Emily Kirsch
San Francisco State (2008)
While enrolled in her undergraduate program at San Francisco State, Emily Kirsch found her purpose to address the climate crisis with innovation and a focus on renewable energy.
“I realized that if we're going to sustain our species peacefully, we need to power our planet with carbon-free energy,” she says. “But when I was in undergrad, there were virtually no climate-focused programs available at any university in the country.”
Charting her own path forward, Kirsch took advantage of the opportunity at SF State to create her own major, developing a program of study focused on sustainable development.
She credits the ability to design her own academic program at SF State for ultimately leading her to start her own firm,
Powerhouse, which works with leading corporations and investors to help them find, partner with, invest in and acquire the most innovative startup companies in clean energy, mobility and other climate-minded industries. Kirsch later launched Powerhouse Ventures, an early stage, software-focused climate tech fund with over $80 million in assets under management.
Finally, Kirsch launched and hosts the podcast, "Watt it Takes," which has more than 1 million downloads and features founders of the most innovative companies in the climate tech space. Guests, including members of Tesla and the Sunrun solar company, share information about themselves and their journeys to build some of the most successful companies in the industry.