WCS Talks Unplugged

In this episode of WCS Talks Unplugged, host Sara Fuentes, Chairwoman of Women in Cleantech and Sustainability and Founder of Smart Waste, sits down with longtime WCS ally and sustainability leader Michael Kobori.

Michael has spent decades shaping corporate sustainability at some of the world’s most recognized companies, including Levi Strauss & Co. and Starbucks, where he served as the company’s first Chief Sustainability Officer. In this conversation, he reflects on his journey as a sustainability leader, the importance of allyship, and the power of asking difficult questions inside large organizations.

The conversation revisits Michael’s memorable appearance at WCS Talks in 2017, where he spoke about leading from the outside in, sharing insights from his experience as a Japanese American leader navigating identity, power structures, and empathy in the workplace.

Together, Sara and Michael explore how allyship can create real change in organizations, how sustainability leaders can connect environmental work to human impact, and why mentorship and courageous leadership are essential for building a more equitable climate future.

Michael Kobori is a globally recognized sustainability executive who previously served as Chief Sustainability Officer at Starbucks and held leadership roles at Levi Strauss & Co. His work has focused on advancing environmental stewardship, climate justice, and corporate responsibility.

Today, he advises emerging climate startups, mentors young sustainability professionals, and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Asia Foundation.

Sara Fuentes is the Chairwoman of Women in Cleantech and Sustainability and Founder and President of Smart Waste, a company helping businesses reduce waste and lower costs through smarter resource management.

WCS Talks Unplugged is the official podcast of Women in Cleantech and Sustainability, a global network advancing women’s leadership across climate, energy, and sustainability sectors.

Through candid conversations with leaders, innovators, and allies, the podcast highlights the real stories behind the people shaping the clean economy.

Marieke McArthur for Women in Cleantech and Sustainability. Marieke brings a background in local community radio and a passion for storytelling rooted in community impact. Her work also spans water advocacy, food resilience, and women’s climate leadership through projects including the Water Alliance of La Paz County, AeroZona, and Women in Cleantech and Sustainability.

If you enjoyed this episode:

✔ Subscribe to WCS Talks Unplugged
✔ Share this episode with your network
✔ Leave a review to help more listeners discover the podcast

Learn more about Women in Cleantech and Sustainability and how to get involved:
womencleantechsustainability.org

In this episode of WCS Talks Unplugged, host Sadia Raveendran sits down with Veronica Barner, product executive at GE Vernova, to explore an important question facing many professionals today:

Are women really less ambitious? Or, are our systems failing to recognize ambition when it doesn’t fit traditional expectations?

Sparked by recent conversations around the Women in the Workplace report and the idea of an “ambition gap,” Sadia and Veronica unpack how ambition actually shows up across a career in clean energy leadership. Drawing from their shared experience in GE’s Renewable Energy Leadership Program, the conversation explores how ambition evolves from early purpose-driven motivations to leadership, mentorship, and building the next generation of climate innovators.

Veronica reflects on growing up in Bolivia, where more than half the population lacked reliable electricity during her childhood, an experience that shaped her lifelong mission to expand access to clean and sustainable energy.

Together, Sadia and Veronica discuss mentorship, leadership transitions, motherhood, and the systemic barriers that still shape career progression for many women in technical and leadership roles.

At its core, this episode challenges the narrative of an ambition gap and instead reframes the conversation around recognition, opportunity, and the systems that shape career pathways.

Veronica Barner is a product executive at GE Vernova, where she works on advancing technologies that support the global energy transition. She began her career through GE’s Renewable Energy Leadership Program and has since held a range of leadership roles across the clean energy sector.

Her work focuses on building innovative energy solutions while mentoring the next generation of leaders in the industry.

Sadia Raveendran is the Founding Head of GTM at Hammerhead and a Board Member of Women in Cleantech and Sustainability, where she also serves as Co-Chair of the Career Development Committee.

WCS Talks Unplugged is the official podcast of Women in Cleantech and Sustainability, a global community advancing women’s leadership in climate and clean energy.

Each episode features honest conversations with leaders, founders, and innovators working on the front lines of the energy transition — sharing both the challenges and the solutions shaping our sustainable future.

Marieke McArthur for Women in Cleantech and Sustainability. With a background in local community radio and a passion for storytelling rooted in community impact, her work also spans water advocacy, food resilience, and women’s climate leadership through projects including the Water Alliance of La Paz County, AeroZona, and Women in Cleantech and Sustainability.

If you enjoyed this episode:

✔ Subscribe to WCS Talks Unplugged
✔ Leave a review to help others discover the podcast
✔ Share the episode with someone working in climate, energy, or sustainability

Learn more about Women in Cleantech and Sustainability:
www.womencleantechsustainability.org

How do you build leadership skills when your job description doesn’t give you the opportunity?

In this episode of WCS Talks Unplugged, host Farah Saeed speaks with clean tech leader Robin Milshtein about a powerful concept for career growth: developing leadership skills outside the scope of your day job — what Robin calls your professional “side hustle.”

Robin shares her journey from engineering roles developing high-performance materials for hydrogen fuel cells to leadership positions in business development, strategic marketing, and corporate venture capital. Along the way, she discovered that excelling in your daily responsibilities alone may not be enough to advance your career.

Instead, she built the skills she needed by volunteering, creating new opportunities within her organization, and intentionally positioning herself for the roles she wanted.

Through real-world examples and practical advice, this conversation offers a roadmap for professionals who want to expand their leadership potential, grow their influence, and shape their own career trajectory.

About the Guest

Robin Milshtein is a senior business development leader in the clean technology sector with over 15 years of experience spanning engineering, strategic marketing, and corporate venture capital.

She has worked at the intersection of innovation, startup ecosystems, and corporate strategy, helping identify and scale emerging clean technology solutions.

Robin previously served as a board member of Women in Cleantech and Sustainability and currently volunteers as a mentor in the WCS mentorship program.

About the Host

Farah Saeed is the Board Secretary of Women in Cleantech and Sustainability and Industry Director at Frost & Sullivan, where she works on strategy and innovation across the energy and sustainability sectors.

About WCS Talks Unplugged

WCS Talks Unplugged is the official podcast of Women in Cleantech and Sustainability, a global community advancing women’s leadership across climate, energy, and sustainability sectors.

Each episode features candid conversations with leaders and innovators shaping the future of the clean economy.

Produced By

Marieke McArthur for Women in Cleantech and Sustainability

Marieke is the producer of WCS Talks Unplugged, with a background in local community radio and a passion for storytelling rooted in community impact. Her work also spans water advocacy, food resilience, and women’s climate leadership through projects including the Water Alliance of La Paz County, AeroZona, and Women in Cleantech and Sustainability.

Get Involved

If you enjoyed this episode:

✔ Subscribe to WCS Talks Unplugged

✔ Share this episode with your network

✔ Leave a review to help others discover the podcast

Learn more about Women in Cleantech and Sustainability:

womencleantechsustainability.org

What started as a simple idea — and a moment of deciding to stop waiting for someone else to take action — has grown into a network that has connected and supported more than 20,000 women worldwide.

In this conversation, Sara and Lisa Ann explore the origin story of WCS, the lessons learned from building a mission-driven community over 15 years, and why hope, authenticity, and persistence are essential for anyone working in climate and sustainability.

This episode offers a behind-the-scenes look at the values that shaped WCS and the power of community in an industry where the work can often feel daunting.

Mentioned In this episode:  Lisa Ann Pinterton’s 2 part interview with Neal Dikeman on her Podcast, Earthlings 2.0. Those episodes were titles “#31: Carbon Price, Power, and Politics with Neal Dikeman- Part 1” and “#33: Carbon Price, Power, and Politics with Neal Dikeman- Part 2” and can be enjoyed here https://earthlingspodcast.com/episodes/s3e14-carbon-price-power/, and https://earthlingspodcast.com/episodes/s3e16-carbon-price-power/.

Lisa Ann Pinkerton (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisaannpinkerton/)
Founder of Women in Cleantech & Sustainability and CEO of Technica Communications (https://technica.inc/), Lisa Ann Pinkerton has spent more than a decade helping amplify voices and innovation across the clean energy and climate sectors. She is also the host of the Earthlings 2.0 podcast and a longtime advocate for community-driven climate leadership.

Sara Fuentes (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-eve-fuentes-6a620422/)
Sara Fuentes is Chair of Women in Cleantech & Sustainability, CEO and Founder of SmartWaste (https://www.smartwasteusa.com/), and a longtime community builder within the organization. Her leadership continues to expand WCS’s global reach and impact.

WCS Talks Unplugged shares real conversations with the people building solutions for a more sustainable world.

Each episode features stories, lessons, and insights from leaders across climate, clean energy, sustainability, and innovation.

🎧 New episodes drop every Wednesday.

Marieke McArthur for Women in Cleantech and Sustainability

Marieke is the producer of WCS Talks Unplugged, with a background in local community radio and a passion for storytelling rooted in community impact. Her work also spans water advocacy, food resilience, and women’s climate leadership through projects including the Water Alliance of La Paz County, AeroZona, and Women in Cleantech and Sustainability.

Women in Cleantech & Sustainability is a global community supporting women advancing climate solutions and the clean economy.

Learn more, become a member, or get involved:
www.womencleantechsustainability.org

In this mini-episode, we delve into the transformative power of WCS Talks and the decision to launch this podcast. Join Anandi Yadav, Farah Saeed, Sara Fuentes, and Trish Pinella as they share insights on the impact of WCS Talks, the importance of adapting to new formats, and the collective strength of women in clean tech. Discover personal stories, the significance of individual actions, and the role of community in driving meaningful change.