Kanin’s CEO, Janice Tran, was nominated as one of 18 candidates for the 2023 Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award. This year’s candidates advance environmental causes around the world, from Indonesia to Panama, rising to solve difficult and important environmental challenges. They include leaders fields such as sustainable design, wildlife law, shark conservation and carbon markets. Janice was nominated for her work in industrial decarbonization through her work at Kanin Energy.
- Anjali D. Boyd, marine ecologist, entrepreneur and elected official
- Nalleli Cobo-Uriarte, environmental activist and storyteller
- Garry Cooper, CEO and co-founder of Rheaply
- Nesha Ichida, program manager and co-chair of StAR Project’s steering committee
- Meizani Irmadhiany, senior vice president and executive chair, Konservasi Indonesia
- Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability, a community-based advocacy organization
- Benjamin Lepley, architect
- Inna Modja, artist, filmmaker and advocate for social, gender and climate justice
- Juan Carlos Monterrey Gómez, executive director, Geoversity
- Taku Mutezo, environmental lawyer, Manicaland Province
- Aya Naseem, co-founder and marine biologist, Maldives Coral Institute
- Caressa Nguyen, founder, Sacred Lands Native Hands
- Sébastien Philippe, scientist and research scholar, Science & Global Security
- Hana Raza, founder/chairperson, Leopards Beyond Borders
- Wil V. Srubar III, associate professor of civil and architectural engineering
- Iroro Tanshi, co-founder and co-executive director, Small Mammal Conservation Organization
- Janice Tran, CEO & co-founder, Kanin Energy
- Jessie Turner, executive director, International Alliance
The 2023 candidates were nominated by leaders who have already made significant contributions to global environmental efforts. Janice was nominated by Dawn Lippert, the founder and CEO of Elemental Excelerator, as well as a founding partner of Earthshot Ventures.
In the coming months, an expert committee will choose three finalists. Finalists will then be presented to a panel of judges: Antonio Bernardo, dean of UCLA Anderson School of Management; Darnell Hunt, UCLA executive vice-chancellor and provost; Jeanne Holm, deputy mayor of finance and innovation for City of Los Angeles; Hans Mehn, a partner of Generation Investment Management; and Abel Valenzuela, Jr., interim dean of social sciences and UCLA professor.
Learn more about the Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award, here.
About UCLA Institute of the Environment & Sustainability: UCLA’s primary purpose as a public research university is the creation, dissemination, preservation and application of knowledge for the betterment of our global society. The Institute of the Environment and Sustainability moves science to action on the front lines of environmental progress. Using Los Angeles and California as a testbed, IoES promises solutions for the broader world—and our commitment to communications makes sure our ideas are heard.
We thrive on the energy, optimism and impatience of its students and faculty. We envision a future that is beautiful and prosperous in 2050—air, water, food, people and nature. As humanity urbanizes, the story of how we save the planet will be written by cities like Los Angeles, by multicultural universities like UCLA, and by innovators who break down silos of disciplinary scholarship. IoES aspires to be a big part of that story.
IoES has pioneered a unique, hands-on approach to environmental research and practice. Our Senior Practicum takes students off campus and pairs them with clients to solve real-world problems using the science, statistics and communications skills they’ve learned. A similar approach is taken at the graduate level.
Our Doctorate in Environmental Science and Engineering program immerses students in two years of rigorous coursework, then matches them with businesses and government agencies to fuse their thesis research with real work.
With our eight research centers and partnerships throughout the UCLA network, we achieve national and global reach. IoES works hand in hand with groups across campus, such as the Emmett Institute on Climate Change, the Luskin Center for Public Policy and the Graduate School of Education. These cooperative efforts allow us to focus teams of diverse talents on today’s most urgent problems.
Today’s environmental challenges are too big to leave any idea unexplored. They are too pressing to exclude provocative or even unpopular ideas. For these reasons, IoES sponsors events that stimulate public dialogue on topics including nuclear energy, genetically modified organisms and the future of cars and transportation.
There was a time when environmental scientists and leaders had to alert the public to threats and risks. Now is not that time. We know the problems—it’s time for solutions.
