The Polsky Center’s new breakfast series brings together entrepreneurs, investors, and experts to highlight emerging trends in select industries. In Energy 2019, we will dive deep with a panel of experts as they discuss changes in the energy markets in 2019 and where they see white space for entrepreneurial opportunity. This event is hosted in partnership with the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC), Argonne’s Chain Reaction Innovations, the Harris Energy and Environmental Association (HEEA), and mHUB.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Lindsey Iversen, EPIC (moderator) – Lindsay is the deputy director at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC). Prior to joining EPIC, she was the associate director of climate and resources at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a leading foreign policy think tank, where she played a central role in CFR’s work on climate change, food security, and water security. She previously served as special assistant to the president of research for CFR’s president, Richard Haass. In that role, she was the lead researcher on his 2013 book, “Foreign Policy Begins at Home,” and a member of a small team leading peace negotiations in Northern Ireland. Lindsay also has worked as a consultant to the agricultural development program at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and conducted research for several UK-based organizations working on conflict and development issues. She received her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and an MS in Development Studies from the London School of Economics.
• Judy Li, Energy Foundry – Judy drives investment activity at Energy Foundry, an early-stage venture fund based in Chicago. She manages Energy Foundry’s investment deal flow and moves potential investments forward from the first introduction through due diligence to final investment. Additionally, she facilitates partnerships with incubators and accelerators, supports startups in Energy Foundry’s portfolio, and oversees marketing and data management activities. Prior to Energy Foundry, Judy conducted over a hundred energy efficiency assessments and sold dozens of retrofitting projects for a local startup, Verde Sustainable Solutions (now Verde: Energy Efficiency Experts). Judy received her BS cum laude from the University of California at Berkeley, with a double major in environmental science and environmental economics and policy, and a minor in energy resources.
• Juan Muldoon, MBA ’16, Energize Ventures – Juan brings nearly a decade of experience in finance and investing at Energize Ventures. He is integral to all aspects of the Fund’s operations, including leading sourcing efforts, developing investment theses, driving diligence of potential investments, and supporting and monitoring portfolio companies. Previously, Juan worked at JPMorgan, where his work ranged from business analysis and research to advising institutional investors on portfolio allocation and private investments. Juan holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BA from the University of Notre Dame, magna cum laude. Juan currently sits on the board of directors for Nozomi Networks and Aquilon.
• Charlie Murray, MBA ’17, Switched Source – Charlie is president and cofounder of Switched Source. Switched Source provides hardware solutions for distribution utilities to increase the reliability, efficiency and solar hosting capability of the distribution grid. Charlie comes from an independent power producer background at Invenergy, where he developed utility-scale solar, wind and natural gas electricity generation projects in the US as well as Central and South America. Charlie also has experience developing the largest fleet of energy storage projects in North America. Charlie earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and is a professional engineer in the state of California.
• Erik Underwood, MBA ’17, Marathon Capital – Erik is an associate at Marathon Capital responsible for creating detailed financial models, conducting due diligence, evaluating risk/return parameters of a transaction, and preparing investment marketing materials in support of Marathon Capital’s senior bankers in their relationship management responsibilities across the Americas. Prior to joining Marathon Capital, Erik worked for Mainstream Renewable Power, a global renewable developer, in the US and Chile. He spent four years working in Chile for Mainstream in a variety of positions including project finance commercial associate and project manager. Later, Erik worked at Tesla in their Global Business Development group for energy products, focusing on the Southeast Asian, Latin American, and African markets.

Additionally, the event will include the opportunity for networking and time for a limited number of 1-minute pitches from energy-related startups before this engaged audience. If you are an entrepreneur interested in pitching your startup, don’t miss your opportunity to get in front of these investors and this highly-engaged audience. To apply to pitch, complete an application by February 21 at 12pm.

Free breakfast is provided and registration is required.

If you like this event, be sure to check out all the events in our series:

• January 18: Health Tech 2019
• January 25: Food 2019
• February 1: Therapeutics 2019
• February 8: Civtech 2019
• February 15: Fintech 2019
• February 22: Energy 2019
• March 1: AI 2019