Meet the Nominees & Finalists
View the Awards Ceremony Agenda
| 4:30pm | Networking Reception | |
| 5:15pm | Awards Program | |
| Welcome | Tim Fairchild, SAS | |
| Opening Remarks | Dr. Deb Wojcik, RTCC | |
| Research Innovation in Cleantech Award | Dr. Deb Wojcik, RTCC | |
| Cleantech Entrepreneur Award | Dr. Deb Wojcik, RTCC | |
| Lighting Talk: Innovative Technologies | Dr. Chris Wedding, Entrepreneurs for Impact | |
| Cleantech Talent Development Award | Dr. Deb Wojcik, RTCC | |
| Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in Cleantech Award | Dr. Deb Wojcik, RTCC | |
| Lightning Talk: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in Cleantech | Nina Barrett Cooper, City of Raleigh | |
| Cleantech Impact: Local Government | Dr. Deb Wojcik, RTCC | |
| Cleantech Impact: Water | Dr. Deb Wojcik, RTCC | |
| Platinum Sponsor Remarks | Anthony Allard, Hitachi Energy | |
| Cleantech Impact: Energy | Dr. Deb Wojcik, RTCC | |
| Cleantech Impact: Transportation | Dr. Deb Wojcik, RTCC | |
| Cleantech Impact: Economic Development | Dr. Deb Wojcik, RTCC | |
| Lighting Talk: Energy Transformation | Jim Musilek, NCEMC | |
| Cleantech Champion Award | Dr. Deb Wojcik, RTCC | |
| Lifetime Achievement Award | Dr. Deb Wojcik, RTCC | |
| Video: Celebrating 10 Years of Cleantech Innovation | ||
| Concluding Remarks | Dr. Deb Wojcik, RTCC | |
| 6:40pm | Networking Reception |
Meet Our Speakers
Tim Fairchild
Opening Remarks
Director, Global Manufacturing Industry Marketing Practice, SAS
As the Director of the SAS Global Manufacturing Industry Marketing Practice, Tim Fairchild leads a team of industry domain experts responsible for driving market engagement, portfolio readiness, and strategic positioning and messaging in the manufacturing industry. Tim represents SAS on the Board of Directors of the Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster which works to expand the Research Triangle region’s capabilities in advanced transportation, water technologies, and clean energy renewable energy and energy efficiency by bringing together the collective power of industry, government and academia. He also serves on the Industry Advisory Board of UNC Charlotte’s Energy Production Infrastructure Center (EPIC) which was formed through private and public funding in response to the need to supply well-educated and highly trained engineers to the manufacturing and energy industries. Tim joined SAS in 2002 and his experience at SAS includes Product Management, Sales and Business Development, and Solutions Architecture. Prior to joining SAS Tim worked as a global supply chain professional at IBM, Compaq, Texas Instruments, and Hughes Simulation.
Dr. Chris Wedding
Lightning Talk: Innovative Technologies
Founder, Entrepreneurs for Impact
Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of Entrepreneurs for Impact, where he leads a climate CEO and investor peer group community whose members represent over $10B of market value or assets under management. He also produces a weekly newsletter and a weekly podcast focused on climate finance, startups, and personal productivity. In addition, he is a former environmental private equity investor and impact investment banker, professor at Duke University and UNC Chapel Hill, 4x founder, and occasional monk, with over $1B of investment experience and 60,000 professional students taught.
Nina Barrett Cooper
Lightning Talk: Diversity and Equity in Cleantech
Program Consultant, Partnership Raleigh, City of Raleigh
Raised in Va Beach, Virginia with New York roots, Nina has a passion for protecting the environment for future generations through policy. In 2019, Nina underwent training as part of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps hosted by former U.S. Vice President, Al Gore. Her environmental justice advocacy was highlighted in The Washington Post.
In addition to her climate advocacy, she has held several professional policy and government affairs positions in city, county, regional, and state government.
Nina has also been instrumental in the launch of the City of Raleigh’s Neighborhood Enrichment Services -Partnership Raleigh Community Climate Internship Program, a public-private partnership between the City of Raleigh and local businesses. Her role consists of outreach/recruitment, curriculum development & assisting in program management.
Nina holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science degree from William Peace University and a Master of Public Administration degree from North Carolina Central University. She holds a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certification through the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
In her leisure time, Nina enjoys mentoring, traveling, and planning networking events for millennial business owners.
Anthony Allard
Platinum Sponsor Remarks
Country Managing Director United States and Head of North America Business, Hitachi Energy
Anthony Allard is Executive Vice President, Managing Director, United States and Head of Hitachi Energy’s business in North America.
Allard was most recently Chief Operating Ofcer of BECIS, a leading energy as a service solution provider in Singapore. Having spent most of his career in the power sector at GE and Alstom in the US, he held several executive-level positions, including General Manager and Board Member for GE Prolec Transformers in the US. He was also General Manager for the GE-XD High Voltage Products partnership and spent 10 years working for Alstom Grid in both North America and the Americas in Strategy and Operations management roles.
Allard holds an MBA from Yale University and a Masters in Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications from the Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble, France.
Jim Musilek
Lightning Talk: Clean Energy Transformation
Vice President, Innovation & Business Development, NCEMC
Jim Musilek serves as the Vice President, Innovation & Business Development for North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives (NCEMC), a Raleigh-based organization that supplies power and transmission services to 25 member electric cooperatives throughout the state.
In his role, Jim directs grid modernization programs, an effort that involves working with distribution cooperatives to test new and innovative technology at the edge of the grid. He also manages NCEMC’s community solar efforts and is helping to develop microgrid and storage projects, including North Carolina electric cooperative’s first microgrid project on Ocracoke Island, NC.
Jim has over 20 years of diverse industry experience in engineering, planning, operations, rates, and portfolio management.
He graduated from California State University, Northridge, with a B.A. in geography and earned his MBA from Campbell University.
Thank You to Our Sponsors!
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