ACORE Accelerate Academy East Day Two: Convening Emerging Leaders and Celebrating our Industry
The ACORE Accelerate Program exists to connect early-stage clean energy entrepreneurs to the right network to help them succeed. This summer, we hosted our inaugural Accelerate Academy East, which began by connecting the founders in our Accelerate Program cohort to their representatives in Congress and to successful clean energy projects in the D.C. area.
We continued our Academy with a visit to Accelerate partner Covington & Burlington LLP, to further support our current cohort with new relationships to help shape the future of clean energy.
Accelerate Academy: Where Clean Energy Expertise Meets Entrepreneurship
The ACORE Accelerate Program supports founders across multiple dimensions of company growth, including access to capital, mentorship, industry connections, and policy engagement. It is designed to help founders strengthen their businesses while building the relationships and industry knowledge needed to navigate the broader clean energy market.
This approach was reflected at Accelerate Academy, where founders engaged directly with industry leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers through panels, working sessions, and networking opportunities. By bringing together perspectives across finance, technology, and policy, the Academy connected founders with expertise, resources, and relationships relevant to their companies’ growth and participation in the clean energy sector.
Entrepreneurs do not navigate clean energy markets through technology and finance alone. Today, success requires understanding policy, access to capital, and how to navigate a rapidly evolving industry. By convening leaders from many different disciplines, ACORE is giving Accelerate founders access to the expertise they need to grow their business
Celebrating Accelerate at Celebrating Accelerate at ACORE’s 25th Anniversary Gala
That evening, Accelerate entrepreneurs attended ACORE’s 25th Anniversary Gala alongside clean energy executives, investors, policymakers, and other industry leaders. As part of the Academy experience, the Gala offered founders an opportunity to build relationships with potential customers, capital providers, and partners across ACORE’s network.
The evening celebrated the leaders and organizations that have shaped ACORE and the clean energy sector over the past 25 years. ACORE President and CEO Ray Long and former CEO Michael Eckhart reflected on the organization’s history and the industry’s evolution.
ACORE Accelerate member Tonya Hicks, CEO of Power Solutions, Inc., was also featured in the evening’s speaking lineup, representing both her company and the Accelerate community. Her participation reflected the role Accelerate companies already play in the clean energy industry and the perspectives they bring to its continued growth
Since 2020, the Accelerate Program has connected emerging clean energy companies with industry partners, investors, and experts needed to scale businesses, advance projects, and strengthen the clean energy economy. Learn more about the program and opportunities to participate, partner, or support our work here.
Check out the video recap below!
Author
ACORE Team Member
Join leaders from across the clean energy sector.
What will our next 20 years look like? Here’s the truth: they’ll be better with ACORE at the forefront of energy policy.
Shannon Kellogg
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