Associate Director

Organization Description

The Strauch Cleantech to Market (C2M) Program is one of the nation's first climate-tech accelerators and an experiential graduate course housed in the Energy Institute at Berkeley Haas. Since 2008, C2M student teams have worked with more than 125 early-stage climate-tech, green chemistry, and water-related innovations; more than two-thirds have become startups, and those companies have gone on to raise more than $1.3 billion.

C2M connects groundbreaking climate technology startups with interdisciplinary teams of graduate students from business, engineering, science, and policy backgrounds. Through an intensive 16-week program, participants assess market opportunities and develop commercialization strategies for innovative climate solutions. The program concludes with a high-profile summit, drawing over 300 investors, corporate leaders, and partners, where teams showcase their work and compete for $70,000 in prize funding from C2M corporate sponsor MetLife.

Role Description

This new Associate Director will work closely with me and the broader C2M team (@Alex Luce and @Bill Shelander) to help lead the next stage of the program's growth—with an expectation of taking on increasing program leadership responsibility over time. The role sits at the intersection of climate technology, entrepreneurship, graduate education, commercialization strategy, and ecosystem building.

We are looking for someone who can help C2M:

• Identify and select promising climate-tech startups from across the country for C2M teams to support — each year we review 60–90 applicants through a multi-stage process to select up to eight startups

• Coach interdisciplinary UC Berkeley graduate student teams as they assess markets, conduct techno-economic and commercialization analyses, and develop go-to-market recommendations

• Build relationships across startups, investors, accelerators, national labs, corporations, and university partners

• Strengthen C2M's mentor, coach, and advisor network

• Contribute to curriculum and program development

• Support fundraising, sponsorship, and long-term program sustainability

This could be a great fit for someone with experience in climate tech, commercialization, startups, venture, market research, techno-economic analysis, university-based innovation, or related ecosystem-building work — especially someone who enjoys moving between strategy and execution, and who finds genuine energy in developing the next generation of climate leaders.

The position is 50% FTE and based at Berkeley Haas, with work across the university, the Energy Institute, and the broader climate-tech ecosystem.

Qualifications

• Strong project and program management skills, including the ability to effectively organize and execute complex, multi-phase initiatives.
• Highly collaborative and organized.
• Proficient in stakeholder engagement and relationship management with startups, investors, academic faculty, and corporate partners.
• Experience in climate technology, clean energy, or related industries, with a passion for advancing climate innovation and sustainable solutions.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills for program marketing, communications, and public speaking engagements.
• Analytical, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to guide student teams and support data-driven decision-making.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, with the ability to foster an inclusive and collaborative program culture.
• Master's degree or equivalent practical experience in business, engineering, environmental science, or a related field.
• Prior experience in higher education, accelerator programs, or multi-disciplinary initiatives is a plus.