Black Student Fund and Forbright Bank host D.C. area students and environmental experts in week-long summit to build business ideas that address local sustainability issues

The Black Student Fund and Forbright Bank will host the second-annual Sustainable Solutions Summit for D.C.-area high school students from June 24-28. The weeklong event gives entrepreneurial high school students the opportunity to collaborate with leading sustainability experts to develop and present business plans to help solve local environmental issues. Students with winning ideas will receive scholarship funding and connections to help them throughout their career.

“We’re excited to partner with the Black Student Fund to encourage a new generation of entrepreneurs and leaders to tackle one the most meaningful challenges of our lifetimes,” said Forbright Bank Director of Community Impact, Natalie Chapman. “We look forward to building on the success of last year’s Summit with more great speakers and students excited to learn.”

The event gives students an opportunity to hear from and network with leading environmental experts, business leaders, and academics. Presenter expertise ranges from ocean conservation to plant-based food production to energy efficient construction. The event will culminate in students developing and presenting their own sustainable business ideas to a panel of judges who will award scholarship funding to the winning team.

What: Sustainable Solutions Summit – a weeklong event focused on empowering high school students to build business ideas to address local environmental issues.

When: June 24-28, 2024 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. daily

Where: Marriott Courtyard Bethesda 5520 Wisconsin Avenue Chevy Chase, M.D., 20815 Walking Distance from Friendship Heights Metro Station

Featured Speakers: Alfred Carr, D.C. Department of Energy & Environment Daron Coates, Co-Founder, ThinkBox Group John Delaney, Founder and Chairman, Forbright Bank Seth Goldman, Co-Founder of Just Ice Tea, PLNT Burger, Honest Tea, Eat the Change Lina Gomez, National Geographic Society Mark Haver, Sustainable Ocean Alliance; BlueGreen Generation Larissa Johnson, Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection Ashley McEvoy, National Park Foundation Leroy Nesbit, Black Student Fund Kwabena Osei-Sarpong, Founder and CEO, RIFE International Liz Perera, U.S Department of Energy Elijah Perry, Formerly GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic Rebecca Ballard, Rebecca Ballard Advisory; Rooted Communities

MEDIA RSVP: Media interested in attending are asked to RSVP to bwakana@forbrightbank.com

Hosts Black Student Fund Forbright Bank

About Forbright Bank Forbright Bank (www.forbrightbank.com), Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender, is a bank and lender taking action to decarbonize the economy. Headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, Forbright is committed to accelerating the transition to a sustainable, clean energy economy by financing the companies, investors, and innovators driving that change.

About Black Student Fund The Black Student Fund (BSF) provides essential advocacy, academic and retention support to academically motivated African American and other underserved students to facilitate their access, admission and successful matriculation and graduation from member schools. For more information, visit www.blackstudentfund.org.

Ben Wakana, info@forbrightbank.com