Program

	Plenary Room & Exhibit Hall	CEC Presentations Room 1	CEC Presentations Room 2
8:00 AM	Opportunity Fair Exhibitor SET UP (Fair opens at 1:00 pm)
8:30 AM	REGISTRATION OPEN	SET UP	SET UP
9:00 AM	Networking!
9:20 AM	WELCOME REMARKS
9:45 AM	"Clean Energy as an Engine of Economic Transformation in the U.S." Bracken Hendricks
10:20 AM	Break	Break	Break
10:30 AM	Oppty Fair Exhibitor SET UP	Future Energy - Econimic Recovery and Employment Opportunities	Small Business "Success Stories"
11:50 AM	Oppty Fair Exhibitor SET UP	Good Jobs - Green Jobs	Financing Strategies for CE
1:05 PM	Lunch Buffet Opportunity Fair OPEN
1:45 PM	Opportunity Fair OPEN	The Wellspring of Innovation	The Wellspring of Innovation
2:45 PM	Powershift: Massachusetts' New Clean Energy Landscape
4:00 PM	Opportunity Fair OPEN
4:45 PM	ADJOURN	ADJOURN	ADJOURN

DOWNLOAD the PROGRAM PDF

On-site check in and Registration Opens at 8:30 am, November 22.
Pre-register to avoid on-site registration fee.

 

 

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Bracken Hendricks, Senior Fellow with the Center for American Progress, co-author of "Apollo's Fire: Igniting America's Clean Energy Economy" (Island Press, 2007) , and co-founder of the Apollo Alliance, a national movement for clean energy and good jobs.

Click here MP3-LINK to listen to an interview with Bracken Hendricks by Sea Change Radio producers Bill Baue and Francesca Rheannon.

What are green-collar jobs? Click here to see video clip "Rebuilding the Economy with Green Collar Jobs" featuring keynote speaker Bracken Hendricks.

The following is from "A GREEN PROSPERITY PATH" - by Bracken Hendricks, Daniel J. Weiss, Benjamin Goldstein - November 12, 2008

"Confronting mounting energy and global warming problems presents an extraordinary opportunity to reinvigorate the economy through investment in clean, sustainable, low-carbon energy technologies..."

"...[Clean energy investment] programs would sustain and increase employment in the renewable, manufacturing, and construction industries. They would also reduce oil and energy use, making our economy more efficient, and they would cut global warming pollution and its associated costs."

"Clean energy: Delivering stabilization, stimulus, recovery, and growth"

 

•  Future Energy - Economic Recovery and Employment Opportunities - Are we on the verge of a "Green Economic Recovery" in Massachusetts? Two experts will share their analyses of the potential employment effects from state and federal clean energy investments. The panel will tackle some important questions: What will this industry look like in the future? What does it mean for our economy and our workforce? What's hot and what's hype? And, what skills will you need to get on board?

Speakers:

Robert Pollin, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Political Economy Research Institute. Author most recently of "Green Recovery: A Program to Create Good Jobs and Start Building a Low-Carbon Economy".

Click here MP3-LINK to listen to an interview with Professor Pollin by Sea Change Radio producers Bill Baue and Francesca Rheannon.

Kevin Doyle, Principal GreenEconomy, Co-Author of The ECO Guide to Careers That Make a Difference: Environmental Work for a Sustainable World and green jobs columnist for Grist.com.

MODERATOR: Alex Risley-Schroeder, Green Careers Coach, F/H Regional Employment Board.

 

•  Powershift: Massachusetts ' New Clean Energy Landscape - A policy panel on the whirlwind of recent legislative activity that is setting the stage for a dramatic acceleration of our clean energy economy.

Speakers:

The Honorable Daniel Bosley, Massachusetts State Representative

The Honorable Benjamin Downing, Massachusetts State Senator

Phil Giudice, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources

MODERATOR: M.V. Lee Badgett, Professor of Economics and Director of the UMass Amherst Center for Public Policy & Administration

 

 

 

•  Good Jobs, Green Jobs - "Green" products and services are expanding local and national economies, and growing a broad spectrum of career opportunities that offer many entry points and possibilities for advancement. This panel will address the range of clean energy job prospects and training pathways from the perspective of employers, training providers, and incumbent workers.

Speakers:

Alex Risley-Schroeder, Green Careers Coach, F/H Regional Employment Board & Teresa Jones, Sustainable Energy Program Coordinator, Greenfield Community College.

Chris Cato, Green Initiative Project Manager, YouthBuild U.S.A..

Mike Kocsmiersky, Central Massachusetts Regional Manager of SolarWrights, former owner of Kosmo Solar, which has since merged with SolarWrights.

Steven Roberto - Re/EE student, contractor, career pathway

MODERATOR: Patricia Crosby, F/H Regional Employment Board

 

•  Business Success Stories - An industry panel on clean energy business development tactics that work and enterprise opportunities for entrepreneurs and innovators.

Speakers:

Chris Kilfoyle, President, Berkshire Photovoltaics

Pam Howland, Principal, Natural Siding Associates

Mike Kocsmiersky, Vice President of Research & Development, SolarWrights, former owner of Kosmo Solar, which has since merged with SolarWrights.

Marc Sternic, Vice President, Dietz and Company Architects

MODERATOR: John Laux, Chief Executive Officer, Greendustry Park

 

 

 

•  Invest in Our Future - A finance panel on the funding strategies and policies that support clean energy-driven economic development.

Speakers:

Chris Martenson, Financial Markets Analyst, ChrisMartenson.com

Peter Rothstein, Executive in Residence, Flagship Ventures

Larry Union, Chief Executive Officer, Northeast Biodiesel

MODERATOR: Joseph Steig, Long River Ventures

 

•  The Wellspring - Voices of clean energy innovators, entrepreneurs, and organizers in the community. A series of short presentations will feature some of the many exciting projects, programs, enterprises and initiatives that are contributing to the development of a vibrant clean energy economy.

Master of Ceremonies: Nick d'Arbeloff, Executive Director, New England Clean Energy Council

Presenters:

Kirsten Bonanza, Executive Director, Gasoline Alley Foundation, Springfield, MA
Topic: Inner-city entrepreneurship training for socially responsible and sustainable business practices.

John Fabel, Principal, Jattra Ventures
Topic: "Tales from the Trenches: Best Practices for Successful Technology Innovation"

Sean Jeffords, Principal, Beyond Green Construction, Easthampton, MA
Topic: An integrated team-work approach to high-performance building and efficiency retrofitting.

Michael Garjian, Founder, E2M Initiative for a Sustainable Community, Easthampton, MA

Simi Hoque, Assistant Professor, Green Building Program, UMass Amherst
Topic: Research Efforts of the Green Building Program

John Laux, Chief Executive Officer, Greendustry Park, Holyoke, MA
Topic: The making of a green business incubator: Greendustry Park

Patricia Moss, Ground Work, Springfield, MA
Topic: Green Work's Green Collar Jobs and Brownfield Jobs Training Program

Alan Page, Founder, StepItUp, Belchertown, MA
Topic: Carbon-negative energy systems

Patrick Quinlan, Managing Director, UMass Amherst Wind Energy Center
Topic: Wind energy training programs

Daniel Ross, Executive Director, Nuestras Raíces
Topic: The RootsUp Green Jobs Training Program

Eduardo Suárez, Founder, Echo for Sustainable Development
Topic:"Think Globally & Act Locally for Planning & Organizing for a Green Economy." Let's build regional assets to create a sustainable future!

Catherine Miller, Catherine is Principal Planner with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Topic: Pioneer Valley Clean Energy Plan

Dhandapani "DV" Venkataraman, Associate Professor of Chemistry, UMass Amherst Fueling the Future Center, a National Science Foundation Center for Chemical Innovation
Topic: The molecular design of materials that will be the foundation of next-generation energy harvesting technologies.

 

Pioneer Valley Sustainability Network "Art of Sustainability" contest winner

 

Free Opportunity Fair Opens at 1:45 pm - Pre-Registration REQUIRED (Keynote speaker, morning panel sessions, and networking luncheon NOT included with Opportunity Fair Admission)