Woodwell Climate Board of Directors elect new Chair, three new members
Woodwell Climate main campus building.
photo by Sarah Moore
Woodwell Climate is pleased to announce the appointment of Thomas (Tod) J. Hynes III as Chair of the Board of Directors, as well as the addition of three new board members, Jainey Bavishi, Jean A. Rogers, and Aniket Shah. The new directors began their three-year terms in June.
Hynes succeeds C. Gail Greenwald, who served as Chair of the Board from 2022 to 2025. Over the last two decades, Hynes has started and invested in over 20 companies in the climate and energy space.
Jainey Bavishi is a climate resilience expert who has led efforts across federal, local, and nonprofit sectors, including serving in the Biden administration as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Deputy Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Jean Rogers, founder of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), is a respected global leader in the measurement and management of environmental impacts associated with sustainable development and financing the energy transition and climate solutions. Aniket Shah has spent his career at the intersection of global finance, economic development, and climate change. He leads a research and advisory effort on energy transition and sustainable business efforts at Jefferies.
“I’m excited and grateful that these incredibly impressive individuals will be sharing their talents with us,” said Woodwell President and CEO, Max Holmes. “They bring tremendous energy, expertise, and insight and we are fortunate to have them join the Woodwell team.”
Bavishi, Rogers, and Shah replace Joseph J. Mueller and Stephanie Tomasky, who recently concluded their tenure.
Tod Hynes
About Tod Hynes
Hynes is a Senior Lecturer at MIT where he teaches a graduate course called Climate & Energy Ventures and advises the MIT Climate & Energy Prize which he also co-founded. He also serves as a Senior Advisor for Climate & Energy at the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship. Hynes is the CEO and Co-founder of Maigent, a company creating private AI tools that help experts amplify their skills and securely manage their information. He also founded Clymate Studios to help others help the climate.
Jainey Bavishi
About Jainey Bavishi
Bavishi is a distinguished expert in the field of climate adaptation and resilience. She most recently served as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Deputy Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, guiding national efforts on climate resilience, marine conservation, and the implementation of major federal investments under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. Previously, she directed the New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate Resiliency and served in the Obama White House as Associate Director for Climate Preparedness. Earlier in her career, she led initiatives on disaster risk reduction in the Asia Pacific and supported equitable recovery efforts on the Gulf Coast.
Jean A. Rogers
About Jean Rogers
Rogers has spent her career integrating sustainability into mainstream investment analysis. Under her leadership of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, the organization created standards enabling investors to benchmark sustainability performance across 80 industries. Most recently, she was Blackstone’s Senior Managing Director and ESG Chairperson where she oversaw the firm’s integration of sustainability factors into asset management while serving on the investment committees for certain private equity and private credit funds deploying more than $12B globally toward energy transition and climate solutions. She is currently an operating advisor to private equity funds such as Pegasus and Palistar Capital. Rogers began her career as an environmental engineer for Arup leading sustainable development projects throughout the US, Europe, and Asia.
Aniket Shah
About Aniket Shah
Shah is Founder, Managing Director and Global Head of Sustainability, Transition and Washington Strategy at Jefferies where he leads a research and advisory effort for investors, corporates, and sovereigns on their energy transition and sustainable business efforts and advises clients on the interface between public policy and investment decision-making. He is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Shah previously held prominent roles at UBS, OppenheimerFunds, and Investec Asset Management, and in the public sector at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the Earth Institute at Columbia University.
