Greentech Festival Speakers

Oscar U. Zarate is the Director of Advocacy and Organizing at Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE), focusing on rental housing and public transit improvements. He is a council member on LA Metro’s Community Advisory Council and a founding member of the City of Compton’s Tenant Union. Oscar has led grassroots efforts to secure strong tenant protections in Los Angeles and prevent fare hikes for Metro riders. Previously, he was a UCLA Labor Fellow at SEIU Local 2015, organizing truck drivers and long-term care workers. Oscar holds a BA in Political Science from UC Santa Barbara.

JC focuses on financing of clean technologies and large scale projects in Energy, Mobility, Water, Air and Carbon. He also advises Cleantech startups and large corporations with their Net Zero Strategy. JC is a partner of the Greentech Festival series.

Maxx Echt is the Operations Lead at Living Carbon, a reforestation company specializing in planting trees on abandoned mine lands, degraded agricultural lands, and in other unproductive soils where Living Carbon’s proprietary seedlings thrive. Living Carbon’s R&D platform enhances natural traits in plants, working with nature to improve unit economics and reduce carbon footprints. The team generates high-quality carbon removal projects in the U.S. with true additionality and unique co-benefits from planting on land that is typically difficult to reforest.

Lindsay Sturman is an advocate for better cities. She is the co-host of of the podcast “Bike Talk,” and the co-founder of the Livable Communities Initiative, a plan to bring Vienna-style streamlining to building beloved, high quality courtyard buildings in walkable neighborhoods near jobs and transit.

Lara Obst is Co-Founder of ClimateChoice, a Berlin-based ClimateTech company empowering businesses to drive climate transformation through scalable supply chain decarbonization. With a strong background in climate, innovation and entrepreneurship, Lara leads companies in their transition towards net zero with the Climate Intelligence Platform, an AI-driven software tool to manage supply chain emission reduction through transparent data and collaborative efforts. Championing the customer base of ClimateChoice as cross-industry ClimateCommunity, she is fostering exchange and best practices through the international ClimateSummit.de and Scope 3 Action Group, guiding companies in navigating their path toward Scope 3 Net Zero targets.

Founder&CEO of the Vilnius-Berlin-based global platform Walk15, is an entrepreneur, journalist, and former professional athlete. Together with her team, she has impacted over 1,500 companies and 1,000,000 app users worldwide, helping them improve their wellbeing, change mobility habits, and create a positive environmental impact.

Breaking, a plastic degradation and synthetic biology company, is making significant strides in addressing the global plastics crisis. Breaking has developed an innovative solution to break down all major forms of plastic—including packaging materials, PET bottles, polyesters, and even nylon. The process leaves behind only carbon dioxide, water, and biomass, with no known negative environmental ramifications, offering hope for a cleaner future.

Allison Begalman is an entrepreneur, writer, and social impact communicator with an expertise at the intersection of entertainment and climate. As the CEO of YEA! Impact, she leads grassroots marketing and impact campaigns for narrative film and documentary with climate as her top issue expertise. As a founder of the Hollywood Climate Summit, she has experience growing a non-profit and conference from the ground-up. Her work and words have been featured in the LA Times, NPR, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter, and The Atlantic.

May Lee is an award-winning, broadcast journalist who has been a US and internationally based anchor, host, correspondent and producer for media outlets including CNN, CNBC, NHK and Oxygen Media. She is the Founder and CEO of Lotus Media House, a production company that focuses on creating original and compelling content, including her current show “Shoes Off Inside”. May is also a professor of journalism having taught at USC and Chapman University. She will be returning to USC in early 2025. In 2021, May was named one of Forbes 50 Over 50 for her work in API activism and education.

Heather Tomley is Managing Director of Planning and Environmental Affairs for the Port of Long Beach, California, leading the Port’s Environmental Planning, Master Planning and Transportation Planning Divisions. Ms. Tomley was named to the post in 2019 by the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, governing body for the Long Beach Harbor Department and the Port, having served for a year as Acting Managing Director.

Jennifer has served as an Eco Supervisor and Sustainability Consultant for many large and small productions throughout Canada, the United States and internationally. She was the Project Coordinator for Creative BC’s Reel Green Initiative, Instructor for the Climate and Sustainable Production Course through Reel Green and Ontario Green Screen and is the current Co-Chair of the National Reel Green Committee in Canada. Jennifer has done extensive research into and implementation of many sustainability initiatives for film and television productions. She is also a Board member of Producing for the Planet, a newly formed coalition that provides sustainable production resources for Canadian independent media producers committed to climate action and the Impact Manager for the upcoming 2025 Invictus Games that will be held in Vancouver and Whistler.

Alissa Baier-Lentz is the Co-Founder and COO of Kintra Fibers, an H&M-backed materials science company pioneering a 100% bio-based and biodegradable synthetic fiber made on standard polyester equipment. Kintra has launched pilots with global names such as Inditex, H&M, BESTSELLER, and Reformation, and their top-tier suppliers. Their innovative fiber reduces emissions by 95% and energy use by 20% compared to traditional polyester. A passionate advocate for circular fashion, Alissa has spoken at prestigeous formums such as DLD, SXSW, and COP26. Her work has earned work earned recognition on the Forbes 30 Under 30 and TIME’s “Top Green Manufacturing Companies” lists.

Ms. Gray is Founder/Managing Partner of The 22 Fund. The 22 invests in climate tech manufacturing, creating the clean, quality jobs of the future in LMI communities, intentionally targeting women- and BIPOC. She is President of the LA Commission on the Status of Women and a Lead Partner at Portfolia’s Green & Sustainability Fund and formerly EIR at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator. She was named a 50 Women of Influence in business in LA, Forbes 50 Over 50 Investing and Business Insider’s “The 32 most important VCs in Los Angeles” and “The 30 rising star VCs in Los Angeles.”

Adam Mendler is a nationally-recognized authority on leadership and is the creator and host of Thirty Minute Mentors, where he regularly elicits insights from America’s top CEOs, founders, athletes, celebrities, and political and military leaders. He has interviewed more than 500 of America’s most successful leaders and has written extensively on business and leadership, having authored more than 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc., and HuffPost. Adam draws upon his unique background and lessons learned from time spent with America’s top leaders in delivering perspective-shifting insights as a keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations.

Adam founded Wildflower ltd to address urban infrastructure problems in New York City. Newly opened Wildflower Studios, the first vertical content creation campus with partner Robert De Niro and designer Bjarke Ingels, the largest EV supercharger station in NYC and becoming Amazon’s most active e’commerce developer there are recent initiatives. Adam also raises Japanese Wagyu for Northern California restaurants to support local food systems while increasing fire Resiliance. He was formerly a directors cabinet member at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Max Hermans co-founded TheGreenShot, a platform advancing sustainability across industries through data extraction and integration with ESG and corporate software suites. Initially focused on film production, TheGreenShot now serves diverse sectors, using AI and machine learning to streamline sustainability reporting and compliance. With offices in both the EU and US, Max and his team bridge transatlantic expertise to support global environmental impact.

John Penney is Chief Growth Officer leading companies in climate tech innovation. For more than 20 years, he has been applying systems thinking to identify trends and design innovative global businesses in digital media and entertainment. He transforms business models, crafts strategic partnerships, and pioneers product and service strategies underpinned by financial rigor.

Michael Geissler has been CEO of the Berliner Energieagentur GmbH since 1997. He holds degrees in process and environmental engineering as well as in industrial engineering and management. Michael Geissler is chairman of the German Federal Association of Energy and Climate Protection Agencies (eaD), member of the Climate Protection Expert Council of the State of Berlin and member of the Advisory Council of Berlin’s Business Development Bank (IBB). From 2000 to 2018, he has been Secretary General of the European Federation of Agencies and Regions for Energy and Environment (FEDARENE).