and more recently as CTO of Intelligent Data in Comptel.

Niels Nielsen serves as a Senior Business Consultant at GreenLab Skive, a pioneering green and circular industrial park in Denmark. With a robust background in management and energy consulting and several years in a leading global wind OEM, Niels has driven diverse cross-functional programs aimed at commercial growth and business innovation in the energy sector. His primary responsibilities include ideation on future developments in the global non-fossil market by integrating strategy, contextual mapping, technology, and market insights. Niels excels in conceptualizing new growth arenas, business modeling, and forging strategic partnerships with key private and public stakeholders, including the offtake market, suppliers, governments, municipalities, and communities. He also provides expert advice on commercial strategies for early-stage energy projects, helping to shape and scale new business opportunities.

Dr. Paolo Venneri has 9 years of experience in advanced nuclear and is the founder of USNC’s technology development spin-off, USNC-Tech. He has grown the Tech Group from SBIRs (through phase 1, 2, and post phase 2) to direct contracts with the DoD and NASA. He is a recognized expert in space nuclear technology, having been invited to present on the topic to the US Academy of Sciences and represent industry at NASA technology roundtables. He leads the technology project development for fission power, nuclear thermal propulsion, and radioisotope power systems.

Petra Hilleberg is the President and CEO of Hilleberg the Tentmaker. Growing up in northern Sweden and alongside the eponymous family company her parents started 51 years ago gave her both a big passion for the outdoors and a fascination for business. When she was 12 she told her father that she would one day sell tents in the US, and, after graduating from Seattle University in 2000, she did just that: she started the US side of the well-recognized Hilleberg tent company two days after graduation and sold her first tent one day later. She is now the President of Hilleberg, Inc, the US office, President of Hilleberg AB, the Swedish office, as well as the CEO of the Hilleberg Group, where she oversees the operations in Sweden, the US and the factory in Estonia.

In 2012 Miss Hilleberg was named an honoree of two prestigious 40 Under 40 awards: the 2012 SGB (Sporting Goods Business) 40 Under 40 Awards by the SportsOneSource Group and the 2012 Puget Sound Business Journal 40 Under 40 Awards. These awards honor outstanding leaders under the age of 40 within the sporting goods industry and in the Puget Sound community, respectively.

In 2022, Miss Hilleberg was awarded the “Female Shooting Star” prize by Ernst & Young at the Entrepreneur of the Year gala for Northern Sweden.

The Governor of Washington State, Jay Inslee, recognized Miss Hilleberg as the “Washingtonian of the Day” on September 16, 2022.

In 2019 Miss Hilleberg was appointed as Honorary Consul of Sweden to Washington and Oregon. She is very active in the vibrant Nordic community in the Northwest where she served as President of the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce in Seattle for many years. Since its inception in 2018, she has been part of the core steering committee for the Nordic Innovation Summit hosted by the National Nordic Museum. She is an Honorary Trustee on the board of Directors for the National Nordic Museum, Member of the Consular Associations of both Washington and Oregon, Board member of AFUU, American Friends of Uppsala University, and she serves on the jury for the Queen Silvia Award for Nursing at the University of Washington.

In addition, when time allows, she teaches both Alpine- and Telemark skiing for Snow Performance, a high end ski coaching business, and she is a former Divisional Clinic Leader for Telemark for the Northwest division of the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA-NW). When not in the outdoors, working or skiing, she trains and competes in dressage with her horses Boogie Woogie and Vilano. In 2018, she was the National Amateur Champion at Intermediare II and in 2019 the Regional Amateur Grand Prix Champion with Boogie Woogie.

Randy Hayden is the Executive Director of the Port of Pasco where he has worked for nearly 25 years. He oversees the Port’s two large industrial parks, barge terminal, intermodal rail yard, commercial properties, and the Tri-Cities Regional Airport.

Randy serves on boards of the Pasco Chamber of Commerce, Benton-Franklin Good Roads Association, United Way of Benton and Franklin Counties, and the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association.

Randy graduated from the University of Washington in 1988 with a degree in Civil Engineering and earned his Professional Engineer’s license in 1993. Before joining the Port, Randy worked as a private consultant in the Tri-Cities Washington.

Personal Info: Randy is a Tri-City native. He is married to Anette Hayden, a nurse at the Tri-Cities Hospice House, and they have three children, Noah, Tove and Magnus. They love the outdoors and enjoy camping, biking, and kayaking.

State Sen. Reuven Carlyle (Ret.) is founder of Earth Finance, a global climate strategy and finance firm and a former Washington State Legislator (2009-2023). 

Sen. Carlyle is the architect of what is widely viewed as the most comprehensive state-level climate package in the United States. In partnership with Gov. Jay Inslee and legislative colleagues, the sweeping agenda was adopted under his leadership as chair of the state Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Committee (2016-2023).  

This comprehensive suite of legislation makes Washington the only state in the U.S. with binding, enforceable commitments to the science-based targets and the Paris Agreement and includes: Cap & invest carbon pricing (Climate Commitment Act), 100% clean energy standard (Clean Energy Transformation Act), low carbon fuel standard, historic environmental justice and equity policy (Healthy Environment for All Act), Native American tribal government-to-government consultation, building efficiency requirements, methane captue and super pollutant regulation, renewable energy facility siting, electrification of transportation, utility moderation and more.  

The Environmental Defense Fund called the Climate Commitment Act “the gold standard of state climate policy.” Quebec, Calfifornia and Washington state have now indicated plans to align carbon programs. He served as a representative of sub-national climate policy leadership through the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators at COP26 in Glasgow.  

Earth Finance provides climate strategy, investment and finance support for premier organizations striving to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. Reuven serves on the Boards of Directors for Toptana Technologies, a broadband firm owned by the Quinault Indian Nation, as well as Climate Registry, a non-profit leading the development of global accounting standards for climate disclosure and transparency. Prior to Earth Finance, he has served in business strategy and investment roles for a number of early-stage businesses in the mobile, software and climate categories.  

Sen. Carlyle has a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He and his wife, Dr. Wendy Carlyle, live in Seattle and have four children.  

Rhys Roth is Executive Director of the Center for Sustainable Infrastructure (CSI) in Olympia, WA which is helping to bring innovation, new tools, and sustainability excellence to infrastructure planning and investment in the Pacific Northwest.    

Rhys authored CSI’s influential inaugural report, Infrastructure Crisis, Sustainable Solutions, and the subsequent three reports in the 5 Big Goals for 2040; Rewiring the Northwest’s Energy Infrastructure, A Northwest Vision for 2040 Water Infrastructure, and From Waste Management to Clean Materials.    

Prior to founding CSI, Rhys co-founded and helped lead for over 15 years the non-profit group Climate Solutions.   

LinkedIn & Website: 

Center for Sustainable Infrastructure: Overview | LinkedIn 
CSI | The Center for Sustainable Infrastructure (sustaininfrastructure.org) 

Rob hails from Grand Rapids, Michigan. After college, he spent 5 years on active duty as a submarine officer in the United States Navy, serving aboard the fast attack submarine USS Batfish. Across a 25-year career in tech software and data companies, Rob is a 4-time CEO of early-to-mid stage companies in software and data beginning in 2000 with Vykor Inc., which he co-founded and led. Over the past 10 years at Whitepages Inc., he served in executive roles and eventually became CEO in 2016. Rob led the spinoff of the enterprise unit, rebranded Ekata Inc. in 2019, which Mastercard acquired in 2021. Rob has a BA in Engineering Sciences from Dartmouth College and an MBA as well as an MS in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from Stanford University.

Stephanie Meyn is the Climate Program Manager for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). In this position she is responsible for developing and managing the airport’s carbon reduction strategies. She is presently focusing on machine learning detection of sustainable aircraft procedures, renewable fuels, and transportation electrification. She is also responsible for implementing the airport’s sustainable aviation fuels strategic plan.

Sveinung Odegard joined Corvus Energy in 2018.  He was president of the US entity and commercially responsible for the North American market until he took a global position as Senior VP Business Development Fuel Cell Technologies in 2022. 

Sveinung was born in Norway but made Seattle WA to his homestead in 1993. He has a 5 years degree in electrical engineering with a major in Marine Systems through Alesund Maritime College and Western Norway University of Applied Science.

He sailed in the beginning of his career and has a deep understanding of the challenges the maritime industry faces as it shifts towards electrification and emission free operations. He’s been working internationally for the maritime industry in his entire career and supported large and complex projects globally. 

Ted Sprague has served as President of the Cowlitz Economic Development Council (CEDC) since 2000. The CEDC is a dynamic, private, non-profit whose mission is to recruit, retain and assist in expansion of business in Cowlitz County, Washington

Ted has worked in the field of economic development since 1995. During his tenure, at the CEDC he has helped to recruit over 3000 jobs and over one billion dollars in capital investment in Cowlitz County.

Ted graduated from Washington State University. He has been married for nearly 30 years and has 3 grown children.

Tor-Gunnar Hovig serves as Senior Vice President Sales, Americas for Corvus Energy USA. He has over 30 years of experience in the marine industry globally and has served in leadership and market-focused positions for major OEMs, such as Ulstein and Rolls-Royce, in Europe, Asia and North America. In his most recent role prior to joining Corvus Energy, Hovig was responsible for sales and marketing for Nichols Brothers Boat Builders on Whidbey Island in Washington State.

Hovig holds a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering with specialization in operations of marine systems from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.