Aryana Y. Nakhai is an Associate on the Investments team at the Coalition for Green Capital, where she leverages her background in engineering and finance to support the organization’s mission of accelerating the transition to clean energy. Aryana holds a B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering, with a focus on power and renewables, from the University of Pittsburgh, as well as an MBA in Finance from the University of Colorado Boulder. This combination of technical and financial expertise equips her with unique analytical and problem-solving skills to drive impactful investments in renewable energy projects.
Aryana began her career as a research engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) where she contributed to innovative renewable energy technologies that pushed the boundaries of clean energy research. She later transitioned into a development finance role at Invenergy, where she gained extensive experience managing complex financial models that facilitated the development and contracting of solar farms, wind farms, and battery storage projects.
Throughout her career, Aryana has shared her insights through numerous publications in the clean energy field. As an invited panelist, speaker, and presenter at various conferences, symposia, and media platforms, she shares her expertise on while advocating for equitable access to renewable energy and STEM education. Aryana is particularly focused on empowering women and individuals from underprivileged backgrounds to pursue careers in science and technology. She believes that fostering diversity in STEM is essential to driving the innovation needed to address global challenges, particularly within the clean energy sector.
Aryana’s dedication to using renewable energy technologies to uplift lesser-developed communities and countries is reflected in her master’s thesis, which explored how clean energy solutions can be transformative tools for regions historically lacking access to reliable power. Her research demonstrated that renewable energy, when properly deployed, can provide not only electricity but also economic opportunities and improved quality of life for underserved populations. Aryana continues to advocate for sustainable energy solutions that prioritize both environmental impact and social equity.
At the Coalition for Green Capital, Aryana applies this passion by supporting investments that expand equitable access to clean energy. She works on projects that prioritize the needs of under-resourced communities to ensure that the benefits of the clean energy transition are shared widely, so that all communities—regardless of their development level—can participate in and benefit from a sustainable future.
She is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and serves on the program board for the Burridge Center for Finance’s Sustainable Finance Conference at the University of Colorado Boulder