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C T I N N O V A T O R S , 2 0 2 5 1 5 "Justine has a lot of intellectual horsepower. She is a critical thinker and, because she builds strong personal relationships based on mutual trust, she has credibility when pushing back." — Grant Silow, a partner at 25madison Soon, she found herself as chief of staff to a firm leader. ere she built relationships that would serve her well for years to come and saw the potential power of public-private partnerships to deliver positive real-world change. It also brought her face-to-face with an opportunity that seemed a perfect marriage of her skill set and her belief in green causes. 'Intellectual horsepower' New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an acclaimed climate warrior, had invested in bicycle lanes and bike parking racks, which led to the birth of Citi Bike — the fleet of iconic blue shareable bicycles that captured New Yorkers' imaginations. But Motivate, the company managing the program, had hit a speed bump. It had exclusive contracts with New York, Chicago and six other cities. However, its efforts to expand were stalled by backlogged orders for new bikes. Internal divisions and management issues had started to appear. e chance to make green-friendly transportation work was irresistible to Lee. She jumped in as vice president of corporate development and legal. It was a wild time, she recalls. In quick order, she helped Motivate buy the bicycle supplier to assure enough supply to fill its own needs; brokered deals with New York City to facilitate expansion of service across the city; and started work on the next new thing — e-bikes. e first target was expanding from 12,000 bikes to 40,000 on New York City streets. However, her crowning achievement was in finding an eager — and well-funded — buyer in ride-share giant Ly. She shepherded Motivate's sale for a reported $250 million. Lee stayed with Ly for a year before moving on to 25madison, a New York City-based venture studio that builds and invests in early-stage companies, where she became partner and chief operating officer. She worked with startups at the Apollo Global- backed firm — and remains a senior adviser. Grant Silow, a partner at 25madison, had a front-row seat as Lee parlayed hard work, sharp skills and a knack for building relationships into success aer success. "Justine has a lot of intellectual horsepower," he explains. "She is a critical thinker and, because she builds strong personal relationships based on mutual trust, she has credibility when pushing back." He waves off Lee's self-characterization as a connector and enabler on behalf of the founders who bring the innovative ideas. Silow holds his index finger an inch above his thumb as he considers the importance of the original idea to the ultimate success of a venture. He argues the art — the innovation — lies in assembling the right management team, developing a go-to-market strategy, raising funds, building partnerships and overcoming operational challenges. And all of that is what Lee brings to the table, he said. Lee had risen to be chief operating officer at 25 Madison, but craved a mission-driven environment in which doing good came first, he said. ClimateHaven seems an ideal fit. The four 'Ps' In her role as CEO of the incubator/accelerator, Lee has assembled a team of six and is expanding the New Haven site to add about 6,000 square feet of space for what she calls "the dirty work." ere, startups can do the scientific testing and modeling necessary to move toward proof of concept and eventually commercialization. ClimateHaven clients have been using lab and bench space with partner Biolabs New Haven, located in a new bioscience tower at 101 College St. ClimateHaven's operating budget in year two is about $1.5 million, including backing from Yale, the state of Connecticut, federal grants, private foundations and philanthropy. Beyond the scientific needs, Lee focuses on helping startups sharpen their economic and marketing analytics as well as their presentation skills. A series of lunch-and-learn programs feature outside speakers on topics that cut across the various needs of the client base. But ClimateHaven also plays an important role in offering a sense of community to New Haven's burgeoning bioscience and bioengineering entrepreneurs, said Perry Bakas, CEO of Oxylus Energy. "It's easy to become isolated and trapped in your own startup bubble," he said. Interacting with others having similar interests and experiencing similar challenges is refreshing, empowering and oen enlightening, he said. Conversations that start at ClimateHaven's busy pingpong table oen expand into collaborations and friendships. Oxylus Energy recently graduated from ClimateHaven and is moving into its own space in a Bridgeport industrial park. e company has developed a unique method for turning carbon dioxide into methanol, a core product in everything from fuels to plastics. It's out talking to investors, hoping to raise up to $15 million to commercialize its reactor. Oxylus hopes to start generating revenue in late 2027 or early 2028. at's a path Lee wants other startups to follow. She preaches the four Ps – problem, people, product and pathway. Help on each is available through ClimateHaven. And she fully expects to shepherd great success across the portfolio. Of course, it will be easier if she can just find a way to navigate the anti-green crosswinds blowing from Washington. I