The Green Light

Our CEO had the privilege of placing all three of these incredible senior women at ClimeCo, and it’s been inspiring to watch them lead with purpose, impact, & real momentum in the sustainability space. In this episode, Catherine sat down with Emily Damon, Erica Schiller, and Emma Cox to talk about:

 🌱 How each of them found their way into sustainability — from Big Oil to green tech startups to global nonprofits
 🤝 What ClimeCo’s partnerships with Hilton & Lenovo mean for transparency and innovation
 📉 What Scope 3 emissions actually are, & how companies are actively addressing them
 🛑 What “green hushing” is and how to avoid it in today’s evolving narrative
 🌍 The work they’re most proud of — from carbon credits to climate storytelling to helping their kids understand the impact they’re making
 💡 Advice for anyone looking to break into sustainability or transition into a climate-focused career

This one’s full of practical insight, generous storytelling, & hard-earned leadership wisdom. 

If you’re a clean energy employer & need help scaling your workforce efficiently with top tier staff, contact Catherine McLean, CEO & Founder of Dylan Green, directly on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3odzxQr. Looking for your next role in clean energy? Take a look at our industry-leading clients’ latest job openings: bit.ly/dg_jobs. 

From a 7.5 GWh partnership with LG, to a solar+storage sub-portfolio sale to BlackRock, a 2 GW agreement with Heliene, & the launch of Lydian Energy, Catherine McLean spoke with Anne Marie Denman, Co-Founder & Partner at Excelsior Energy Capital, about what’s driving one of clean energy’s most active infrastructure funds. They also covered:

⚡ Why she believes renewables will thrive under Trump

⚡ Her journey from Big Law to founding Excelsior

⚡ How Excelsior is de-risking supply chains through domestic manufacturing

⚡ Her candid take on DEI in a politicized climate

⚡ Balancing parenthood, leadership, and building authentic teams

If you’re a clean energy employer & need help scaling your workforce efficiently with top tier staff, contact Catherine McLean, CEO & Founder of Dylan Green, directly on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3odzxQr. If you’re looking for your next role in clean energy, take a look at our industry-leading clients’ latest job openings: bit.ly/dg_jobs. 

“There was such an emphasis in our house about—you can be anything you want to be. Education was really, really important... My parents actually sold their house to send me to college.” 

Raised by parents whose resilience defied circumstance—a father with a third-grade education who ensured Kelly’s mother could earn her degrees and become a teacher—Kelly Veney Darnell’s clean energy C-suite path is one of grit, purpose, & leadership. Catherine McLean sat down with the COO of the American Clean Power Association (ACP) & President of the Clean Power Institute to talk about how her early experiences inform the way she leads — and how she’s helping drive the future of clean energy.

They covered:
⚡ Her path from politics & Big Law to clean energy

⚡ Launching EmpowHER to elevate mid-career women

⚡ Lessons from mentors, sponsors — & going it alone

⚡ How she’s building teams rooted in flexibility, accountability, & trust

⚡ Her take on DEI in today’s climate — & how to keep momentum alive

Kelly has designed ACP’s #EmpowHER25 event to pass along a few more lessons in leadership. Join ACP & Catherine McLean in Charlotte August 6-8: https://bit.ly/4jbMMw1.

If you’re a clean energy employer & need help scaling your workforce efficiently with top tier staff, contact Catherine McLean, CEO & Founder of Dylan Green, directly on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3odzxQr. If you’re looking for your next role in clean energy, take a look at our industry-leading clients’ latest job openings: bit.ly/dg_jobs. 

What was it like to transition from Capitol Hill to leading one of the world’s top solar tracking companies? Catherine McLean sat down with Jessica Lawrence-Vaca, CCO at Array Technologies, to discuss her career journey, including the 188 MW Honeysuckle solar project with Lightsource bp & Lock Joint Tube in Indiana, & Array’s new Albuquerque manufacturing facility’s impact on the U.S. clean energy supply chain.

Jessica also shared why she’s bullish on renewables despite political uncertainty, how she balances work & motherhood, & the importance of setting boundaries & having the right support. They talked about the mentors who’ve shaped her career, including male allies & women like Abby Hopper at SEIA, Amanda Smith at AES, Erica Dahl at Scale Microgrids, & Stephanie Dohn at McCarthy. Plus, Jessica offered advice for women in cleantech looking to advance their careers.

If you’re a clean energy employer & need help scaling your workforce efficiently with top staff, contact Catherine McLean, CEO & Founder of Dylan Green, directly on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3odzxQr. If you’re looking for your next role in clean energy, take a look at our industry-leading clients’ latest job openings: bit.ly/dg_jobs. 

Dylan Green is thrilled to be partnering with WRISE to amplify the voices of underrepresented leaders in cleantech! Catherine spoke with WRISE’s Executive Director, Doseke Akporiaye, at the Leadership Forum in D.C. about our new partnership & WRISE’s latest initiatives to advance women, BIPOC & those with marginalized identities in our industry, including:

• Expanding their conference capacity by 50% 

• A new program for executive women 

• A mentorship program that will connect 300 individuals with mentors

• Partnerships with cleantech companies to support with recruitment & retention

Thank you to those who joined us on the Green Light podcast at the Forum, including Sandhya Ganapthy, Abby Hopper, Shalanda Baker, Kerry Duggan, Jean-Nelson Houpert, Esther Kamau, & Liane Randolph. Shoutout also to WRISE’s corporate sponsors: Google, RWE, MCE, Invenergy, Qcells, Orsted, Atlantic Shores, SOLV, EDF, Oneneergy, Onward Energy, DNV, EDP, Copia, Primergy, Lightsource, SB Energy, Clearway Energy, Levelten Energy, & so many more!

If you’re a clean energy employer & need help scaling your workforce efficiently with top tier staff, contact Catherine McLean, CEO & Founder of Dylan Green, directly on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3odzxQr. If you’re looking for your next role in clean energy, take a look at our industry-leading clients’ latest job openings: bit.ly/dg_jobs. 

In this episode, Catherine spoke with Liane Randolph, Chair of the California Air Resources Board (CARB). They discussed how CARB has reduced carbon intensity by 30% through the Low Carbon Fuel Standard under Randolph’s leadership, as well as about California's environmental justice initiatives & its global collaborations to reduce emissions. Chair Randolph also spoke about CARB’s partnership with Airlines for America to boost sustainable aviation fuel availability to 200 million gallons by 2035, covering 40% of intrastate travel demand. She also spoke about the critical role of EVs in reducing emissions & CARB’s close collaborations with EV infrastructure leaders like ChargePoint, EVgo, Blink Charging, Volta Charging, & Electrify America to accelerate the state's zero-emission future. Shoutout to WRISE for providing the opportunity at the WRISE Leadership Forum in D.C. to speak with Chair Randolph.

If you’re a clean energy employer & need help scaling your workforce efficiently with top tier staff, contact Catherine McLean, CEO & Founder of Dylan Green, directly on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3odzxQr. If you’re looking for your next role in clean energy, take a look at our industry-leading clients’ latest job openings: bit.ly/dg_jobs. 

From carbon capture & clean hydrogen to a groundbreaking partnership with Siemens on zero-emissions turbine power, Catherine McLean sat down with Esther Kamau at 8 Rivers, to talk about how 8 Rivers is leading the charge toward global net-zero goals. They also explored how the company balances technological & financial risks in energy commercialization & the meaningful steps they’re taking to ensure their projects benefit underserved communities while driving environmental progress. This episode was recorded at the WRISE Leadership Forum in D.C.

If you’re a clean energy employer & need help scaling your workforce efficiently with top tier staff, contact Catherine McLean, CEO & Founder of Dylan Green, directly on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3odzxQr. If you’re looking for your next role in clean energy, take a look at our industry-leading clients’ latest job openings: bit.ly/dg_jobs. 

What was it like to partner with Microsoft & EDP Renewables on the first ever Environmental Justice PPAs? Catherine spoke with Jean Nelson-Houpert from Volt Energy Utility at the WRISE Leadership Forum about this & how the industry can better enable new developers to enter the space. Jean also shared about the Sharing the Power Foundation & some of the successes it has had with its growing HBCU Clean Energy & Environmental Justice Fellowship Classes. 

If you’re a clean energy employer & need help scaling your workforce efficiently with top tier staff, contact Catherine McLean, CEO & Founder of Dylan Green, directly on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3odzxQr. If you’re looking for your next role in clean energy, take a look at our industry-leading clients’ latest job openings: bit.ly/dg_jobs. 

From the White House & the Department of Energy to founding SustainabiliD, Catherine McLean spoke with Kerry Duggan about how to foster public-private sector collaboration to advance sustainability goals. They spoke from the WRISE Leadership Forum in D.C. about this & the intersection of environmental justice & sustainability consulting. Kerry is a corporate Board Director at BlueGreen Water Technologies, Envergia & Perma-Fix Environmental Services, & in this episode she “shared the password” (as she says) on strategies to earn board positions, & tactfully ensure your expertise & qualifications become known. 

SustainabiliD has partnered with leading organizations, including think tanks, major universities, national laboratories, philanthropy, global manufacturers, global investment banks and funds, climate tech companies and business accelerators, including Elemental Impact, Emerson Collective, Our Next Energy, LuxWall, Aeroseal, ClearFlame Engine Technologies, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Mill, Wallbox, Aclima, Walker-Miller Energy Services, Newlab, BlueConduit, Yardstick Management, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), Asian Development Bank, Ceres, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), Syzygy Plasmonics, Adaptive Energy, Aspen Institute, Milken Institute, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Argonne National Laboratory, Energy Foundation, ONsemi, Whirlpool Corporation, RockCreek Global Investment, University of Michigan Erb Institute, Vesta.Thank you, Kerry, for sharing sustainability success stories from some of these companies in this episode!

If you’re a clean energy employer & need help scaling your workforce efficiently with top tier staff, contact Catherine McLean, CEO & Founder of Dylan Green, directly on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3odzxQr. If you’re looking for your next role in clean energy, take a look at our industry-leading clients’ latest job openings: bit.ly/dg_jobs. 

What was it like to receive a call out of the blue from President Joe Biden's transition team about leading the Department of Energy’s Justice40 initiative? Catherine spoke with Shalanda Baker about this as well as implementing the DOE’s first ever Equity Action Plans (EAP), which addressed foundational issues with how data is collected concerning underserved & underrepresented populations. Shalanda also shared how the Regional Energy Democracy Initiative (REDI) was formed & about its kickoff to support the delivery of community benefits in over 50 DOE-funded projects in the Gulf South totaling over $8B. She said that the last three & a half years have been the hardest of her life, but that they have also allowed her to integrate the most sacred parts of her life with the academic & policy work she has been committed to for over a decade. This episode was recorded at the WRISE Leadership Forum.

If you’re a clean energy employer & need help scaling your workforce efficiently with top tier staff, contact Catherine McLean, CEO & Founder of Dylan Green, directly on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3odzxQr. If you’re looking for your next role in clean energy, take a look at our industry-leading clients’ latest job openings: bit.ly/dg_jobs.