DAWN LIPPERT

Dawn Lippert is the co-founder and director of the Energy Excelerator, a startup program dedicated to solving the world’s energy challenges, starting in Hawaii. The Energy Excelerator helps innovative energy companies succeed in Hawaii and the Asia Pacific with funding up to $1M per company, strategic relationships, and a vibrant ecosystem. The program is funded by $30M from the U.S. Office of Naval Research, the U.S. Department of Energy, and private investors.

Before moving to Hawaii in 2009, Dawn was a management consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton’s alternative energy team in Washington DC. While at Booz Allen, she helped implement the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, a partnership between U.S. Department of Energy and the State of Hawaii to transform Hawaii from 90% oil dependence to 70% clean energy by 2030. She has also worked on clean energy and environmental projects in India, Africa, and Latin America.

In addition to leading the Energy Excelerator, Dawn founded and serves on the board of WiRE (Women in Renewable Energy), a not-for-profit organization helping over 500 women build technical expertise, trust, and relationships that advance clean energy transformation. She is the appointed Chair of the Board for the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative steering committee, serves on the Entrepreneurship Foundation of Hawaii board, the board of the YWCA of Oahu, and is a member of the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) AdvisoryBoard at the University of Hawaii.

Dawn graduated cum laude from Yale University with a B.A. in environmental studies, and received her Master’s degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Management.