Sustainability conference “Water Solutions 8” is held as a collaboration between social enterprise visionary RevHub and clean tech expert Sustain SoCal.
Irvine, CA, August 25, 2023 – On Thursday, August 24th, UCI’s Beall Applied Innovation (BAI) hosted a conference, reception, and expo event to increase sustainability awareness. The event was conducted in partnership between Orange County-based innovators RevHub and Sustain SoCal, and attracted sponsorship from Siemens, BioLargo, and multiple local water districts.
Dr. Julie Kalansky, deputy director of CW3E and climate scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceonagraphy, served as the keynote speaker, and she spoke on the topic of “Predicting Atmospheric Rivers Across Timescales.” Kalansky was joined by several other speakers, while the Innovators Showcase was moderated by Carma Lacy, executive director of ecosystem building at RevHub, a Gold-level sponsor of the event.
RevHub, the first social enterprise incubator in Orange County, executed the event along with Sustain SoCal, which assembles clean technologies and sustainable economic development. Both organizations are also joining forces in the creation and operation of CABI, OC’s first climate action business incubator, largely funded by UCI.
RevHub President and CEO Stephan Erkelens is focused on utilizing partnerships with organizations like Sustain SoCal to shape the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Orange County, setting the precedent for the rest of the state, the nation, and eventually the world at large.
“OC is an emerging sector and economic driver, spawning new jobs where potential millions are being employed to benefit society, the environment, and other valuable causes,” says Erkelens. “Local foundations, churches, corporations, universities, and the OC public sector all encourage innovation here.”
A long-time innovator of the coffee industry, Erkelens co-founded RevHub with the support of other seasoned professionals who have a proven track record in charitable giving, business, finance, and social enterprise. Compelled by a unified vision, the group strives to create a better mechanism to fund and sustain social enterprises both at home and around the world. Under this belief, RevHub has become a collaborative ecosystem of like-minded individuals where both founders and funders are able to accelerate the impact of nascent social enterprises.
About RevHubOC |
RevHub is coalescing Orange County’s social enterprise ecosystem for greater innovation and impact. Founded in 2019, RevHub is a community of investors, entrepreneurs, mentors, and partners which has incubated 23 social enterprises and established RevFund I, Orange County’s first social impact investment fund. In 2022, RevHub joined several partners in establishing the NorthSTAR (Systems To Access Resources) OC Collaborative to build the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Orange County. This ecosystem is designed to illuminate pathways and eliminate barriers to entrepreneurship for under-represented and under-resourced communities.
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