Executive summary:
- This year I have been personally honored with two industry-leading awards. I was named a 2021 Top Women in PR Distinction from PR News and received a 2021 Women World Award as a Disruptor Company from The Globee Awards. Technica’s public relations campaigns have also been named finalists in the 2021 Ragan’s PR Daily Awards in the categories of B2B Campaign for its public relations work for ZeroAvia and Influencer Campaign for its social media strategy for Winnebago Specialty Vehicles.
- To help bring greater unity to the planet, and help society choose a more desirable future, I launched the Earthlings Podcast with my co-host Christian Roselund.
- At WCS, we just celebrated 10 years, and are expanding the entrepreneurship program to provide mentorship and incubation opportunities for female-led startups.
- In the past, I have won awards such PR Executive of the Year by the American Business Awards (2020), Female Entrepreneur of the Year for Advertising and Marketing by the Women in Business and the Professions World Awards (2020), and a Woman of Influence by the Silicon Valley Business Journal (2017).
What is your field of expertise?
Overall, my expertise lies in having a natural instinct on how to influence audiences and develop creative ideas on how to convey concepts to win hearts and minds. Long ago, I dedicated my life to doing my part to improve humanity’s life on this planet, so I specialize in topics related to the energy transition, including clean technology, electric transportation, hydrogen power, renewable energy, public relations, networking, social media and the rise of women in leadership.
This started my career in the entertainment industry, with my dual Drama and Art Management degrees from Carnegie Mellon. I worked on shows like The West Wing and had dreams to become a film and theater director when I was growing up. One day, I was attending to the outside crew of a show Geraldo Rivera was hosting and over coffee I brought him we started talking politics. It was during the Bush V. Gore contention over the winner of the presidential election. In the middle of my conversation, he paused to compliment me on the keen observations of the situation and astute questions. He asked me if I had ever considered going into the news business. He thought I would make a good reporter. To him it was an off-handed comment, but to me it makes a crossroad.
Feeling disillusioned about the entertainment industry, and curious about the news business, I left LA and returned to Pittsburgh. In my pursuit of establishing my own TV news magazine I became a part-time reporter for the Allegheny Front. It covered outdoor and environmental topics. Eventually, I pivoted towards journalism full-time and became an award-winning environmental science journalist for NPR and PBS. Ten years later, I was ready for another change. After realizing that I was more in love with the companies that I was covering more than feeding the news beast every day, I entered public relations in the cleantech space.
I formed Technica Communications in 2009 and have grown the company to 20 team members to represent national and international clean energy and tech organizations.
Throughout my time in the cleantech industry, it is difficult to notice the lack of gender, racial, and cultural diversity. To help alleviate this challenge decided to create Women in Cleantech & Sustainability (WCS) in 2011 to break the mold and build a strong, relevant, active, and lasting community to support and spotlight the achievements of women. Over time, it has evolved, and all cleantech professionals (male, female and non-binary) are invited to share their perspectives and challenge assumptions. We have currently built a 5,000 + member international community and have members in 31 states and eight countries.
In my most recent endeavor, my co-host and I launched the Earthlings Podcast in December 2021 to highlight opportunities and challenges presented to humans living in the 21st century and the technology advances we can expect. We meet with industry experts, leaders and average people to discuss the critical issues facing humanity in the early 21st century and its relationship to the environment, technology, and our collective future. Our goal is to provide people with the information we have today to make better decisions for a beneficial future for all.
While I have traveled a circuitous path to get where I am today, I have leveraged my storytelling skills by connecting with audiences and understanding the media to benefit the climate and push businesses and individuals in the cleantech industry to reach their full potential and succeed in all endeavors.
What does your company do, for who, and how does it fit into the bigger picture of solving global issues with clean tech?
Founded in 2009 and based in Palo Alto, Calif., Technica Communications is an award-winning, boutique, public relations, social media, content marketing firm. With over 90% of our client base focused on the cleantech and sustainability markets, Technica possesses the deep expertise in strategies that work and contacts required to deliver top-quality results in these challenging sectors.
My job as part of the energy transition is to support clients in gaining the recognition they deserve, be it from the media, or their industry peers. Through these efforts, we create awareness of their work with those who have the capacity to help further it. Climate change is a defining issue of our time, and it creates a lot of anxiety and feelings of helplessness in those that are paying attention to what’s happening. It is critical to amplify accurate and impactful positive news about the climate tech movement to build trust and deconstruct climate misinformation. Through this work, we hope to encourage people to take action within their own spheres of influence to do what they can to mitigate climate change.
What do you wish you could tell the younger you — what would’ve been incredibly helpful to you ten years ago?
I would tell my younger self to get out of my own way and let others help me when I need it. I have a Type A personality where I want to do everything myself and control all my work to ensure the best possible outcome. Overcoming this challenge has been the greatest catalyst for my success. It went beyond delegating work to others, and I learned to trust others and their instincts in leading projects and initiatives. By creating and growing both Technica and WCS, I have learned to communicate my knowledge and thoughts to practice for others to follow and improve.
LinkedIn: Lisa Ann Pinkerton