Northern California Team
Emily Adler
Manager of Strategic Partnerships
emily.adler@climateeducation.org
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Rebecca Anderson
Sierra Educator, Principal Science Guru
rebecca.anderson@climateeducation.org
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Blakely Atherton
Senior Director and Advisory Board Member
blakely.atherton@climateeducation.org
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Gaby Berkman
Content Developer
gaby.berkman@climateeducation.org
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Ethan Burke
Lead Educator and Student Action Program Manager
ethan.burke@climateeducation.org
Maria Catoline
Director of Development
maria.catoline@climateeducation.org
AshEl Eldridge
Educator
ashel.eldridge@climateeducation.org
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Alisha Fowler
Fundraising and Marketing Manager
alisha.fowler@climateeducation.org
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Kevin Kailath
Student Action Program Coordinator
kevin.kailath@climateeducation.org
Carmen Lansdowne
Office Manager
carmen.lansdowne@climateeducation.org
Wen Lee
Presenter
wen.lee@climateeducation.org
Mario Molina
Deputy Director
mario.molina@climateeducation.org
Kara Muraki
Program Manager, Director of Fun
kara.muraki@climateeducation.org
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Christine Kennelly Nesbit
Director of Community Engagement
christine.nesbit@climateeducation.org
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Ben Swift
Special Ops/Outreach Coordinator
ben.swift@climateeducation.org
Pic Walker
Executive Director
pic.walker@climateeducation.org
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Emily Adler, Manager of Strategic Partnerships
emily.adler@climateeducation.org
Emily moved to the Bay Area after graduating Middlebury College with a BA in International Studies and a minor in Education. Emily grew up running around the woods in New England, and there her love of the environment was born. She has spent the years since trying to find the perfect balance between enjoying nature (by skiing, road biking, hiking, camping, and more) and working to protect it. In college, Emily worked as a whitewater kayak instructor, an Educator for Save Our Shores, a conservation organization in Santa Cruz, CA, and a Research Intern for Native Energy, a renewable energy and carbon offset company in Vermont. Upon graduation, she was awarded a 2008 Compton Mentor Fellowship to work with Bay Area high school students. Emily supports ACE's network of national partners, and runs ACE's Youth Reps program.
Rebecca Anderson, Educator and Principal Science Guru
rebecca.anderson@climateeducation.org
Rebecca comes to ACE from the National Park Service, where she has worked as an interpretive ranger at Rocky Mountain and Mt. Rainier National Parks. She completed her Master’s degree in geological sciences at the University of Colorado in 2007, studying ice caps on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic. She has also worked in Antarctica as a member of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet ice-core drilling project, where she shoveled mountains of snow, enjoyed her “arctic oven” and conducted research. She has a degree in geosciences from Williams College and currently lives in Truckee, CA with her husband, Andy.
Blakely Atherton, Senior Director
blakely.atherton@climateeducation.org
Blakely Atherton is a Senior Director of ACE and member of the Executive Team. She is a marketing professional who has developed and managed effective programs for both for-profit and nonprofit organizations throughout her career. Blakely has worked with start-ups as well as Fortune 500 organizations to develop effective strategies, articulate corporate positioning and value, implement direct marketing programs and drive revenues through effective communications and marketing programs. Blakely is also an expert at analyzing and assessing customer experiences and developing marketing programs to optimize those experiences. Prior to joining Alliance for Climate Education, Blakely ran her own consulting practice. She also has held marketing and marketing-related positions at Princeton University, iPix, VitesseLearning, and GetActive Software.
Blakely holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Middlebury College, cum laude, and a Master of Science in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern University. Blakely is active in community service organizations including the Taproot Foundation, and works with a variety of philanthropic organizations on their fundraising and marketing programs, including Head-Royce School and Middlebury College. Blakely lives in Oakland with her husband and three children.
Gaby Berkman, Content Developer
gaby.berkman@climateeducation.org
Gaby comes to ACE fresh out of graduation from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, in Geneva, New York, where she received a BA in English, magna cum laude. As a native (and proud!) Vermonter, Gaby is an advocate for all things green. She flew West upon graduation to put her passion into action. She will help to create and develop cool content and concepts for ACE’s videos, website, and social media presence. In her free time she likes to read books, play tennis, explore the outdoors, and dance at concerts.
Ethan Burke, Lead Educator and Student Action Program Manager
ethan.burke@climateeducation.org
Ethan previously co-founded BioTour with ACE Educator Alan Palm. BioTour is an environmental education program and adventure that travels the United States on a recycled vegetable oil and solar-powered school bus. The program has reached 46 states and held more than 120 educational events at colleges, K-12 schools, and conferences. During the 2008 election season, BioTour was on the campaign trail with two buses and 13 crew members, promoting environmental sustainability through active democracy.
Ethan graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2006, earning a B.A. in history and economics, summa cum laude. He studied in England for the Oxford Summer Seminar and traveled to nine countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America on Semester at Sea. Ethan also served as a Faculty Advisor for the National Youth Leadership Forums on Law and Medicine.
Ethan strives to promote a healthy environment and a just and prosperous society. His passion is exploring, whether it be geographic landscapes, cultures, ideas, athletics, music, art or some other aspect of this fascinating existence.
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Maria Catoline
maria.catoline@climateeducation.org
Maria brings 12 years of non-profit experience in development and program management to ACE. More importantly, she brings a deep interest in people, their stories, and the innovation of social entrepreneurs that will create a more just and sustainable world.
Prior to joining ACE, Maria worked as a Development Director at the San Francisco Girls Chorus, connecting individual donors to the amazing music of young artists and managing fundraising events. She also launched the first San Francisco Great Gorilla Run--400+ people running 7K in gorilla suits!--which raised funds for the Gorilla Organization to invest in central African communities through microfinance, environmental education and habitat conservation. She has also worked with the Harvard University for Ethics and the Women's Institute for Leadership Development for Human Rights. She served as U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer (Romania 1998-2000), teaching English to the cutest middle school students on the planet and advancing youth programs with Outward Bound Romania.
Maria proudly hails from Cape Cod, Massachusetts which explains her obsession with swimming, marine life and protecting our oceans. When she's not cheerleading for ACE, you can find her in the mountains and great outdoors, far away from cell phone reception.
AshEl Eldridge, Educator
ashel.eldridge@climateeducation.org
AshEl Eldridge, a native of Chicago, is currently an Oakland, California based artist, educator, organizer and spiritualist. He was Outreach Associate and a Cultural Director of Green For All's Public launch called Dream Reborn and Spotlight Events Coordinator for Green Jobs Now: A National Campaign to Build the New Green Economy.
He performs spoken word, rap and sings nationally with conscious Hip Hop, Dub, Reggae and Electronica bands including Wisdom and Bassnectar. He has shared stages with Steel Pulse, KRS-One, STS9, Michael Franti, Midnite, Ozomatli and more. In addition to being a music, poetry, and meditation facilitator with Art in Action, where he works to empower low-income youth from urban communities, AshEL also combines the world of art, music and community healing with ecological sustainability within the CommuniTree Movement.
His work aims to cultivate the links between both local and global movements for social justice, spiritual awakening and ecological healing through "edutainment" and other compelling ways to captivate youth and hard to reach populations.
Alisha Fowler, Fundraising and Marketing Manager
alisha.fowler@climateeducation.org
Alisha is focused on helping to raise the dough to keep ACE rocking around the country. She joined the ACE team in September 2008 as an Educator and social media maven, delivering presentations about climate science and solutions to high school students and working to engage thousands of students online.
Before joining ACE, Alisha worked in Communications with National Wildlife Federation in Washington, DC, where she performed media work around a massive global warming campaign. In the summer of 2008, she served as a Fellow with the Breakthrough Institute, a progressive think tank based in Oakland. Alisha also worked with the State PIRGs as a Campus Organizer in Massachusetts. A native of greater Philadelphia, PA, Alisha graduated with a B.A. in geoscience and environmental studies from Hamilton College. When not blogging at work, Alisha writes at Watthead and ItsGettingHotInHere. In her free time, she enjoys biking the hills of Berkeley, camping, baking, and answering the call of the mountains.
Kevin Kailath, Student Action Program Coordinator
kevin.kailath@climateeducation.org
Kevin brings to ACE a rich understanding in environmental science and economics, a passion for entrepreneurship, and years of experience in the field of education. Originally from Sacramento, CA he has also lived in Berkeley, Santa Barbara, and Torrance. Comprehending the drivers of positive and negative environmental change has been a fundamental part of Kevin’s professional and academic experience. He earned an M.S. of Environmental Science and Management from U.C. Santa Barbara and a B.S. of Environmental Economics and Policy and Minor in Education from U.C. Berkeley. Just prior to coming to ACE he worked on a variety of sustainability initiatives for Toyota in their Environmental Communications and Corporate Contributions departments.
In his free time Kevin pursues a life of personal enrichment and exploration. Amongst his top interests are playing guitar, seeing live music, dancing, hiking, and good eats. Contemplating new venture ideas, enhancing his entrepreneurial skills, and expanding his network of friends are also of key importance to him. Thus you’ll definitely find him at social gatherings and networking events of all types. As an avid musician for over a decade he’s always looking for people to learn from, teach, and celebrate the joy of music with.
Carmen Lansdowne, Office Manager
carmen.lansdown@climateeducation.org
Carmen is a Canadian transplant to the Bay Area, and is a doctoral candidate at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. While running the office at ACE, she is also writing her discertation on racism and Native American ministry in North American churches. She enjoys working at ACE because it's her personal carbon offsetting program to make up for the fact that she travels to Canada and Switzerland a lot for board meetings of other organizations. She loves hiking and cooking with her partner and their son in her spare time.
Wen Lee, Presenter
Wen is an environmental educator and loves to teach. She has taught students from ages 5 to 25, and has also produced a number of educational web videos. She holds a B.A. in Biology from Occidental College and an M.S. in Environmental Studies from the University of Oregon. In addition to being a Presenter at ACE, Wen is a Communications Associate at the Center for a New American Dream. She's extremely interested in where stuff comes from and where things go when we throw them away. Wen is a biker, a vegan, and her favorite animal is the elephant. She eats a triple decker peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day for lunch. Follow her on Twitter at @WenTV.
Mario Molina, Deputy Director
mario.molina@climateeducation.org
Mario brings seven years of international experience in environmental and educational program management to ACE, where he directs ACE's education and student action programs. Prior to joining ACE, Mario was the South America Program Director for International Student Volunteers (ISV), an international non-profit committed to International Conservation efforts through volunteer service. He managed multiple projects and set up environmental education, conservation and recycling programs in the Andes, the Ecuadorian Amazon, the Pacific Coast and the Galapagos Islands. Prior to ISV, he worked as a consultant on GIS Wetland assessment and mitigation models for the North Carolina Division of Water Quality. Mario is originally from Guatemala and holds an M.Sc. in Biology from Appalachian State University. He's regularly fascinated by the Earth’s geographical diversity, and was a climbing, mountain biking, and trekking guide in a previous life.
Kara Muraki, Program Manager, Director of Fun
kara.muraki@climateeducation.org
Kara Muraki joined ACE shortly after graduating from Middlebury College in Vermont in 2008. A Bay Area resident all her life, Kara ventured east for both a dramatic change of scenery as well as to pursue her undergraduate studies in economics and environmental studies. Her central efforts include expanding ACE’s online engagement with hundreds of thousands of students, wrangling email and text message campaigns, and serving as the resident Salesforce admin and wireframe doodler. She also serves as ACE's Director of Fun, incorporating funtivities as needed and/or desired to keep team morale at an 11. Before joining ACE, Kara worked with Lucid Design Group on real-time energy and resource use displays allowing people to better track and manage their consumption. When not expressing her passion about curbing global warming at ACE, Kara can be found climbing, snowboarding, swimming/floating, making weekend jaunts to Yosemite and of course: devouring donuts.
Christine Kennelly Nesbit, Director of Community Engagement
christine.nesbit@climateeducation.org
Christine Kennelly Nesbit has over ten years experience in the environmental sector, combining a scientific and educational background with collaborative planning and communications, particularly in the fields of water, natural resources and the environment. She has most recently designed, managed and facilitated complex collaborative processes, public participation programs and stakeholder outreach efforts in the Klamath River Basin and Lake Tahoe. Christine has worked as an environmental consultant for surface water quality and compliance issues in the San Francisco Bay and Delta region. In addition, she has worked with government and non-governmental organizations as a stakeholder facilitator and project manager on natural resource issues throughout North and Central America.
Christine holds a Master's Degree in environmental sciences from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland and a B.A. in biology and environmental studies from Middlebury College.
Ben Swift, Special Ops/Outreach Coordinator
ben.swift@climateeducation.org
Ben attended Occidental College in his native Los Angeles and received a B.A. in Religious Studies. While at Oxy, he facilitated an intergroup dialog program through the social psychology department and worked to raise awareness and build alliances across difference with the goal of creating a more open and conscious community. This experience solidified Ben's belief in the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to achieve positive change. After graduation, Ben worked as a director for Grassroots Campaigns, running campaign offices up and down the coast of California.
Ben moved to Oakland from San Diego and was introduced to ACE by his former colleague, Sam McKelvie. He currently helps oversee ACE's national outreach projects, office support and exciting development opportunities. In his spare time, Ben likes to run around Lake Merrit many times, eat yogurt, hang out in Maine or L.A., go to concerts and play music.
Pic Walker, Executive Director
pic.walker@climateeducation.org
Pic Walker has dedicated his career to preserving our environment. Pic leads ACE’s strategy and organizational development, and draws on a diverse background in education, business consulting, management and environmental science to establish ACE as the national leader in climate science education. He believes education is foundational to creating any positive change in the world.
Most recently, Pic worked at Blu Skye, a strategic consulting firm which develops sustainable business strategies for Fortune 500 clients. Prior to that, Pic worked at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation leading research and development efforts for the Environment team. During his tenure at Moore Foundation, he co-developed the Wild Salmon Ecosystem Initiative, a $200+ million effort to improve the long-term sustainability of wild Pacific Salmon. Pic started his career teaching environmental studies and English at the Canterbury School in Connecticut.
Pic is a certified NOLS instructor and worked previously with several non-profit organizations, including Rainforest Action Network. He was born and raised in New England, and now raises his three kids - Zelle, Kacy, and Mac - in Northern California with his wife Heather. Pic holds a B.A. from Middlebury College and an M.B.A. in sustainable enterprise from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is a card carrying member of Red Sox Nation.