4 Generations Event: Leading Through Adversity

Keynote Speaker Announced

Shira Harrington, Founder and President, Purposeful Hire, is the keynote speaker for this event. She will explore the changing world of work and the impact multigenerations are having on the workforce. Shira will discuss the perceived gaps, work ethic differences, value systems, work-life expectations, communication styles, and how relationships to authority differ among the generations. Building on the understanding of what makes each generation unique, Shira will highlight how the four generations can embrace what they have in common to work together to create a more sustainable world. This is one keynote you don’t want to miss.

Success Through Adversity

Clean energy and sustainability recipients of the Leaders in Energy 4 Generation Award, representing the World War II, Baby Boomer, Generation X, and Millennial generations, will share their stories on how they have achieved success by overcoming adversity in their careers. The leaders will explore how the challenges changed their organization, impacted the community, and how they found new approaches to meet these challenges. Stories and experiences you’ll want to hear.

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World War II/Traditional Generation Awardee

Bill Holmberg graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, and holds advanced degrees in Personnel Administration, Soviet Affairs, and the Russian Language. He served for twenty-one years in the Marine Corps, 19 of which were as an officer, and retired well decorated. Bill brings an additional 13 years of experience in the federal government supporting sustainable agriculture and energy technologies, with a focus on biofuels. While at the EPA, FEO, FEA, and DOE, Bill helped to pioneer the ethanol and biodiesel industries. He retired from the federal government at the Senior Executive Service level.

Bill spent an additional 21 years in the private sector, managing small businesses and associations relating to biofuels, including the New Uses Council and the Biomass Coordinating Council. He is a founding member of the Sustainable Energy Coalition (SEC), which makes major contributions to the Senate and House Renewable and Energy Efficiency (RE & EE) Caucus. Bill is a member of the core group promoting the annual Energy Expos on the Hill in concert with the SEC and the Senate and House RE & EE Caucus. He has been key member of the organizing committee of the Environmental and Clean Energy Inaugural Balls since 1989.

Baby Boomer Generation Awardee

Robert L. Wallace is the CEO/Founder of energy company, BITHENERGY, Inc. located in Baltimore, Maryland as well as the founder of two other companies – BITHGROUP Technologies, Inc.and EntreTeach Learning Systems, LLC.  BITHENERGY has grown from five employees and $300,000 in annual revenue to about 30 workers and $7.28 million. That growth made BITHENERGY the No. 1 company on an annual list “The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City” of the fastest growing urban companies, published recently in Fortune magazine.

At BITHENERGY, Wallace’s team helps clients like Maryland’s Department of General Services and SunTrust Bank see where they can save money on utility bills. The firm also built about 30 megawatts worth of solar farms, including one in west Howard County from which the Columbia Association buys power, and has another 100 megawatts in the pipeline. His firm specializes in building the solar farms on landfills and brownfield sites, which is more challenging because of restrictions against penetrating a protective barrier on top of the hazardous material.

Robert graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, School of Engineering, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics. He earned a Master in Business Administration from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and was awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Sojourner Douglas College. He is an affiliate Professor of Business at Loyola University.

Gen X Generation Awardee

Sonia Punjabi is an industry expert in international environmental sustainability, green buildings, energy efficiency, zero energy, and high-performance buildings. At DNV GL, she is responsible for providing advanced technical leadership in the areas of high performance buildings, new construction energy efficiency programs, energy modeling, green building certification, and building technology assessment. In this role, she supports the development and delivery of new advisory services to help energy policy makers and energy consumers to achieve their sustainability objectives. Prior to joining DNV GL, Sonia was an Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fellow with the U. S. Department of Energy and during her tenure she led the commercial new construction and major retrofits portfolio for the Building Technologies Office at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). She headed the research and development of industry-accepted national definitions, guidelines, and metrics for commercial Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB/NZE/ZNE), campuses, portfolios, and communities.

Prior to joining DOE, Sonia served as the Director of LEED International Technical Development at USGBC. As the Director of LEED International Technical Development, Sonia led the international expansion of the LEED brand and spearheaded the technical development and early formation of USGBC’s LEED green building rating systems and programs. Sonia has worked closely with Italy, India, and Canada to develop their green building initiatives and supported the LEED related work of CanadaGBC, GBC Italia and IndiaGBC. Prior to joining USGBC in March 2005, Sonia worked as a Visiting Researcher at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and has also worked as an Architect in India.

Sonia received her Master of Science in Architecture degree with a Specialization in Energy Optimization and Health and Environmental Systems from Texas A&M University.

Millennial Generation Awardee

Timi Komonibo is the founder of a start-up called Style Lotterywhich connects fashion to sustainability and people to philanthropy. Komonibo considers herself a fashion philanthropist and a crusader for using fashion to explore the changing landscape of sustainability. She also gave a TedX talk at Syracuse University on her business.

Timi graduated from the Public Diplomacy program at Syracuse’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications with a Master of Science in Public Relations and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs with a Master of Arts in International Relations. She received a Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies and Bachelor of Arts in African and African Diaspora Studies from the University of Texas – Austin. Before attending graduate school, Timi taught reading, math enrichment, and technology in Houston with Teach for America. In her spare time, she writes about sustainability, fashion, and life on her blog, at naturalechronicles.com