DOE Justice Week Day 1: Keynote Speech - Donnel Baird, BlocPower

1000 Independence Avenue Southwest,Washington DC 20585

12 September, 2022

Description

DOE is hosting its first-ever Justice Week September 12-16. The Department will convene internal and external stakeholders to discuss the work the Department has been doing this past year on issues of equity and justice and understand the path ahead to institutionalize this important work. We will be discussing three large initiatives: the DEIA Executive Order (EO 14035), the Equity Executive Order (EO 13985), and the Justice40 Initiative. There will be activities for DOE employees and contractors every day of the week as well as some external events. Join us on Monday, September 12 at 3:00pm for a Keynote Presentation from Donnel Baird, the Founder of BlocPower. BlocPower is a smart buildings platform that markets, engineers, and finances renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies to buildings in underserved market segments. His talk will frame the opportunity for investments in communities, with an emphasis on improving community health and ensuring more BIPOC entrepreneurs can be an influential part of our clean energy transition. Participants will: Learn about institutional racism and impact on the environments of communities of color. Learn about the role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and of BIPOC businesses in economic growth, as well as understand how the energy sector can be more inclusive.