Clubs & Associations

Natalie Zandt - Founder & CEO, MeterLeader

Natalie Zandt is the Founder & CEO of MeterLeader. MeterLeader is a web platform that gamifies saving energy at home using real-time utility data and behavioral science. MeterLeader is similar to a Fitbit Challenge, but instead of steps we measure kWh, therm, and carbon emission reductions. Natalie previously worked as a scrum master at Neudesic where she managed a large development team building an enterprise healthcare phone application. And prior to that she was an energy efficiency consultant at ICF International where she helped design and implement residential energy efficiency programs for utilities in Maryland and California. She is also course certified as a Behavioral Designer through Irrational Labs. She believes in the power of data, behavioral science, and community engagement, to make a positive collective impact on the environment. 

Nadia Hadi - Principal, Fifth Wall

Nadia Hadi is a Principal on the Capital Formation team at Fifth Wall, where she supports fundraising initiatives and investor relations. 

Prior to joining Fifth Wall, Nadia worked on the Capital Partnering team at General Atlantic for over six years. She started her career in Investment Banking at Credit Suisse. 

Nadia grew up in an Aramco compound in Saudi Arabia before coming back to the US for high school and college. Nadia spent several years in New York and currently lives in Los Angeles. She graduated from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia with a degree in Accounting and Finance. 

Zora Chung – CFO, ReJoule

Zora is the cofounder and CFO at ReJoule, a battery diagnostics and optimization company focused on maximizing the value of every battery.  Zora leads “all things non-technical” like the support functions (finance, HR, and legal) as well as outward facing functions like marketing and business development.  She previously worked at Clorox and Walmart where she created long-range strategic and financial plans, negotiated contracts, and evaluated new and existing business models and optimized them for scalable growth. 

Daryl-lynn Roberts - Vice President, Visage Energy & Co-Founder of Carbon Blade DAC

As Vice President of Business Development at Visage Energy, Daryl-Lynn is responsible for originating and cultivating new business opportunities as well as relationships with clients. She started and now leads the clean energy technology consulting group in the focus areas of Carbon Management (Point Source Capture, Carbon Utilization and Direct Air Capture), Microgrids, Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Energy Storage, and Grid Modeling (technologies at TRL 3-7). Daryl-Lynn has 15+ years of experience within the clean energy industry. Most notably, she co-managed the first of a kind pre-FEED NGCC + CCS retrofit study within the western region involving California IOUs, NETL, and CEC. She coordinated the Technical CCS Regional Stakeholder Collaborative Initiative which included CA utilities, CPUC, CEC, and NETL culminating in the Blue Ribbon multi agency CCUS panel. She also assisted in the collaboration of the $35MM CPUC funded High Performance Computing CA Energy System for 21st Century (CES-21) Initiative Partnership with LLNL and CA IOUs for grid modeling and cyber security.  Daryl-Lynn has served on the Board of Directors for the Coalition for Clean Air (2009-2012), National Utilities Diversity Council (current), and Los Angeles African American Public Policy Institute (current).

 Daryl-Lynn received her Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School in 2004. She also received her Master of Science in Industrial Engineering in 2002 from Stanford University where her primary emphasis was Entrepreneurship. During that time, she participated in the Mayfield Fellows Program, a highly competitive program limited to twelve top Stanford engineering students per year geared to expose participants to high tech entrepreneurship as well as the venture capital industry. In 2000, she completed her Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University.

Molly Crete – Senior Program Manager, Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI)

Molly is LACI’s Senior Program Manager, Startups. She thrives off of teaching, leading, and helping others to improve their lives and reach their fullest potential. Through her experiences as head of programs in various startup ecosystems, such as educating youth from underrepresented communities at YEScarolina, (Youth Entrepreneurship South Carolina, a licensed partner of NFTE) and supporting Black & Latinx Founders in South LA at Plug In South LA, Molly learned her passion lies in enhancing, connecting, and providing resources to individuals from all walks of life. Outside the grind, you can find Molly biking or skateboarding the Venice boardwalk and spending time with friends and family.

 Vaughn Blake – Partner, Blue Bear Capital

Vaughn focuses on the renewable energy industry for Blue Bear. He is specifically focused on themes and opportunities where policy and technology catalysts interconnect. Prior to Blue Bear, Vaughn managed a portfolio of emerging and esoteric hedge fund and venture capital fund strategies at a Southern California based Family Office. He is the founder and managing director of Autochrome Ventures, an early-stage venture firm investing in frontier technologies applied at industrial and enterprise scale. He currently holds board positions at Emerge, Transect, Mira, and First Resonance. Vaughn received his Bachelor of Arts from Colorado College.

Michael Tsokur – Managing Director, Boundless Capital Partners

With over 15 years experience in finance and strategy, Michael has helped lead companies from idea to exit as part of the executive team. Michael has worked across the U.S., Canada & South America with a focus on IoT, SaaS, Energy, Energy Technology and Advanced Materials. As founder of Akrasia Capital, a fractional-finance and advisory firm for technology companies, he had worked with over 45 companies. This wide array of experience offers Michael an edge through creativity and perspective. His passion is to help companies position their narrative to help better attract investors and potential buyers while engaging multiple stakeholders including boards and management. Working alongside some of the largest and specialized investment banks gives him the ability to effectively and efficiently take companies to market.

Anil Tammineedi ('08) – Partner, Angeleno Group

Mr. Tammineedi is a Partner at Angeleno Group and leads the firm’s investments across various sectors including energy storage, waste/circular economy, smart grid, industrial energy efficiency, digital manufacturing and sustainable mobility.  Previously, he gained several years of operating experience at Broadcom, where he worked in product development and management roles related to semiconductors targeting communications, mobile and power management applications.  His work has contributed to multiple patents as an inventor.  Mr. Tammineedi’s prior investing experience includes his work at Applied Ventures, the corporate venture group of Applied Materials.  Mr. Tammineedi holds an MS from Iowa State University and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he currently serves as a Senior Faculty Advisor to the Entrepreneurship program.  He is also a Kauffman Fellow.

Tim Arnold ('21) – General Partner, Steamwork Ventures

Tim Arnold is an experienced Investor, Entrepreneur, and CEO with a successful track record spanning a multitude of industries. He is currently a General Partner at Steamwork Ventures, an early-stage VC that invests in SaaS businesses servicing the health, wealth, or climate sectors. Tim leverages over 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and operator to dive deep into due diligence, assess risk through a seasoned aperture, and engage a professional network that can accelerate Steamwork’s portfolio companies. 

 Prior to co-founding Steamwork Ventures, Tim bootstrapped Hemisphere Design & Manufacturing, which provided global in-store experiences to companies like Best Buy, T-Mobile, Vans, Specialized, and L’Oréal. After 7-1/2 years, he sold the company as a bolt-on to a private equity firm. Tim also co-founded and sold CRATE Denim, a men’s apparel company that was distributed across the US and Japan. In between startups, he has held positions as GM, CFO, and previously held series 7 & 63 securities licenses.

Tim received his BA from the University of California Santa Barbara and his Executive MBA from the University of California Los Angeles.

Adi Ravikumar ('24) – MBA Candidate, UCLA Anderson

Adi is a full-time MBA Candidate at UCLA Anderson, where he is focused on building his knowledge, skills, and network in the Cleantech and Venture Capital industries. Prior to Anderson, Adi spent eight years across Consulting and Tech. He started his career at PwC San Francisco in the Forensic Consulting practice, where he worked with clients to build global compliance programs and conduct audits and investigations. He then moved to Singapore where he joined Google and held multiple roles in risk & compliance and business development. Adi earned his BA in Economics and Accounting from UC Irvine and was recently selected as a Venture Fellow at UCLA Anderson.