2024 PLANNING & VOLUNTEER TEAM
The Houston Energy & Climate Planning Team is 100% volunteer-led and executed. Allies in Energy is the Texas 501c-3 nonprofit formed to create a sustainable annual week for Houston. Teams lead the execution of the formal program, help hosts put on successful self-organized events, and engage with a wide range of stakeholders.
We thank the people, companies, schools, institutions, media outlets, civil servants, and non-profits who made this happen. Join us by donating, volunteering, sponsoring, or hosting an event.
Juliana Gairaizar
Juliana Garaizar is Founding Partner at Energy Tech Nexus. A Board Member of the Angel Capital Association, Juliana is a Lead Investor of the Portfolia Rising America Fund. She is also an Advisory Board Member of the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator, the Latinx Startup Alliance, the Houston Diversity Fund, the Investors of Color network, the French Tech and Impulse4women.
Juliana was previously Chief Development and Investment Officer for Greentown Labs, the Texas Medical Center Venture Fund Director and the Managing Director of the Houston Angel Network. Juliana obtained an MBA at the London Business School and Haas School of Business in Berkeley, specializing in Entrepreneurship.
Juliana is co-chair of this year's inaugural Houston Energy & Climate Week.
Lindsay Roe
As a passionate energy industry leader with over 15 years of experience, Lindsay Roe drives digital transformation and innovation in the oil and gas sector while championing balanced, practical solutions for a sustainable future. She is Director of Digital Innovation at Core Laboratories and President and Interim CEO of Allies in Energy.
Lindsay is committed to fostering collaboration, driving innovation, and facilitating the exchange of ideas to address the complex challenges faced by the energy sector.
Katie Mehnert
The modern architect of the energy workforce, Katie Mehnert is the Founder and CEO of ALLY Energy™, a community that accelerates connections, jobs, and skills to drive an equitable energy transition. ALLY is a member of the Energy Tech Nexus.
She was appointed Ambassador to the United States Department of Energy during the Trump Administration and most recently re-appointed by the Biden Administration to the National Petroleum Council. Ms. Mehnert is a speaker, author, and trusted source in the energy industry. She has been published in Scientific American, Forbes, The Hill, CNBC, and CNN.
Katie co-founded Allies in Energy and serves on the Board of Directors. She's also the inaugural co-chair of Houston Energy & Climate Week.
Amina Buric
Amina Buric is a US Navy veteran turned strategic business advisor and project management expert. With a proven track record of leading cross-functional teams, implementing innovative project management methodologies, and driving business growth, Amina specializes in offering fractional COO services and business coaching.
Amina is a SCORE mentor and Cup of Joey Ambassador. She's the recipient of the Presidential Academic Excellent Award issues by President Barack Obama and graduated from the Illinois Istitute of Technology with a Bachelor of Engineering, Bioenginering and Biomedical Engineerting, and Computer Engineering
Michelle Torelli
Michelle Torelli is a seasoned chemical engineer turned climate executive and entrepreneur. Leveraging my expertise in chemical and environmental engineering, she co-founded CarbonForge and founded Senergy Tech to tackle critical energy, environmental, and climate challenges.
With over 11 years of international experience, Michelle possess a diverse skillset encompassing energy systems, research & development (including First-Of-A-Kind/FOAK) systems, environmental products, data science, process engineering, project management and organizational development across top research labs, non-profits, and Fortune 100 companies in energy, aerospace/defense, and technology sectors.
Michelle is a charter member of Energy Tech Nexus, Advisor to Super Founder, and Fellow with Climate Vine.
Elizabeth (Liz) Franzen
Elizabeth Franzen is an Audit senior manager in KPMG LLP’s Houston office. She has more than nine years of audit experience and has served a Fortune 500 company. She serves public and private consumer and industrial markets clients, upstream oil & gas clients, nuclear power & gas and oil-field services clients. Her technical accounting knowledge and knowledge of Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 requirements provide valuable insights.
Liz is the Treasurer of Allies in Energy.