NYSERDA Webinar: A Panel on Offshore Wind Economic Benefits

Nse Esema, Assistant Vice President, Smart & Sustainable Cities- New York City Economic Development Corporation: Nse Esema is currently the Assistant Vice President, Smart & Sustainable Cities at the New York City Economic Development Corporation. She designs and implements programmatic and strategic efforts to: catalyze emerging sectors, develop inclusive industry ecosystems, and advance equitable economic development. Currently, her work is heavily focused on the Offshore Wind industry. She is committed to designing and implementing strategies that support NYC in growing into a leading position in the burgeoning OSW landscape in the US in a manner that ensures women, low-income populations and people of color equitably share in the benefits of the industry.

Mariah Dignan, Long Island Lead-Climate Jobs New York: Mariah Dignan serves as the Long Island Lead for Climate Jobs New York (CJNY) and is a member of Wind Works Long Island, a coalition of environmental, labor, clergy, and community groups, and the force behind educating Long Islanders on the benefits of renewable energy, particularly offshore wind. Mariah also serves on the Long Island Chapter Board of the New York League of Conservation Voters. Mariah has experience in local politics as a campaign field organizer for Congresswoman Kathleen Rice and scheduler for then-candidate Nassau County Executive Laura Curran. She also worked as a Political Organizer for The Long Island Federation of Labor and served as the Community Outreach Coordinator for Congressman Thomas R. Suozzi. Prior to NYCEDC, Nse worked with city governments in Africa and North America in developing and implementing multi-stakeholder resilience building strategies. Nse Esema earned a Masters in City Planning degree from MIT.

Katie Newcombe, Chief Economic Development Officer- Center for Economic Growth: Katie has more than a decade of economic development experience, spanning multiple states, public, private, and non-profit sectors. She currently leads CEG’s business attraction and expansion activities; directs and implements strategies for entrepreneurship, business growth, workforce, and talent. In her most recent role, as Senior Economic Developer, she led business attraction and expansion initiatives for National Grid in the Capital Region. In addition to helping develop statewide strategic, policy and program objectives, she generated a significant portfolio of grant projects that helped revitalize the region’s downtowns and grow its economy. At Capitalize Albany Corporation, she helped manage business development efforts and Downtown Albany’s Revitalization Plan.

David Whipple, Director of Industry Development- Empire State Development: David Whipple is the Director of Industry Development at Empire State Development, the economic development arm of the New York State government. David leads Empire State Development’s efforts in creating jobs and attracting investment in the renewable energy and clean tech sectors. He works closely with partners including NY-BEST, NYSERDA, NYPA, NY Green Bank, NYSTAR, industrial property owners, local IDAs, and local utilities. Together with these partners, David helps renewable energy businesses establish manufacturing operations in New York State. David has been very involved with initiatives relating to New York’s Climate Leadership Community Protection Act (CLCPA) including offshore wind, energy storage, solar and workforce development.

This webinar is part of the Learning from the Experts series hosted by NYSERDA’s Offshore Wind Team and featuring experts in key offshore wind topics, including wind farm technologies, development practices, regulatory processes, and research initiatives.