AltaSea Hosts Summit to Focus on Advancing Careers, Innovation in Renewable Energy Fields

Los Angeles, Calif. (April 12, 2025) – A wide array of industry leaders, government representatives, educators, small businesses and passionate community-based organizations gathered Saturday for a sustainable energy summit at AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles, one of the nation’s leading hubs for innovation in the blue economy. The event focused on new career pathways in renewable energy fields and underscored the commitment to the blue and green economies that will drive the region’s future economy.

The Urban Renewal Energy Summit explored progress being made in such vital sectors as solar energy, ocean exploration, marine sciences and aquaculture. It also included panel discussions as well as an interactive clean energy expo focusing on sustainable development and emerging educational and career pathways that will not only spur innovation but help the planet.

“It is incredibly timely for leaders throughout Los Angeles County to talk about the ways in which we can create jobs and transform our economy both locally and around the world with a constant eye on sustainability,” said AltaSea President & CEO Terry Tamminen. “This summit was a chance to interact and hear from some of the brightest minds in these burgeoning fields to figure out how to build a more sustainable future.”

In addition to Tamminen, participants heard from Starlett Quarles, CEO of the Marine Resource Education Program (MREP) California; and Denise Fairchild, President Emeritus of Emerald Cities Collaborative and Founder of the Ubuntu Climate Initiative; who said the summit shone a light on the many ways the blue and green economies are already transforming the economy and creating new career pathways that didn’t even exist a decade ago.

“I am thrilled to partner with AltaSea on this endeavor,” said Starlett Quarles, Founder and CEO of the Minority Renewable Energy Summit of California. “It’s so important to educate all LA County’s communities on the need to transition our housing stock, businesses, faith-based assets, and careers into this emerging economy. There’s a great disparity and knowledge gap in the minority community, business and real estate development landscape on LA County’s goal to completely transition to clean energy by 2035. So, the “Urban Renewable Energy Summit” was born out of the need to help ‘close this gap’ by creating a space where minority attendees can ge access to the array of renewable energy resources, government agencies, and organizations available within LA County’s green and blue economies.”

With more than 20 years of experience working in clean energy and sustainable development, I can clearly attest to the full range of rewarding jobs and business opportunities in the clean economy.  But this is also critical mission- oriented work.  Climate change is impacting the health of our planet, places and people.  This LA Earth Week event spotlighted the importance of working at the intersection of environment, economy and equity, ensuring the most vulnerable and marginalized are quarterbacking a clean energy future in which everyone benefits. 

Panelists at the summit discussed everything from strategies for building and financing resilient communities and emerging technology in renewable energy fields to expanding job training opportunities in offshore wind, EV infrastructure and other related fields.

The event’s clean energy expo also enabled attendees to connect with training programs necessary to access the skills needed for high-demand careers in renewable energy and sustainability, while entrepreneurs and small businesses had a chance to learn more about financing, technical resources and trends in sustainable energy solutions.

“Today was all about looking forward,” Tamminen said. “In the coming years, our economy will undergo a major transformation as opportunities in these industries continue to explode. The Urban Renewal Summit was a chance for all of us to discuss those possibilities and give people a chance to take the first step in embracing the career pathways and business opportunities that will lead us into the future.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Photos from the summit can be found here.

About AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles

AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles, located on 35 acres at North America’s leading seaport by both container volume and cargo value, is dedicated to accelerating scientific collaboration, advancing an emerging blue economy through business innovation and job creation, and inspiring the next generation, all for a more sustainable, just, and equitable world.

For more information on AltaSea, please visit: https://altasea.org.