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Highlights
John Doerr
Provided by representatives of John Doerr.
John Doerr is an engineer, venture capitalist, the chairman of Kleiner Perkins, and the author of the new book Speed and Scale: An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now as well as the number one New York Times best-seller Measure What Matters. For over 40 years, John has served entrepreneurs with ingenuity and optimism, helping them build bold teams and disruptive companies. He was an original investor and board member at Google and Amazon, helping to create more than a million jobs. A pioneer of Silicon Valley’s cleantech movement, Doerr has invested in zero emissions technologies since 2006. Outside Kleiner Perkins, Doerr works with social entrepreneurs who are tackling systemic issues across climate, public health, and education.
Kelly Speakes-Backman
Kelly Speakes-Backman is the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) at the U.S. Department of Energy. In her role, Speakes-Backman leads and directs the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, focused on creating and sustaining American leadership in the transition to a global clean energy economy. She oversees the planning and execution of the organization’s $2.8B portfolio of research, development, demonstration, and deployment activities in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable transportation.
Speakes-Backman most recently served as the first CEO of the Energy Storage Association, the national trade organization for the energy storage industry. She has spent more than 20 years working in energy and environmental issues in the public, NGO and private sectors. In 2019, Speakes-Backman was honored by The Cleanie Awards as Woman of the Year.
Content from SK
The following content is produced and paid for by a Washington Post Live event sponsor. The Washington Post newsroom is not involved in the production of this content.
Driving America’s Clean Energy Transition
Description: In a segment sponsored by SK, Erin McGrain, Senior Vice President for SK, and former Congressman Joe Crowley discuss how businesses and government can work together to help transition America to clean energy solutions. Both highlight that strong public-private partnerships are needed to drive investments, innovations and workforce development, which will keep the U.S. on the leading edge of clean technologies like electric vehicles and hydrogen energy.
Joe Crowley
Congressman Joseph (Joe) Crowley, senior policy advisor, provides strategic advice and consulting to clients on a wide range of public policy matters, including tax and financial services and healthcare. As former Chairman of the Democratic Caucus, the fourth-highest ranking position among House Democrats, Congressman Crowley brings strong negotiation skills and a deep understanding of complex congressional politics to his practice.
Erin L. McGrain
Ms. Erin L. McGrain, Senior Vice President, leads the Washington, DC office for SK, a Fortune Global 500 company, based in South Korea. In her role, Ms. McGrain represents the interests of SK’s operating companies across major industries, including energy, information technology, and telecommunications, in the United States.
Prior to joining SK, Ms. McGrain was a partner in the international public policy practice at Squire Patton Boggs, where she provided counsel to foreign companies and foreign sovereigns on a wide range of matters before the U.S. government.
Ms. McGrain serves on the board of the Atlantic Council and is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Meridian International Center for Diplomatic Engagement.
Ms. McGrain holds a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center and a Bachelor of Arts from Washington and Lee University.
Moderated by Ruth Umoh
Ruth Umoh is the Editor-in-Chief of The Filament, the definitive news source for DEI leaders in tech. A veteran business journalist, she previously served as Forbes’ Diversity and Inclusion Editor and was a CNBC reporter covering leadership strategy, corporate management, and personal finance prior. She’s a graduate of the University of Maryland and received a master’s degree from Columbia University.