Why Climate Capital Isn’t Flowing - and How to Fix It with Sean Penrith of Gordian Knot Strategies

Why Climate Capital Isn’t Flowing - and How to Fix It with Sean Penrith of Gordian Knot Strategies

Sean Penrith, CEO of Gordian Knot Strategies, a climate finance consultancy aiming to mobilize $1B per year by 2030 (and having mobilized $1.67B to date) joins Kim Allchurch Flick.  Penrith shares his path from entrepreneurship in Argentina to founding a sustainable glass company, then moving into climate policy, carbon markets, and impact investing in Portland before launching GKS to “translate” between capital providers and climate projects.  He argues climate capital isn’t flowing due to a nature-negative economy, lack of standardization, unclear risk/return profiles, and failure to price ecosystem services viewed as public goods.  GKS focuses on nature-based solutions while also evaluating energy and tech options.  He urges consumers to choose responsible banks, support climate-forward policymakers, and pressure companies, and defends carbon markets as a conduit moving capital to Global South “carbon sink baskets,” despite corporate fear of reputational risk.

Teaching What Technology Can’t with Tracy Hooper of The Confidence Project

Tracy Hooper of the Confidence Project, joins Kim Allchurch Flick to talk about building confidence and real connection in an increasingly device-driven world.  Hooper traces her values to a large, welcoming family and her TV news experience, where introducing herself with her full name and treating people as significant helped create trust.  She says the Confidence Project “teaches what technology can’t,” emphasizing in-person conversation skills, eye contact (or looking at the bridge of the nose), and open-ended “Kickstarter questions” using “what,” “how,” and “tell me more.”  They discuss how phones can block presence and how talking to strangers builds “social courage.”  Hooper describes coaching methods like creating a “like list,” sweet-talking yourself, practicing public speaking through rehearsal, and workplace techniques to amplify quieter voices.

Solving Oregon’s Housing Shortage with Nathan Wildfire of Missing Middle Innovations

Nathan Wildfire, a community and economic development professional and founder of the Missing Middle Housing Fund, joins Kim Allchurch Flick for a discussion about why housing is scarce and expensive and what can be done. Nathan traces his inspiration from growing up in post-industrial Pittsburgh and from his grandmother’s lifelong HUD-related work building senior housing, leading to a belief that housing choice underpins thriving people, places, and economies. He explains the “missing middle” (households at 80–120% of area median income) who earn too much for subsidies but not enough to avoid cost burden, and describes long commutes harming employers’ hiring and retention in places like Newberg and Boardman. The fund acts as a connector among communities and innovators across finance, policy, workforce, and building methods, highlighting projects like Yamhill County’s digitized zoning codes via UrbanForm and Newberg’s Hive cottage-cluster showcasing modular, mass timber, and other construction technologies, while sharing funding sources, expansion interest beyond Oregon, and personal reflections on housing stability.

Good Groceries, Farm-to-School, and Supporting Small Farmers with Kristy Athens

Kristy Athens of Good Groceries in Wallowa County, Eastern Oregon, joins Kim Allchurch Flick. Athens recounts her path from generalist writer to food-systems specialist, including moving to rural White Salmon, writing “Get Your Pitchfork On,” earning an MS in Food Systems and Society, and launching a local gift-box business that evolved into Good Groceries, rebranded in 2024. She describes Eastern Oregon’s short growing season and dominance of large-scale commodity agriculture, and how most residents rely on low-priced corporate groceries. Good Groceries has grown yearly since 2020, prioritizing paying small farmers while acknowledging higher prices by donating $1 per sale to food pantries and accepting SNAP with Double Up Food Bucks. Athens also supports local procurement as a liaison for the Oregon Farm to School Network, discusses pragmatic views on organic and soil care, notes logistical challenges of rural delivery, and urges listeners to buy from local food hubs, CSAs, farm stands, and farmers markets first—“Buy local is not a drill.”

Solar in 2026: What Changed, What Didn't, and What's Next with Garrett Hartwell of Power Northwest

Garrett Hartwell of Power Northwest, a Portland-based residential and commercial solar installer serving Oregon and Washington, joins Kim Allchurch Flick to talk about the 2026 solar landscape and the company’s purpose-driven approach as a Benefit corporation. Hartwell describes how a 2019 reset in Spain and concern about climate change led him to start the company in 2020, navigate licensing and electrical code requirements, pivot during COVID to virtual consultations, and grow to 35 employees. He explains Power Northwest’s three pillars—happy homeowners, enriched employees (including apprenticeship programs), and a clean environment with extensive jobsite recycling. Hartwell discusses the end of the 30% residential federal tax credit, continued 48E commercial credit enabling third-party owned residential leases (including PPAs and prepaid leases), supply-chain disruptions, tariffs, and evolving compliance rules, while remaining optimistic about solar’s durability and impact.