Volunteer Spotlight: Roundup

April is Volunteer Appreciation Month! To celebrate, our Volunteer Spotlight this month highlights nine CCL volunteers from across the country doing climate work in their communities, from Hawaii to New York and everywhere in between.

Ginny Rogers

• Chapter: Ann Arbor, MI
• Work with CCL: CCL Group Leader, volunteer admin for the Grasstops Engagement Tracker and a liaison to my Member of Congress.
• Climate work: I work full time, but I try to be involved in local climate change efforts. For example, our city has a bold plan to be carbon neutral by 2030 and I’ve been involved in advocating for the adoption of the plan and in amplifying the efforts. My involvement with CCL has also made me pay more attention to local politics.
• Quote: “Climate action is important to me because I cannot bear to imagine what the world will be like for my kids and future generations if we fail to act.  It’s up to us.  I feel compelled to do something that will make a difference because I cannot look back at the end of my life and say, ‘sure, I knew climate change was a crisis but I could not be bothered to get involved’”

Brady Fergusson

• Chapter: Rochester, NY
• CCL Work: Engaged as member of my local chapter and liaison to our Congressional office since 2016 (NY-25); also co-leader of Peace Corps Action Team and co-leader of Territories Lobbying Team and co-liaison to Congressional offices of Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico
• Other Climate Work: I serve as Director of Public Engagement of the Climate Solutions Accelerator of the Genesee-Finger Lakes Region, which works to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions and address the effects of climate change at the regional level.
• Quote: “Climate action is important to me because many members of my family and many friends live in the Republic of Kiribati, where the impacts of climate change threaten to make the entire nation uninhabitable – that gives me very strong motivation to do something about it.”

Laurel Eastman

• Chapter: Flathead Valley, MT, but I live in Southern Baja Mexico in the winter and work in the Dominican Republic in the summer
• CCL Work: Active chapter member (specializing in grasstops outreach and LTEs)  and social media admin for Montana CCL. Member of the steering committee of CCL’s National Action Team for the Outdoor Industry.
• Other Community Work: For a decade I’ve been a Board officer for a small non-profit that supports women in kiteboarding (www.womenskiteboarding.org). We’ve got a small project upcycling old kites into trendy bags, employing Haitian immigrants and investing profits back into their community (www.kiters4communities.org). And locally in Baja I’m part of East Cape Recycling & Environmental Education (www.eastcaperecycling.com).
• Quote: “After more than two decades of a career in outdoor recreation, it feels really good to be now working primarily on advocating for climate change solutions. It’s interesting to see how public perception has shifted, and I feel very blessed to be working on this at this time.”

Mark Tabbert

• Local Chapter: Charleston, WV
• CCL Work: WV State Coordinator
• Other Community Work: Before moving to West Virginia, I worked as a board member for the Banning Ranch Conservancy.  We saved 400 acres of Coastal open space in Orange County, CA from development.
• Quote:  “I’ve studied it since 2001 when I took a graduate level course called Earth Ethics.  I learned how troubled our future was, but it was not until 2008 when I read Bill McKibben’s “Eaarth” that I came to realize that climate change was the earth’s, and our, biggest problem with the shortest fuse.”  

Adam Novak

• Local Chapter: Boise, ID 
• CCL Work:  Liaison to Senator Risch; Braver Angels Action Team Steering Committee; Friend of Conservative Caucus
• Other Community Work: I’ve been a part of an interfaith team starting an Idaho affiliate of Interfaith Power & Light, as I think that being in a proper relationship with our inherited environment is a deeply ingrained spiritual need. I’ve [also] been working part-time at one of the largest employee-owned companies in the U.S. while communicating about the vast economic potential available to us if we better focus on: 1) reducing unhealthy behaviors in our communities while 2) better aligning People with Purpose and Value. 
• Quote: “I started to realize the extent of our pollution while living in Los Angeles and traveling to other major population centers. The science linking GHG pollution to atmosphere & ocean warming was simple enough. It gradually became apparent to me that we must elevate our collective & individual decision-making now that there are 8 billion people on the planet.”

Tim Dec

• Local Chapter: Silicon Valley North
• CCL Work: Former group leader, current active member. I’ve been the Idaho State coordinator for about eight years. I’m on the Conservative Caucus and part of their executive team. 
• Other Community Work: I’ve been a member, board member, and officer (treasurer) of a local Republican group SPARC (South Peninsula Area Republican Coalition), for about four years. After retiring from Apple as a hardware engineer, I started a technology coaching service (mobile phones, tablets, and traditional PCs) focused on seniors and volunteered my services weekly at a local senior center in Menlo Park, CA.

Noel Morin

• Local Chapter: Hawaii Island Chapter
• CCL Work: Co-coordinator for CCL Hawaii, covering 4 chapters (Hawaii Island, Honolulu, Maui, and Kauai). I have the honor and pleasure to work with an incredible team of volunteers across our state: cclhawaii.org. Co-leader for the Hawaii Island chapter and liaison to our Guam MOC (GU-00).
• Other Community Work: I’m active with several organizations focused on climate action, sustainability, and resilience. I volunteer for organizations focused on the electrification of transportation, renewable energy, STEM education, and disaster response and preparedness.
• Quote: “Broad, deep, and sustained action, across multiple fronts is required for us to mitigate the climate crisis, adapt to inevitable climate consequences, and pave the way for a world where future generations can thrive.”

Sharon Brown

• Local Chapter: Vancouver, WA
• CCL Work: Vancouver, WA Group Co-Leader.  Currently enrolled in the CCL Empowerment Partnership Program with Jean Ritok.
• Other Community Work: Board member, Treasurer and Candidate Forums Chair of the League of Women Voters of Clark County, WA. Member of Lutheran World Relief group at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, and Member of the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism (https://www.fairforall.org/).
• Quote: “There is something spiritual about bright blue sky, clear water moving, green plants and animals… I am convinced the rise in human living standards globally has come at a significant cost. It’s not enough to decarbonize the planet. The energy needs for all people globally must continue to increase to achieve equity and lift people out of poverty.”

Allison Fabrizio 

• Local Chapter: St. Louis, MO
• CCL Work: Chapter member and People of the Global Majority action team member
• Other Community Work: Being a university student, I study environmental analysis to further my ability to protect the planet and those that inhabit it. I am also an avid dancer and try to represent different cultures, stories, and complex issues on the stage. 
• Quote: “Climate action is necessary to protect not only our future, but those of generations to come. We cannot have climate action without action on repairing our bonds with marginalized groups, and acknowledging their struggles and activism throughout history. We as a global community are all connected, and countries that have the resources to enact climate action need to be held responsible as they are also those most accountable for climate destruction.”