Wildfire Technology, Climate Policy & Capital | Walk & Talk Mixer
Agenda
10-11 am: Paired walking conversations & aircraft tour
11-11:30 am: Wildfire Technology, Climate Policy & Capital Panel
11:30 am -12:30 pm: Group discussion & networking in the tower
1 pm: Seaplane Lagoon Ferry departs for San Francisco
“Perhaps the most significant change in attitude is that wildfire mitigation and management must become normalized at every level of government, especially in the current context of a changing climate and changing ecosystems.” —Living with Wildfires: Adapting to the New Normal
Paired walking* conversations & aircraft tour | 10 am
Take the 9:40 am ferry departing SF Ferry Terminal Gate F1 to Alameda Seaplane Lagoon ferry terminal. This will be our meeting point for our walk & talk programming! As you disembark, our team will pair you up with a fellow Climate Week Explorer and conversation cards with prompts to guide your discussion as you walk along a historic taxiway to Rain headquarters at the former Naval Air Station Air Traffic Control Tower.
Rain is partnering with Solid Grounds, a social architecture team with a focus on uplifting diverse communities, to pair you with a fellow explorer and provide you with engaging conversation prompts for your fifteen minute walk from the ferry terminal to Rain HQ.
When your walk concludes, you’ll be greeted by a Rain team member for an interactive tour of our Rain-equipped uncrewed Mosquito helicopter.
If you are driving instead we will welcome you at Rain's headquarters, 2175 Monarch Street where you will have the opportunity to pair up and walk an alternate route, or come on in to tour the facility.
Wildfire technology, Climate Policy & Capital Panel | 11-11:30
As wildfire is increasingly recognized as a key driver—and result—of climate change, conversations about rapid wildfire response, fire intensity management and wildfire preparedness are common. An often-overlooked but essential part of solving for the changing frequency and intensity of wildfires is recognizing and promoting the role of climate policy in shaping how we move forward in the wildland-urban interface and our public lands. Join an esteemed group of panelists who will cover how policymakers can join together with the burgeoning #firetech industry and leverage private investment to accelerate solutions, helping fire agencies protect our communities from catastrophic wildfire.
Group discussion & networking in the tower and in the yard | 11:30 am -12:30 pm
Ascend the historic stairs of a building that once received JFK en route to his 1962 Berkeley address, to the top floor of the air traffic control tower for discussion and networking. Light refreshments will be available.
Seaplane Lagoon Ferry departs for San Francisco | 1 pm
About the panelists
Nancy Pfund | Founder and Managing Partner, DBL Partners
As a pioneer and leading player in impact investing, DBL has helped reveal the power of venture capital to promote social change and environmental improvement. Nancy sponsors or sits on the board of directors of several companies, including: Rain, Mast Reforestation, Zola Electric, Bellwether Coffee, Spatial, Farmers Business Network, and, prior to their public offerings, Tesla Motors, SolarCity, and Pandora. Nancy also serves on the board of the National Geographic Society. Nancy’s thought leadership on wildfire, forestry, and climate technology includes the whitepaper “Beyond the Burn: How New Technologies Can Grow the Use of Prescribed Burns, Creating Better Land Outcomes, Peace of Mind, and New Markets” and interviews with Canary Media, Axios, and MSNBC.
Prior to founding DBL, she was a Managing Director in Venture Capital at JPMorgan, having started her investment career at Hambrecht & Quist. Nancy has received numerous recognitions of her contributions in impact investing, including by Impact Capital Managers’ Impact Award in 2024, by Forbes’s 50 Over 50 and the San Francisco Business Times’ Bay Area 100 Most Influential Business Leaders in 2023, and by the Financial Women of San Francisco’s Financial Woman of the Year in 2022.
Gayle Miller | Senior Advisor, Brookfield Asset Management
Gayle Miller is a proven, pressure-tested leader working to accelerate the global transition to a net zero economy at Brookfield Asset Management. There, she collaborates on strategies to invest in expansion of clean energy, sustainable solutions, and the transformation of companies operating in carbon-intensive sectors to more sustainable business models. Gayle also acts as a Senior Advisor to Rain, working with the Board to mitigate the vicious cycle of wildfires through Rain rapid wildfire containment technology. Prior to these roles, Gayle worked in California to craft solutions on behalf of 40 million Californians to advance the state's landmark clean energy agenda. In that role, Gayle served as Vice Chair of the investment committee for the California Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) and as an advisor to the Governor for the California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS). In 2021, Gayle was appointed the Senior Counselor on Infrastructure and Clean Energy Finance, where she led an all-of-government approach to implementing California's groundbreaking clean energy policies and delivering water, energy, broadband, and transportation infrastructure projects to communities up and down the state. She also worked closely with federal partners to maximize the impact of the $100 billion+ in infrastructure investments in this economic transformation for California.
Maxwell Brodie | CEO, Rain
Founded in 2019, Rain’s wildfire mission autonomy system unlocks the ability to preposition many aircraft in high wildfire risk areas, significantly reducing response time to stop ignitions before they grow out of control. Throughout his career, Max has worked to create compound impact by scaling organizations that produce positive social outcomes with every dollar earned. Max previously co-founded Kaizena and Kira Talent, education technology companies that collectively served in over 10% of US public schools and major institutions including INSEAD, Berkeley, and Yale. Max and his family experienced the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Firestorm, which caused the largest mass evacuations in Canada since the second world war and formed the inspiration for Rain.
About Solid Grounds
Solid Grounds, based in Oakland, CA, is a full-service curatorial event marketing and production company focused on empowering diverse creatives, businesses, and communities. We specialize in creating impactful experiences through collaborative partnerships and brand marketing that foster authentic connections and support psychological safety. Beyond traditional event production, we focus on amplifying underrepresented voices and sparking important conversations on topics ranging from mental health to entrepreneurship. Inspired by the role of coffeehouses in cultural gatherings, Solid Grounds leverages coffeehouse culture to foster genuine dialogue and collaboration, aiming to dismantle systemic barriers and promote social and economic opportunities.