Wisdom from alums working in sustainability

Looking to learn more about careers in Sustainability? Please join us for a panel and Q&A featuring alums working in the industry. Discover more about them in the bios below.

This event is co-presented by Stanford Alumni in Sustainability, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, and Stanford Alumni Startups New York and co-sponsored by Stanford Young Alumni - Bay Area, Stanford Young Alumni - San Diego, Stanford Alumni Association, and Stanford Career Education.

Robert Kabera, '11 
Refugee, Engineer and Entrepreneur 
Robert has worked on transformative breakthroughs, from bringing credit scoring to unbanked farmers to designing power systems to prepare humanity for natural disasters. Since his time at Stanford, Robert has focused his work on using artificial intelligence to predict risk across energy, climate, agriculture, and financial services. Robert was named in the 2018 Forbes Energy Sector 30 Under 30 list. Robert is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Robert was honored with the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainablity's  2022 Early- to Mid-Career Alumni Award. 

Insiya Jafferjee, '14 
Founder of Shellworks 
Insiya Jafferjee is the CEO of Shellworks, a leading biotech startup building a world where sustainable products can be created without compromise. Their first material, Vivomer, is made from microbes, harnesses nature’s science, and can degrade in any natural environment. Originally from Sri Lanka, Insiya holds a BSc in Product Design from Stanford University and an MA and MSc from Royal College of Art and Imperial College. She spent her early career working at the intersection of cutting-edge research, design, and engineering at corporations like Bose, Ford Motor Company and Apple. She then moved to London to leverage her experience to make plastic waste a thing of the past.

 Lucyann Murray  ‘12
Climate and Sustainability Principal, Boston Consulting Group
Lucyann is a principal at Boston Consulting a group and a member of BCG’s Industrial Goods and Climate and Sustainability practice areas. Her work focuses on companies that interact closely with the land, such as forest products, mining, agriculture, and manufacturing clients. Lucyann graduated from Stanford with BA in Human Biology, and a focus on Nutrition and Sustainable Agriculture (’12) and an MBA and Masters of Forestry from Yale (’17). Lucyann has spent the last 5+ years in consulting, first at Accenture with a focus on natural resource companies operations and digital transformations, and now at BCG on purely climate and sustainability topics for many of the same industries. She is collaborating with clients on nature positive solutions – i.e. how they interact with water, land, and the broader ecosystem. Her recent projects include designing sustainable mine plans (ones that include emissions, water and nature impacts, and stakeholder considerations) for a global mining company, a go-to-market strategy for corn-based plastic, and supporting global NGOs in advancing the nature positive agenda. Lucyann’s passion for climate and sustainability comes from her own love for nature, and lives in Colorado with her husband named Will, large dog named Sierra, and horse named Tinkerbell.

Rhiannon Tomtishen, '18
Secretariat Lead, Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ)
Rhiannon Tomtishen is a Secretariat Lead at the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), the world’s largest coalition of financial institutions committed to transitioning the global economy to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Rhiannon primarily supports GFANZ in its efforts to mobilize climate finance to emerging markets & developing economies. Prior to joining GFANZ, she was a member of the Sustainability & Corporate Transitions investment banking team at Citi. She began her career in corporate banking covering the consumer and retail sectors. Rhiannon graduated from Stanford University in 2018, majoring in International Relations and minoring in Chinese Studies. She is based in NYC where she enjoys walking Central Park and exploring new restaurants.

moderated by:

Alexandra van Alebeek, '17, MA '19
Head of Business Operations, Full Cycle

A knack for making visions into reality, Alexandra (Xandra), loves infusing operational excellence into climate-focussed companies. She currently serves as the Head of Business Operations for Full Cycle Bioplastics, an innovative technology company converting organic waste into compostable and biodegradable bioplastic solution. This bioplastic can act as a replacement to petroleum plastics. She holds her Master’s and Bachelor’s from Stanford University in Earth Systems with a concentration in sustainable food systems. She also has a culinary degree from Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland and has spent time working as a professional chef.