International Women's Day 2023
On March 8, 2023, International Women’s Day, we were proud to receive shout-outs from the WET Center in Fresno, Calif., and Santa Cruz County Bank.
Photo by Bill Winters.
Below is the write-up from the WET Center.
Happy #InternationalWomensDay! Today, we want to highlight a few of the amazing women in our space who are leaders in all things #water, #energy, #agtech, and #sustainability -- *a thread*
Meet Le Luong, CEO of Nurture Growth Bio Fertilizer Inc.! She and her team graduated as part of our sixth #ValleyVentures cohort in 2021. In recent news, Nurture Growth Bio is now sold at #HomeDepot and #Lowes!
Meet Amy Wu, an award-winning writer for the women’s #ag and #agtech movement. She is also the Founder and Creator of From Farms to Incubators, a multimedia platform that uses documentary, video, photography & the written word to tell the stories of women leaders/innovators in agtech.
Meet Michele Nesbit, Co-Founder and CTO of BoxPower! BoxPower graduated as part of our 2nd #ValleyVentures cohort in 2018. Since then, Michele and her team have collaborated with Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the #NavajoNation & more. Learn more about them here:
Meet our Director, Helle Petersen! She has boldly led the @Water, Energy and Technology Center at Fresno State since 2011 and is deeply involved with building a robust regional ecosystem to better link, convene & support entrepreneurs/innovators on the path to commercialization.
Meet Wendy Owens, CEO of Hexas Biomass! Hexas graduated as part of our 6th #ValleyVentures cohort in 2021. Since then, Hexas won Phase II SBIR grant funding from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) of Energy & was also selected as a participant in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Industry Growth Forum.
Meet Subarna Bhattacharyya, Co-Founder and CEO of Climformatics Inc.! She also graduated as part of our 6th #ValleyVentures cohort in 2021. In recent news, Climfomatics won the American Made Solar Prize in 2022! Learn more here:
We are beyond proud of all of our female leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs who are blazing a trail of innovation, sustainability, and clean solutions for all! You can learn more about the innovators we collaborate with at www.wetcenter.org #InternationalWomensDay
Below is the write-up from Santa Cruz County Bank.
Image courtesy of Santa Cruz County Bank.
Agriculture and technology are two of the largest industries in California, and historically they haven’t experienced much crossover. Amy Wu, a journalist reporting on agriculture and agtech, realized how technology can transform local agriculture. She started the From Farms to Incubators initiative in 2017, to amplify stories of women in AgriFoodTech. Santa Cruz County Bank first met Amy and became familiar with From Farms to Incubators through the Bank’s sponsorship of KSBW’s Women in Agriculture series, which featured Wu and her ongoing narrative projects.
From Farms to Incubators focuses on storytelling, as Amy believes that the first step in bringing more women to the table is highlighting the impact that is being made by those already in the industry. From Farms to Incubators has published a book and released a documentary film profiling innovative women working in agriculture – achievements that the organization considers just the beginning of their growing movement, which also includes digital resources, events, and mentorship. Their internships provide budding professionals the opportunity to be part of their storytelling mission, and Santa Cruz County Bank was pleased to sponsor Lauryl Gonzalez, CSUMB student and Marketing Intern.
Lauryl said she was interested in the position because “I was confident that working for a growing female-driven non-profit company would provide me with a valuable skill set I could utilize in any professional career.” Lauryl found her experience extremely rewarding, noting “I learned skills such as narrative writing, branding, communication design, and social media optimization and management.” She also enjoyed working under Amy, who “gave excellent guidance where needed and entrusted me with a great deal of independent responsibility, allowing me to grow and learn during my time as an intern.”
Santa Cruz County Bank is a lender of choice for agricultural and agriculture-related businesses in Santa Cruz County, and is proud to support local organizations like From Farms to Incubators who celebrate innovators making a difference in the industry.
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