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Jack Baron
Jack Baron
Listen to this articleManaging Director, Venture For ClimateTech @ NextCorps
Years in current role: 3
What sustainability initiative or environmental goal has your organization made the most progress on in the past year?
Our Rochester-based global training program provides intensive coaching, coursework and networking for the top renewable energy and climate startup companies in the world. Innovative CEOs and their teams have launched these companies from many different global labs, including major research universities such as MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Cornell, and even their own garages! Over 1,750 company teams have applied for the program over the past five years, with just 78 accepted into the program and now graduated. Our teams have collectively committed to reducing global greenhouse gas by over 100 million tons per year.
What gives you confidence about how Rochester businesses and institutions are addressing environmental challenges?
Rochester has tremendous entrepreneurial resources, first in terms of intellectual talent in the existing workforce and in each year’s new local college graduates, plus our significant manufacturing resources, low-cost water and energy.
What area do you think needs more attention or collaboration to strengthen Rochester’s environmental future?
Other than the multiple entrepreneurial training programs at NextCorps, the Rochester region lacks a comprehensive coordinated effort to support entrepreneurial and startup initiatives. As a community, we need to collaborate across training organizations and universities much more, plus we need to make people aware through recognition and support of the strongest and best initiatives to help startups succeed, such as NextCorps and RIT’s Venture Creations, both in the heart of downtown Rochester.
What advice would you offer to individuals or organizations that want to start making a measurable environmental difference?
Call NextCorps, where two NYS Energy Research & Development Authority global climate and energy programs are making an environmental difference on a global scale every day. Learn how you can get directly involved.
