Greentech Festival Speakers

Gerhard is an architect who embraces walkable, multimodal, equitable, and sustainable high-quality urban living. Originally from Vienna (Austria), he emigrated to the US on a Fulbright Scholarship in Sustainable Design and Architecture. His experience includes work on four continents on a variety of large commercial projects. Gerhard is currently focused on quality urban design; he is convinced that it is the medium through which one can address many of the shortcomings of our built environment and solve intractable urban problems.Gerhard is a prolific writer and has started several local initiatives and non-profits towards a better Southern California.

Alissa Walker is a writer based in Los Angeles where she has covered transportation, housing, urban design, public space, and environmental policy for two decades. She edits the newsletter Torched (torched.la), which tracks the legacy improvements that LA is making in preparation for its megaevent era, including the 2026 World Cup, 2027 Super Bowl, and 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Since 1982, Aaron Paley has focused on how Angelenos experience public space through temporary and permanent interventions at the nexus of event production, arts, community, culture, place, transportation, and planning. Paley co-founded Community Arts Resources (CARS) with Katie Bergin in 1989 to “create unique experiences where art, culture, community and civic life collide.” CARS helped incubate and develop CicLAvia where he served as founding director from 2010 to 2015. In collaboration with Katherine Perez, Ruth Siegel, and the United Way of Greater LA, Paley’s newest initiative, Los Angeles Tomorrow, will create a legacy of new public spaces throughout the County.

Max Wasler is a versatile entrepreneur and sports enthusiast, boasting a Master’s degree in Sport Management from Real Madrid University. With over four years at Red Bull, he orchestrated motorsport events like Formula 1 and MotoGP. In 2019, Max teamed up with Formula 1 World Champion Nico Rosberg to drive his business development and investments. As Managing Director, he played a pivotal role in the establishment of “Rosberg X Racing,” clinching two out of three championships in Extreme E racing. Committed to sustainability, Max also leads the Greentech Festival and co-founded fintech startup “Bankwards” in 2022. With Bankwards, Max revolutionizes financial management for SMEs through digitalization and automation. Max’s journey embodies innovation, resilience, and a profound dedication to merging sports and sustainability.

Aaron Burgess has been working at the intersection of climate policy, politics, and communications for over a decade and is passionate about enabling climate solutions that will yield significant impact — on a timeline that actually matters. Previously, Aaron was VP of Impact at Galvanize Climate Solutions, the Climate Director for Tom Steyer’s 2020 presidential campaign, led the Climate and Energy program at NextGen America, and served as a policy and communications consultant to many clients including former Governors Jennifer Granholm and Bill Ritter and the California Air Resources Board. Aaron holds an MPP from the University of California, Berkeley.

Eric Corey Freed is an award-winning architect, author, and global speaker. As Principal and Director of Sustainability for CannonDesign, he leads the healthcare, education, and commercial teams toward low-carbon, healthy, regenerative buildings for over 30 million square feet a year. For two decades, he was Founding Principal of organicARCHITECT, a visionary design leader in biophilic and regenerative design.

Erin Simon is Vice President and Head of Plastic Waste and Business at World Wildlife Fund. In her role, Erin drives positive change across industries in packaging and material sustainability. In addition to helping spearhead WWF’s initiative, “No Plastic in Nature,” Erin has led the development of thought leadership and programs to transform the way the world—and specifically business—fights the plastic waste crisis. Before WWF, Erin was a packaging engineer at Hewlett Packard for 10 years, responsible for the design and implementation of laser jet printer and media packaging.

Claire Chabaud is the CEO of Braave, the first BreastTech company re-engineering how custom-bras are made and sold, at scale and sustainably. Starting from the end-customer, Braave only produces what is needed, aiming to reduce the 19 million bras that end up in landfills each year. Claire’s approach combines sustainability and comfort, reshaping the industry and making bras a better support for both women and the planet.

With over a decade of expertise in sustainable building design, Sandeep Ahuja is the co-founder and CEO of cove.tool, a tech-driven consulting platform that revolutionizes the design and construction process by fostering shared information, interoperability, and accountability. Ahuja is a recognized leader in the AEC industry, having earned the Inc Top 100 Women CEO title and Forbes 30 Under 30 award, and has spoken at the UN Environment Assembly and TEDx Atlanta. She recently added “co-author” to her accolades with the release of Build Like It’s the End of the World: A Practical Guide to Decarbonize Architecture, Engineering, and Construction.

Books: Forecasting government budgets and Megadeals (2020) Investor in 15 companies, lead investor in 8 of them (scale-ups in cleantech and SaaS) Founder of Mine storage, Retain24, Taxisystem, Vendemore, and Megadeals. Prosales Chief Commercial Officer of the year 2018. Climeon order intake 3-90 MUSD in two years. Mission, Expertise & Accomplishments: Help companies, their great innovations and most important people (Rainmakers) go to market and scale faster with less resources than traditionally tactics. Today Christopher supports and builds sustainability companies (mainly scale ups) with great innovations. His more than 20 years of experience of supporting Fortune 500 companies and several hundred scale ups in orchestrating their deal management in combination with extended research support his mission well.

Adam Lenz is the Head of Sustainability & Environment at Waymo, where he leads clean energy and sustainability initiatives across the company. Waymo’s sustainability goal is to empower everyone to move safely and sustainably by expanding access to electric vehicles powered by renewable energy and supporting walkable, bikeable, and transit-rich communities. Previously, Adam worked as an environmental chemist, consultant, and served in-house for local governments on climate planning, environmental management, and clean energy programs. Adam holds degrees in Chemistry and Economics from Ohio University and lives in Oakland, California, with his wife and son.

A leader at the cutting edge of global and domestic philanthropy. Ada has worked for two decades to advance the power and influence of women and girls of color around the world, She has conceived groundbreaking disruptions to philanthropic norms and scalable models to transform the field. By championing the formation of the first ‘Women and Girls of Color Design Council’ within a premium philanthropic and venture organization, she has envisioned a future in philanthropy and investment built around silo-busting investment strategies and fundamental trust in women and girls at the intersection of gender, race climate and economics.

André Kaufung is the CEO of innos GmbH, a specialist in management consultancy and association services. In 2015, he was appointed managing director of CharIN e.V. when innos took over the management of CharIN. His vision is to develop and establish the Combined Charging System (CCS) as the global standard for charging battery-powered electric vehicles, from two-wheelers to trucks. André is leading the international expansion of CharIN with offices in Europe, the USA, China, Korea, India, Singapore, Brazil, Chile, and New Zealand. André is on a mission to ignite excitement and drive progress in the world of electric vehicle charging.

Mariama Camara is the visionary founder of Kanafrik, a globally-minded sustainable startup set to transform how we think about zero-waste retail by launching Africa’s first sustainable zero-waste store in the USA. Kanafrik offers a unique experience where every product—from clean beauty made fresh on-site to sustainable groceries and a zero-waste coffee shop and kitchen inspired by African culinary experiences and clean, healthy food, ingredients—brings wellness, protects the planet, and empowers makers. With a commitment to innovation and sustainability, Mariama’s mission is to create a global movement for conscious living, offering an immersive, planet-first shopping experience, starting in New York City.

Aura Vasquez: a renewable energy expert, community organizer, and environmental advocate with extensive experience, ranging from former commissioner for LAWDP to leading the Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign, securing the transition to 100% renewable energy in Los Angeles. Through her consultancy, Vasquez Solutions, Aura focuses on accelerating environmentally-friendly policies and achieving equitable social change.

Conyers Davis the Global Director of the Schwarzenegger Institute, a public policy Institute founded by Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2012 at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA. Previously he worked for British Prime Minister David Cameron, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Simon & Schuster and Lionsgate Films. Additionally, Conyers managed projects for the 2004 G8 Summit and the 2005 Hurricane Katrina recovery effort while working at the US Department of Homeland Security in Washington, DC. Conyers has a degree in International Relations from the University of St Andrews, Scotland, and serves on the national board of After-School All-Stars, the largest school based after school provider in the United States.

As a Bruin and native Angeleno, Ashley loves Southern California and all the great things it has to offer. Ashley realized she really wants to help people and communities at an early age. She attended an alternative high school in Compton and later, UCLA. She began her career path by working in several different industries before catching solar fever in 2011. As GRID GLA’s Executive Director, she can combine both her love for renewable energy and community development to make a positive impact in her community.

Dr. Cassie Rauser is the founder and principal of MorphoStrategies, an urban sustainability and climate strategy consulting service focused on collaborative and community-inspired approaches to accelerate our response to the climate crisis and implement solutions that are centered in equity and justice. She has been an activist, researcher and strategic innovator focused on sustainability for over 25 years, both domestically and abroad. For nearly a decade, she led UCLA’s Sustainable LA Grand Challenge, where she built a novel university program that harnessed expertise from across disciplines, created opportunities for partnerships across sectors, and collaboratively worked to strategically transform L.A. County into the most sustainable mega-city by 2050. She was part of the consultant team that led the development of the first L.A. County sustainability plan, and most recently was a convening lead author on LADWP’s LA100 equity strategies for delivering carbon-free energy in L.A.

UCLA’s first Chief Sustainability Officer, Nurit Katz is working to foster partnerships among academic, research, and operational departments to facilitate creating a world class living laboratory for sustainability at UCLA. Nurit also served as Executive Officer for UCLA Facilities Management for six years and is an Instructor for UCLA Extension’s Sustainability Certificate Program. She also currently serves as Commissioner on the Board of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Nurit holds an MBA and a Masters in Public Policy from UCLA and a BA in Environmental Education from Humboldt State University, and is pursuing a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

Spencer Reeder is Director of Government Affairs and Sustainability at Audi of America. Spencer has a background in engineering, geophysics, climate science, and policy spanning academia, industry and government. He served as a lead author on the 2014 U.S. National Climate Assessment and earlier as Lead Policy Strategist for Climate Change within Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire’s administration. Just prior to joining Audi, Spencer led Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s global philanthropic investments in climate, energy, and transportation. Earlier in his career he held various research and engineering roles at The Boeing Company. Spencer was twice selected as a finalist for NASA’s astronaut program.

Mr. Walti has been an entrepreneur for most of his adult life, having started eleven companies in addition to working with hundreds of entrepreneurs as EIR, mentor, consultant, and investor. He was the Founding CEO of the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), one of the world’s leading clean technology centers, and is currently the CEO of the Network for Global Innovation (NGIN). NGIN assists cleantech entrepreneurs in more than two dozen countries by providing entrepreneur assistance programming, connecting them with investors/customers, and enabling local cities/states to develop their innovation ecosystem. NGIN is the Implementation Partner for UNIDO’s Global Climate Innovation Program, operating in a dozen developing nations. Mr. Walti was named to the Techweek100 as one of the most impactful technology leaders in 2014.