Meet Our Speakers
We are honored to welcome distinguished leaders and experts who will share their insights and experiences at our event.
Soojin Choung
Soojin Choung is the CEO of Witness Creative Partners and Founder of Climate Bridge Korea–New York, connecting global investors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers in climate tech. She previously held investment roles at JP Morgan, Fidelity, ING, and leading hedge funds including Tiger Asia Management, building expertise across equity research, hedge fund management, and venture investing. She also serves as a Venture Partner at Strategic Ventures, Advisor to DCamp Korea, and Mentor at Cleantech Open, supporting international startups in scaling and attracting capital.
Tim Hoffman
Tim Hoffman is Program Director for Climate Initiatives at Columbia Technology Ventures (CTV), including the ClimateTech Expertise Network, NYSERDA Climate Justice Fellows Support Program, and Verizon Climate-related programs. The ClimateTech Expertise Network offers mentoring services, talent matching and related support services to promising early-stage climate-tech companies pursuing business in the State of New York. Prior to joining CTV, as an investment banker for more than 22 years Tim provided strategic and M&A advisory, capital raising, and financial modeling services for large corporations, family-run firms, renewable energy developers, middle market companies and early-stage enterprises.
Nicole Spina
At NYCEDC, Nicole leads innovation programs to address NYC’s most pressing climate challenges and help shape a NYC economy that is more inclusive and sustainable. Her portfolio focuses on de-risking and accelerating climate solutions that decarbonize buildings and construction, support a renewable energy system, and enable low-carbon alternatives in transportation.
Chi Nguyen
Chi Nguyen manages several programs supporting climatetech startups within NYSERDA’s Commercialization portfolio. He previously worked at tech startups focused on energy and sustainability, across robotics and datacenters. He has also held roles in innovation, cooperative R&D, and tech transfer at a large DOE national laboratory.
Joojin Kim
SFOC's CEO Joojin Kim is a legal expert with extensive experience in the energy and environmental fields. Before founding SFOC, he conducted numerous energy-related projects as a lawyer at Kim & Chang, Korea`s largest law firm. He continues to lend his expertise on Korean climate change and energy policy, having served as commissioner of the Greenhouse Gas Statement Disclosure Review Committee established under the Ministry of Environment and the Working Group for the 3rd National Energy Framework Plan. Joojin majored in international relations at Seoul National University, where he also earned a master`s degree at its Graduate School of Environmental Studies. He received his Environmental Law LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center.
Doug (Duckjun) Lee
Doug Lee is CEO of D3Jubilee Partners, a leading South Korean impact investing firm managing over USD 100 million in impact and climate venture funds since 2011. He also founded Asia Impact Nights in 2016, an exclusive annual forum connecting over 100 leading impact investors across Asia. Previously, as CFO of Gmarket, he guided the company through its 2006 NASDAQ IPO and USD 1.2 billion acquisition by eBay in 2009, following earlier investment banking roles at Citigroup and Credit Suisse. Mr. Lee holds an MSc in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics and has served as adjunct professor at KAIST. D3 received the President's Commendation in 2020 under his leadership.
Aly Bryan
Aly is a senior member of the investment team of Closed Loop Ventures, where she invests in pre-seed, seed and Series A-stage companies focused on accelerating circularity globally. She has a deep focus on supply chain logistics, critical minerals and metals processing, circularity in the built environment, and business model transformations that keep materials in circulation for longer.
Yong Hyun Kim
Yong Kim is Managing Partner at Envisioning Partners. Yong started his career as a corporate lawyer in NY, investment banking at Goldman Sachs NY and then spent 10 years in private equity as part of the Carlyle Asia Buyout team based in Korea. He joined Hanwha Life Insurance as Head of the Alternative Investments Division and then Hanwha Asset Management, the third largest asset management company in Korea, where he was CEO for over 5 years before joining Envisioning Partners. Yong brings a diverse investment background that spans from VC, PE to private credit, infrastructure and real estate investing both in the US and Asia. Yong received a BA in Physics from The University of Chicago, JD from Harvard Law School and MBA from Columbia Business School.
Ed Greer
Edward Greer is responsible for finding and evaluating technologies and opportunities that complement Dow's Research&Development pipeline and have the potential to contribute to the Company’s long-term success. Dow seeks innovations that extract value from the intersection of chemical, physical, and biological sciences to help address many of the world’s most challenging problems. He has extensive experience in research management, market development, and business development. He has contributed to advancements in ceramics, displays, organic electronics, optical disks, photovoltaics, and microwave devices. Edward earned a B.S. in Chemistry with Honors from UNC-Chapel Hill and his Ph. D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He holds a Certificate of Professional Development from the Wharton Executive Education program. He serves as Chair of the Steering Committee of the Columbia University Carbontech Development Initiative, and previously chaired the Industrial Advisory Board for the Cornell Center for Materials Research.
Duncan Lee
Duncan Lee is a Risk & Compliance advisory services manager at LEK Partners, helping global companies address ESG and regulatory risks as they expand into the U.S. market. Previously at AccountAbility, he served as an advisory manager, overseeing clients across the U.S., UK, and Saudi Arabia, and contributing to the development of global sustainability assurance standards. Duncan began his career in Seoul, consulting on ESG and internal controls at Deloitte and EY. He holds an MBA from Cornell University, where he focused on Sustainable Global Enterprise and Impact Investment, and a BBA from Yonsei University. He is also an active LinkedIn writer sharing his thoughts on ESG services and sustainability management to global audiences.
Murat Aktihanoglu
Murat Aktihanoglu is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of ERA (Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator), New York City’s leading technology accelerator and early-stage venture capital fund. Since 2011, ERA has backed over 375 startups across 29 cohorts. An entrepreneur, investor, technologist, and author, Murat previously founded Centrl and Entrepreneurs Roundtable, a non-profit that has hosted 300+ events with 75,000 participants. He has advised and mentored founders globally, serves on boards including the U.S.-Japan Council and Belgian American Chamber of Commerce, and is a frequent speaker at major technology and entrepreneurship conferences worldwide.
Anders Soh
Anders joined Temasek Foundation in 2017, and is part of the Climate & Liveability team championing disruptive sustainability innovations to create significant positive impact on people and the planet. He is experienced in cross-sector collaborations and partnerships in the philanthropic sector where prior to joining Temasek Foundation, he held various roles in fundraising and fund management within the Singapore public service.
Jenny Hyoeun Kim
Ambassador Hyoeun Jenny Kim is CEO of the Global Industry Hub, a global platform advancing philanthropy for industrial decarbonization. She brings over 30 years of diplomatic experience for the Republic of Korea in climate, environment, trade, and development. Previously, she served as Deputy Minister and Ambassador for Climate Change, leading international negotiations, and as Deputy Director-General of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), helping developing countries pursue sustainable growth. She was Korea’s Ambassador to Senegal and five neighboring countries, strengthening strategic cooperation with West Africa, and has held senior roles in the Foreign Ministry, WTO, OECD, and APEC. She holds degrees from Yonsei University and the University of Washington, and is the author of two books and co-translator of However Long the Night on African women’s rights.
Woochong Um
Woochong Um is the Chief Executive Officer of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP). Following a distinguished career at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Woochong brings a wealth of experience and expertise in sustainable development, climate financing, and strategic development to GEAPP. At GEAPP, Woochong leads the Alliance’s strategy, finance mobilization and solutions to accelerate the transition to renewable energy in emerging economies, addressing a defining challenge of our time: ending energy poverty and tackling the climate crisis through a just transition to renewable energy. His appointment marks an important milestone for GEAPP’s commitment to realizing greater change and opportunities to unlock green energy in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean to power progress and secure an inclusive, resilient future for all.
Hyun-myung Timothy Dho
Timothy Dho is the CEO of Impact Square, a leading impact investment and advisory firm in Korea. Since 2010, he has focused on accelerating early-stage impact startups and advancing the practice of impact measurement. His work includes designing blended finance models and advising corporations on ESG-driven business strategies. He has recently expanded his activities to Vietnam, Indonesia, and Japan.
