At a critical moment in efforts to combat climate change in California, two new Board members have joined The Climate Center to advance its Climate-Safe California campaign: Lokelani Devone, former corporate attorney, and long-time community activist, and Mary Luévano, a veteran of climate action and former California Coastal Commissioner.
Devone and Luévano bring extensive expertise to The Center’s bold, five-year campaign to achieve net-negative emissions by 2030, in alignment with the latest science. Nine of 15 global climate tipping points have already been activated and wildfires in California this year having burned more than 4 million acres—nearly twice the historical high set in 2018 during the entire fire season.
“California has been a global leader on climate change. Recent Executive Orders by Governor Newsom to ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035 and protect 30% of the state’s lands and waters by 2030 are bold steps forward to mitigate and adapt to climate impacts,” said Board President Efren Carrillo. “But we need to take more aggressive action more quickly. Loke and Mary bring valuable policy, business, and activist experience to our California-Safe campaign, are committed to our climate goals, and broaden our reach in California. We welcome them to our Board at this crucial time.”
Lokelani Devone is a former corporate attorney who has served on numerous nonprofit Boards providing legal, governance, audit, risk management, and contract expertise. Her Board experience includes Schools of the Sacred Heart, The Center for Justice and Accountability, Grace Cathedral, The San Francisco AIDS Foundation, and Point Blue Conservation Science. She also has political campaign and grassroots organizing experience. Loke has a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley, a JD from the University of California at Davis, and was a Visiting International Scholar at the University of Tokyo. She is based in San Francisco.
Mary Luévano currently serves as Deputy Director of PACENation, a membership organization representing the clean energy finance industry. She started her career on Capitol Hill and subsequently spent two decades as an environmental advocate with Global Green USA where she led policy campaigns on a wide range of sustainability and climate change issues. Mary has a bachelor’s degree from UCLA and served on the California Coastal Commission, the City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Commission, and on the Board of GRID Alternatives Los Angeles. She is based in Los Angeles.
The Climate Center’s Climate-Safe California goal, is to accelerate current California policies to achieve 80% below 1990 levels of greenhouse gas emissions and net-negative emissions (sequestration greater than emissions) by 2030. Key policies to achieve this science-based approach based on our rapidly worsening climate reality include 1) accelerating the phase-out of fossil fuel development, production and use; 2) implementing nature-based carbon sequestration practices at scale on natural and working lands; 3) investing in community resilience for all; and, 4) instituting progressive funding strategies to generate the estimated $12 billion to $20 billion per year needed for speed and scale climate action in the state.
The policy targets called for in the campaign have been endorsed by a wide spectrum of California leaders, including Terry Tamminen, CAL EPA Secretary under Governor Schwarzenegger; Professor Daniel Kammen, UC Berkeley; IPCC Coordinating Lead Author and Former Science Envoy, US State Department; Kate Meis, Executive Director, Local Government Commission; Jeff Creque, PhD, and Torri Estrada, Carbon Cycle Institute; and Barbara Sattler, RN, PhD, FAAN, Professor, Public Health Program University of San Francisco, and Board Member, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments.
“The nation and the world are looking to California to demonstrate the many economic, ecological and social benefits of accelerated climate action now,” said CEO Ellie Cohen. “We are honored to have Loke and Mary join our Board to help ensure that California’s bold climate leadership for the nation and the world secures a healthy, equitable, and vibrant future for all.”
