ICR25 Speakers
Nancy J. Balkus, P.E., SES
Deputy Assistant Secretary, the Air Force for Environment, Safety and Infrastructure, Headquarters U.S. Air Force
Nancy J. Balkus, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Environment, Safety and Infrastructure, Headquarters U.S. Air Force. She provides executive leadership on all matters pertaining to formulation, review and execution of plans, policies, programs and budgets for Air Force built and natural infrastructure, environmental, installation energy, safety, occupational health, and resilience integration programs. These include facility management, military construction, utilities privatization, energy security, contingency energy, environmental compliance and restoration, occupational safety and workplace health. Ms. Balkus graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1988. She has served in a variety of positions at the squadron, base, forward operating agency, major command and headquarters level in the contiguous United States and overseas. She is a registered professional engineer in the State of Texas.
Johan Bergenas,
Senior Vice President of Oceans,
World Wildlife Fund
Johan is the Senior Vice President of Oceans at WWF-US. He leads a diverse team and global programming cutting across ocean health, climate resilience, and environmental security [worldwildlife.org] in the Arctic, Eastern Pacific, Asia-Pacific, and Southwest Indian Ocean, markets and finance [worldwildlife.org], and technology and innovation [worldwildlife.org]. Prior to joining WWF, Johan worked for Paul Allen’s Vulcan, representing the organization in Washington, DC, and working globally to develop, launch, and scale science, technology, environmental, and national security programs. Johan has co-founded and served as CEO of a technology start-up, and he has also led programming at the intersection of the environment, national security, and technology at the Stimson Center and the Monterey Institute. Johan holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa and a master’s degree from Georgetown University. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife and two children.
Doug Doan
Founder and General Partner, The Hivers and Strivers Investment Funds
Doug is the founder and General Partner of the Hivers and Strivers Investment Funds. The Fund provides the seed and early stage, start-up capital to launch businesses founded by military veterans and has $80m in AUM. Hivers and Strivers Funds has been an early and enthusiastic investor in early stage hydrogen companies.
Doug has worked at all levels of the federal government, to include service at the White House on the National Security Council Staff.
Doug began his career as an Army Intelligence Officer with diverse assignments at tactical and strategic level including service at DIA in support of Operation Desert Storm.
Mason Hamilton
Vice President of Economics and Research, The American Petroleum Institute
Mason Hamilton is the Vice President of Economics and Research at the American Petroleum Institute (API). Mason leads API’s strategy for analysis of energy markets and policy, managing API’s energy markets and policy analysis teams, and communicates to policy makers, media, and the public on energy markets. Mason is a recognized expert in energy market data and the petroleum supply chain.
Prior to joining API, Mason served as Special Assistant to the Secretary General of the International Energy Forum, the world’s largest organization of energy ministers, where he led IEF’s strategy on analysis and engagement. He also previously served as Senior Economic and Policy Advisor within the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Oil and Gas. Mason also served as a Lead Petroleum Markets Analyst at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and was a lead contributor to the EIA’s flagship analysis products This Week in Petroleum, and Today in Energy.
Mason is the recipient of the Secretary of Energy Achievement Award, holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) in energy policy, and a BA in political science.
Jeanette Jackson
CEO, Foresight
Jeanette Jackson is the CEO of Foresight, the nation’s largest cleantech accelerator. Foresight works with innovators, industry, investors, government, and academia across Canada to identify, develop, and ensure the adoption of cleantech solutions.
Jeanette is an entrepreneur with broad experience across multiple industries. She founded a tech company and built it into a thriving business; has secured millions in investment dollars, project funding and revenue; led numerous cross-functional teams, and developed innovative programs for cleantech acceleration and adoption, growing Foresight into a nation-wide organization.
Recognized as a leader in cleantech, both in Canada and internationally, Jeanette is a frequent speaker, media guest, and advisor to industry and government. Her leadership and work in the fight against climate change have been recognized through multiple prestigious awards, making her a driving force in the cleantech community.
Mark Lauby
Senior Vice President and Chief Engineer, North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)
Mark G. Lauby is the senior vice president and chief engineer at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). Mr. Lauby joined NERC in January 2007 and has held several positions. Prior to joining NERC, Mr. Lauby worked for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) for 20 years. Mr. Lauby began his electric industry career in 1979 at the Mid-Continent Area Power Pool in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In 2012, Mr. Lauby was elected to the NAES Board and was appointed to the DOE Electric Advisory Committee by the Secretary of Energy in 2014. Recognitions include the 1992 IEEE Walter Fee Young Engineer of the Year Award, named a Fellow by IEEE in November 2011, the IEEE Power and Energy Society’s Roy Billinton Power System Reliability Award in 2014. Elected as a member of The National Academy of Engineering In 2020, citing his development and application of techniques for electric grid reliability analysis, and is author of more than 150 technical papers about power system reliability, transmission planning, and power system numerical analysis techniques. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota, and attended the London Business School Accelerated Development Program as well as the Executive Leadership Program at Harvard Business School.
Dr. Rene LeBlanc
Vice President, Growth and Product Strategy, Lithium Americas
Dr. Rene LeBlanc has 21 years of experience in a variety of development and production operations as well as commercial experience in supply chain development for the energy storage industry. He joined Lithium Americas after managing efforts to develop the critical materials for Tesla Inc’s battery supply chain, and more than a decade of production operations for FMC Corporation’s Lithium Division. Rene earned his Bachelors and PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Carolina.
Dr. Thomas Lograsso
Director of the Critical Materials Innovation (CMI) Hub, Ames National Laboratory
Dr. Thomas Lograsso is the Director of the Critical Materials Innovation (CMI) Hub. He has been a member of its Leadership team since the inception of CMI. He has been a materials scientist at the Ames National Laboratory since 1988 and have served in a number of different Leadership roles at the Laboratory. He received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering from Michigan Technological University. Lograsso’s background is in solidification physics, and he has applied his background to the synthesis and design of novel materials in single crystalline forms. His efforts have made significant contributions to the understanding of the underlying physics and functionalities in a broad range of materials families, including structural intermetallic alloys; quasicrystalline compounds; ferromagnetic shape memory alloys; giant magnetocaloric compounds; rare earth-transition metals intermetallics. Has 455 publications and an h-index of 58.
Zeshan Muhammedi
Founder and Managing Partner at MBX Capital
Zeshan is founder and Managing Partner of MBX Capital, a $100M early-stage firm focused on human and environmental health. Current areas of interest include: applied AI in healthcare, advanced materials, computational chemistry, brain science, and environmental remediation.
Previously, he was CEO of FundRx, a healthcare investment marketplace, and Managing Partner at Tensile Company, where he invested in Ebbu (acquired for $330M) and helped launch AvaRx, a pharma M&A platform. He advises BrainMind, a brain science advancement consortium, and is a Kauffman Fellow and Emory University alum.
Justin Philpott
Partner and Patent Attorney, Banner Witcoff
Justin is a partner and patent attorney at the intellectual property law firm of Banner Witcoff, where he specializes in advancing innovations in climate tech. For two decades, Justin has helped develop and protect inventions across a wide range of technologies, from wireless communications and TVs, to agrivoltaics and EVs.
While managing an active patent law practice, Justin has also volunteered to help clients of limited means through non-profit organizations including Lawyers for Good Government, Lawyers for the Creative Arts, and Illinois Science & Technology Coalition.
Beyond client advocacy, Justin also advocates for climate. As a member of the Intellectual Property Owners Association he has served as panel moderator for its Green IP Committee, and he was named as a “Voice for a Green Future” by Sagacious IP in its 2024 GREEN100 Report.
Prior to joining Banner Witcoff, Justin was a patent agent and patent attorney at Jones Day and a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Justin has a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Rutgers University and a law degree from Georgetown University. He resides in the Chicago area with his wife and three children, where they power their home (and EV) with a 10 kW solar panel system.
Santosh Raikar
Managing Partner, Silverpeak Renewables Investment Partners
Santosh Raikar is the Managing Partner of Silverpeak Renewables Investment Partners, responsible for leading the firm’s new renewable energy sector platform. Santosh has more than 20 years of experience in energy and infrastructure project finance, including renewable energy, oil & gas, power, and midstream infrastructure assets. Prior to joining Silverpeak, he was a Managing Director in the Renewable Energy Investments Group at State Street where he was responsible for leading a team in originating, structuring, and executing tax equity investments in the U.S. renewable energy sector. Santosh previously worked at Deutsche Bank and Lehman Brothers in Principal Investment areas. He holds two Master of Science degrees, one in Technology and Policy Program from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the other in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University, as well as a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Mumbai. Santosh also teaches a full-semester graduate level course titled “Renewable Energy Investments” at Carroll School of Management (Boston College). His book, Renewable Energy Finance: Theory and Practice, is in the second edition that was published in September 2024.
Tom Wall
Director, Center for Climate Resilience and Decision Science, Argonne National Laboratory
Dr. Tom Wall is the Director of Argonne National Laboratory’s Center for Climate Resilience and Decision Science (CCRDS), which combines Argonne’s deep capabilities in climate science and modeling, advanced computing, infrastructure risk analysis, and decision science, to translate climate science and modeling into actionable information for decision makers. This information has driven proactive resilience planning and investment across the utility sector—from large investor-owned utilities to small municipal utilities—as well as among state and local governments, and local communities. Tom has over a decade of experience in climate resilience, and critical infrastructure analysis and protection; he leads infrastructure-focused projects for the Department of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, state and local governments, and industry stakeholders.
Tom has an Honors B.S. in Civil Engineering from Oregon State University, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Georgia Tech.
Dawn Wellman
Strategic Programs Manager, The Rio Tinto Copper Research and Development group
Dr. Dawn Wellman is the Strategic Programs Manager for the Rio Tinto Copper Research and Development group. Dawn oversees the portfolio of programs across the value stream including recovery of critical minerals, transformative technologies for tailings and water management, and growth enabling technology for copper production. Prior to joining Rio Tinto, Dawn was at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for over 20 years in numerous organizational and leadership roles including senior research scientist, program manager, sector manager, and division director. Additionally, she served as Chief Scientist for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management. Dawn has a Ph.D. and B.S. in Chemistry.
Nelson Yip
Director of Strategic Planning (Resilience and Sustainability), Con Edison
Nelson Yip has nearly 25 years of experience in utility operations, engineering, planning and energy policy. He is shaping Con Edison’s resiliency plans and clean energy and sustainability strategy. As director of Strategic Planning, he advises senior leaders and their teams on building safe, reliable, clean and resilient infrastructure. He fosters innovative, sustainable and industry-leading solutions, while enabling effective decision-making and considering equity.
He has a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University and an MBA in Law & Business and Change Management from the New York University School of Business.