Bank of America Women's Leadership Series

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Schedule

Thursday, February 25, 2021
12 p.m. Moderated Discussion
12:45 p.m. Audience Q&A — Questions welcome via YouTube Live or Facebook Live

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Citizens and organizations across the globe seeking to address climate change have called on governments and corporations to do more to address the increasing concerns for a sustainable future. In response, investors, policymakers, legislators, and numerous other stakeholders are adopting new policies and implementing solutions to decarbonize the world's economies. Global energy companies and utility-scale electricity providers play a critical role in the energy transition through their investments in technologies and projects involving carbon capture, methane emissions reduction, grid flexibility, and transportation electrification.

Women are at the forefront of these climate change responses, stepping up to confront the challenges through the development of clean energy supplies and other decarbonization solutions. Join Asia Society to hear two women who are leading sustainable initiatives to address climate change.

About the Speakers

Dr. Pratima Rangarajan is the CEO of OGCI Climate Investments, a fund set up to reduce carbon emissions in the energy, industrial, and transportation sectors. Before joining OGCI Climate Investments, Pratima was the General Manager for GE’s Onshore Wind product Line and the General Manager for GE’s Energy Storage startup. She had previously held the role of Deputy Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President, Emerging Technology and Research at Vestas Wind Systems. Pratima has a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Princeton University and a BS in chemical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Lori Bird is Director of World Resource Institute’s U.S. Energy Program and the Polsky Chair for Renewable Energy. In this role, she focuses on decarbonization by the utility sector and large buyers, increasing grid flexibility through market design, and transportation electrification.

Prior to joining WRI, she served as a principal analyst in the Markets and Policy Group of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, where she specialized in renewable energy policy, solar and wind energy markets, and integrating variable generation into electric grids. At NREL, she helped launch the Solar Energy Innovation Network, a large, multi-year program designed to leverage research support to advance cutting edge solutions to solar market challenges. Earlier, she led extensive work on green power markets and stakeholder engagement activities on renewable grid integration. She also provided testimony to states on renewable energy policy and technical assistance to state agencies and international clients. Over her career, she has co-authored nearly 150 publications on renewable energy, including articles in a variety of academic and trade journals. She received several NREL awards for her sustained contributions in renewable energy markets.

Earlier in her career, she worked for DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in Denver on the Million Solar Roofs Initiative and Hagler Bailly Consulting in Boulder, Colorado, where she prepared economic and policy analyses for clients such as utilities, U.S. EPA, and the World Bank. She holds a master's degree in environmental studies from Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a B.A. in economics and environmental studies from Indiana University. 

She lives in a passive-solar home with rooftop PV in Boulder, Colorado, with her husband and two children. In her spare time, she enjoys outdoor activities and travel with her family.

About the Moderator

Amy Harder is one of the top national energy and climate change reporters in the country, having built up a reputation over a decade of being a uniquely balanced and influential journalist with respect across the spectrum. She joined Breakthrough Energy in early 2021 to launch a new journalism initiative covering the opportunities and challenges of the energy transition. She also writes on these topics in her regular Harder Line column for Axios as an outside contributor.

Before joining Breakthrough, Amy was with Axios full time since shortly after it launched in 2017. In that role, Amy reported on trends and exclusive scoops, while also distilling into understandable formats complex energy and climate issues relevant to people outside the industry. Harder has interviewed some of the biggest CEOs in the energy industry, and at the same time bridges the gap between what CEOs say and what everyday people care about. Previously, she covered the same issues for The Wall Street Journal, based out of its Washington, DC, bureau, and before that at National Journal, also in Washington DC. She was the inaugural journalism fellow for the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute for the 2018-2019 school year, where she moderated events and took part in other university initiatives. She has appeared on PBS' NewsHour, CSPAN, MSNBC, CBS, and NPR, among many other media outlets. She is regularly sought out to speak and participate in events, including moderating and participating in panel discussions and giving speeches around the country and world.

Amy’s arrival at Breakthrough coincides, serendipitously, with a move to Seattle. She is originally from Washington State and moved back in 2020, after a dozen years in Washington, D.C. She received a BA in journalism with honors from Western Washington University. She loves discovering the Pacific Northwest’s best trails for running and cross-country skiing.

Asia Society hosts today's leading voices, providing commentary on events in news, society, and culture. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect Asia Society views.

About the Women's Leadership Series

The Women's Leadership Series (WLS) celebrates influential, diverse women making a substantive impact in both the business and culture arenas, locally and globally.

Previous programs:

Sixth Year of Bank of America Women’s Leadership Series Opens with Stirring Discussion on Black and Asian Solidarity
Bank of America Women’s Leadership Series Concludes Fifth Year, Highlights Houston Nonprofits, NYC Chef Feeding the Community During COVID-19
Asia Society Welcomes Journalist Ann Curry for Bank of America Women's Leadership Series
Asia Society Launches the 2019–2020 Bank of America Women's Leadership Series with Former PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi
Asia Society Concludes 2018-2019 Bank of America Women's Leadership Series Season with Focus on Women in Entertainment
Bank of America Women’s Leadership Series Spotlights Local Energy Executives, Importance of STEM Education
Bank of America Women’s Leadership Series Kicks Off 2018-2019 Season with Celebrated Female Asian Chefs
Asia Society Concludes 2017-2018 Women's Leadership Series with Women in Fashion Evening
Technology Trailblazers on the Business of Innovation
Third Year of Women’s Leadership Series Begins with Medical Innovators
Former UK First Lady Leads Dialogue on Women’s Education
Women's Leadership Panel Addresses Female Representation in the C-Suite
Former Secretary of Labor Credits "Strong Families, Education, and Hard Work" for Success
Local Leaders Share Personal and Professional Successes at Inaugural Women's Leadership Program

The Women's Leadership Series Steering committee is chaired by Dr. Anne Chao. Members include Nancy C. Allen, Dr. Dina Alsowayel, Lisa Barksdale, Rania Daniel, Kathy Goossen, Dr. Ellen Gritz, Dr. Michelle Herrera, Richa Himani, Brigitte Kalai, Mandy Kao, Shirley Kwan, Sultana Mangalji, Niloufar Molavi, Vani Rao, Sue Sim, and Y. Ping Sun.

Title Sponsor

Presenting Sponsors

Anne and Albert Chao
Nancy Pollok Guinee

Lead Sponsors

Nancy C. Allen
Michelle and Hector Herrera
Brigitte Kalai

Additional Support

Kathy and Marty Goossen
Richa Himani/United Airlines
Mandy and William Kao
Shirley and Peter Kwan
Y. Ping Sun and David Leebron
Niloufar Molavi/PwC
Sue and Randy Sim
Sahana and Kishore Sundararajan

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We are dedicated to continuing our mission of building cross-cultural understanding and uplifting human connectivity. Using digital tools, we bring you content for all ages and conversations that matter, in order to spark curiosity about Asia and to foster empathy.

About Asia Society Texas Center

With 13 locations throughout the world, Asia Society is the leading educational organization promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among the peoples, leaders, and institutions of Asia and West. Asia Society Texas Center executes the global mission with a local focus, enriching and engaging the vast diversity of Houston through innovative, relevant programs in arts and culture, business and policy, education, and community outreach.