Nairobi Cratic

Volunteer Spotlight: Nairobi Cratic

By Flannery Winchester

In the spotlight today is Nairobi A. Cratic, who’s actually more than a volunteer. Nairobi is CCL’s fall Diversity Fellow in our Washington, D.C., office. Before joining CCL, she served as Director of Operations for a Wisconsin member of Congress—go Packers! “There was no true day-to-day,” she says of that role. “Work on the Hill changes hour to hour.” Despite being pulled in a lot of directions, Nairobi was in charge of the office’s climate change portfolio, which is how she became aware of CCL.

After this Fellowship, Nairobi plans to apply to law school and hopes to do something utility-related. We caught up with her to learn a bit more about what she’s working on and what keeps her motivated.

What did you like about CCL? What made you want to get involved?

Nairobi making a new friend who will definitely benefit from her climate work.

I liked how thoughtful the Wisconsin volunteers were. Even when there were disagreements, the conversations were insightful, and I always left with new details to take back to my former boss. In D.C., a place that is currently in a political gridlock, I wanted to be involved with an organization that was able to healthily disagree, but also move forward and bring new ideas.

What projects are you working on as a Fellow?

I am working to have a carbon pricing resolution introduced at the U.S. Conference of Mayors 2019 annual conference. I am also working to expand the energy technology solutions for low income households and renters.

What keeps you motivated to do this work?

There are a lot of changes happening in the climate space right now, and watching certain demographics get left behind motivates me to ensure not only is no one left behind, but that people have equal opportunities.