Climate Jobs Summit 2026

Registration Opens

Breakfast

Welcome: Meeting the Moment

• Gary LaBarbera, President, Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York and New York State Building and Construction Trades Council
• Mike Fishman, President and Executive Director, Climate Jobs National Resource Center
• Lara Skinner, Executive Director, Climate Jobs Institute at Cornell University; and Board Member, Climate Jobs National Resource Center

A Climate Action Agenda for Working Families: States Leading the Way on Affordability, Climate, and Jobs

Speakers will chart a bold, politically resonant vision for a Climate Action Agenda for Working Families, making the case for an approach that tackles climate change, affordability, and jobs with worker-led strategies.

• Patrick Crowley, President, Rhode Island AFL-CIO
• Angela Ferritto, President, Pennsylvania AFL-CIO
• Chris Hannan, President, State Building and Construction Trades Council of California
• Doreen Harris, President and CEO, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)
• Pete Maysmith, President, League of Conservation Voters
• Moderated by Lara Skinner, Executive Director, Climate Jobs Institute at Cornell University

Concurrent Panel Discussions
Participants may choose from four breakout panels.

From Permits to Power: Labor’s Role in the Race to Site, Permit, and Build Clean Energy
Location: Murray
Examine the role labor unions play in getting clean energy projects sited, permitted, and built at speed—while creating high-quality jobs that bolster community support.

• Cassie Bordelon, Executive Director, Climate Jobs Washington
• Emily Pritzkow, Executive Director, Wisconsin Building Trades Council
• Sam Robinson, Deputy Chief of Staff for Consumers and Environment, Office of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro
• Julie Tighe, President, New York League of Conservation Voters 
• Moderated by Amy Fuerstenau, Co-Founder and Partner, AC Strategies

Powering Neighborhoods: New Approaches to Distributed Energy and Building Decarbonization
Location: Studio 5
Explore thermal energy networks, state- and utility-led distributed energy models, and other neighborhood-scale strategies for building decarbonization.

• Allison Considine, New York Director, Building Decarbonization Coalition
• Alex Laskey, Founder and Executive Chair, Rewiring America
• John Slocum, Vice President of Government Affairs, Sparkfund
• Vince Sugrue, State Legislative Director for Sheet Metal Workers’ (SMART) Local Union No. 104 
• Max Toth, Deputy Director of Strategic Impact, Clean Energy Works
• Moderated by Jeremiah Baumann, former Chief of Staff for Infrastructure, U.S. Department of Energy

Building a 21st Century Grid
Location: Studio 3
Discuss challenges and opportunities to overcome bottlenecks, accelerate build-out, and build a truly 21st-century grid capable of delivering clean, reliable, and affordable power.

• Rob Gramlich, President, Grid Strategies LLC
• Nicole Pavia, Director, Clean Energy Infrastructure Deployment, Clean Air Task Force
• Jeremy Ross, Business Representative, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 111
• Abe Silverman, Assistant Research Scholar, Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute at Johns Hopkins University
• Moderated by Francis Eanes, Executive Director, Maine Labor Climate Council

Clean Firm Power: Nuclear, Geothermal, and the Future of Clean Energy
Location: Studio 6
Explore how nuclear and geothermal are emerging as critical clean energy technologies, and how unions are central to advancing their deployment at the state level.

• Damian Bednarz, Vice President, Stakeholder Engagement & Strategic Partnerships, New York Power Authority 
• Jason Collins, Business Agent, Ironworkers Local 721 
• Mark Mulliner, Northern California Regional Director, California State Building and Construction Trades Council
• Yakov Feygin, Director of Energy, Center for Public Enterprise
• Moderated by Matt Phillips, California Consultant, Climate Jobs Institute at Cornell University

Lunch

Afternoon Program Begins

Climate Jobs Quick Takes
These fast-paced conversations bring together leaders in discussion about the next wave of climate and clean energy action.

Power to the People: How Unions Are Expanding Pathways to Lifelong Careers in Clean Energy
Hear from graduates of Pathways to Apprenticeship’s first clean energy cohort. The program prepares New Yorkers from frontline communities for union careers supporting construction, grid modernization, and clean energy infrastructure. 

• Union members and graduates of the Pathways to Apprenticeship inaugural clean energy cohort
• Moderated by Esther Rosario, Executive Director, Climate Jobs New York

The Affordability Playbook: Spotlight on New Jersey
With energy prices rising fast, New Jersey voters elected Governor Mikie Sherrill on a promise of affordability, climate action, and union jobs—and now labor leaders and climate advocates are organizing to prove the state can deliver all three.

• Mike Hellstrom, Vice President and Eastern Regional Manager, Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) 
• Allison McLeod, Interim Executive Director, New Jersey League of Conservation Voters
• Moderated by Matt Ryan, Eastern States Regional Director, Climate Jobs National Resource Center

The Next Era of Public Utilities and Utility Regulation
Utilities and regulators are at a crossroads as rising energy demand, aging infrastructure, and the clean energy transition strain existing models. Hear from experts on the next era of utility regulation. 

• Emma Rebhorn, Commissioner, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities
• James Slevin, President, Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO
• Moderated by Abe Silverman, Assistant Research Scholar, Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute at Johns Hopkins University

The Data Center Boom: Jobs, Rates, and the Grid
As data centers reshape the energy landscape, what opportunities and challenges does this boom create to spur clean energy deployment while delivering public benefits and union jobs?

• Rob Bair, President, Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades Council
• Dennis Dougherty, Executive Director, Colorado AFL-CIO
• Aliya Haq, President, Clean Economy Project (CleanEcon)
• Madeline Urbish, Senior Policy Advisor on Energy, Office of New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill 
• J.R. Tolbert, Senior Director–Power, U.S. Energy Foundation
• Moderated by Alli Gold Roberts, Policy Director, U.S. Climate Alliance

Fireside Chat
Join us for a conversation with national leaders about the climate jobs model and reflections on what it takes to continue driving ambitious action that delivers for working families.

• Brent Booker, General President, Laborers’ International Union of North America
• Mike Fishman, President and Executive Director, Climate Jobs National Resource Center
• John Podesta, Board Member, Climate Jobs National Resource Center
• Lara Skinner, Executive Director, Climate Jobs Institute at Cornell University
• Gary Smith, General Secretary, GMB, United Kingdom

Closing and Reception