Partners,

As you know, today is the one-year anniversary of the announcement that The New York Climate Exchange had won the opportunity to establish a center for climate solutions on Governors Island. The vision you shared was compelling, and we’re making great progress building up the organization and delivering on that vision thanks to your tremendous efforts.  

From planning programming for our groundbreaking organization, to visiting you and your teams, to nurturing relationships with stakeholders across the globe, we’re moving forward on all fronts. This would truly not be possible without each of you and your organization's continued commitment to our unique partnership.    

Over the past few months, The Exchange’s profile has been growing through features in premiere news outlets. Bloomberg CityLab’s recent piece on the transformation of Governors Island prominently features The Exchange and lends insight into our plans for our hub on the Island. Last month, Newsday ran a profile of The Exchange, where we outlined our goals and highlighted our first-of-its-kind model of collaboration to fight against climate change.  

Across the globe, we’re engaging stakeholders and leaders who will bring our organization to the next level. Since taking the helm at The Exchange, I’ve traveled across the US and the globe, meeting with climate experts at COP28 and university leaders at partner institutions across the United States as part of my inaugural listening tour. In New York, we’ve working closely with the Trust for Governors Island and the Adams Administration, Governor Hochul’s Administration, various city and state elected officials, and key stakeholders to integrate The Exchange into the fabric of New York City’s climate community.  

Together, we’ll make The Exchange the go-to destination for climate action, serving as a model for the rest of the world.    

To get things moving, The Exchange team has been building out a series of activities that will showcase how we seek to work together. Having been identified as an important part of New York City’s Green Economy Action Plan, we’ve started the conversation with our community partners about what we can do together to support that economic transformation. Researchers have shared how they’re integrating Artificial Intelligence into their climate-relevant work, and to help students understand and explore the power of this technology, many of our partners have launched an AI “Innovation Challenge” inviting them to submit solutions to help New York City better manage its growing stormwater management problem.  

Across New York, we’ve begun providing amplification grants to local organizations doing incredible work on green workforce development and climate literacy issues. Through a summer internship program we’re launching this summer, we’re bringing top students from our partner schools to help expand these efforts.   

All of it is aimed at combining your tremendous capacity as partners with New York City’s unique position as a global capital of finance, culture, and media. It’s how we can collectively make The Exchange the go-to destination for transformative climate solutions.  

While we continue this work, I’ve had the privilege of meeting with many of you, visiting your offices and campuses. To say these visits have been inspiring would be an understatement. There is incredible work being done.  

As we cross the one-year anniversary of our founding, I want to thank you so much for all the work being done. Please continue to share new events, news, and developments that your institutions are working on. The milestones celebrated to date have been truly remarkable, and we look forward to continuing to amplify your commendable work on our social channels, Twitter/X and LinkedIn.   
 
As our start-up organization grows, I’ll continue to update you on where we are and where we’re headed – all of which is made possible only by your partnership. Thanks for all that you do.  
 

Warmly,