Dr. Erin Mayfield is the Hodgson Family Assistant Professor at Dartmouth College in the Thayer School of Engineering. Her research is in the areas of sustainable systems engineering and public policy. The aim of her research is to develop multi-stakeholder decision support tools to address the challenges of climate change and social injustice.

Panel 3
Infrastructure: Energy, Energy, Energy

Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Energy

Kate Gordon has spent the past two decades working at the intersection of climate change, energy policy, and economic development. Most recently, Gordon served under California Governor Gavin Newsom as the Director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and Senior Policy Advisor to the Governor on Climate. Trained as a community organizer, and later in law and regional economic development, her focus has long been on bringing diverse groups together to work toward a more sustainable, inclusive economy. Prior to being appointed OPR Director, Gordon was the founding director of the Risky Business Project, which focused on quantifying the economic impacts of climate change on key U.S. regions and sectors. Gordon has served in senior leadership positions at several nonpartisan think tanks including the Henry M. Paulson Institute, the Center for the Next Generation, the Center for American Progress, and the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. Gordon got her start on energy and climate issues working at the national Apollo Alliance, where she ultimately served as co-Executive Director until the merger with the Blue-Green Alliance in 2011. Under her leadership, the Apollo Alliance drafted key parts of the American Recovery And Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) including the Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit, and also partnered with the AFL-CIO to draft "just transition" proposals for several key energy and climate bills.

Panel 3
Infrastructure: Energy, Energy, Energy

Assistant Commissioner,
NYC DCAS Division of Energy Management

Steven Caputo is Assistant Commissioner for Energy Management at the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services, where he leads a $4 billion program to decarbonize City government operations. Prior to his current role, Caputo served as Deputy Director of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, where he led the Bloomberg Administration’s Clean Heat Program to eliminate the use of highly polluting heavy heating oil in 10,000 city buildings, and as Senior Advisor to the NYC Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development. Before joining government, Caputo was a two-time Fellow of the Design Trust for Public Space and worked at Polshek Partnership Architects, Arup, and the Spatial Information Design Lab at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP). Caputo holds an undergraduate degree in architecture and minor in East Asian Studies from Princeton University and earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.

Panel 3
Infrastructure: Energy, Energy, Energy

Donnel Baird is the founder of BlocPower, a climate tech company based in Brooklyn, NY, that analyzes, finances, and installs clean energy and decarbonization upgrades in buildings in underserved communities. BlocPower creates jobs for qualified local low-income workers, energy savings for building owners, reduces carbon emissions and asthma rates, and provides financial returns to investors. In 2021, the company announced a historic partnership with Ithaca, New York to decarbonize 100% of the city’s buildings—the first such project in the United States. BlocPower is backed by Kapor Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, and Volo Earth Ventures. Baird is a graduate of Duke University and Columbia Business School. He spent four years as a political and community organizer, and two years managing a national initiative to leverage American Reinvestment and Recovery Act energy efficiency investments in underserved communities. He is a member of the board of directors of several organizations including the New York Federal Reserve Bank Second District Board, the Climate Reality Project, and the Coalition For Green Capital. Additionally, he serves on the Advisory Committee of the US SEC Small Business Capital Formation. An award recipient of the Columbia Business School Entrepreneur of the Year in 2021, the National Venture Capital Associations Startup Innovator of the Year in 2022, and TIME Magazine’s inaugural 'Dreamer of the Year' in 2022. In 2022, Fast Company named BlocPower the #4 Most Innovative Company in the World, TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential Companies, and the 42nd Most Disruptive Startup in the world by CNBC.

Panel 3
Infrastructure:
Energy, Energy, Energy