Dawn Lippert

Chief Executive Officer, Elemental Excelerator; Founding Partner, Earthshot Ventures

AMBASSADOR · 2015 Advocacy Award Winner

Dawn Lippert has founded two climate investment organizations and worked on clean energy and environmental projects in communities around the world. She is CEO of Elemental Excelerator (Elemental), a nonprofit climate investor that has funded more than 130 startups that have gone on to raise more than $6 billion and has deployed more than 100 first-of-their-kind projects across energy, mobility, water, circular economy, and nature-based solutions. Elemental was founded in Honolulu, Hawaii, has an office in East Palo Alto, CA, and is a majority women-led team.

In addition to leading Elemental, Lippert serves as Founding Partner of Earthshot Ventures, a $60 million venture fund spun out of Elemental in 2021. She is also Director of Innovation and Community at Emerson Collective, the investment and philanthropic platform led by Laurene Powell Jobs, where she advises on climate work and investing. Lippert serves on the boards of Climate Real Impact Solutions II, a special purpose acquisition company for climate solutions, and Clean Energy for America, which advocates for just, equitable, and rapid decarbonization, and is a member of Prime Coalition’s Investment Advisory Committee. Prior to founding Elemental, she started her career at Booz Allen Hamilton’s alternative energy practice in Washington, DC, working on the launch of ARPA-E and on supporting leading state-level climate policy.

In 2020, Lippert received a UN Global Climate Action Award, recognizing her contribution for "Pioneering a New Funding Model for Climate Tech." Lippert was also named a Grist 50 Fixer in 2019, served as a 2015 Omidyar Fellow, and was honored with a 2015 C3E Award from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Clean Energy Ministerial. She is passionate about inclusion in technology, and in 2010 founded the non-profit organization WiRE (Women in Renewable Energy). Lippert graduated cum laude from Yale University with a B.A. in environmental studies, and received her Master’s degree from the Yale School of the Environment.