Michael is responsible for maintaining relationships with local, regional, state, federal and international policymakers. He leads broad-based advocacy at the local, regional, state, and federal level to establish partnerships, grow funding streams, and demonstrate LACI’s integral role in the region. Michael also manages the Leadership Council and the Innovation Hub Los Angeles (iHubLA).
Vivien joined The Climate Center in September of 2023 as the first Engagement Manager. In this role, she focuses on the growth and retention of The Climate Center’s community of dedicated volunteers, donors, and activists.
Community engagement has been at the heart of Vivien’s career. Prior to joining The Climate Center, Vivien served as the Communications Manager for Young Women’s Freedom Center, a California nonprofit dedicated to ending the incarceration of young women and trans youth of all genders. Her work was focused on shifting the narrative around incarceration through digital, social, and traditional media, and providing young people with the resources they need to thrive. Prior to entering the nonprofit sector, she built engaged digital audiences at startups like FabFitFun and CLI Studios. Her work has always centered around community, and she is excited to bring this expertise to The Climate Center.
Vivien holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Dance Performance from the South Carolina Honors College.
California’s new lawsuit against major oil corporations cites decades of deception about the causes of climate change and billions in damages to California communities. The lawsuit, along with several key climate bills passed this year, will hold corporate polluters accountable. AB 1167 (Carrillo) will make the owners of orphaned and idle oil and gas wells … Read more
Carlos Suarez has worked for the Natural Resources Conservation Service for more than 30 years. He began his career with NRCS in the summer of 1990 as a student trainee in Puerto Rico. Mr. Suarez has extensive experience serving in a number of technical and leadership positions, domestically and internationally, including serving as State Conservationist in California and in Florida, Deputy State Conservationist in Nebraska and California, Assistant State Conservationist for Field Operations in Wisconsin, Farm Bill Program Manager in Indiana, and Soil Conservationist and District Conservationist in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Mr. Suarez also temporarily held two US Department of Agriculture positions: Acting Director for the Pacific Islands Area and the Acting Director for the Stewardship and Community Development Division at USDA Headquarters.
California just announced a lawsuit against five major oil corporations for their decades of deception and billions of dollars in damages to California communities. The Climate Center hosted an intimate conversation with The Climate Center CEO Ellie Cohen, Sunrun CEO Mary Powell, and California State Senator Scott Wiener to learn how we can end the … Read more
Mary has served as chief executive officer of Sunrun, a home solar, battery storage, and energy services company, since August 2021. In 2018, Mary joined Sunrun’s Board of Directors, where she continues to serve as a member of the board. From 2008 to 2019, Mary served as the president and chief executive officer of Green Mountain Power Corporation, an electric services company that serves 75 percent of the State of Vermont’s residential and business customers. At GMP, Mary successfully executed strategies to provide low-carbon, low-cost and highly reliable power to Vermonters. Mary is nationally recognized for her work disrupting the energy sector and has received numerous industry awards, including being named Utility Dive’s 2019 Executive of the Year and one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business in 2016.
California is laying the groundwork to scale up nature-based climate solutions using strategies like urban tree planting and regenerative agriculture. To see the benefits of these solutions, we must invest in the on-the-ground partnerships that are necessary for the widespread adoption of climate-friendly practices on our lands. New Regional Carbon Farming Hubs are uniquely positioned … Read more
Ellee co-founded Solidarity Farm, a small, diversified fruit and vegetable operation in 2012 and began exploring carbon sink farming methods after a historic heat event in 2015 decimated their crops. In 2019, she helped co-host a Carbon Sink Convergence that inspired the establishment of Foodshed San Diego, a farmer-owned cooperative dedicated to ecological, climate-smart farming and lifting up small farm businesses to nourish San Diego’s historically marginalized communities. She is now Foodshed’s Operations Coordinator and works for the County of San Diego CalFresh Healthy Living Team as a Small Farm Aggregation Specialist. Ellee has a MA in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon.
Emilie Winfield is the Regional Coordinator for the North Coast Soil Hub, where she works to increase understanding of how to manage agro-ecosystems for soil health and advance the adoption of climate-friendly practices. At the Soil Hub, Emilie engages a variety of stakeholders including regional resource conservation districts, agricultural producers, researchers, and other local partners to provide educational opportunities for learning about soil health and climate-friendly agricultural strategies, secure resources to support planning and implementation, and overcome barriers to adoption. Emilie has a B.S. in Plant Sciences from UC Santa Cruz and an M.S. in Environmental Policy and Management from UC Davis. Prior to joining the North Coast Soil Hub, Emilie managed diversified vegetable farms, provided training on sustainable agriculture, and participated in research on plant-microbe interactions and the impacts of soil amendments on working lands.
Jonathan is the Lead Soil Scientist at the Carbon Cycle Institute in California where his work focuses on advancing agricultural climate solutions through applied research, policy, and education. He works to integrate agricultural climate solutions into local, regional and statewide climate strategies, build technical assistance capacity and expertise, and equitably scale agricultural climate solutions across California. Jonathan has over a decade of experience in crop and livestock management, land conservation, soil health research, and environmental education.