Three California State University, Northridge alumni will share their experiences working in the field of sustainability as they launch this semester’s virtual Distinguished Speaker Series hosted by CSUN’s David Nazarian College of Business and Economics on Wednesday, March 24, online via Zoom.

The three will discuss how they built successful and diverse careers in sustainability and how their work is leading innovation in renewable energy, carbon reductions, and data and technology to achieve decarbonization.

“Sustainability has been a topic at the forefront of politics and at CSUN for years,” said Chandra Subramaniam, dean of the Nazarian College. “Sustainability recognizes the roles of social, environmental and economic dimensions in delivering long-term prosperity. As a college of business, it is important for our students to understand how sustainability will change the way businesses operate and how we relate to it in the way we live and work.”

The panelists include Dawn James, director of U.S. Sustainability and Environmental Sciences at Microsoft and a 2003 graduate of CSUN with a Master of Science Degree in Geology; entrepreneur Paul Jennings, who graduated from CSUN in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing, founder and CEO of PCS Energy, a Los Angeles-centric renewable energy company, and an investor of renewable energy startups; and Kam Mahdi, who graduated from CSUN in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, co-founder and CEO of Clean Energy Technologies, Inc., an international clean-energy company that designs, builds and markets clean-energy products.

The webinar’s moderator is scheduled to be Mary Nichols, former chair of the California Air Resources Board, who will share policy and regulatory insights into what is driving the transformation of clean-energy markets around the globe.

Among the topics the panelists are expected to discuss are their career paths, the intersection between business and sustainability, and how they believe the pandemic has impacted or changed the industry.

For more information about the Nazarian College’s Distinguished Speaker Series or to register to attend the free event, visit https://www.csun.edu/busecon/events/distinguished-speaker-series-business-sustainability.

Business of Sustainability, David Nazarian College of Business and Economics, Distinguished Speaker Series