Bigger Than Us

John Szoka is a West Pont graduate and served a distinguished career in the United States Army. After retirement from active duty, he founded several successful small businesses and holds two US patents.

First elected to the NC House of Representatives in 2012 he served in senior House Republican leadership positions including Chairman of the Energy and Public Utilities Committee, and Chairman of the Joint Legislative Commission on Energy Policy. In 2017, he sponsored HB589 which saved ratepayers over $350M in energy costs. In 2021 he was a primary sponsor of HB951 which set carbon reduction goals for NC to be met by the least cost forms of generation and directed establishment of the NC Carbon Plan. Szoka is widely recognized as a leading conservative advocate for free market solutions to a clean energy future.

In 2023 he became CEO of The Conservative Energy Network (CEN), a national network of state-based organizations focused on promoting clean energy innovation rooted in conservative principles. Working with policymakers and industry partners in 25 states, CEN assists legislators across the country understand the benefits of clean energy and how to best save money for ratepayers. At the county and local level, CEN has assisted in the siting of over 10 Gigawatts of clean energy and storage and is currently assisting in the siting of another 40GW across the nation.

https://conservativeenergynetwork.org/

https://www.nexuspmg.com/

Jeff is the founder of the Critical Minerals Associations in the UK, Australia and the U.S. as well as CMIA. He is an internationally recognised critical minerals expert with strong ties to the UK, Australia, across Africa and the Middle East. Jeff is an experienced public affairs and campaign strategist having been a Director at Aspect Consulting and an International Affairs Advisor and Chief of Staff to members of the UK parliament. 

https://www.cma-usa.org/about

https://www.nexuspmg.com/

Chief Farming Officer, Co-Founder, Carlo Mondavi is a fourth-generation winegrower who has dedicated his life to permaculture, biodynamic and regenerative farming practices, along with a hands-off winemaking approach in the cellar. In 2016, Carlo founded the Monarch Challenge, an effort focused on elevating farming by eliminating herbicides and powerful chemicals from farms in Sonoma, Napa and beyond. The Monarch Challenge led Carlo to meeting his fellow co-founders; it is the origin and namesake behind Monarch Tractor.

https://www.monarchtractor.com/carlo-mondavi

https://nexuspmg.com/

Emma serves as the Executive Vice President of Commercial at ClimeCo. She generates new opportunities, supports existing accounts, and explores how to strengthen ClimeCo’s existing Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) and Climate Strategy Consulting services. Before joining ClimeCo, Emma built and headed the Impact & Sustainability practice at MSL, a global PR and communications agency, helping companies better tell their stories and drive progress around environmental sustainability, social impact, DEI, and purpose.

Previously, Emma was the Global Renewable Energy Lead for McDonald’s Corporation, where she built and executed a strategy to achieve their ambitious climate goals. Within three years, she procured enough renewable energy equivalent to planting over 70 million trees. Emma also sat on the Board of Directors for the Clean Energy Buyers Alliance (CEBA). She advocated for a clean energy policy on Capitol Hill to make renewable energy more accessible and affordable for all. She incorporated environmental justice, human rights, and community impact considerations into McDonald's procurement strategy, demonstrating that large brands can use their Scale for Good to transform the renewable energy market. In 2020, McDonald's became the US’s fourth-largest corporate buyer of renewable energy. Emma also led all energy, water, and waste sustainability programs for the 15,000 restaurants in the US before heading up renewable energy for McDonald's.

Before joining McDonald's, Emma focused on driving impact through environmental and social sustainability. After graduating from Columbia University, she worked for the US Green Building Council, then moved to Chicago to lead business development and marketing for Green Per Square Foot, an energy and sustainability tech start-up. Emma later led the energy and sustainability consulting group at Cushman & Wakefield, where she worked with large occupier clients to develop their ESG strategies and created tools to help them achieve their goals.

https://www.climeco.com/

https://nexuspmg.com/

Jason Hochman is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Direct Air Capture Coalition. In this role, he leads a growing global, non-profit, multi-stakeholder coalition of nearly 120 companies, organizations, and institutions working to advance and accelerate the deployment of direct air capture technology to help address climate change.

Previously, he helped craft the policy and regulatory construct promoting utility clean energy and energy efficiency efforts at Con Edison, and has worked on climate and sustainability issues at the Department of Defense, Acclimatise, and Demos.

He earned an M.S. in Global Energy; Environmental Policy from New York University and a B.A. in History and Public Policy from Brown University.

https://daccoalition.org/

https://nexuspmg.com/

Daniel has delivered over 3,000 keynote speeches worldwide and is a strategic advisor to executives from Fortune 500 companies, helping them to develop game-changing strategies based on his proven methodologies for capitalizing on technology innovations and their future impact. His client list includes Lockheed Martin, Verizon, Microsoft, VISA, Deloitte, Google, Procter & Gamble, KPMG, Honda, FedEx and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Burrus is an innovative entrepreneur who has founded six businesses, four of which were U.S. national leaders in the first year. He is the CEO of Burrus Research, a research and consulting firm that monitors global advancements in technology-driven trends to help clients profit from technological, social and business forces that are converging to create enormous, untapped opportunities.

He is the creator of the Hard Trend Methodology, the Anticipatory Organization® Business Model – used by leading organizations worldwide, and he is a founding member of the Department of Defense Joint Services Futures Group.

https://www.aistrategyreport.com/ai-report-daniel-burrus

https://www.burrus.com/

https://nexuspmg.com/

Rebecca is the founder and CEO of Glacier, a recycling startup building AI and robotics to help recyclers, brands, governments, and other stakeholders measure and improve recovery rates for their highest-priority recycled commodities.

Glacier works with several innovative recyclers across the US, major brands including Amazon, Colgate-Palmolive, Coca-Cola, and AB InBev, and municipal and government agencies including the City of Phoenix and Michigan Department of Environment.

Glacier's circularity work has been featured in several leading publications, including CBS, NBC, Fortune, Axios, and TechCrunch.

Rebecca is a Waste360 40 Under 40 winner. Prior to founding Glacier, Rebecca was a consultant at Bain & Company and advisor to several early- and growth-stage startups. She is also a mentor for the Google Circular Economy Accelerator.

https://endwaste.io/

https://nexuspmg.com/

Teri Williams is President, COO and owner of OneUnited Bank, the largest Black owned bank in the country, and supporter of the #BankBlack and #BuyBlack Movement. She is responsible for the Bank’s strategic initiatives, as well as the day to day operations, including all retail branches, marketing, compliance, lending, information technology, customer support, legal, and human resources. Ms. Williams brings 30 years of financial services expertise including Bank of America and American Express, where she was one of the youngest Vice Presidents in Amex history. Ms. Williams holds an M.B.A. with honors from Harvard University, and a B.A. with distinctions in Economics from Brown University. She currently is Chair of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA), and on the board of the 79th Street Corridor Initiative in Miami, Florida. Ms. Williams is the author of “I Got Bank! What My Granddad Taught Me About Money” (Beckham Publishing), a financial literacy book for urban youth.

Williams has received countless awards and honors, and in 2022 was named in Forbes prestigious 50>50 list as one of the most influential women in America.

She is married and has two children

Social Media Handles

Facebook/YouTube = /OneUnitedBank

Twitter/Instagram = /OneUnited

LinkedIn = /company/OneUnited-Bank/

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The Parrot and the Igloo - A New York Times Editors’ Choice * Named a Best Book of the Year in The New Yorker, Publishers Weekly, Chicago Tribune, and EcoLit Books * A Goodreads and Apple Books Most Anticipated Books of 2023 • A USA Today Must-Read Summer Book • Next Big Idea Must-Read Book • Library Journal What To Read in 2023 Book • An Amazon Best Book of July

David Lipsky is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Absolutely American and Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself, the basis for the acclaimed movie The End of the Tour. He has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, Harper’s, Rolling Stone, This American Life, All Things Considered, and New York, and is the recipient of the National Magazine Award and the GLAAD Media Award.

His work has been collected in The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Magazine Writing. He teaches at New York University and lives in New York City.

Shrikant is business Head and Executive Director at Praj Americas Inc., a role he has held since June 2022. With a rich 23-year history at Praj Industries, Shrikant has risen through the ranks, demonstrating his expertise in biofuels, especially bioethanol. His journey began as a Trainee Engineer at Praj in 2001, evolving through various roles, including Process Engineer, Senior Engineer in Technology Development, and Manager in Technical Sales for decarbonizing bioethanol facilities.

During his tenure at Praj, Shrikant was instrumental in the design and implementation of numerous bioethanol projects. His innovative approach and commitment to research have led to the acquisition of four patents, primarily focused on cellulosic biofuels production and pioneering decarbonizing technologies for bioethanol production. His contribution is not just limited to technical advancements but also includes driving growth through strategic business initiatives and partnerships. He has been instrumental in forging various strategic associations and collaborations in the Americas.

https://www.praj.net/

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