Charging Up: The end of the manel? Plus women’s cleantech career moves at EVgo, Heliogen, Google and more

Canary Media’s Charging Up column chronicles women’s career advancements in the cleantech sector. Please continue to send us feedback and tips at [email protected].

Banish the manel

Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainability (WRISE) has just launched its Speakers Bureau to support diversity in renewable energy public discourse. Its public, searchable database provides conference organizers with access to qualified, diverse speakers who are willing to present and engage on renewable energy topics.

“There are no excuses for having an all-male or all-white lineup — we know better and we can do better,” said Kristen Graf, executive director of WRISE. ​“Representation matters in every aspect of our industry, and I hope the Speakers Bureau becomes a go-to resource for conference organizers looking for talented speakers to elevate their programs.”

Women with industry expertise are invited to join the Speakers Bureau. In the future, WRISE will be offering a speaker training program.

Panel organizers might want to check a new list of the top 21 women leaders in power investing, put out by Kayo Conferences. It includes Ani Rouskova, co-founder of EOS Capital, Lisa Lambert, president and founder of National Grid Partners, and other notable names.

Career moves

EVgo, a public fast-charging network for electric vehicles, added Francine Sullivan, previously with REC, as chief legal officer and general counsel. EVgo also added Karren Fink as senior VP of human resources. Fink most recently served as global head of human resources at Colony Capital. Earlier this year, EVgo entered into a business agreement with David Crane’s special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Crane was CEO of energy provider NRG, which helped launch EVgo.

Chitra Nayak joined the board of urban intelligence platform UrbanFootprint as an independent director. Nayak has served as COO of platform at Salesforce and VP of strategy and operations at Charles Schwab. Nayak serves on the boards of Infosys, Intercom, Invitae, LifeWorks and Forward Air.

Caroline McGeough, previously with Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, is now an operating partner at Energy Impact Partners.

Jessica Reinhardt is now senior lead for global energy markets and policy at Google. She was previously senior director of public policy at Sunrun. 

EnergeiaWorks, this column’s sponsor, has the deep knowledge to locate the industry’s top engineers, scientists, consultants, contractors and executive managers in solar, wind, geothermal, biofuels, smart grid, sustainability or other emerging markets for renewable energy.

See EnergeiaWorks’ current job listings here.

Ethel Bartlett (1896–1978) by Dame Laura Knight (1877–1970)

Hannah Badrei is joining Edison Energy to oversee its energy commodities and renewables advisory teams as front-of-meter VP. She most recently served as VP of power and renewables origination at MP2 Energy. Badrei has also chaired the Houston Chapter of WRISE.

Array Technologies, a manufacturer of ground-mounted solar racking systems, added Erica Brinker as chief marketing officer. Brinker joins Array from Honeywell International.

Heliogen, a startup with a new take on concentrated solar power, hired Christie Obiaya, formerly CFO at Bechtel, as its CFO; Debbie Chen, previously with Idealab, as general counsel; and Tanya Peterson as VP of human resources. Peterson is the former head of HR at Los Angeles Capital Management. Canary’s Julian Spector recently reported on the industrial-heat startup.