Linda Maepa, BS
BS ’96
Founder and Executive Director, Now and Then, For the Future
Linda Maepa is an international leader on climate, sustainability, and social justice for the benefit of marginalised and vulnerable communities. she works on the strategic development and deployment of new companies and economic development planning that impact scientific research, agriculture, mining beneficiation, education, electric transport, and renewables on & off the power grid. She holds a BS in Geobiology from Caltech and is a contributor to the book, The Language of Cybersecurity (XML Press).
She is passionate about complex problem solving, future generations, and building novel ventures to address unmet needs. Her default posture is international, promoting cultures of stewardship, compassion, and fiscal discipline to achieve successful outcomes that are sustainable long-term.
At Now and Then, For the Future, Maepa leads a global climate advisory practice equipping stakeholders with practical next steps toward a just, low-carbon future. She assures that young people develop an informed and inclusive connection to the geosciences, placed-based history, and ecology through the development of an integrated, field sciences curriculum and yearly leads instruction for multi-age, mixed ability field classes.
Her projects and operational leadership in the past two decades include launching and leading multiple energy storage and energy advisory firms internationally; national electric vehicle introductions (technology, political support, legislation); infrastructure project development for renewables and energy storage; new industry ecosystem development and innovation ecosystem development; cradle-to-cradle design of novel energy storage technologies; clean manufacturing innovation in US and emerging markets; workforce capacity development and training; developing quantified ESG metrics for governance for future generations, equity and belonging, climate risk, and social systems impacts; and judging, mentoring, and advising 100s of companies and founders in the US, South Africa, Malaysia, Pakistan, and beyond with UNIDO, Techstars, Astia, Cleantech Open, Thiel Fellowship, and Caltech/DOE First Look West.
Linda has served on the Caltech Alumni Association Board of Directors since 2021.
Current term: 2021-24 (first term)