VERGE 24 emerging leaders
Alexa White
Alexa White is a pioneering scientist and executive director dedicated to advancing environmental justice through innovative research and advocacy. As the co-founder of the Aya Research Institute, she works tirelessly to increase the representation of scientists and engineers of color in environmental research, particularly in areas impacted by climate change and food sovereignty. Her current role as the Environmental Justice Policy Director for the Hip Hop Caucus underscores her commitment to integrating policy with grassroots movements to drive systemic change.
Within the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at the University of Michigan, Alexa’s research focuses on agroecological theory and sustainable agriculture, critically examining the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and their biophysical indicators. Her work has been instrumental in shaping policies that address the social determinants of health, zoonotic disease transmission, and environmental justice.
Alexa is also an Earth Commons Postdoctoral Fellow at Georgetown University, where she continues to explore the intersections of ecology, climate policy, and community empowerment in Namibia. Known for her ability to translate complex scientific concepts into actionable policy recommendations, Alexa is a leading voice in the fight for environmental justice and sustainable development.
Ankur Shah
Ankur Shah is an environmental data scientist at PlanetSapling, a startup that leverages satellite and sensor data to map climate and biodiversity risks associated with industrial assets to support climate change mitigation, adaptation, and nature conservation. He also serves as the Director of Operations at Mycelium, a Huntsville-based nonprofit accelerating the circular economy through open-source solutions focused on waste management, food resilience, and self-sufficient housing.
Previously, Ankur worked with a NASA team on Earth observation projects, including detecting floating marine debris and identifying aircraft contrails using satellite imagery. He holds a degree in physics and Earth science from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and is currently a graduate student of biomimicry at Arizona State University.
Ankur frequently shares his expertise through informative videos on environmental topics on his YouTube channel, dedicated to climate education. He is passionate about natural climate solutions, biomimicry, sustainable urban design, and environmental education. Outside of work, he enjoys playing ping pong, hiking, reading, and foraging wild plants and mushrooms.
Ebony Johnson
Ebony D. Johnson, PhD, MS is a public health professional and postdoctoral research fellow at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. With a passion for advancing health equity and environmental justice, Ebony’s work centers on addressing the social and environmental challenges that disproportionately impact marginalized communities.
She is the founder of Asé Analytics, a research consultancy focused on data-driven solutions for health and environmental justice. Her team at Asé Analytics collaborates with organizations to create strategies that foster sustainable and equitable solutions to health disparities. Her work focuses on ensuring that policies and practices are not only effective but also inclusive, taking into account the needs of those most affected by environmental and health inequities.
With a Ph.D. in Sociology and M.S. in Epidemiology from the University of Michigan, Ebony combines her academic expertise with practical experience to make a meaningful difference in the world. Her research incorporates community-based approaches, emphasizing policy advocacy and science communication.
Dr. Johnson has a visionary outlook on the integration of public health, academic research, and climate action strategies. Her approach exemplifies the importance of interdisciplinary thinking and systems analysis in tackling complex social and environmental challenges. Following this path, she is poised to create impactful solutions that promote lasting sustainable change in a dynamic world.
Gerardo Aguilar
Gerardo currently serves as a Corporate Engagement Fellow at CDP, where he assists corporations through their disclosure process. With a rich background in sustainability consulting, renewable energy, and waste management, Gerardo has led impactful projects, including assessing community solar opportunities at Starbucks, advancing waste management initiatives at LRS, and launching city-wide recycling programs with the Alliance to End Plastic Waste.
Gerardo also leads the Chicago Chapter of Latinxs in Sustainability, where he is committed to fostering diversity and inclusion within the environmental sector. His leadership involves advocating for the representation of Latinx voices in sustainability, creating opportunities for professional growth, and driving community engagement initiatives.
At VERGE 24, Gerardo aims to leverage his diverse experience to contribute to the profitable deployment of climate technologies, bridging the gap between environmental stewardship and economic viability. Gerardo is currently open for work and hoping to land his first full-time climate job!
Jahnavi Mange
Jahnavi is a transformational leader driven by a deep commitment to fostering leadership and compassion in climate solutions and social innovation. She holds a Master's degree in Design for Sustainability and Industrial Design from the Savannah College of Art & Design, Savannah along with a Bachelor's in Electronics Engineering from Mumbai, India. Jahnavi is also a certified Permaculture Designer from Santa Cruz Permaculture Farm and a Strategic Foresight Practitioner from The Future School (TFSX).
Currently, Jahnavi is in the process of launching her startup, From Soil to Soul, a deeply personal venture focused on regenerating and restoring our relationship with the land, promoting collective healing, and advocating for food justice and equity. She employs storytelling, systems thinking, youth empowerment, and community-building to create meaningful impact.
Jahnavi brings a wealth of experience in sustainability design strategy, having worked at the grassroots level with the City of Savannah to develop frameworks for social innovation, the SDGs, clean energy, and equity. At Dhana Inc., she led efforts to promote behavior change towards conscious clothing consumption through the medium of circular economy. She has also consulted with major corporations like Coca-Cola, Volvo, and Heineken, embedding sustainability into their business strategies.
With a spiritual and poetic approach to life, Jahnavi’s ethos is reflected in her work and in the vibrant communities she builds. Beyond her professional roles, she dedicates herself to climate leadership by mentoring students to embrace regenerative thinking, volunteering for forest restoration projects, and supporting organisations focused on social and climate justice.
Josh Freeman
Josh Freeman currently works at the Office of Clean Demonstrations within the Department of Energy. As a part of OCED’s Portfolio Strategy Team, he has worked on a variety of projects focused on bolstering OCED’s market research and analysis capabilities including the Pathways to Commercial Liftoff Reports and the office’s first lab call solicitation to the national labs. Josh was also a 2021 Clean Energy Leadership Institute Fellow and currently a fellowship coordinator for CELI’s 2024 fellowship program.
Prior to joining OCED, Josh has worked as a consultant in DC since 2018 at multiple firms, providing a variety of technical, financial, and policy analysis for a variety of clients including local governments, federal government agencies, electric utilities, for-profit companies, capital markets investors, and private equity investors.
He holds a M.A in Sustainable Energy from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from Princeton University. He grew up in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, where he was often exposed to and saw the effects of climate change before he even understood what it is.
Kelyce Allen
Kelyce B. Allen is a passionate community builder dedicated to shifting our socioeconomic systems to recenter the reverence of life. Graduating with a B.A. in Public Policy from Duke University, she has dedicated her career to enhancing community resilience through knowledge sharing and policy implementation.
Currently serving as Membership Coordinator at Black Sustainability, Inc., Kelyce is driving the organization’s mission to mobilize Black sustainability practitioners across the diaspora. Previous roles include Corporate Sustainability Intern at Don’t Waste Durham, Inc., Intern at the Duke Racial Equity Advisory Council, and Research Assistant with the Duke University Department of Economics. Admired by her peers, she was awarded the Undergraduate “Willing & Abele” Student Leader of the Year Award during her first year in undergrad.
Kelyce imagines expanding her knowledge of the people and places making innovative change and creating blueprints to allow these ideas to take root across the nation and globe simultaneously. She is most looking forward to connecting with changemakers and building a new world together.
Kiana Michaan
Kiana Michaan (she/her) is a renewable energy professional, clean energy advocate, and climate storyteller. She is the creator, host, & producer of the podcast Climate with Kiana, a show focused on climate solutions in a framework of joy and justice. She is also producing a video series extension of the podcast highlighting climate and clean energy solutions.
Kiana is the Communications Manager at Okovate Sustainable Energy, where she works to support the deployment of agrivoltaics. Kiana previously worked at Sologistics where she provided permitting, utility interconnection, and project management for hundreds of solar projects across New York City. She has worked with Black Girl Environmentalist on community building and with Our Climate Voices on climate justice storytelling. Kiana has worked with WE ACT for Environmental Justice on equitable solar development. She is an alum of the Clean Energy Leadership Institute Fellowship, OnePointFive Academy, and holds a certificate in Clean Energy from NYU. Kiana served as a member of the advisory panel for the non-profit Diversity in Sustainability, currently serves as a board member at Eco.Logic, a non-profit dedicated to environmental art & education, and is a member of Green Leadership Trust. She is passionate about climate justice storytelling.
Kyla Harrison
Kyla is an emerging leader in climate and sustainability, currently pursuing an MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. During her MBA, she has worked as a Strategy Intern at Fervo Energy, a Global Sustainability Intern at Yogi Tea, and a Fellowship Associate at the Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI). Kyla is also a 2024 ClimateCAP Fellow.
Before business school, she advised climate-focused nonprofits and philanthropists at The Bridgespan Group in its New York office. Prior to this, she provided strategic planning support to nonprofits in the central Texas region. Kyla holds a BA in Plan II Honors from The University of Texas at Austin. In her free time, she enjoys volunteering, staying active, and reading.
Lauren Castelino
Lauren is the founder of the Green Career Centre (GCC), where she prepares underrepresented youth for green careers. Over more than six years, Lauren has reached thousands of youth through developing environmental programs and sharing career development resources. Impressively, Lauren has secured more than $2.5 million dollars for BIPOC-led and impact-driven organizations which has financed the creation of scores of environmental events, dozens of green jobs, three community gardens and spaces for community organizing.
Lauren’s focus this year is developing an AI tool that will make finding green jobs and opportunities more accessible. As an accomplished entrepreneur, environmentalist and researcher, Lauren has been recognized by Corporate Knights, The Starfish Canada, Metroland Media and several prominent politicians for her vital work.
Nick Rojas
Dual MBA & MS Sustainable Systems graduate from the Erb Institute at the University of Michigan focused on the intersection of business and sustainability. I'm passionate about bringing climate solutions out of the lab and into the market to make the impact needed to address the climate crisis, whether as an early-stage VC investor or strategic program manager.
Over the last three years, I studied how we can channel the power of the private market to generate value not just for shareholders but for all stakeholders. By changing economic incentives, building coalitions, and identifying novel approaches to problems, companies not only can lead on harm reduction but spur innovation to create a more sustainable, equitable world.
Prior to graduate school, I spent nearly a decade launching business initiatives and scaling teams at a diverse set of startups in the San Francisco Bay Area. I developed a skill and enthusiasm for effective project management by understanding various stakeholder needs and fostering trust amongst parties to get things done.
As a life-long Californian and Eagle Scout, I've experienced the havoc climate change has already brought to earth from raging megafires to multi-decade droughts. Even "climate havens" like Michigan are not immune from these consequences as polar vortexes and extended heat waves become more common. I hope we can not only reverse these disasters but support communities, particularly BIPOC and low-income communities who are disproportionately affected, to thrive in the new economy that is being built.
Outside of school and work, I'm an avid hiker, board gamer, cook, and NPR listener.
Serena Dao
Serena Dao is a dynamic climate tech professional with over seven years of experience spanning biotechnology, carbon sequestration, and sustainable ventures. With a B.S. in Chemistry and Physics from Northeastern University and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon, she bridges the gap between scientific innovation and business strategy.
Serena's career has taken her from pioneering biotech at Ginkgo Bioworks to leading carbon removal projects at Living Carbon. In Venture Captial, she has evaluated early stage cutting-edge climate solutions and developed sustainable investment frameworks for major institutions. Her professional achievements have been recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30 and Amazon's global AI conference.
Passionate about leveraging technology to combat climate change, Serena is dedicated to accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy. Outside of work you can find her climbing, thrift-shopping, or sipping a cup tea.
Srusti Ithal
Srusti Ithal grew up in Bengaluru, India, where she witnessed firsthand how climate change transformed the city's once-pleasant weather into extremes of heat and rain. This experience has driven her to focus her career on leveraging her engineering background to mitigate climate change and its effects.
Before moving to the United States, Srusti worked in the construction industry, where she contributed to the design and improvement of two green building projects. During this time, she recognized the potential of existing solutions to combat climate change, which shifted her focus to implementation and sparked her interest in sustainability policy and finance.
In the summer of 2024, Srusti served as a Summer Associate (Projects & Operations) at RMI within the Third Derivative Climate Tech Accelerator, where she played a pivotal role in building and optimizing a mentor database to support startups. Previously, she was a VC Industry Research Extern with Energy Innovation Capital, where she conducted market analysis focused on battery storage technology and performed due diligence on her peers' analyses. Srusti is committed to advancing her career in the Climatetech sector.
Srusti is a graduate student in the Industrial Management program at Johns Hopkins University, with a technical focus on Environmental Systems Analysis, Public Policy, and Economics. She was awarded a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University in India.
Vanessa Mukhebi
Rooted in Kenya, raised in the Netherlands, redefined in Australia, and currently radiating in Chicago, Vanessa Mukhebi is a storyteller, food anthropologist, TEDx speaker, and professional troublemaker with nearly a decade of global experience in agri-food systems, sustainable development, ethnographic exploration, and the transformative power of behavioral-change communications. Vanessa currently leads creative communications and brand stewardship at ReFED — a U.S. national non-profit tackling food waste. She is the Vice Board Chair on the Auxiliary Board of Inspiration Corporation, a nonprofit offering a broad array of programs designed to support individuals and families in Chicago experiencing houselessness, hunger, and employment barriers.
At The Mediae Company, she produced content for award-winning edutainment-based TV shows aimed at enhancing social, cultural, and economic freedoms through climate-smart agriculture; maternal and child nutrition; and encouraging youth to pursue agribusiness, respectively. Vanessa is also passionate about youth empowerment, revitalizing indigenous farming practices, and the cultural dimensions of food security — serving as a Project and Teaching Assistant to Prof. Stephan Palmié’s Food Cultura graduate-level research course at the Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago — and mentoring the next generation of climate and culinary champions.
She holds a Master of Art in Anthropology (Food) from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor in Media and Communication, Sociology and Anthropology from the University of Sydney in Australia.
Ashley Laveriano
Ashley's leadership ethos is grounded in the belief that community knowledge and empowerment are essential for addressing today's environmental challenges. Rooted in Chimbote, Peru and raised in Newark, New Jersey, Ashley is a systems thinker fascinated with environmental monitoring and risk assessment.
Her passion for environmental justice was shaped by firsthand experience in a lead water crisis and residence across a superfund site. A high honors graduate of Dartmouth College, she championed several sustainability wins, including the Sustainability Office's first Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) plan and first experimental forest plot for agroecology and climate transitions research.
Beyond academia, Ashley has professional experience in non-profit program development and geospatial product creation under NASA. Currently, she serves as a Management Specialist at CDM Smith in Boston, helping frontline communities undergo lead service line replacements and designing tailored communications. She is dedicated to driving impactful change through education, science communication, and reliable environmental data.
At VERGE 24, she looks forward to being inspired by speakers, attendees, and her cohort on shaping the face of resilience and innovation under climate change.