The Ampersand Effect: How Two Unstoppable Founders Forged a New Energy & Climate Future for Houston
It all started in the sweltering August of 2017.
As Hurricane Harvey unleashed its unprecedented fury upon Houston, Katie Mehnert’s life was irrevocably changed. The founder of ALLY Energy, a workforce community, watched as the floodwaters consumed her home and business. Evacuated by boat with her young daughter, Mehnert’s personal tragedy ignited a public fire. Outraged at what she saw as a catastrophic failure of government at all levels to protect the citizens of America’s fourth-largest city, she took to social media, her voice a clarion call of anger and frustration that resonated with thousands.
Her impassioned advocacy did not go unnoticed. On the eve of the first anniversary of Harvey’s landfall, a remarkable meeting took place on her doorstep. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, a Democrat, met Katie, a Republican, political opposites united by the shared crisis. This unlikely meeting was not about partisan politics, but about the future of Houston, the undisputed energy capital of the world. It was a conversation about bridging the growing chasm between energy and climate, a dialogue that was then in its infancy, long before “energy transition” became a mainstream term.
“We need to bring everyone together across our city and the industry and make this happen,” Turner said.
In that pivotal moment, Mehnert made a promise to Mayor Turner: she would champion this vision and Climate Action Plan. This commitment marked the beginning of a new chapter, not just for Mehnert, but for the city itself.
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It was through her work on this plan that she met Juliana Garaizar, a powerhouse in the world of venture capital and the driving force behind the launch of Greentown Labs Houston, the city’s first climatetech startup incubator.
The two women were an instant force of nature, their shared vision and complementary skills creating an unstoppable bond. Mehnert, the tireless community builder and advocate for people, planet, and prosperity through her company ALLY Energy, found a perfect partner in Garaizar, the savvy investor and trailblazer in energy transition venture capital. Garaizar, with her extensive experience from the Houston Angel Network to the Texas Medical Center Venture Fund, was a champion for underrepresented innovators and a catalyst for turning climate-focused ideas into reality. Her work in establishing Greentown Labs in Houston in 2021 provided the fertile ground for a new generation of energy startups to flourish.
In 2022, Mehnert's company, ALLY Energy, honored former Mayor Turner with the first-ever Lifetime Achievement GRIT Award for his work in climate and energy Lifetime Achievement GRIT Award for his work in climate and energy. Mayor Pro-Tem, Dave Martin, and Climate Ambassador, Carol Smith did the honors of reading the proclamation and declaring Mayor Sylvester Turner Day.
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Along the way, Juliana and Katie embarked on a mission to create something unique for Houston: Houston Energy & Climate Week, a platform to showcase the city’s leadership in the evolving energy landscape. They traveled the globe, visiting cities like London, New York, and San Francisco to learn from their climate and energy week models. They engaged with a diverse coalition of stakeholders—government officials, media personalities, startup founders, corporate executives, academics, and the wider Houston community.
From these extensive consultations, a powerful and unifying concept emerged: Houston does hard things.
This concept ended up being the inaugural theme for the HECW 2024.
In 2025, the team rebranded the HECW mark and expanded the conversation across Houston to include the entire community with space, medicine, sports, AI, energy & climate. The “Power of &" demonstrates that it's all possible, and that Houston is where America is going to sort itself out.
This simple ampersand became the symbol of the HECW movement, representing the core belief that progress lies not in opposition, but in collaboration. It is about energy & climate, people & planet, profit & purpose. It is about breaking down silos and fostering a “one team” mentality to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges.
To ensure the week was inclusive and accessible to all, the non-profit Allies in Energy was formed, allowing everyone to participate, while Mehnert’s company, ALLY Energy, brought the brand and vision to life.
In a 2024 op-ed they co-authored for the Houston Business Journal, Mehnert and Garaizar articulated this vision with clarity and passion. “While politics pull much of the country apart, strengthening our protections against extreme weather and climate change should pull us all together,” they wrote. “It’s time to do what Texas knows how to do best: host a rodeo.”
The culmination of their efforts arrived in November 2023. To commemorate the launch of the first-ever Houston Energy and Climate Week (HECW) in 2024, Mehnert led a delegation of nearly 100 leaders from across the energy and climate spectrum to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. It was a powerful statement to the world: Houston was not just the energy capital of the past, but the leader of the energy future.
From the devastation of a hurricane, a new kind of storm was born—a storm of innovation, collaboration, and unstoppable progress. The story of Katie Mehnert and Juliana Garaizar and how Houston Energy & Climate Week came to be is a testament to the power of individual action and the extraordinary potential that is unlocked when two determined forces unite. They are catalysts for change, and through the “Power of &,” they have ignited a movement that is reshaping the future of energy, not just for Houston, but for the world.