From Anxiety to Action — Finding Climate Purpose and Possibilities with Cynthia Leung
Season 5: Episode 6
Join host Eric Benson for an inspiring and emotional conversation with climate leader Cynthia Leung as she shares her journey from being moved by An Inconvenient Truth to making real change in the energy industry. This episode is packed with powerful insights on how to align your passion with your career, overcome challenges like impostor syndrome, and take meaningful action in the face of climate despair.
Discover how concepts like "radical acceptance," social and emotional currency, and the "states of tragic" can empower you to stay hopeful and effective. Learn practical tips on mentorship, community building, and the small steps that add up to a big impact. If you’ve ever wondered how to stay optimistic while fighting for the planet, this episode is for you.
About our guest
Cynthia Leung has 15 years of deep expertise developing and scaling solutions in the energy sector, spanning energy efficiency, utility-scale solar development, and mobile battery storage. Most recently, she led Strategic Partnerships at Moxion, securing the company’s first $1M in rental revenue for battery stations. Previously, she founded a social enterprise deploying battery power stations for remote applications and served as a Board Member for Twende Solar, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding clean energy access. She also worked on the Clinton Foundation's Islands Energy Program with the Clinton Climate Initiative and contributed to the development of over 1 GW of utility solar projects at SunPower.
Beyond her industry expertise, Cynthia has over a decade of experience mentoring and training emerging leaders. As a Professional Mentor, Facilitator, and Impact Coach for the TechWomen Program, she has led workshops and talks on sustainability, communication, and mentorship across four countries. She has also designed and hosted over a dozen workshops on mentorship and mind mapping.
She holds an M.S. in Sustainability Management from Columbia University and a B.A. in Quantitative Economics with a minor in Global Sustainability.
Links mentioned in this episode
Social Media
Music in this episode
Nature sound effect by bbc.co.uk – ©2023 BBC
Climify Theme Song by Casual Motive
The Season 5 Climify Team
Eric Benson (Host)
Bhavna Bhavanishankar (Experience Researcher and Multisensory Educator)
Adam Dziaba (Researcher)
Jacqui Himmel (Multimedia Journalist and Scriptwriter)
Tyler Mayfield (Designer)
Brianna Regione (Social Media Strategist)
Climate Design Assignments
At the end of each episode, we ask our guests what their ideal climate design project would be. They have four weeks with a class full of design students. We translated their response into a project brief that you can use for your class.
