November 4, 2024
Cleantech Leaders Roundtable (CTLR) and the Clean Energy Business Network (CEBN) are thrilled to announce the 2024-2026 Mária Telkes Fellows!
The Mária Telkes Fellowship is intended to help promising cleantech professionals from underrepresented demographics tap into networking connections, positive exposure, and champion-building opportunities to realize their full potential for executive leadership. The fellowship is named in honor of Mária Telkes (December 12, 1900 – December 2, 1995), a Hungarian-American scientist who is considered one of the founders of solar thermal storage systems, earning her the nickname “the Sun Queen.”
Out of a large volume of highly qualified applicants, seven fellows have been selected for the 2024-2026 cohort, which will be the third cohort since the Fellowship was founded in 2021. Learn more about the Mária Telkes Fellowship program and meet the first and second cohorts of fellows.
Tricia Compas-MarkmanTricia had a passion for water and innovation – culminating in her founding DayOne Response – a startup focused on providing clean drinking water solutions to vulnerable communities. During her tenure, she built a company with international reach, developed key partnerships, invented and scaled drinking water technologies, and secured financing to exceed milestones resulting in DayOne having a global reach in over 35 countries and saving lives. Now with VentureWell, Tricia supports science & technology startups on their journeys from prototyping to investment and partner readiness. She has helped grow VentureWell’s climatetech programs in energy-related fields (e.g., nexus of energy & mobility, solar, hard to abate-sectors) and ocean-based climate innovations. A key part of this work is expanding an investor-mentor network to support these founders. Tricia is excited to engage with the Maria Telkes Fellowship to deepen these networks and ultimately increase support for first-time climate-focused entrepreneurs and underrepresented founders.
Catherine Ember works to catalyze philanthropic funding for science, technology, and innovation as Climate Program Manager at Renaissance Philanthropy. An engineer turned entrepreneur, Catherine is an expert at bringing new technology to life. She designed and built award-winning factories in Kenya and invested in the energy transition with a focus on carbon capture. Prior to her current role at Renaissance Philanthropy, Catherine founded Last Loop Metals, a startup that focuses on extracting sustainable source of metals for renewable technologies through industrial wastes. She holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley College of Engineering in Environmental and Energy Engineering.
Sarah Hill-NelsonSarah Hill-Nelson is President and CEO of The Bowersock Mills and Power Company, a run of river, certified low-impact hydroelectric plant located on the Kansas River. She oversees all company operations including staffing, production, regulatory compliance, and business relationships. Ms. Hill-Nelson was responsible for a significant recovery zone bond-financed plant expansion completed in 2013 which required coordinating with federal, state, and local agencies, transmission organizations and NGOs to ensure an efficient licensing and commissioning process. Ms. Hill-Nelson is active in issues relating to water resources in Kansas, and serves on the Kansas Regional Advisory Committee as a representative for industry and advocate for the preservation of water quality and quantity for future generations. She currently serves as a board member for Landmark National Bank and the Kansas River protection group Friends of the Kaw. Sarah is most interested in pursuing projects that will support the development of a clean and stable grid powered by renewable energy resources.
Palak JainPalak Jain is the Co-founder and CEO of Vellex Computing. Prior to founding Vellex, she served as a Research Scientist at GE Research and Xilinx Research Labs, where she developed machine learning and AI algorithms for edge applications. As a Senior Research Associate at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, she conducted foundational research in optimization algorithms using analog computing—work that directly led to the formation of Vellex Computing. She holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the National University of Singapore, where she was a member of the Berkeley Education Alliance for Research in Singapore (BEARS) program.
Nneka Uzoh KibuuleNneka Kibuule is the CEO & Founder of Kino Cove, digital resilience platform helping people care for their homes, their loved ones, and their communities in an era of climate volatility. Prior to launching Kino, Nneka served as Principal at Aligned Climate Capital, an asset manager investing exclusively in the people, companies, and real assets that are decarbonizing the global economy. Nneka holds a decade of experience in finance, operations, strategy for a variety of organizations including utilities, nonprofits, startups, Fortune 100 companies, and investing firms. She founded GreenTech Noir, a convening of Black founders, investors, and luminaries passionate about clean energy and climate tech innovation. Nneka holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, a Masters in Energy Finance from Tulane, and a BS in Finance from Hampton University.
Genevieve is an applied scientist at heart. She works at the intersection of climate tech, sustainable development and resiliency at regional scales. In addition to her primary focus over 15 years growing the renewable energy industry with domestic and international private sector market pioneers – developing projects, programs and products for communities and the utilities that serve them – Genevieve has consulted on climate change adaptation, smart grid policies, and decarbonization strategies with local and global advocacy and capacity-building organizations. During her time as an inaugural NRDC Environmental Entrepreneurs fellow, she spotlighted the delivery gap and opportunity for local clean energy workforce development via under-resourced community colleges. A core driver throughout all of her pursuits is centering the human experience in technology policymaking, and improving knowledge systems management in technology deployments.
Bao TruongBao has been a developer of clean energy solutions, including advanced nuclear reactors and energy storage systems, for over 15 years. He is currently the VP of Engineering at Electrified Thermal Solutions (ETS), where he leads the development of the Joule Hive Thermal Battery, an innovative technology designed to decarbonize industries. He serves as the P.I. for a major grant awarded to ETS by the U.S. Department of Energy. Bao started his professional career in clean energy at TerraPower, an advanced nuclear startup, where he spearheaded the application of formal systems engineering to the development and safety of advanced nuclear reactors. Subsequently, Bao was the Technical Lead for Strategic Initiatives at Malta Inc., where he led the identification and development of new product concepts and techno-economic evaluations. Bao earned his PhD in Nuclear Science and Engineering from MIT. He is an INCOSE Certified Systems Engineering Professional and licensed P.E. in mechanical engineering.
