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WRISE Leadership Forum

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2023 Forum Program

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Time (CDT) Tuesday, October 10, 2023
12:00 PM
Registration Opens
1:00 -
4:00 PM
Workshops
Entrepreneurship workshop - pitch session/ ACORE Accelerate program/
Finding your Why workshop
Elevator pitch workshop/and or Storytelling workshop
Indigenous workshop
VIRTUAL and IN PERSON: WRISE 101 Workshop
VIRTUAL: Decision Making Workshop
Keara Mascareñaz |
August Public
1:00 -
4:00 PM
Tours
5:00 -
7:00 PM
Dine Arounds
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
8:00 -
9:00 AM
Breakfast and Registration
9:00 -
9:15 AM
Emcee Welcome Remarks
9:15 -
10:15 AM
Keynote
This session will cover a few emerging technologies such as long duration storage, hydrogen, advanced grid technologies, virtual power plants. Discuss how to determine when a technology is hype vs here to stay. Panelist will share stories on why we need women leading in emerging areas and the benefits and risks of pursuing a career in emerging tech.
10:15 -
11:00 AM
Brave Space, Headshots, Coaching, Small Group Community Development, Give Get Board
11:00 AM-
12:00 PM
Breakout Sessions
Changing Realities at Work: Navigating the world of work post-pandemic and post-Dobbs decision ▾
In recent years, the pandemic and sweeping changes in legislation have deeply impacted the lives of those who identify as women, non-binary, and transgender. This panel will discuss how HR professionals and people managers are partnering within their organizations to support employees in a rapidly changing landscape.
Solar, Wind and Storage, Oh My! ▾
This is all about developing, building and operating onshore plants. This session will cover key attributes of the technologies, cost considerations, benefits, challenges, and connections of these technologies.
From Community Building to Buy-In: Before and During Project Development ▾
Welcome to WRISE’s session on community building and community engagement before and during project development. This topic will seek to answer questions such as: How does a developer undergo meaningful community engagement that goes beyond consultation and into collaboration and ownership? What is a cooperative and how does it apply to solar development, ownership, and O&M? How do you build consensus for large-scale renewable energy projects among a diverse array of stakeholders? Is 100% community ownership feasible and how?
Moderator:
Sarah Salem |
Director of Community Engagement and Partnerships, GRID Alternatives

Kara Herrnstein |
Partner, Energy and Utilities, Bricker & Eckler LLP

Juli Schroeger |
Environmental Scientist, Offshore Wind, VHB
Achieving Climate Justice and Profitability: Moving from Either/or to Both/and
Combatting Disinformation in Renewable Energy ▾
As renewable energy scales, developers are entering new communities and states. This expansion has caused tension and transition for neighbors. The dynamics were ripe for nefarious individuals and competing industries to create and spread misinformation about technologies and projects. How can we combat these messages and build coalitions to support projects? This session will cover the origin of renewables misinformation, strategies to combat the influx of fake news, and how to get ahead of the problem before it takes hold.
VIRTUAL: What's New in Clean Energy: Learn the Basics of a Few New Technologies and What it's Like to Work in an Emerging Area ▾
This session will cover a few emerging technologies such as long duration storage, hydrogen, advanced grid technologies, virtual power plants. Discuss how to determine when a technology is hype vs here to stay. Panelist will share stories on why we need women leading in emerging areas and the benefits and risks of pursuing a career in emerging tech.
12:00 -
1:00 PM
Lunch
1:00 -
2:00 PM
Leaving a Legacy: Career Longevity and Experiences in the Renewable Energy Industry
Mangement is one of the most critical factors for employee satisfaction, moving into leadership roles often requires people management, not every company devotes extensive training for people managers - so maybe it's a management 101, or maybe it's a session to encourage management training at your company?
2:00 -
2:45 PM
Large Group Networking
2:45 -
3:00 PM
Transition Break
3:00 -
4:00 PM
Breakout Sessions
Out with the Old, In with the New: Making Sense of the IRA ▾
Now that the Inflation Reduction Act has been signed into law for over a year, join us to build on WRISE’s previous webinar discussions and highlight what’s next for developers, projects, and communities with the IRA moving into the rest of 2023, 2024, and beyond. This webinar will cover guidance received from the IRS, such as domestic content adders, requirements for energy and LMI communities, apprenticeship rules, energy storage, comparing the Production Tax Credit (PTC) and Investment Tax Credit (ITC), tax credit transferability, and other related topics. Bring your questions!
Abigail Campbell Singer |
Senior Director and Head of Climate and Infrastructure Policy, Siemens

Elizabeth Crouse |
Partner, Perkins Coie LLP
Growing the Renewable Energy Workforce Quickly and Equitably ▾
The number of jobs required for the US to reach its decarbonization goals by 2035 is staggering. Yet simply adding jobs isn’t enough. Creating a just energy transition will require our industry to approach job growth in a new way. Join us for this panel discussion on how clean energy employers can work with established groups, such as trade unions, to establish workforce development paths. The panel will discuss how taking lessons learned from workforce development in other industries will help scale at speed. And modifying these same lessons will create a more inclusive talent pool.
Aubrey Newton |
Director, Northwest Laborers’-Employers Cooperation and Education Team (NW LECET)
Off Shore Wind Trends ▾
Across the country, examples are popping up where thinking creatively in decentralized approaches like solar-plus-storage and microgrids is translating into savings for ratepayers, increased reliability, and enhanced resilience in the face of extreme weather conditions. Microgrids are supporting military installations and first responders, schools and hospitals, emergency shelters and wastewater treatment plants. This panel will illustrate DG/microgrid stories from all across the country showing ways in which these systems have—and increasingly will—serve to bring power back to the people.
Can You Hear Me Now: Communicate with Confidence and Clarity ▾
Level up your communication. Gain strategies to communicate with confidence for greater impact and recognition in your organization.
Let's Talk Minnesota ▾
With the Annual Leadership Forum being held in Minneapolis, let’s talk Minnesota - a state brimming with natural resources and a rich history of its land and tribal settlement. Join WRISE and fellow speakers to cover topics such as Minnesota’s land history and land rights, controversies around various energy projects and the role of indigenous knowledge and climate activism in protecting Minnesota’s natural environment. We will also be discussing the pathway of Minnesota’s own energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables, and how natives of the area and indigenous peoples are facilitating that transition.
VIRTUAL: Renewable Energy Education in Schools and Communities ▾
This session will cover a few emerging technologies such as long duration storage, hydrogen, advanced grid technologies, virtual power plants. Discuss how to determine when a technology is hype vs here to stay. Panelist will share stories on why we need women leading in emerging areas and the benefits and risks of pursuing a career in emerging tech.
Rozina Kanchwala |
Eco.Logic
4:00 -
4:30 PM
Break, Headshots, Coaching, Small Group Community Development, Give Get Board
4:30 -
5:30 PM
Breakout Sessions
Clean Energy Wins and Momentum in the Biden-Harris Administration ▾
The current federal administration has enacted some of the most progressive climate policy in the nation's history. In this session we'll cover what the major milestones for clean energy have been (including and beyond the IRA), what the industry can do to sustain momentum, and where to turn if there are to be changes after the 2024 election.
Indigenous Roundtable: Resources, Ecology and Land Development ▾
Join us for a round robin to collaborate on what is most pressing within project development & sovereignty and regulations on native land.
Combatting Imposter Syndrome ▾
As we climb the corporate ladder or take on new responsibilities at work, sometimes we're faced with a small voice convincing us that we're over our heads. "It's just a matter of time before someone finds out that you don't belong here," it may say. In this session, we address how can we combat feelings of inadequacy and thrive as competent, confident professionals.
Building Local Power and Resilience with Microgrids/DERS ▾
Across the country, examples are popping up where thinking creatively in decentralized approaches like solar-plus-storage and microgrids is translating into savings for ratepayers, increased reliability, and enhanced resilience in the face of extreme weather conditions. Microgrids are supporting military installations and first responders, schools and hospitals, emergency shelters and wastewater treatment plants. This panel will illustrate DG/microgrid stories from all across the country showing ways in which these systems have—and increasingly will—serve to bring power back to the people.
Battling Climate Fatigue: Cultivating Optimism and Mental Wellbeing, Overcoming the Doom+Gloom of it All
Diana Rhoten
| Managing Director, Purpose Venture Group
Virtual session TBA
6:00 -
7:30 PM
Offsite Reception
Thursday, October 12, 2023
8:00 -
9:00 AM
Breakfast and Registration
9:00 -
9:15 AM
Emcee Welcome Remarks
9:15 -
10:15 AM
Keynote
This session will cover a few emerging technologies such as long duration storage, hydrogen, advanced grid technologies, virtual power plants. Discuss how to determine when a technology is hype vs here to stay. Panelist will share stories on why we need women leading in emerging areas and the benefits and risks of pursuing a career in emerging tech.
10:15 -
11:00 AM
Brave Space, Headshots, Coaching, Small Group Community Development, Give Get Board
11:00 AM-
12:00 PM
Breakout Sessions
Accelerating Climate Finance ▾
As renewable energy technologies cheapen and project proposals increase, let’s talk project and climate finance! How do we ensure that projects are adequately funded with enough capital to support long-term operations and genuine community well-being? From intergovernmental banks, grants, blended finance models, cost-sharing methods, asset managers and IPPs, aggregation models, and RECS and carbon offsets - join WRISE to discuss various parts of and methods to accelerate project financing as well as financing trends in the renewable energy, DER, and grid resiliency sector. Women are innovative leaders who can reinvent the wheel to guarantee more streamlined access to adequate capital for both developers and communities.
Erica Reidy
| Director of Investments, Leyline Renewable Capital, LLC

Zoe Berkery
| Chief Operating Officer, CleanCapital
Responsible Siting of Energy Infrastructure ▾
Swift and bold action is necessary to both efficiently and equitably build out clean energy infrastructure. In this process, tools like the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other permitting laws are critical to assess the health, economic, and environmental impacts of decisions, and to ensure that infrastructure built addresses climate change by reducing emissions and is climate resilient. However, some legislative proposal at federal and state level could enable the built out of dirty fossil fuel infrastructure, hinder government transparency and accountability, and replicate the same failures of our current energy system overburdening already vulnerable populations. This panel will explore key components that a permitting reform should include to enable the responsible siting of new clean energy infrastructure.
From Community Building to Buy-In: Before and During Project Development
Making the Move to Manager: How to Know You're Ready and Navigate the Shift ▾
Mangement is one of the most critical factors for employee satisfaction, moving into leadership roles often requires people management, not every company devotes extensive training for people managers - so maybe it's a management 101, or maybe it's a session to encourage management training at your company?
How Can You be a Voice to Advocate for Renewables at State and Local Levels
Virtual session TBA
12:00 -
1:00 PM
Lunch
1:00 -
2:00 PM
Large Group Networking
2:00 -
2:45 PM
Brave Space, Headshots, Coaching, Small Group Community Development, Give Get Board
2:45 -
3:45 PM
Breakout Sessions
International Politics and RE
Session TBA
Beyond the Megawatt-- impact projects ▾
Thanks to ESG goals, more corporates are measuring their impact on the planet and the communities in which they operate. Corporates have begun to demand renewable energy projects that do more than save money or carbon. This session explores the trends in "community first" project development and showcases the ways in which projects can invest in communities, lift up workers, and make a tangible difference in the geographies where they are located.
Leadership in the Field: Pathways to Leadership Roles in Construction ▾
Women make up roughly a third of renewable energy workers globally (IRENA) - siginificantly more than in the oil and gas industry - but representation varies by sector and position. In the US only 4.7% of wind technicians are women (Zippia) and gender diversity in construction roles is similarly low in solar and other technologies. Consequently, women are even further underrepresented in in-the-field construction leadership roles. This summer, WRISE hosted a webinar in partnership with National Women in Roofing to discuss the joys and challenges of being a women in the male-dominated construction space. During this session we'll take that conversation further to focus on the experiences of women in construction leadership roles, their professional pathways, and what companies can do to foster more inclusive leadership.
Reaching Income Qualified Communities with Dignity ▾
Recent developments in project finance, demand from state policymakers, and incentives in the IRA have expanded opportunities for energy equity in renewables. But how can developers reach previously overlooked communities with dignity and respect? This session explores the best practices for outreach, messaging, and engagement so that everyone is part of the transition to a clean energy future.
Virtual session TBA
3:45 -
4:30 PM
Conference Closing and Letters to Self
4:30 -
6:00 PM
Onsite Reception

View our 2022 program here >>