Maria Virginia Olano

Maria Virginia Olano

Chief of Staff . .

Maria Virginia Olano is chief of staff at Canary Media. Before joining the Canary team, she worked on state-level climate policy advocacy, specifically focusing on communications strategies. She previously produced the podcast Political Climate and hosted and produced the podcast Cooler Earth. She grew up in Colombia and now lives in Boston.

Food and farms

Climate-friendlier meat just got a step closer to your plate

Upside Foods, one of more than 100 startups working on cultivated or lab-grown meat, is the first to earn a key approval from the U.S. FDA.

By Maria Virginia Olano . 23 November 2022
Workforce diversity

Charging Up: A chat with Thais Lopez Vogel, co-founder of the VoLo Foundation

Plus, new board members at Span and Arcadia, and cleantech career moves at Shell, PowerFlex, PosiGen, Mainspring Energy, Strategen, Clean Energy Ventures and more.

By Maria Virginia Olano, Eric Wesoff . 23 November 2022
Clean energy

Watch this dynamic map of renewable energy growth around the world

Renewable energy is gaining ground around the world. See which countries are shifting most quickly.

By Maria Virginia Olano . 18 November 2022
Electrification

This startup is adding a battery to induction stoves

Impulse's innovation allows induction stoves to plug into regular outlets so buyers can avoid expensive electrical upgrades.

By Maria Virginia Olano . 17 November 2022
Climate crisis

Chart: These rich countries are falling far short on their climate pledges

New analysis pegs U.S., Canada and U.K. among the worst laggards on climate finance pledges. Will COP27 help even things out?

By Maria Virginia Olano . 11 November 2022
Workforce diversity

Charging Up: A chat with Karla Loeb, head of government affairs at Arcadia

Plus, climatetech career moves at BlocPower, X, Nextracker, DOE, Elemental Excelerator, SunPower and more.

By Maria Virginia Olano, Eric Wesoff . 10 November 2022
Clean energy

Chart: Clean energy installations slowed way down in Q3

On the bright side, energy storage had its best quarter ever, and analysts expect solar and wind to bounce back soon thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act.

By Maria Virginia Olano . 7 November 2022
Workforce diversity

Charging Up: A chat with Lauren Flanagan, CEO of Sesame Solar

Plus, climatetech career moves at Span, Proterra, Aligned Climate Capital, EVgo, Enel, BlocPower, AES and SEPA.

By Maria Virginia Olano, Eric Wesoff . 26 October 2022
Utilities

Charts: Utilities sticking with fossil fuels despite climate pledges

A new Sierra Club report highlights the major U.S. utilities that plan to burn coal and build new fossil-gas infrastructure through at least 2030.

By Maria Gallucci, Maria Virginia Olano . 21 October 2022
Clean energy

How does your state rank on fostering community-led clean energy?

Policies can help or hinder communities that want to take charge of their own energy future. Canary's chart of the week shows how U.S. states stack up.

By Maria Virginia Olano . 14 October 2022