Office of Sustainability

Climate solutions dialogue April 8

What we need to achieve a green economic recovery and a just transition in Massachusetts

Thursday April 8, 6-7pm

 Register

This webinar is part of Solve Climate by 2030a series of more than 100 university-hosted webinars worldwide focused on ambitious but feasible regional and local solutions to help solve climate by 2030. Students from high schools, colleges and universities from across the state will be tuning in to hear about this year's theme on what we need to achieve a green economic recovery and a just transition in Massachusetts.

Moderators: 

Mary Fischer, Manager, Office of Sustainability, and Prof. James Ji, Florence Levy Kay Fellow in Environmental Economics

Panelists

 Jennie C. Stephens
jennie stephens

Jennie C. Stephens, PhD, is the Director of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs and the Dean’s Professor of Sustainability Science & Policy at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.  She is also the Director for Strategic Research Collaborations at Northeastern University’s Global Resilience Institute, and is affiliated with the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, the department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and the department of Cultures, Societies & Global Studies.

Her research, teaching, and community engagement focus on integrating social justice, feminist, and anti-racist perspectives into climate and energy resilience, social and political aspects of the renewable energy transition, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, energy democracy, gender in energy and climate, and climate and energy justice. Her unique transdisciplinary approach integrates innovations in social science and public policy with science and engineering to promote social justice, reduce inequalities and redistribute power (electric power, economic power and political power). 

In her book Diversifying Power: Why We Need Antiracist, Feminist Leadership on Climate and Energy published by Island Press in 2020, she argues that effectively addressing climate change requires diversifying leadership, redistributing wealth and power, and moving beyond mainstream male-dominated technocratic solutions to climate change. Throughout her career she has explored institutional and cultural innovation in the energy sector, including gender diversity, energy democracy, and technological optimism as well as the “usability” of climate science in climate resilience efforts.

Professor Stephens was a 2015-2016 Leopold Leadership fellow, and her book “Smart Grid (R)Evolution: Electric Power Struggles” (Cambridge University Press, 2015) explores social and cultural debates about energy system change (co-authored with Wilson & Peterson). Before coming to Northeastern, Professor Stephens was on the faculty at the University of Vermont (2014-2016) and Clark University (2005-2014). She did post-doctoral research at Harvard’s Kennedy School and she has taught courses at Tufts, Boston University, and MIT. She earned her PhD at the California Institute of Technology in Environmental Science & Engineering and her BA at Harvard University in Environmental Science and Policy.

View and download Jennie Stephens’ CV here.

Jennie Stephens’ Northeastern Faculty Webpage

Tibor Toth

tibor tothTibor is an Adjunct Professor at Brandeis University’s International Business School, and is currently the Managing Director of Investments at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, making venture investments in promising early and growth-stage Massachusetts companies broadly across the clean energy value chain. Most recently, Prof. Toth designed an innovative investment program for Massachusetts companies impacted by COVID-19.

Tibor has focused on the clean energy sector since early 2010, when he joined a clean energy company as its CFO. Previously, Tibor had 17 years of investment management experience in private equity and venture capital, with Babson Capital, Ascent Venture Partners, Lee Capital and Berkshire Partners.

Tibor currently serves as a board director or observer for several cleantech startups and non-profit organizations.

Tibor received a Bachelor of Science in Management Science from MIT, with concentrations in Finance and MIS, and completed the Master of Management & Manufacturing (MMM) program at Northwestern University, receiving an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and an engineering master's degree from the McCormick School of Engineering. He is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) charter holder.

Tibor Toth's Brandeis faculty page

solve climate by 2030 logo