Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Fueled by Friendship
I’ve been friends with Todd Q. Adams since I first started to work with utilities. Todd has extensive experience in consulting to major utilities, marketing to diverse communities, and advising clean tech entrepreneurs. We have always talked frankly about diversity, equity, and inclusion in the energy industry. He is now based in Houston, TX. I asked Todd why, counter to my impressions, Houston is now a thriving hub of diversity and innovation, and considers itself the epicenter of the move away from fossil fuels.
That led to a conversation about why equity in energy will not happen without the most fundamental gift of friendship and relationship.
Proverbs 27:17 says: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another”. Todd is one of those friends who helps me get out of my ruts and see around my blind spots. I hope this glimpse into our friendship gives you inspiration to go find those friends in your circle who sharpen you.
This has been edited for length and clarity. To hear our full conversation, go to https://youtu.be/sNtSxVAd-BI
Sharon:
Todd, we have been in each other's circles for more than a decade, so I am super excited to bring your perspective to the Re:Energize newsletter. Why don't you start by introducing yourself and telling our readers a little bit about your background, your career path, and what your passions are with regard to the energy industry.
Todd:
Thank you for having me, Sharon, this is definitely a pleasure. As for who I am, first of all, I'm a husband and a father of two college students at Howard University, my alma mater. My wife and I recently became empty nesters.
As to my “why”? Back to the 80s I was a software developer in the early days before the internet. In the early 2000s I began to work in the energy and utility sector for management consulting firms and technology services firms, becoming a full fledged entrepreneur in the latter part of the 2000s. That has led me to do a lot of work in the advisory space with grid modernization efforts, working with utilities, energy, and federal laboratories across across the country.
Today I'm working on go to market strategy, particularly with renewables, and utilities decarbonizing their business, with areas of focus being heavily energy storage, wind, solar micro grids, and EVs and fleet electrification, and integrating all of this, through pilots or research and development. Since October, I've been helping with writing grant proposals and advising utilities seeking grant dollars from the Inflation Reduction Act.
Sharon:
When I first got to know you, there was all this money coming out with ARRA (American Reinvestment and Recovery Act) funding, and everybody was like, “Oh, this is going to change the grid.” Now we're in this other pivotal moment where everyone is like, “no but this is really going to change the grid.”
Todd:
The big difference though, is that now you have a lot of private equity and venture capital for startups in this space. Utilities and organizations, as well as governments from around the world, are deploying utility scale, renewable energy solutions, a lot of corporate capital deployment with trillions of dollars. So we've reached a tipping point where now it's a real thing in terms of our energy transition, because the capital is being deployed. But it is not just the money. It's the social world driving the political will.
I remember when people used to be called tree huggers and it was a joke. Now, if you're not an environmental steward, something's wrong with you.
My “why” is focused on integrating environmental justice particularly in communities of color, where you have the social justice component of it. Being able to have all people participate in this energy transition. That can be as simple as someone having an electrician for deploying solar, or my grandmother or someone like that being able to participate in energy programs with utility. Disproportionately, people who are affluent get to take advantage of those, so there's that economic justice component. I began to use my relationship capital, as well as my expertise and my domain expertise in this space to begin to help startups as well. It's really about using my time my talent and my treasure, and the culmination of all my experiences to do good.
Houston is not just an oil and gas town anymore.
Sharon:
I'm curious about the fact that it brought you to Houston, which seems to me like the epicenter of the fossil fuel industry. What is there in Houston for a person like you who has been in clean tech, climate solutions, and all these other things that you've been about?
Todd:
I was also very skeptical that an oil and gas town would be a leader in the energy transition. In 2021, we were still in the pandemic. I started coming down when there were angel investor events in the clean tech space, and I was invited to pitch events. Then I started meeting people in this ecosystem in academia and venture capital, startups, corporate venture. I was very intentional about getting perspectives that were diverse across industry sectors. I talked to everyone, from a young Latina to an older, Asian person. I started seeing things that to me, felt like Houston was turning the corner.
Houston has a lot of civic and business collaboration. You see it in the corporate space, academia, the innovation districts, the accelerators. And you see a kind of gelling in a way that you don't see in other places. The other reason for choosing Houston is that I wanted to go somewhere where it was early stage, where there was opportunity. Silicon Valley or New York were a little too mature to penetrate for someone who hasn't been in that space. This seemed to be a place where it's early enough that you could come in and make your mark. My domain expertise has been very welcome. There's a lot of capital in Houston, a huge corporate presence, very business friendly.
The other thing, we wanted to be somewhere where it's very diverse - racially, culturally, religion, all of those things. Depending upon what you you know which study you look at, Houston ranks anywhere between in the top five to being the most diverse city in the country. So that's another thing that surprises a lot of people but you do feel it, you see it. I believe that it's about 25% immigrants. That creates an energy, you know, (I guess pun intended). And then being a Black man in a place - there's also a lot of Black entrepreneurs. People who are progressive, entrepreneurial, very forward thinking. That was also important. With the combination of all of those things, Houston is a good place to be in this world.
Sharon:
This is why we have courageous conversations, right? I have all these biases about Houston, not being a diverse place. I think it's because the voices that we hear coming out of Houston are the established, old guard. I'm wondering, how is this diversity and innovation actually bubbling up?
Todd:
Whenever you have change, there's always those who are invested in maintaining the status quo. A lot of venture capital funding is coming from younger VCs, the ones who are about carbon avoidance, carbon reduction. There's an old guard of C-suite people within the oil and gas industry, who have been the power brokers politically for years or decades.
You hear people say they're still trying to hold on.
However, there is also this realization that the gravy train is over. It may not be immediate, because oil and gas companies are looking at their profits today. We're in the interim, and we're not going to move off fossil fuels overnight. The fact is that we have turned the corner and there is enough momentum coming from newer voices, younger people, capital coming from other places.
You also alluded to the political climate. My take as a newcomer is that the voices who have the most political influence, meaning the deepest the deepest pockets, to fund campaigns and all that - they're speaking with a bullhorn, even though it's still just one person. But - the demographics are shifting. I was reading something where 95% of the population growth within these areas since the last census from 2010 to 2020, has been Black, Latino, and Asian. Houstonians already look like what America is projected to look like.
There's also a lot of sentiment that this diversity is a strength. I'm often the only Black man or sometimes the only person of color in my circles, which is not new. But people are more receptive in the business world. Particularly if you can create some sort of mutual benefit in a pro business climate.
New voices are emerging, but infrastructure needs to catch up.
Sharon:
You and I both try to amplify other voices that don't have the bull horns, and it sounds like that is happening.
Todd:
I will say, it's encouraging. We've still got a long way to go. We're nowhere near parity, whether it be in environmental justice, social justice, or economic justice. I'll go to a pitch event at a climate tech conference where I've seen 50 pitches and two women. It might be a little different if it's in consumer packaged goods or another area, but if it's climate tech, it is overwhelmingly male. When I see a a firm that is of color in this clean tech space, I get really excited. They do exist and they are here. I have to tap into my my network.
Sharon:
Your mayor, Sylvester Turner, is saying that he wants to create this whole new energy economy where everyone benefits from doing the right thing, creating renewable energy solutions and reducing pollution. Are you experiencing that?
Todd:
I've never met Mayor Turner personally, so my comments are from the perspective of what I witness. It is well documented that he is adamant about addressing particularly the Fifth Ward, where there are cancer clusters due to the railroad industry, which are disproportionately impacting Black and Latino people. As matter of fact, someone reached out to me yesterday in another area which is one of the historically Black communities, in the Third Ward, and they were talking to me about trying to build some electric vehicle infrastructure and renewable energy and partnering.
However, what I'm seeing is that the infrastructure for all of this is still is in its infancy. The areas that are targeted are areas that are still more affluent. I recently purchased an electric vehicle, and to charge it I need to go to affluent areas. The less affluent, the fewer options that you have. It's still the income and wealth gap, still that social participation part of driving in an electric vehicle. There's a long way to go.
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Sharon:
I love hearing your stories because I live in this little San Francisco bubble! Talk to me a little bit more about diversity in the entrepreneurial scene.
Todd:
There’s an area called the Ion district, which is an innovation district, and there's Greentown Labs, a clean tech accelerator within that district. Rice University also has an Innovation Hub within it, so they're like the big institutional anchor. There's also local government support. So the Ion has business and the civic collaboration. Big tech like Microsoft is in there, and some oil and gas companies have a presence. There's a level of collaboration that's early and happening in those spaces that's positive.
How can we engage with each other better in a racialized world?
One of the things that is really interesting: the Ion district is immediately west of the Third Ward, which is a historically underserved community. You can almost feel where I'm going. You can walk over to the Third Ward yet you don't feel the connection of the community to the innovation district. I'm just saying this purely based on my gut, and what I see. It doesn't feel like the community is connected in the way that it should, even though it's in immediate proximity.
Sharon:
I know what you mean about that disconnected feeling.
IRA and IIJA are putting out incentives for public private partnerships, and they've explicitly embedded Justice 40 into all this stuff. But then there's the reality of what you're saying. Relationships have to be formed between all these stakeholders, right? Not just checking the box of getting someone at the table. How do you truly get to that stage where what benefits you benefits me and vice versa?
Todd:
We have to just be honest about people. We live in a racialized world. I've seen data that says that 80% of white people don't have a single Black person in their social network. When there's an opportunity to build a public private partnership, it is still people engaging people, and if you don't have anybody within your sphere that you know, trust, or have done business with before, it's really hard. It's not always that someone is explicitly being racist, or explicitly being exclusionary. That's what systemic and institutional racism is. You are not necessarily doing anything, but these systemic factors are in place.
People are to be held accountable, to do things intentionally and as an individual to effect change. I'm engaged with a few people who are very intentional about creating a fund to invest in women founders, or founders of color. It can be an angel fund or venture capital fund.
You talk about the Justice 40 initiative, and government funding. I had a utility client put something on my calendar right before this meeting, because we're working with other institutions. And I raised it, “Well, what about diversity and inclusion?” From what I can tell, it never occurred to anyone I work with that this should be the case until now.
Most of my colleagues do not have anybody of color in their social or professional network, let alone having worked with a consumer advocacy group or or maybe some sort of community crew that may represent the interests of indigenous people, Black people, Latino people or whatever. People are afraid to say that, and it's okay and I get it. If that is indeed the case, then let's do what we need to do to rectify that. That's really what it comes down to.
Sharon:
Let's get out there and make more friends. Todd, let's facilitate more friendships!
Todd:
Absolutely. I mean, you and I originally connected at some of these events, and we were in the same circles. And then we started sharing insights of our family, our experiences, and you have become a friend. It’s really about our shared humanity.
Let's use relationship capital.
The thing is, we have to be courageous enough to even ask questions, and to say “I don't know.” I had a venture capitalist recently say to me, “We're hiring someone in investor relations and a research capacity. We would like to be diverse, but I don't know anyone.” We had developed enough trust, and we're having coffee, and I told him, “Two people come to mind immediately based upon what you're looking for, and I'll facilitate an introduction after this meeting.” And he was very pleased with who I presented. That's relationship capital.
Another VC asked me, “I see a lot of Black founders not getting funded. Do you really believe a lot of this is due to racism?” And I say, well, the evidence is in the fact that if you have almost $70 trillion in private equity across asset classes, and 99% of it goes to white men. What is that? People hoard resources and capital and relationships. They also stay in places and move into places where they're comfortable, where it's easier to call the same people. One of the things I like to do is say to people, “look, you're leaving money on the table.”
Todd’s background fuels his mission.
For me this has become a mission. I didn't intend to do this. I was busy just with my company serving with the the energy and utilities industry and working on deploying commercial scale utility scale solutions and enterprise change management. I started seeing that a lot of injustice is up front. All living organisms within the ecosystem have to be interdependent. It's not really an ecosystem if some of them are on the brink of death. You have to bring help, whether that be an infusion of capital, relationship capital, mentoring, advising or just having people in spaces where they can learn. It is really about having access.
I'm passionate about this because I grew up in a housing project in Cleveland, Ohio. I came from these beginnings and experienced social mobility. My experiences of living in a housing project benefit me today. It's just part of the array of experiences that I've had, that all gel in a way that enabled me to use my time, my talent and my treasure. So if I'm working with a founder who doesn't have friends and family that can invest and that have that kind of capital as an assumption, I'm able to help.
We were able to bootstrap a company and get traditional bank financing. Having come that long way, and worked across this country in 13 states, 14 cities across 40 companies, I've learned a lot. I've also seen a lot of disparities. I've built a lot of relationships.
At this stage of my life, it is now imperative that I use all that my breadth of experiences to help somebody, convey something to someone, make an introduction and share. Then we start building an ecosystem. If you can breathe life into someone else, that person may breathe life back into you.
Sharon:
I love that you weren't intending to be in this position, but there were other people who were purposeful and intentional and knew that they had some work to do before getting to that place of inclusion. And when they reached out to you, you were ready and responsive and able to start helping them.
Todd:
Thank you for that. I'm also learning every time. I love being a part of building things. When I think about it, the best experiences that I've had in my career is when I've worked for a company that grew significantly. Or where the company has never penetrated the energy and utility sector, and then you're the first person to go in and leverage your expertise to help them build that.
As I've listened to founders, as I listen to younger people, I love how they give themselves permission to raise money, to be disruptive to say, “I'm gonna bet on myself.” Sometimes they run out of money. They face adversity, which is normal. Being purposeful in helping people like that is really intrinsically gratifying. That's when your soul tells you you're supposed to be doing something. We're cleaning up the planet. We're getting people employed.
And that's the other thing, this energy transition may represent one of the largest wealth transfers in human history. When you look at the capital that will be deployed, where will it be deployed, and to whom? Look at the models. Look at places around the world and indigenous communities, where their land may be taken to build wind farms, solar farms. We're still at risk of replicating the same human atrocities, even in the name of good, by solely looking at it through an economic lens. It has to be looked at through the lens of economic justice, social justice, and environmental justice.
I always tell my kids, human beings make human decisions. After George Floyd was murdered, we saw executives call on Black employees and diverse employees to help solve the problem. People were calling me and saying “We're looking for people, and the senior vice president never spoke to you before, because you were too far down on a chain, but you happen to be the only person in the organization who was Black or Chinese American” or whatever it was, “now I need to talk to you to help solve this problem.”
The point is that you can be intentional about respecting and honoring the humanity of people. If you stay ready, you never have to get ready.
Sharon:
You always stay ready. I love that about you.
It's nourishing to me to be friends with you, but also to have conversations with you. And so I'm so glad that I'll be able to share elements of this with the reenergized community that we're forming. Hopefully we'll all be able to, to make new friends and expand our networks.
Todd:
Absolutely. And Sharon, thank you for having me. It's always a pleasure.
Side trails
Todd offered these picks this week: