This is a past event. Registration is closed. View other Tempe Chamber of Commerce events.
Chuck Chaitovitz
Vice President, Environmental Affairs and Sustainability at U.S. Chamber of CommerceChuck Chaitovitz is vice president for environmental affairs and sustainability at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. For more than 25 years, he has specialized in environment and energy issues, working with companies on strategies to improve their bottom line and competitive positioning. At the Chamber, Chaitovitz is launching a new environment and sustainability capability to foster unique partnerships among the private sector, government, and civil society organizations. He works with members to support company leadership on sustainability — building the business case and the enabling conditions through commonsense public policy and the actions of member companies.
Previously, Chaitovitz co-founded The Coventry Group, LLP, a Virginia-based professional services firm focusing on strategic communications, marketing, and government relations. He developed new market opportunities and business plans for entrepreneurs, creating innovative environmental technologies. Chaitovitz also provided strategic counsel to clients on a range of international projects, including water and sanitation capacity building in West Africa, nutrient management best practices in Central and Eastern Europe, and U.S. water finance case studies to share with utility leaders across the Caribbean.
His experience in managing multistakeholder coalitions is underscored by his tenure as executive director of the U.S. Water Partnership — a public-private partnership of more than 120 U.S. private sector, government and civil society organizations to mobilize the best of U.S. expertise to address water challenges. There he helped launch, manage, and grow the Partnership and assisted in developing a multimillion fundraising campaign. Chaitovitz managed U.S. stakeholder participation in the Global Energy Assessment, the first comprehensive evaluation of global energy systems in more than a decade. He also coordinated the National Metal Finishing Strategic Goals Program (SGP) — a voluntary, environmental performance partnership of more than 500 companies, and state and local regulatory agencies for the EPA.
Jen Coyne
CEO & Co-Founder of The PEAK FleetJen Coyne is the CEO & Co-Founder of The PEAK Fleet, a values-driven organizational development company with a mission to Create Engaged Teams that Thrive Together. Jen brings over 25 years experience as a leadership and management expert, IT Professional as well as business background as a CPA and credentialed Project Management Professional to leading The PEAK Fleet. Her experience creating and delivering organizational and leadership training and development spans two decades, which she now leverages to create the unique, provocative, and thought-leading products and services to inspire motivated, engaged, and productive workforces.
Dr. Braden Kay
Sustainability Director of City of TempeDr. Braden Kay is the Sustainability Director at the City of Tempe. Braden works with city departments on reaching sustainability targets in energy, transportation, waste, water, land use, local food, housing, and social issues. He was the Sustainability Project Manager for the City of Orlando, where he led sustainability implementation in waste diversion, urban forestry, and urban agriculture. He received a PhD from Arizona State's School of Sustainability for his dissertation work on stakeholder engagement and strategy building within the City of Phoenix. Previously, Braden managed community engagement, sustainability assessment and strategy building for the City of Phoenix's Reinvent Phoenix grant, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Sustainable Communities program. Braden has experience consulting municipal governments, non-profits, and corporations. Braden's academic and professional experience in urban planning, municipal government and sustainability implementation make him an asset for innovative urban sustainability efforts.
Tracee Sutton
Deputy Chief of Staff/Legislative Director at Office of Congressman Greg StantonTracee Sutton is Deputy Chief of Staff/Legislative Director for Congressman Greg Stanton. In that capacity, she handles the Congressman’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee work along with a diverse range of issues including water resources, energy, and the environment. She is a 24 year veteran of Capitol Hill having worked for several members in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. In 2018, she was recognized by the Congressional Management Foundation as one of its Lifetime Achievement Award finalists for the contributions she has made on the management and operations of the United States Congress. She graduated from Utah State University with a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy.
Emma Viera, PHD, MPH
Executive Director of Unlimited PotentialDr. Emma Viera is the Executive Director for Unlimited Potential. Previously as Associate Director for Clinical Research for All of Us Research Program, she launched and managed seven research clinics across Arizona and Colorado as well as represented Arizona on two national task forces. As Vice President of Clinical Integration for Southwest Network, she developed two integrated health clinics in Maricopa County. As Chief of Operations for Wesley Community Center, she was able to create and implement a Federally Qualified Health Center in South-Central Phoenix. Dr. Viera completed her doctoral studies in Health Administration and has 20 years of international public health experience, mainly in the areas of epidemiology and health education. She brings this expertise to the ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of health services related to improving community health outcomes.
Laruen Withycombe Keeler
Assistant Professor/Senior Sustainability Scientist at Arizona State UniversityLauren Withycombe Keeler is an assistant professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society at Arizona State University. She has a doctorate and master's in sustainability science. Her master's research focused on defining the knowledge and skills necessary for undergraduate and graduate sustainability education. She has consulted with universities in the U.S., Europe and Mexico, helping them develop sustainability degree programs. Her doctoral studies focused on the use of foresight methods to explore complex governance challenges in sustainability, including climate governance, water governance, the governance of emerging technologies, and urban planning for sustainability.
In her research, Keeler studies how different people with different professional responsibilities understand and make sense of the future and how futures are created through professional practice. She creates and utilizes foresight methods to anticipate the future impacts of emerging technologies, policies and other interventions on organizations, communities and cities. Her work focuses on building capacity among individuals and groups to think about the future in ways that yield more inclusive and sustainable futures and develop strategies to make those futures a reality. As a part of this work, she creates games that help players create and contend with alternative futures and address urgent sustainability problems. She has worked in the U.S. and Germany on issues of sustainability and responsible innovation and the role of universities and international university partnerships in facilitating local sustainability transitions.