Join us on October 30th, to hear from Christopher Chantre, Co-Founder and CEO of Tender Food, Sorin Grama Co-Founder of Transaera and Greentown Labs, Adele Houghton DrPH ‘23, President of Biositu, and Ramon Sanchez ScD ’11, Chief Knowledge and Innovation Officer, Tribal Alliance for Clean Energy and Instructor at Harvard Extension School, on careers in innovative technologies and health in hard-to-abate sectors.

This event is in collaboration with T.H. Chan Harvard School of Public Health Office of Career and Professional Development

Location: Salata Institute, HKS Belfer Floor 3.5
Time: 6-8pm

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Christopher Chantre, Ph.D. ’18, is the Co-founder and CEO of Tender Food – a company creating alternative meats with the right taste and texture. Previously Chris was a program lead (post-doc) at the Wyss Institute to develop and validate functionality of regenerative heart valve bioprosthetics in preclinical studies. Chris has also supported various efforts to commercialize technologies developed at the Parker Lab, ranging from sustainable foods, textiles and regenerative medicine. Chris received a Ph.D. in Integrative Human Physiology with a focus in biomaterials for regenerative medicine applications. Research was carried out between the University of Zurich (Wyss Translational Center Zurich) and Harvard University (Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering). Further, Chris received a Bachelor and Masters degrees in Mechanical Engineering from EPFL and ETH Zurich, respectively.

Sorin Grama is co-founder and CEO of Transaera, which has developed a hybrid cooling solution designed to operate a high-efficiency room air conditioner in parallel with a moisture storage battery (MSB) to provide cooling and dehumidification while using dramatically less energy than typical room air conditioners sold today. Transaera was named a finalist for the 2020 Global Cooling Prize.

Sorin also co-founded and served as CEO/CTO of Promethean Power Systems, a manufacturer of thermal energy storage systems for refrigeration and cold-storage applications. Sorin was the principal inventor of Promethean’s thermal battery, an energy storage device that provides effective backup in areas with unpredictable grid power. Dairy farmers and processors in rural India are using this battery to chill milk at village collection centers. Sorin’s company was also one of the four founding companies of Greentown Labs, a grassroots effort which has grown to become the nation’s largest cleantech incubator. He currently serves on the Promethean board.

Sorin is trained as an electrical engineer and holds an MS in Engineering and Management from MIT (SDM ‘07). He is originally from Romania.

Adele Houghton, DrPH ‘23, FAIA, LEED AP, is President of Biositu, LLC where she works at the intersection of buildings, public health, and climate change.

She is a member of the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows and received a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where she also holds a position as adjunct lecturer. Her book Architectural Epidemiology (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024), co-authored with Professor Carlos Castillo-Salgado of Johns Hopkins University, proposes a novel method for architectural design: combining neighborhood-scale environmental health data with participatory community engagement to maximize a building’s positive ripple effect on community and planetary health.

Adele graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University with an AB in Architecture and Urbanism and subsequently received a Master of Architecture from Rice University. Upon graduating from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with a Master of Public Health, she was inducted into the Delta Omega Honor Society, Alpha Chapter.

She began her career as a green building consultant in a commercial architecture firm in Houston, Texas. In 2005, she joined the Green Guide for Health Care, the first best practices toolkit in the U.S. to take a health-centric approach to green building design and operations. She founded Biositu, LLC, in 2008 to expand this approach beyond the health care sector. Biositu, LLC is a strategic consulting company dedicated to leveraging environmental sustainability to enhance community health.

Ramon Sanchez, ScD ’11, is the Chief Knowledge and Innovation Officer at the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy. He is a certified professional in sustainability, renewable energies, green manufacturing techniques, and technology innovation.

Sanchez was a principal investigator in three research projects that dealt with the development of innovation ecosystems around the world at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH). Sanchez is also the former director of the Sustainable Technologies and Health Program in the Center for Health and the Global Environment at HSPH. Sanchez received his MA and ScD in environmental health from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH). as well as an MS in manufacturing systems and technology innovation and a BS in mechanical engineering from the Monterrey Institute of Technology in Mexico.

Before coming to Harvard, Sanchez was a corporate engineering manager in a company dedicated to the design and manufacture of furniture and electronic consumer goods. He oversaw seven departments in which hundreds of workers and engineers created and built products that generated approximately $180 million a year in revenues. Sanchez has fifteen records of invention and five patents in the United States and Europe.

From 2000 to 2003, he worked as a forward products lead engineer at Delphi Automotive Systems, a former division of General Motors, dedicated to the design and manufacturing of electronic components and automotive systems. As an automotive designer, he was a member of a research group that won the National Technology Award in Mexico in 2002.

Sanchez’s main research interests are renewable energy technologies, corporate sustainability, sustainable manufacturing, sustainable product design, climate change preparedness, community climate resilience, energy management in buildings, carbon accounting, life-cycle assessment, health and environmental assessments, and the production of renewable fuels and medications with microalgae species.

Join us on October 10^th, to hear from a panel of climate and sustainability educators, including Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni, reflect on their career, education, and current work in K-12 climate and sustainability education.

This event is in collaboration with Harvard Graduate School of Education Career Services Office

Location: Harvard’s Gutman Conference Center – 6 Appian Way, Cambridge, MA 02138 (map)
Time: 6-8pm

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Jennifer Feller, Ed.M. ’98, is a longtime environmental advocate, science educator, entrepreneur, and school founder. She is currently a Senior Climate Educator and the Statewide K-12 Director at Mass Audubon, based in Lincoln, Massachusetts, where she focuses her work on K-12 climate justice and environmental literacy.  Prior to her work at Mass Audubon, she was the CEO and Co-Founder of ReFleece, a re-design and re-manufacturing company, founded to inspire re-use of materials by both consumers and companies.    Jennifer is also a former consultant, working with nonprofit charter schools and start-ups at the intersection of business and social impact.  She holds a Ed.M. from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.S in Biology from Yale University.

Meredith McDermott is the Director of Sustainability for the NYC Department of Education within the Division of School Facilities. The department oversees operations and compliance for waste and utility management (electricity, gas, steam, water) as well as outreach and educational programming for the largest public school system in the United States (1,850+ schools, 1.1 million students). Flagship programs include NYC Solar Schools, Solar in Career and Technical Education, Zero Waste Schools, NYC Demand Response Program, School Garden Initiative, and extensive training/professional development programs for technical, facilities, and food service staff as well as teachers, administration, and students.

Prior to her work at DOE, Meredith began sustainability efforts for Chicago Public Schools. She negotiated CPS’ first district-wide recycling program that achieves over 25% annual cost savings. Meredith also started a commercial composting pilot program to mitigate food waste and assisted efforts to replace foam lunch plates with a compostable option. A biologist by education (M.S. Marine Biology and M.S. Environmental Management from the University of Queensland, Australia), Meredith is passionate about advancing leadership in sustainability and bridging the gap between science, education, career preparation, and youth.

Margaret Wang, Ed.M. ’20, is the COO and co-founder of SubjectToClimate, a nonprofit organization empowering all educators to easily and effectively teach about climate change, justice, and action. She was a high school teacher, primarily in economics and business, for several years before she pursued an M.Ed. in international education policy at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Working with Professor Fernando Reimers, she supported and edited several books regarding education reform and climate change education. She received her teaching certification at Princeton University.

Join us on September 19^th, to hear from Tom Chappell, MTS’ 91, Co-Founder of Tom’s of Maine and author of The Soul of a Business and Managing Upside Down, reflect on insights from his career, education, and current work, from founding and building two successfully socially-responsible and sustainable American brands to creating a values–centered business practicum to guide the next generation of socially responsible business leaders.

Location: Harvard Center for the Environment (HUCE), 26 Oxford Street Floor 4
Time: 6-8pm

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Tom Chappell, MTS ’91, is the author of two books The Soul of a Business and Managing Upside Down, each focused on leading with values and on letting your own deepest beliefs drive your business. Tom Chappell and his wife Kate created a uniquely successful socially-responsible American company, Tom’s of Maine, in 1970 and sold to Colgate Palmolive in 2006, where it continues to grow in its leadership position in natural personal care under Colgate’s stewardship.

Tom then ventured into the apparel business to create the first “certified organic” wool clothing company in America, Ramblers Way, using his same values-centered approach to business.

Tom honed this values–centered business model while pursuing a Masters in Theological Studies at Harvard Divinity School, where the seeds of creating a practicum for business leaders called the Seven Intentions of Values-Centered Leadership Course were sown.

Gleaning important insights from his founding and building of two American brands, from his graduate studies, and from his spiritual journey in addiction recovery, Tom now focuses on the importance of our spiritual realm to guide and sustain personal joy in business and life through his newest venture Tom Helps.