10 Female Climate Tech Innovators to Watch in 2023

For this year's Earth Month, we wanted to take a moment to highlight female innovators doing incredible work across climate technologies. I went around the office, taking notes from our partners, and put together a short list for your reading pleasure. Please enjoy, and write to us about some of your favorites as well!

Claudine Emeott

Claudine Emeott is currently leading the Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund. The fund invests across several impact sectors, including sustainability and financial inclusion. Claudine connected with Shrina when she was launching the first dedicated impact investing initiative with a $50M fund, and is now VP & Partner of the subsequent $150M fund. Prior to Salesforce, she headed up social enterprise investment at Kiva, where she also led the creation of a new impact measurement framework. Claudine is a fierce champion of sustainability and a force in moving technology forward.

Fengru Lin

Fengru is a pioneering entrepreneur and co-founder of TurtleTree Labs, a biotechnology company specializing in the production of sustainable, cultivated dairy and cell-based milk products. An ex-Googler, Lin's passion for sustainable food solutions led her to develop innovative methods for producing milk without the need for cows, reducing environmental impact and increasing food security. Through her visionary leadership, Lin has been instrumental in shaping the future of food production and has garnered numerous accolades for her work in cellular agriculture. Nate wrote the first check into TurtleTree, back when the cell-based industry was still forming.

Joanne Rodriguez

Joanne Rodriguez is the founder and CEO of MycoCycle, a new company that leverages mushrooms to recycle hard to break down products like roof shingles and mixed plastic waste. Atop Joanne's many recent accolades, arguably one of the most impressive is that MycoCycle actually represents her second career journey. She led an amazing career in the construction industry, at one time serving under a major panel representing women in construction.Jonathan met Joanne in 2021 as a mentor to the accelerator program MycoCycle started in.

Kate Kallot

Kate Kallot is the founder behind Amini, a company building a critical layer of climate innovation: technology to monitor environmental data. Kate is a deep tech expert, having previously led teams at NVIDIA, TinyML, ARM, and Intel Corporation. Kate's impressive background and unique insights into the lack of quality, trust, and affordability for Africa-focused data give her a competitive advantage.

Kristy Drutman

Kristy Drutman is the founder of the climate podcast Brown Girl Green and co-founder of Green Jobs Board. Kristy met Shrina while she was at 350.org, and over the past years she has become a top voice for sustainability. Today, she helps bridge the gap between opportunity and access within the environmental field, especially for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and Peoples with Disabilities seeking work in this industry.

Lacey Reddix

Lacey Reddix is CEO and founder of Olokun Minerals, a company that harvests minerals through desalinization processes. Lacey positioned Olokun very strategically by creating a company in the intersection of water security, sustainable mineral mining, and energy. With a home base in the water hungry Los Angeles region , and a personal background in watershed management- expect to see big things from this first time climate tech founder.

Sophie Purdom & Kim Zou

It would be unfair to mention just Sophie or Kim, without mentioning the other. Why? Well it was their collective dedication and focus that had to come together to create Climate Tech VC, the first and largest publication covering the evolving world of Climate Tech investment. Their early research was critical in helping SNØCAP position itself in the nascent Climate Tech market. For many in the industry their work has become a go-to resource for broad summaries and deep dives on the new and emerging technologies founders bring to market every day. If you haven't read their work yet, subscribe today!

Shely Aronov

Shely is a visionary entrepreneur and founder of InnerPlant, a pioneering agricultural technology company that develops plants as biosensors to detect and communicate crop health in real-time. Aronov's innovative approach empowers farmers with actionable data, enabling them to optimize crop yields, reduce pesticide usage, and promote sustainable farming practices. As a passionate advocate for agricultural innovation, Shely continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in the field of plant science and agtech. Unsurprisingly, agriculture powerhouse John Deere took notice, and led InnerPlant's most recent round of funding. Nate met Shely early on, supporting InnerPlant with trials at our field research partner, Sweet Farm.

Vinita Choolani

Vinita Choolani is the Founder and CEO of Float Foods, a Singapore-based foodtech startup dedicated to developing delicious alternatives to traditional animal-derived products. Vin and Float Foods are making waves with their line of sustainable and nutritious products, including OnlyEg: a groundbreaking plant-based whole egg alternative. Nate met Vin through his work in Singapore, supporting amazing entrepreneurs in the food technology space.