The unique game show format highlights diverse climate talent and explores opportunities that exist in the climate workforce.
Elemental Excelerator and LinkedIn today hosted the Future of Climate Talent, a special event at Climate Week NYC to highlight the growing movement to build a diverse and inclusive pipeline of climate talent and elevate the voices of those traditionally excluded from the climate workforce. The event featured interns and employers from Elemental’s internship program Empowering Diverse Climate Talent (EDICT) in a game show hosted by Colin Jost, co-anchor of “Weekend Update” on Saturday Night Live.
The event was hosted at Goals House during Climate Week NYC in front of a roomful of rising climate leaders, climate tech entrepreneurs and investors, and others invested in creating a more equitable and sustainable future. It featured remarks from LinkedIn’s Director of Global Environmental Sustainability Peggy Brannigan and Microsoft’s Chief Sustainability Officer Melanie Nakagawa.
The centerpiece of the afternoon was an informative and entertaining game show hosted by Colin Jost, featuring data and insights from LinkedIn’s Global Green Skills Report about the growing demand for a diverse talent pool in the climate sector. Contestants included EDICT interns Kawika Pegram and Palak Jauhari, as well as UtilityAPI CEO Devin Hampton, who co-founded EDICT in 2020. Nneka Kibuule, Principal at Aligned Climate Capital and founder of Greentech Noir, rounded out the contestant list.
The event followed on the heels of a successful third year of Elemental’s EDICT program, which placed 76 interns with 52 employers in the climate workforce for summer 2023.
To help build a diverse pipeline of talent for the climate sector, EDICT works with employers to create inclusive cultures, and with early career professionals to develop skills and join a powerful network of rising leaders. The program now has placed interns at 87 different organizations across the country, ranging from Fortune 500 companies and climate tech startups to community-based nonprofits.
• • •
About Elemental Excelerator
Elemental is a nonprofit investor in climate technologies with deep community impact. It brings more than a decade of experience across the climate sector, with an active and maturing portfolio of 150+ companies. Elemental fills two gaps fundamental to addressing climate change: funding projects for climate technologies in communities, and embedding equity and access into climate solutions. The nonprofit invests in transformative technologies to create a systems change for a more resilient, equitable future.
Sign up for our monthly newsletter
