Navigating Clean Energy Careers
Under Uncertainty
For POSTDOCS, GRAD STUDENTS, and UNDERGRADS
Date and Time: | –
Location: Friend Center
Join us for an engaging event exploring careers in energy, clean tech, and sustainability. Hear from energy sector experts, network with leaders in clean technologies and energy policy, and discover opportunities shaping the future of energy.
Moderator
Tom Leyden ‘77
Visiting Fellow at Princeton’s Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment
One of the early solar pioneers, Tom Leyden began his solar career in 1980 and over the years has held a number of executive management positions. He was VP of Sales and Marketing at EPV, a thin-film PV manufacturer, and at WorldWater, a remote-power and solar-water pumping company that installed solar projects in Africa and Asia. He served as VP of East Coast Operations for PowerLight, the commercial PV pioneer bought by SunPower, where he became SunPower’s East Coast Managing Director. In 2012 he became CEO of the energy storage start-up Solar Grid Storage that was acquired by Sunedison and then served as Sunedison’s VP of Energy Storage Deployment. He joined EDF in 2016 to help develop and deliver innovative solar and storage business models, and then in 2022 moved to Nexamp to focus on Community Solar and innovative solar deployment such as Floating Solar and Agrivoltaics. Tom was the developer of the Princeton University solar projects totaling 15 MWs at 8 sites around campus. He is also an advisor to two Princeton-born companies, BoxPower and Solstice. He holds a BA from Princeton University. At Princeton, Tom was President of Campus Club and two-time Captain of the varsity lacrosse team.
Panelists
Angela Maria Fasnacht, Ph.D.
Chief Operating Officer, Princeton Critical Minerals
Angela Fasnacht is an environmental engineer and executive with nearly 30 years of experience in water, wastewater, and critical-minerals systems. She is the Chief Operating Officer of Princeton Critical Minerals, a startup spun out of Princeton University advancing low-impact lithium extraction technologies for brine and produced-water systems across North and South America. She oversees operations, scale-up, and deployment of evaporation, crystallization, and data-enabled process solutions that improve lithium recovery while reducing environmental footprint.
Dr. Fasnacht is a Gerhard R. Andlinger Visiting Fellow at Princeton University, where she teaches and conducts applied research at the water–energy–critical minerals nexus, with a focus on decarbonization and infrastructure-scale implementation. Previously, she held senior executive roles at Veolia, SUEZ, and American Water. She serves on the U.S. EPA National Advisory Committee and is the founder of Safe Water Compliance. She holds a Ph.D. in environmental engineering, a Master of Public Health, and a B.S. in civil engineering.
Alexandra Goldstein ‘11
Chief Executive Officer, Bison Fuels
Alexandra Goldstein serves as Co-Founder and CEO of Bison Fuels, a next-generation, AI-enabled developer of low-carbon energy infrastructure projects across hydrogen, advanced fuels, and distributed dispatchable power. She previously co-founded Ambient Fuels, a Generate Capital-backed hydrogen developer recently acquired by Electric Hydrogen, leading that company through a successful fundraise and scale-up.
Prior to her time in the energy transition, Alex spent ten years in investing. She began her career as part of the founding team of Manor Road Capital, a long/short equity hedge fund, working as a research and investment professional until 2019. Alex then joined the corporate strategy and M&A team of Buck Global, an H.I.G. Capital portfolio company, which was successfully sold to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Alex received her A.B. from Princeton in History in 2011. She wrote her undergraduate senior thesis on the development of U.S.-Saudi relations during World War II, with a particular focus on energy security. Alex sits on the board of the Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation (CELF), a New York/Houston-based organization focused on bringing sustainability education to children from pre-K through 12th grade. She is an avid classical violinist, and lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.
Lynn Loo *01
Theodora D. ’78 and William H. Walton III ’74 Professor of Engineering at Princeton University; CEO of the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD)
Lynn Loo is the Theodora D. ’78 and William H. Walton III ’74 Professor of Engineering at Princeton University and the inaugural CEO of the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD), an independent international action think tank in Singapore that works with industry to accelerate shipping’s transition to low- and zero-carbon solutions. Trained as a chemical engineer, her work spans fundamental materials science, technology commercialization, and systems-scale decarbonizsation. At Princeton, her group pioneered see-through solar cells that wirelessly power smart windows to reduce building energy use and improve occupant comfort. This work received the 2020 Thomas Edison Patent Award and is being advanced through Andluca Technologies, a startup she co-founded.
At GCMD, Lynn leads large-scale, pre-competitive initiatives in real operational settings, including the world’s first ship-to-ship transfer of ammonia at anchorage, biofuel supply-chain trials, onboard carbon capture offloading, and the launch of shipping’s first retrofit fund to catalyze uptake of energy-efficiency technologies. GCMD now works with over 130 industry partners globally. A Member of the National Academy of Engineering, Lynn is a Fellow of AIChE, APS, and MRS, a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and was named to Lloyd’s List’s Top 100 People in Shipping in 2022.
Morgan Wiese ’23
Project Developer, Sunrise Mountain Partners
Morgan Wiese is a project developer at Sunrise Mountain Partners, a community solar developer based in Stamford, Connecticut. She works on all aspects of renewable energy project development, including site acquisition, interconnection, permitting and capital formation. Morgan majored in civil and environmental engineering with a certificate in sustainable energy at Princeton University, where she was also a member of the women’s soccer team.
