GEC at Climate Week NYC

Prof. Dr. M. K. Dorsey is a recognized expert on global energy, environment, finance and sustainability matters. In 1997, in Glasgow, Scotland, Rotary International bestowed him their highest honor: The Paul Harris Medal for Distinguished Service to Humanity. Dr. Dorsey is a member of the Club of Rome. Prof. Dr. Dorsey presently holds the Chair & Directorship of the Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Service (WS3) — the planet’s first extension service for sustainability, based in Tempe, Arizona on the campus of Arizona State University.

A graduate of the University of Michigan, Yale and the Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Dorsey is also a limited partner in the Spanish utility-scale solar concern IberSun, s.l, a JV partner in the Indian based panel manufacturer Pahal Solar and the inaugural board secretary of Black Owners of Solar Services. Dorsey is also a pre-IPO and bridge round investor in the exchange traded fund (ETF), Change Finance (NYSEARCA: CHGX).

Dr. Dorsey is a serial organization builder and leader in for-profit, non-profit, scholarly and governmental realms. In the for-profit arena, Dr. Dorsey is an active investor, as well as co-founder and principal of Around the Corner Capital—an energy advisory and impact finance platform. He sits on the Investment Advisory Committee of the William C Graustein Memorial Fund. From Around the Corner, Dr. Dorsey maintains active relationships and agreements in the US and beyond with various partners from Scalar International, to the California New Energy Nexus, to Silverleaf Partners, Crede Capital Partners (South Africa), Univergy (Japan/Spain), the World Bank and many other institutions and high net-worth individuals driving the global renewable revolution.

In non-profit realms, in 1997 Dorsey helped to co-create the northern California headquartered Center for Environmental Health. In 2013 Dr. Dorsey and two former student collaborators co-created the predecessor to the Sunrise Movement. Dorsey served as Sunrise’s Treasurer since its inception, until the end of 2022. In late 2018 the Sunrise Movement co-orchestrated launching the Green New Deal. Beyond this Dr. Dorsey sits on several other non-profit boards. He served 11 years on the national board of the Sierra Club—one of the largest and oldest US environmental organizations —and was reelected for a three year term in 2022. In academia, for the first decade of the 21st century, Dorsey was a professor in the environmental studies program at Dartmouth College. He has also been guest faculty at leading institutions around the world, including: Wesleyan University (USA), the University KwaZuluNatal and the University of Witwatersrand (South Africa); Kungl Tekniska Högskolan (Sweden); and Erasmus University’s Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM) Sustainability Climate Change Research Unit (The Netherlands).

Dorsey’s significant government engagement began in 1992 as a member of the U.S. State Department Delegation to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, “The Earth Summit.” From 1994-96 Dorsey was a task force member of President William Jefferson Clinton’s Council on Sustainable Development. From April 2007 until November 2008 Dorsey was a member of Senator Barack Obama’s energy and environment Presidential campaign team. In 2010 Lisa Jackson, the US Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) Administrator, appointed Dr. Dorsey to the EPA’s National Advisory Committee (NAC). Jackson reappointed Dr. Dorsey in 2012 and Administrator McCarthy reappointed him again in 2014. Further, in 2014, after more than two decades of collaboration and engagement with the United Nations NGLS—a specialized unit of UNCTAD (the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) designated Dorsey advisor on “climate, energy sustainability and SIDS (Small Island Developing States)”.

Dr. Dorsey has published dozens of scholarly and lay articles on a variety of environment, development and sustainable finance matters. In 2016 he became a contributor to the Wall Street Journal and has written for the editorial pages of the New York Times. Over decades Dr. Dorsey has also been featured or provided his opinions in hundreds of the world’s leading television, radio and print outlets from Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, South Africa’s Business Day, CGTN-America, CNN, Democracy Now!, The Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, The New York Times, the Orlando Sentinel, The Sacramento Bee, The Thom Hartmann Show, Utility Dive and many others.

Beyond boardrooms, Congressional hearings and multilateral summits Dr. Dorsey has a long legacy of exploring, researching and working to protect wild places and spaces–around the U.S. and across the planet. He has solo walked across Yosemite and Adirondack National Parks. Dorsey has climbed several peaks from Canada to Patagonia: Agassiz (13,893’), Koma Kulshan (Mt Baker, 10,786’), Chimborazo (20,564’), Cotopaxi (19,347’), Illiniza Sur (17,267’) and Norte (16,818’), Mount Bierstadt (14,065) and many others. In 2015 Dorsey began actively skyrunning and has since completed two Norwegian arctic circle skyraces and the Kendall Mountain Run. As a trained social forester, in 1996, Dorsey began research in the upper Amazon basin, in Ecuador. He has also worked in the subtropical and tropical forests of Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru and Brazil; as well as in temperate forests of the Pacific Northwest and New England. Beyond his publications, Dr. Dorsey’s conservation research has long been in cooperation and collaboration with leading scholars, think tanks, advocacy groups, governments, corporations, multilateral agencies as well as fence-line, marginalized and forest communities—and many more.

Mark Newton is head of Corporate Sustainability at Samsung Electronics in North America, where he leads environmental, social and operational sustainability for one of the world’s largest manufacturers of electronics in one of its most important markets.

Mark’s specialty is cross-functional stakeholder engagement and strategy development with a focus on risk management and product and business process innovation.

Throughout his professional career, Mark has held corporate responsibility, ESG and sustainability leadership roles at some of the world’s most respected companies including Motorola, Apple, Dell and VF Outdoor brands including Timberland, Vans and The North Face, achieving top rankings for sustainability and environmental performance.

Mark holds a Doctorate and Master of Science in Chemistry from the University of Texas and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Chemistry from the University of New Hampshire. He has served on numerous advisory boards and panels including the National Academy of Sciences, the SC Johnson Foundation, the World Resources Institute, Clean Production Action and E-Stewards, and he is a director of the Smallholder Farmers Alliance, an agroforestry social enterprise operating in Haiti.

Debra DeShong is the vice president and head of corporate communications at Qcells North America. She was most recently the Executive Vice President of Public Affairs for PhRMA, the trade association representing the biopharmaceutical industry.  For more than two years, she spearheaded multiple national campaigns around vaccine hesitancy, health equity and drug pricing.  Prior to joining PhRMA, Ms. DeShong was the Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Global Industry Affairs for MGM Resorts International. In this role she oversaw both external and internal communications as well as the development of messaging strategies for issues impacting the Company around the world. Ms. DeShong has more than two decades of experience in public policy, communications and international relations.

Prior to working at MGM, she was the Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Public Affairs at Subject Matter, a public relations and communications firm in Washington, D.C.

Her prior experience also includes serving as Chief of Staff to U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy, working as a founder and executive at Washington public affairs firms Point Blank and Five by Five and holding top communications positions with the United Nations Foundation, U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli, the Democratic National Committee and the John Kerry for President campaign.

Ms. DeShong has a master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree in English from Fairfield University.

Scot Case is vice president of corporate social responsibility and sustainability at the National Retail Federation, the world’s largest trade association for retailers. He has focused on the intersection of business, environmental and social concerns since the mid-1990s. With strategic leadership experience in multiple industry sectors, he provides a system-wide perspective that helps NRF members thrive in a rapidly changing future.

Throughout Case’s career as a strategist, consultant and sustainability expert, he has worked with organizations including the White House, World Bank, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, large publicly-traded and private-sector companies, and federal, state and local governments around the world. He was one of two partners in an environmental standard-setting and certification company that they sold to Underwriters Laboratories. In addition to his current board role at SERI, Case previously served on the Advisory Board of the Global Ecolabelling Network and was the first employee of the Global Electronics Council (formerly Green Electronics Council), which manages the EPEAT sustainable electronics standard.

A frequent keynote speaker and conference presenter on strategy development, leadership and sustainability, Case has published dozens of articles and case studies, testified before Congress, and been quoted broadly in mainstream media.

Case is originally from Charlotte, N.C., and holds a master’s degree in political science with a focus on sustainability from Virginia Tech.

Daniel Kreeger is co-founder and executive director of the Association of Climate Change Officers (ACCO) and has a unique familiarity of climate change and sustainability initiatives being undertaken across the public and private sectors. Dan has led ACCO’s programming efforts since its founding in 2008, as well as the establishment of its certification and training programs. In 2017, Dan co-founded the nation’s first state-run climate change institution, the Maryland Climate Leadership Academy. Dan is a recognized expert on institutionalizing climate change into decision-making in the public and private sectors, and counsels numerous public and private sector entities on building organization-wide capacity on climate change.

Over the years, Dan led ACCO’s partnership with the White House Council on Environmental Quality to twice produce their flagship conference on sustainability in Federal agency operations, the GreenGov Symposium, and also served as a co-founding steering committee member for the consortium that jointly administered EPA’s Climate Leadership Awards from 2012-2015. He has also served as a reviewer for the IPCC 5th Assessment in 2014 and numerous Federal agency grant committees. An accomplished business executive with more than 20 years of cross-functional experience in change management and enterprise business strategies across sectors, Dan focuses upon the human capital, economic and operational implications of environmental and public health issues. Dan serves on the Dean’s Council of Advisors at the FIU College of Architecture and the Arts and frequently lectures at graduate and executive education programs nationwide.

Miranda Gardiner is the Executive Director of the iMasons Climate Accord — a non-profit focused on global carbon accounting of digital infrastructure to influence market-based decisions and drive the data center industry to achieve carbon neutrality. With 16+ years of experience, Miranda is a driven, professional manager with extensive industry experience in green buildings, energy and water efficiency, and sustainable master plans and policies. She is passionate about the environment and improving sustainability practices through local and global engagement, with a proven record of working for international sustainability organizations like the US Green Building Council and in 2020, was recognized by USGBC as a LEED Fellow.

Miranda is an enthusiastic author and public speaker who clearly communicates with peers, clients, and corporations to achieve individual and departmental goals. She thrives in implementing sustainable practices that result in significant cost savings, improved efficiency, and reduced environmental impact. Additionally, she is distance running coach and cycling instructor, who believes that caring for oneself resonates in caring for the planet; she has completed 8 marathons and 3 ultramarathons.

Andres Ravinet is currently a Sustainability Director at Microsoft where he utilizes his extensive experience in AI and Data solutions to help organizations accelerate their sustainability transformation. With over a decade of expertise in technical consulting and data-driven decision-making, Andres focuses on enabling companies to address the challenges of energy transition, environmental governance, and carbon footprint reduction.

As a thought leader in the sustainability domain, Andres has worked with a wide range of industries to create innovative solutions that unite business, policy, and technology. His role includes driving global collaboration and engaging in discussions around complex issues such as energy demand, AI in sustainability, and regulatory landscapes. By fostering partnerships across sectors, Andres helps customers navigate and address their most pressing sustainability challenges, ensuring that businesses can contribute to transformative global climate solutions.

Tim Cycyota joined the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) in March 2023 as a contractor technology advisor on the Manufacturing and Competitiveness team.

Prior to joining SETO, Tim worked in energy efficiency research and development. As a consultant for CLEAResult he supported the development and operation of utility Commonwealth Edison’s Emerging Technologies efforts, including creation of reporting and tracking infrastructure; proposal evaluation, selection, and scoping; and active project management for a wide variety of research and pilot projects. Tim has also worked in the carbon projects industry, building and implementing a program to find, collect, and destroy ozone-depleting substances from around the country.

Tim holds a PMP certification from the Project Management Institute. He graduated with a B.S. from Northwestern University, and graduated with an M.Sc. in environmental science, policy, and management from a university consortium including Central European University, Lund University, and University of the Aegean.

Ms. Betsy Sirk is the Director of Digital Accessibility and Strategic Sourcing for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with extensive leadership experience focused on implementing digital solutions to support NASA’s mission and the Federal Government. She serves as the Chairperson of the Federal CIO Council Accessibility Community of Practice Industry Outreach Program and directs the Digital Accessibility Program NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Ms. Sirk serves on Executive Office of the President Committees that promote digital accessibility and leads international accessibility collaboration efforts. She is a renowned digital accessibility expert and advocate.

Ms. Sirk also leads government-wide strategic sourcing efforts serving as Chairperson for both the Workstation Category Team and the Federal Mobility Group Acquisition Pillar. Her distinguished career highlights include supporting NASA’s critical return-to-flight efforts for the Space Shuttle Program. Ms. Sirk has received numerous Government and Industry awards. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelors Degree from the University of Maryland and holds a Masters Degree with Distinction in Computer Science from George Washington University.

Mary Beth Gallagher is the Director of Engagement at Domini Impact Investments LLC, a women-led SEC-registered investment adviser that harnesses the power of finance to help create a better world. With an exclusive focus on impact investing, Domini aims to help drive positive outcomes for our planet and its people, while seeking competitive financial returns.

Ms. Gallagher is responsible for leading Domini’s engagement efforts with portfolio companies, broader stakeholder groups and policy makers, as well as developing initiatives and campaigns in areas such as human rights, climate change mitigation, biodiversity, racial justice, and access. Prior to joining Domini in 2021, she was the Executive Director of Investor Advocates for Social Justice, worked in international development, and human rights advocacy. Ms. Gallagher holds a B.S. in environmental science from Boston College and a J.D. from American University Washington College of Law. She is a Member of the New York Bar and was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Benin, West Africa.

Corinna Wolf heads Infineon’s global sustainability department and reports directly to the management board. She develops and oversees the execution of the company’s global sustainability strategy across all business areas. She drives Infineon to meet its ambitious climate goals to be carbon neutral by 2030, to cut emissions by 70 percent over 2019 level by 2025, and to help suppliers reach their climate goals (Scope 3) through the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

In this role, she drives Infineon’s efforts to decarbonize its own business as well as its products and applications. For example, she led Infineon’s efforts to become the first semi-conductor company worldwide to provide customers with the carbon footprint of its products at a level of detail and transparency that is unique in the industry.

Corinna is a fervent driver of sustainability, innovation, and digitalization in strong alliance with growth. She believes that only in this combination can Infineon achieve its goals.

Throughout her extensive career at Infineon, Corinna has held numerous positions. For example, she led the marketing communications, partnership management and emerging applications activities of Infineon’s Power Sensor & Systems Division. In this function, she was responsible for all product & application campaigns, trade fairs and events, piloting innovative formats for positioning Infineon in decarbonization and digitalization and generating revenue and driving brand-positioning through partnerships.

Corinna also worked as the Global HR Business Partner to the Infineon CMO where she drove major transformation projects in the sales & marketing area for Infineon, as well as digitalization and leadership development initiatives.

Prior to her re-joining Infineon in 2016, Corinna worked for ENGIE, a French energy utility provider, where she held different HR leadership roles in various countries in Europe. She was part of the selected project team driving Engie’s Digital Strategy in 2014. Before joining ENGIE in 2009, she worked for 5 years in the memory unit of Infineon, Qimonda.

Corinna holds a diploma degree in Economics, English and Education from the Technical University of Dresden. She lives in Munich.