*Check back periodically as the list of speaking engagements will be updated.
Verra will have a strong presence at Climate Week NYC (external) and the North America Climate Summit (external) and looks forward to connecting with business leaders, policymakers, civil society representatives, and other stakeholders to discuss important and timely issues around climate action.
The following staff will be in attendance:
- Judith Simon, President and Interim CEO
- Toby Janson-Smith, Chief Program Development and Innovation Officer
- Hillary Navarro, Chief Communications Officer
- Robin Rix, Chief Legal, Policy, and Markets Officer
- Rick Parnell, Executive Advisor
- Andrew Howard, Senior Director, Climate Policy and Strategy
- Candace Vinke, Senior Director, Nature-Based Innovation
- Joel Finkelstein, Senior Director, Media and Advocacy
- Julianne Baroody, Senior Director, Forest Carbon Innovation
- Sinclair Vincent, Director, Sustainable Development Innovation
- Kristen Linscott, Senior Program Officer, Plastics Policy and Markets
Please join us at one or several of the events listed below. If you are interested in meeting with us in New York City, please contact events@verra.org.
Verra Side Event
Tuesday, September 19
Tuesday, September 19, 2:00–3:00 pm ET
Location: Broadway Ballroom (3rd Floor), Westin Times Square
This event is part of IETA’s North America Climate Summit. Participation is open to those registered for the NACS.
Also, virtual participation is free. Please register for the NACS to attend.
Moderator: Rick Parnell, Executive Advisor
Panelists:
- Judith Simon, President and Interim CEO
- Toby Janson-Smith, Chief Program Development and Innovation Officer
- Hillary Navarro, Chief Communications Officer
- Robin Rix, Chief Legal, Policy, and Markets Officer
Verra is on a journey of transformation, moving to a new era of scaling, engaging, and achieving operational excellence. Join Verra for a recap of highlights from their recent stakeholder listening tour and survey, and for insights into the next major developments and announcements for the organization.
Verra Staff — Speaking Engagements
Please see below for a list of speaking engagements for Verra staff during Climate Week NYC. This list will be continually updated.
Monday, September 18
Monday, September 18, 11:15 am–12:45 pm ET
Location: Nature Positive Hub, Madison Room
Host: Wildlife Conservation Society (external)
Verra staff: Sinclair Vincent, Director, Sustainable Development Innovation
Additional Information (external)
This event will center on biodiversity credits, including their development and sale, as well as a comparison of mitigation and non-mitigation credits.
Monday, September 18, 1:30–3:00 pm ET
Location: Nature Positive Hub, Pershing Room
Host: Wildlife Conservation Society (external)
Verra staff: Julianne Baroody, Senior Director, Forest Carbon Innovation
Additional Information (external)
This event will review advances in methodological approaches for REDD+ projects—including Verra’s new consolidated REDD+ methodology—and how these approaches can address key criteria for integrity. Special focus will be placed on improvements in strengthening the integrity of project-based REDD+ activities and how such measures accelerate the evolution towards jurisdictional and nested approaches.
Tuesday, 19 September
Tuesday, September 19, 4:00-5:00 pm ET (TBC)
Location: Kimpton Hotel Eventi
Host: Flowcarbon (external)
Verra staff: Judith Simon, President and Interim CEO
In this fireside chat, Judith Simon and moderator Dana Gibber will discuss the role of standards in the voluntary carbon market (VCM). In particular, the conversation will provide insights on the evolving market and its future, Verra’s structural and technological transformation, the importance of “professionalizing” the VCM by introducing top-tier talent into the market, and lessons from other industries on how to run best-in-class organizations.
Tuesday, September 19, 4:45–5:45 pm ET
Location: Westin Times Square
Host: IETA (NACS) (external)
Verra staff: Candace Vinke, Senior Director, Nature-Based Innovation
This event is part of IETA’s North America Climate Summit
Additional Information (external)
Carbon markets have demonstrated their ability to encourage emissions reductions and removals in many sectors around the world, however the focus on mitigation has largely been on large industrial emitters. Both forestry and agriculture can be a sink and a source of greenhouse gasses – and carbon markets can tip the scale to encourage carbon sequestration and removal. Join this leadership circle to learn more about the carbon market opportunities for both forests and agriculture in North America and beyond.
Wednesday, September 20
Wednesday, September 20, 1:45–2:45 pm ET
Location: Westin Times Square, Room Gershwin 1, 4th floor
Host: Chloris Geospatial (external)
Verra staff: Julianne Baroody, Senior Director, Forest Carbon Innovation
This event is part of IETA’s North America Climate Summit
Additional Information (external)
Despite market headwinds, REDD+ projects remain a critical climate solution. Cutting-edge digital monitoring solutions play a central role in bringing more quality and transparency to REDD+ while supporting faster adoption at scale. In this session, VCM participants discuss the potential of, and their experience with, digital MRV at the scale of projects and jurisdictions.
Challenges and opportunities alike will be highlighted by a diverse range of practitioners and on-ground experts, through an intrinsic lens.
Wednesday, September 20, 3:00-4:00 pm ET
Location: Westin Times Square
Host: IETA (NACS) (external)
Verra Staff: Hillary Navarro, Chief Communications Officer
This event is part of IETA’s North America Climate Summit
Additional Information (external)
With a growing number of companies committing to net zero, interest in the VCM to help meet these targets has surged. Despite well documented and science-based recognition of the benefits that the VCM can deliver, there continues to be research and investigations providing evidence of problems with REDD+ and other projects. Much work is underway to strengthen the VCM’s integrity. Will all stakeholders unite and support the VCM continuous improvement journey? How should we be improving the effectiveness of our communications?
Wednesday, September 20, 4:30–8:00 pm ET
Location: Apella by Alexandria
Host: Value Change Initiative (external)
Verra Staff: Candace Vinke, Senior Director, Nature-Based Innovation
This panel will review recent technical developments in Scope 3 decarbonization and the role of value chain interventions in emission reductions and removals. Panelists will discuss how market-based mechanisms could play a crucial role in working towards these goals, especially in situations where physical traceability is limited.
Thursday, September 21
Thursday, September 21, 10:00 am–2:30 pm ET
Location: White & Case LLP
Host: Coalition for Private Investment in Conservation (CPIC) (external)
Verra Staff: Sinclair Vincent, Director, Sustainable Development Innovation
Additional Information (external)
As part of a general update on the activities of CPIC, the agenda includes a panel discussion on “Scaling Nature-Positive Investments: Development Finance Institutions and the Path to Sustainable Capital Continuum.”
Thursday, September 21, 11:15 am–1:15 pm ET
Location: Westin Times Square
Host: IETA (external) and COP 28 Presidency (external)
Verra Staff: Andrew Howard, Senior Director, Climate Policy and Strategy
This event is part of IETA’s North America Climate Summit
Additional Information (external)
In this roundtable discussion, panelists from standards-setting bodies will speak on the quality of carbon removals.
Thursday, September 21, 1:30–2:30 pm ET
Location: Marriott Marquis
Host: CTrees (external)
Verra Staff: Julianne Baroody, Senior Director, Forest Carbon Innovation
Additional Information (external)
This panel aims to help the audience identify the risks associated with developing high-integrity nature-based solutions in the VCM. It will also cover innovations in data, policy, and the market that address these risks.