Women Cleantech Sustainability

Women Cleantech Sustainability WCS fosters an influential network of professionals to further the roles of women in growing the green economy and making a positive impact on the environment.

08/21/2026

Big ideas don’t have to start big.

Alison Cove’s advice to new founders is simple: crawl, walk, run. Start small, test your assumptions, learn from what happens, and build the stability you need before trying to scale.

That approach helped Alison move from an early pilot with 200 reusable cups to building USEFULL, a technology-enabled system bringing plastic-free reusable packaging to college campuses and other communities.

Hear more about her experiments, pivots, challenges, and lessons learned in the latest episode of WCS Talks Unplugged with host Trish Pinnella.

🎙️ Change the Container, Change the System: Alison Rogers Cove’s Reuse Revolution

 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/change-the-container-change-the-system-alison-coves/id1866731801?i=1000784250770

ᯤ Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/wcs-talks-unplugged/episodes/Change-the-Container--Change-the-System-Alison-Coves-Reuse-Revolution-e3njei1

▶ YouTube: https://youtu.be/UMTIhn8hzc0?si=_L6ssThN7afKyF2v

The strongest startups are built by people and cultures equipped to flourish. 🌱Join Laura Hickernell (Executive Director...
08/20/2026

The strongest startups are built by people and cultures equipped to flourish. 🌱

Join Laura Hickernell (Executive Director, Colorado Cleantech) and Jo Ann Hair (Executive Director of 1000 Gretas) Co-Leads of the in Cleantech and Sustainability CO Chapter at Colorado Startup Week for “Powering Your Startup through the Science of Happiness,” an interactive session with Ashish Kothari, Founder and CEO of Happiness Squad and bestselling author of Hardwired for Happiness.

Discover science-backed daily practices that can help founders and leaders strengthen resilience, invest in well-being, create more connected workplace cultures, and make sustainable performance a competitive advantage.

Stay afterward for a relaxed happy hour and mixer with Colorado’s startup and sustainability communities.

📅 Wednesday, September 16, 2026
⏰ Session: 4:00–5:00 PM MT | Mixer: 5:00–6:00 PM MT
📍 Monolith Brewing, 1290 S. Broadway, Denver, CO
🎟️ Free to attend | Drinks available for purchase
🔗 Register: https://tinyurl.com/wcscostartup

Space is limited to 30 attendees. Reserve your spot early!

08/19/2026

You can have the right founder, product, funding, and strategy and still have the wrong timing.

Alison Cove carried the idea behind USEFULL for years, tested it gradually, and then rebuilt the business when COVID disrupted its original café model. Today, she believes the moment has arrived for reuse and the circular economy.

In the latest episode of WCS Talks Unplugged, Alison joins host Trish Pinnella to discuss timing, resilience, and what it takes to keep building when forces outside your control change the path forward.

🎙️ Change the Container, Change the System: Alison Cove’s Reuse Revolution

Listen now: https://linktr.ee/wcstalksunplugged

What does responsible AI use really look like?Join WCS Amsterdam for a candid conversation about what sits behind the pr...
08/19/2026

What does responsible AI use really look like?

Join WCS Amsterdam for a candid conversation about what sits behind the promise of AI.

Sustainability & AI Strategist Madalina Buzdugan will explore the EU AI Act, identify gaps in current governance, and share practical ways to make more intentional decisions about when and how to use AI.

Through a keynote, interactive Q&A, and networking, you’ll gain clearer criteria for evaluating AI tools, tangible actions you can take, and greater confidence in setting boundaries that align with your values.

📅 September 1, 2026
⏰ 6:30–8:30 PM
📍 De Sering, Rhoneweg 6, Amsterdam
🎟️ €8 for WCS members | €12 for non-members
🔗 https://tinyurl.com/2y8z4e9c

08/17/2026

Working mothers are incredible.

They bring resilience, perspective, and an extraordinary capacity to lead. But they also deserve the support to pursue their ambitions without being asked to choose between work and family.

In this episode of WCS Talks Unplugged, Juliet Shavit, Founder and CEO of SmartMark Communications, and WCS Board Secretary and Industry Director at Frost and Sullivan, Farah Saeed discuss entrepreneurship and the importance of creating spaces where women can thrive.

🎙️ Built to Last: Juliet Shavit on Grit, Growth, and the Power to Evolve

08/14/2026

No founder builds from a blank page.

We are all shaped by the people, ideas, and industries that came before us. The challenge is to learn from that foundation without being limited by it and to trust your own perspective, challenge familiar assumptions, and create something distinctly your own.

In this episode of WCS Talks Unplugged, Juliet Shavit, Founder and CEO of SmartMark Communications, joins WCS Board Secretary and Industry Director at Frost and Sullivan, Farah Saeed to reflect on finding her voice, recognizing the value of her expertise, and continually reinventing her company through more than 25 years of change.

🎙️ Built to Last: Juliet Shavit on Grit, Growth, and the Power to Evolve

08/12/2026

There’s no substitute for putting skin in the game.

For Juliet Shavit, building SmartMark Communications has meant taking risks, working through uncertainty, and finding the grit to keep evolving even when walking away might have been easier.

In this episode of WCS Talks Unplugged, Juliet joins WCS Board Secretary and Industry Director at Frost and Sullivan, Farah Saeed, for a candid conversation about what it takes to build a company that lasts. They explore resilience, reinvention, trusting your expertise, and why entrepreneurship requires commitment.

🎙️ Built to Last: Juliet Shavit on Grit, Growth, and the Power to Evolve

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts: https://linktr.ee/wcstalksunplugged

08/10/2026

Food access is more than having a grocery store nearby. It is knowledge, confidence, ownership, and the ability of communities to shape their own food systems.

On WCS Talks Unplugged, What The Sprout? founder Quandra Gray shares her vision for neighborhood-scale food production and explains why everyday people are essential to creating lasting change.

It is a conversation about food, healing, trust, and what becomes possible when people begin where they are.

🎧 Listen to Growing More Than Food: Quandra Gray’s Vision for Community Resilience, hosted by Marieke McArthur.

08/07/2026

You do not need every answer before you begin.

Quandra Gray carried the idea for What The Sprout? for years before taking the leap from architecture into urban agriculture. What began with microgreens has since grown into a much larger mission: helping everyday people play an active role in feeding their families and strengthening their neighborhoods.

In this episode of WCS Talks Unplugged, Quandra joins host Marieke McArthur to talk about starting before you feel ready, earning community trust, and allowing a founder’s vision to evolve through action.

🎧 Listen to Growing More Than Food: Quandra Gray’s Vision for Community Resilience. Streaming everywhere

08/05/2026

What if growing food could also grow trust, connection, and community power?

In a new episode of WCS Talks Unplugged, host Marieke McArthur speaks with Quandra Gray, founder of What The Sprout? about her vision for a community-led food system rooted in accessibility, education, and collective action.

Quandra shares how she is helping Baltimore communities build the knowledge, confidence, and resources to grow food—and why lasting solutions must be created with residents, not simply for them.

🎧 Listen to Growing More Than Food: Quandra Gray’s Vision for Community Resilience wherever you get your podcasts.

https://linktr.ee/wcstalksunplugged

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