MEET THE CLIMATE NEXUS TEAM

Rose Andreatta is a climate change impacts expert with a strong foundation in translating scientific information into usable formats for a variety of audiences.

As the Associate Director of Climate Science Communications, Rose directs the Climate Signals platform, one of Climate Nexus’s marquee projects.

Rose earned her Master’s of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy at Columbia University and holds a Certificate of Achievement in Weather Forecasting from Pennsylvania State University.

José Aranda is a water and communications professional working toward protecting Mother Earth and cultivating a deeper relationship with Water.* As Water Hub’s Relationships Manager, he advances water equity through the Color of Water initiative, which aims to give voice and visibility to Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian and Pacific Islanders, people of color, and LGBTQ2S+ voices often overlooked in mainstream media.

Resourceful, from flying drones in the rainforest to dancing salsa with donors, José brings over a decade of experience in water and communications. Prior to joining the Water Hub, José served as Water Program Associate at the Pisces Foundation where he supported the strategic development of a national program focused on advancing a more holistic, equitable, and sustainable approach to water management. José also served as Researcher for the US Water Alliance’s Water Equity Taskforce and previously as Water Fund Coordinator for the El Triunfo Conservation Fund in Mexico.

Before joining the water and climate movement, José worked as a freelance journalist, photographer, and filmmaker for national and international outlets. José has an M.Sc. in Environmental Management from the University of San Francisco and a B.A. in Communications from Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. He grew up in Toluca and spent his summers in Chiapas. He enjoys spending time outside, swimming, drumming and singing.

* In order to recognize the sacred living nature inhabited by “water,” the term Water is capitalized when referring to the life-giving consciousness and spirit of water.

Briget Arndell is a land and water access advocate with a commitment to justice, community service, and affordability.

She started her work toward social and environmental justice 15 years ago as a student organizer on her college campus by raising awareness around the impacts of budget cuts and increasing tuition costs on low-income students and studying the impacts of corporate monocrop culture on small farming communities in Central America.

Prior to joining the Water Hub team, Briget raised awareness around environmental justice in three ways: running communications and impact metrics on outdoor equity for Community Nature Connection, bringing solar power and affordable utility bills to low-income renters with GRID Alternatives, and engaging college students interested in social and environmental justice issues through service-learning opportunities in New York City.

Now living in Los Angeles (home of the Chumash, Kish, Tataviam, and Tongva peoples), Briget is a coordinator for the Environmental Professionals of Color committee, a volunteer outdoor educator with Outward Bound Adventures, and excited to bring stories about water in the West to her communities and beyond.

Briget is a queer Chicana from Pomona, California who graduated from the Univeristy of California Santa Barbara and New York University. She’s a proud alumna of City Year AmeriCorps New York. In her free time, Briget enjoys hiking to mountain tops, playing soccer, and caring for her fifty-leven plants.

Caterina Bartha is non-profit finance practitioner with a long history of working in theater and dance. In her role, Caterina oversees the finance process and directs the ongoing financial policies and priorities of Climate Nexus.

Prior to joining Climate Nexus, Caterina worked at the Dramatists Guild, with the who’s who of American Theater. She started life as a choreographer and was a founder of Collective: Unconscious, a downtown NYC venue that supported emerging artists, from 1995-2008. She is one of the producers of the film Charlie Victor Romeo and has produced numerous film festivals, dance, and theater programs since 1995. She holds an MBA in Media Management from Metropolitan College and an MS in Accounting from St. John’s University. She serves as the Treasurer for The Lilly Awards Foundation. Caterina is thrilled to support the most pressing issue of our generation at Climate Nexus.

Sarah Bucci has worked as a campaigner, advocate, and communications strategist on environmental issues across the United States for more than a decade. Today, she is director of strategic communications with the Water Hub and believes the best campaigns are smart and scrappy and the most effective way to create lasting change is by sharing and elevating personal stories.

As a fellow, organizer, and state director with Environment America, Sarah led successful field campaigns across multiple states where she organized support for climate action, fought new oil and gas projects, and worked to protect water resources. Most recently, Sarah served as the communications director for GRID Alternatives, a national clean energy equity non-profit, where she worked to bring real-world stories of a just energy transition to life.

While she grew up on the east coast, Sarah now calls Denver home. She’s an avid Colorado Avalanche fan and is at her happiest while gardening.

Maggie Caldwell is a writer, editor, multimedia storyteller, and strategist with a background in advocacy communications and journalism. As Associate Director of Energy Transition she is focused on advancing this country’s adoption of clean energy in a just and sustainable way.

Prior to joining Climate Nexus, Maggie was National Communications Strategist at Earthjustice where she ran campaigns to protect wolves, grizzlies, bees, rivers, and the people and communities that relied on and cared about them. Before that she was a journalist at Mother Jones and general assignment reporter and editor for several local newspapers in her native Connecticut.

Maggie has a B.A. in political science and cultural studies from McGill University, where she was also a member of the women’s soccer team. She continues to play competitive soccer, most recently for the New York Magic, a semi-professional team based in Manhattan. When not working or playing soccer, she can most likely be found hiking, biking, or skiing in the mountains of her newly adopted home state of Maine.

Harrison Carpenter-Neuhaus is a communications associate on the energy transition team. He is an experienced communicator in traditional and broadcast media, social media, and digital advertising, with a background in diverse issues from immigration to business, political organizing, and sustainability.

Prior to joining Climate Nexus, Harrison was a Communications Coordinator with the New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. Before that, he served as a Communications Associate with NYC Census 2020, the City’s 2020 Census organizing initiative. Harrison began his career in crisis communications with the international public relations agency Weber Shandwick, and also worked as a Content Strategist with the digital agency The Marketing Arm.

Harrison has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University, where he studied art, literature, history, and philosophy (and also met his wife). Outside of work, Harrison is a passionate baker and skateboarder, and father to two beautiful cats.

Danielle Crockett is a multi-hyphenate senior designer and art director, bringing a hybrid of analytical and creative thinking to her role at Climate Nexus.

Prior to joining Climate Nexus, Danielle founded a digital design agency — with a mission of creating communicative solutions for industrial start-ups, political campaigns, and non-profit initiatives. Her work spans across broadcast and digital campaigns for USAID, Senate Democrats, and the Nuclear Abolition Movement.

She received her BFA in Communications Design from Pratt Institute.

When not behind a computer, you can find Danielle playing the bass guitar, infusing her clothing with campfire smell, and pretending to be a mechanic via endless YouTube tutorials.

Hunter Cutting is a veteran political director who develops communications strategy for Climate Nexus. Early in his career, he served as a legislative aide in the U.S. House of Representatives and traveled the campaign trail, directing numerous political campaigns and working in swing districts such as Peoria, IL and Riverside, CA. He has written extensively on media and communications, most recently authoring Right Here, Right Now: A Communications Guide to Climate Change Impacts. As a researcher, he has developed new methodologies to extend the field of media analysis.

Prior to joining Climate Nexus, Hunter built the energy and climate division of Resource Media, helped to launch and lead We Interrupt This Message, a national media strategy center dedicated to social justice, and led NGO communications in milestone climate change events such as the UNFCCC meeting in Bali and the release of the Nobel-prize winning IPCC Fourth Assessment Report.

It all started when Hunter earned a Bachelor of Science in Conservation and Resource Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. He now lives in San Francisco, and on weekends is likely to be found sailing on the San Francisco Bay, racing an Olson 25.

Chévon Deputy is the senior director of development at Climate Nexus, bringing more than 15 years of professional expertise to the role. She spent the majority of her career raising funds for leading healthcare institutions including Mount Sinai, NYU Langone Medical Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK).

Prior to joining Climate Nexus, Chévon was a Major Gifts Officer at the Environmental Defense Fund, where she also served on the Environmental Justice Council. Before that, Chévon was the Campaign Manager for A Better Chance, an educational nonprofit, where she played a critical role in the completion of a $20M campaign, the first-ever.

Chévon serves as the Fund Co-Chair in addition to a Black Alumnae/i Fund Committee member for her alma mater, Bryn Mawr College. She received a Masters of Public Administration from Baruch College.

Allison Fajans-Turner leads Nexus’ work with state and city government stakeholders. Instrumental in helping to launch, design, and manage the We Are Still In initiative, Allison is Nexus’ primary liaison to the coalition and advises on its communications strategy. She also engages with developments in international climate policy, working at the intersection of climate change and sustainable development for Nexus.

Before joining Climate Nexus, Allison worked with the Disaster and Climate Adaptation Team of the Norwegian Refugee Council in Geneva, Switzerland, assessing climate drivers of displacement and conflict. This work convinced her that meaningfully reducing displacement risk for populations worldwide requires urgent action to combat climate change. Prior to this, Allison worked on the Obama presidential campaigns as a field organizer in multiple locations, helping to turn Indiana blue in 2008. She has remained an enthusiastic policy wonk ever since.

Allison has an MA in International Relations and Economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a BA in International Development from Brown University. A native of Ithaca, New York, her earliest motivation to stave off climate change is rooted in a childhood spent playing winter sports, namely ice hockey and skiing.

Molly Fisch-Friedman is a manager of survey research at Climate Nexus, where she conducts and analyzes survey research on attitudes toward climate change and other environmental issues and policies.

Prior to Climate Nexus, she was a Research Assistant and Project Coordinator at PRRI, where she produced public opinion research and analysis at the intersection of religion, culture, and public policy. She authored dozens of reports and blog posts that informed public conversations about issues including education, reproductive health, and immigration. She previously was a Princeton AlumniCorps Project 55 Fellow, through which she served as a Grant Writer at Elevate. Molly graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University, receiving her A.B. in Politics.

Outside of work, she teaches at a Hebrew School and sings in a D.C.-area nonprofit community choir. She is always on the lookout for a new good book to read and a vegetarian recipe to make in her slow cooker.

Briana Flin is a video producer/editor for Nexus Media News, where she covers environmental justice and climate change. Her work has appeared in outlets like The Atlantic, WIRED, Newsy, KQED, and Twin Cities PBS. Prior to joining the Nexus Media team, she was at WIRED, producing videos on everything from kinetic sculptures to praying mantises sporting 3D glasses. She’s a proud alumnus of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and a Californian born-and-raised. After work, you can find her attempting to train her rambunctious rescue dog, baking treats, or rewatching Mad Men for the umpteenth time.

Josh Goldman is a car geek, policy expert, and experienced communications professional. As associate director of the Energy Transition team at Climate Nexus, Josh covers all issues related to clean transportation. From electric vehicles and improved fuel efficiency to self-driving cars, ships, planes, trains, and everything in between, Josh works with partners and the media to tell the story of how transportation is changing how we get to point B.

Before joining Climate Nexus, Josh directed the electric vehicle portfolio at the Union of Concerned Scientists where he led campaigns to enact or protect progressive transportation policy at the state and federal level. Josh also worked as a federal liaison for the New York Governor and is a recovering attorney, having graduated from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2009 where he founded the Cardozo Environmental Law Society.

Marcelo Gonzales is an advocacy and human rights communicator working as a Communications Associate at Climate Nexus, on the Campaigns & Strategies team.

Prior to coming to Climate Nexus, Marcelo worked in the United Nations Development Programme in Peru, supporting gender-based violence prevention programs through communications and international partnerships, as well as COVID-19 awareness and response projects. More recently, he supported higher education efforts as a Digital Strategy Fellow at the Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute, and worked as the Digital Communications Associate for the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area.

Marcelo holds a master’s degree in Media & Strategic Communication from George Washington University, and a bachelor’s in Journalism and Communications from Tennessee Technological University. Born and raised in Lima, he is passionate about music and photography, and is slowly warming up to DC’s restaurant scene.

Steve Hargreaves is a senior director working on finance issues, highlighting the risks of fossil fuels and the potential of clean energy investing. Before that he headed up the media and rapidly expanding digital efforts at Climate Nexus, and was a founding director of the Energy Transition team.

Prior to Nexus he spent over a decade as a writer for CNN digital in New York, first as an energy reporter and later on the economy desk and special projects team. He covered stories including the frenzy over peak oil supply and record oil prices, the boom in U.S. shale production, the BP oil spill, and the rise of renewables. In 2011 he won a Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing award for a series on the military’s efforts to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. He also spearheaded the site’s coverage of urban innovation, including revitalization efforts in Detroit and a multi-month project on innovative cities.

Before CNN he worked as a local newspaper reporter and spent time stringing from Istanbul and Bangkok. He started in journalism at the Casco Bay Weekly, a now-defunct alternative paper in Portland, Maine.

Shravya Jain is a senior manager of media and international communications at Climate Nexus, where she works on communication strategies around climate change solutions, climate & environmental justice, and regional climate policies.

She holds an MPA in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Shravya has interned with the United Nations for their in-house sustainability initiatives and with the Heron Foundation on their impact-investment mission to help communities raise themselves out of poverty.

Before coming to the US, Shravya worked as a journalist in India with Reuters and India Today. She also briefly worked with SELCO Solar, a pioneering off-grid solar company, where she got a chance to visit villages in South India and see the transformational power of solar energy.

Shravya loves writing short-fiction and constantly day-dreams about being a published author in her spare time.

Jessica Jewell Lanier brings 10+ years of marketing and communications experience to support water justice in the West.

Prior to joining, she led digital efforts for One Meal a Day for the Planet, an initiative of James Cameron and Suzy Amis Cameron. She also served as TreePeople’s Director of Marketing and Communications where she supported progressive water and urban forestry legislation and community volunteers. Before joining the climate movement, Jessica cut her teeth at PETA where she worked on celebrity advertising campaigns and marketing efforts.

When she’s not working, you can find her making a mess in her kitchen, wandering dusty desert roads, reluctantly flipping vinyl on her record player, or between the pages of her next speculative fiction fix.

Nathan Kauffman learns for a living. As a senior manager of research at Climate Nexus, he edits and manages the daily Hot News newsletter, as well as weekly and monthly newsletters for the C&S team.

Prior to joining Climate Nexus, Nathan worked for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network as a lobbyist/project manager/carpenter and at the Democratic National Committee as a research associate. He holds a BA in History & Social Science from Eastern Mennonite University and a JD from the George Washington University law school.

When he’s not preventing the global climate cataclysm, Nathan enjoys cycling, baking, spending time with his 2-year-old daughter, and certain combinations thereof.

Paige Knappenberger is the senior manager of partnerships. She leads our work with climate change partner organizations working on climate change from the perspective of public health, faith, national security, environmental justice, youth and parents. Working out of the Climate Nexus office in Washington, D.C. Paige provides these partners strategic media guidance and support to amplify the work they are doing to reach and engage distinct groups on climate change and clean energy.

Prior to joining the Climate Nexus team, Paige worked for the D.C. Sustainable Energy Utility and interned at Oceana and NRDC. Paige completed a dual-masters in sustainable development and global environmental policy through American University in Washington, DC and the University for Peace in Costa Rica.

Paige grew up in Arizona and California and frequently endures the cross-country flight to visit her family out west. In her free time Paige enjoys scuba diving, crafting, and live music.

Nicole Lampe is Managing Director of the Water Hub, a program created in 2019 to advance water justice and resilience by adding communications capacity to the water field. The Water Hub is currently focused on supporting advocates and experts in the Western United States, a region facing severe water supply and pollution issues.

Nicole has worked in cause communications for over fifteen years. For most of that time, she has focused on protecting environmental and public health. At The Trust for Public Land, Nicole worked to expand outdoor access for communities across the Western United States. She continued working on park and beach access at Resource Media, a nonprofit PR firm where Nicole had the opportunity to support a range of nonprofit and foundation clients. During her 11 years there, Nicole built the organization’s first digital team. She also led its oceans and freshwater programs, managing projects that took her from the Sacramento Delta to Corsica and the Galapagos Islands. Nicole also supported Resource Media’s multi-year equity journey, learning a tremendous amount that informs her work to this day.

Nicole sits on the boards of High Country News and Whales of Guerrero Research Project, and is a core organizer with the Portland chapter of the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. Nicole studied history at the University of California, Berkeley. She grew up in Merced, California, where she rode horses and raised sheep for 4H.

Josh Landis heads up Nexus Media News and the Content Studio here at Climate Nexus. He is a former network news correspondent and producer who’s reported from the South Pole, New Zealand, the Middle East and places across America.

Prior to becoming a reporter at CBS News, Josh was an award-winning head writer for ABC’s World News with Charles Gibson. Josh has written and produced for Peter Jennings, Diane Sawyer, George Stephanopoulos, Bob Woodruff, Lou Dobbs, Shepard Smith and others. He’s also the co-creator of an Emmy-nominated animated news series called The Fast Draw.

Josh spent nearly a year living in Antarctica and knows how to pitch a tent at the South Pole, should the need ever arise.

Tina Li is the Digital Data Analyst at Climate Nexus, working to ensure a data driven approach to all of the digital team’s work.

Tina’s background is originally in public health communications, but her career has traversed various sectors such as social services, higher education, and political campaigns. Prior to joining Climate Nexus, Tina worked for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee as a Data Analyst for the 2020 campaign cycle.

Outside of work, Tina enjoys hanging out with (and taking too many pictures of) her dog, gardening, and finding the best food spots wherever she travels.

Eliana Miller is a Senior Associate of Social Media at Climate Nexus, where she assists the digital team with organic social media copy, strategy, and platform management.

Eliana has worked in marketing for the past five years with publishers and environmental organizations. Before joining Climate Nexus, she worked as a social media contractor for Climate Nexus’s news service, Nexus Media News. Eliana holds a BA in Math from Bard College, where she founded a math enrichment program for children. She also has a certificate in Software Engineering and enjoys coding in her free time.

As associate director of science defense, Phil Newell is involved at various stages with much of our work, from brainstorming ideas to drafting and editing final products. Phil also leads on our rapid response and denier monitoring work.

Before working at Climate Nexus, Phil was an intern at the World Watch Institute, where he blogged on sustainable agriculture. Prior to that, he worked with EARTHWORKS, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting communities and the environment from the impacts of irresponsible mineral and energy development while seeking sustainable solutions.

Phil has an MA in Global Environmental Policy from American University, and a BA in Sustainable Development from Appalachian State University.

Rene Polanco is a Senior Manager of Paid Media at Climate Nexus. Prior to joining the organization, Rene developed his paid media background at organizations like BerlinRosen, Revolution Messaging, Run the World Digital, and Warren for President.

He has run campaigns for Atlantic Philanthropies, the 92nd Street Y, Understood.org, and dozens of political candidates. One of his biggest accomplishments was winning a Shorty Award for one of the best campaigns in government and politics while running persuasion ads for Greater Than Fear Minnesota leading up to the 2018 midterm elections.

Rene is from Brooklyn, New York, and he has lived in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Massachusetts for work. While living in New England, he adopted a rescue dog that is a Black Lab and Belgian Malinois mix and he typically spends the weekend at the dog park.

As a Communications Associate for the Projects and Partnerships team, Katharine Poole focuses on crafting effective climate change communication strategy. Katharine has a background in climate science and policy.

Prior to Climate Nexus, Katharine worked on designing brand identity and digital assets for various climate-related organizations. Additionally, she was an Associate for the Managing and Adapting to Climate course at Columbia University.

Katharine holds a Master’s degree in Climate and Society from Columbia University, along with a Bachelor’s in Political Science from Tulane University.

Rachel Potter is a seasoned sustainability practitioner with extensive experience in financial services, consulting and the nonprofit sectors. As managing director of operations, Rachel is responsible for project delivery, operations management, oversight of team engagement and professional development.

Prior to joining Climate Nexus, Rachel held a range of positions in the sustainability space, including for Accenture and Standard Chartered Bank. She holds a master’s degree in Environmental Policy, Planning and Regulation from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a master’s degree in History from the University of St. Andrews.

Rachel’s favorite thing to do when not at work is travel the world, so most of her spare time is spent traveling or travel planning.

Reece Rushing is a senior strategist of government affairs. In 2015 and 2016, he served as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s acting deputy assistant secretary for congressional relations and director of oversight. Previously, Reece served as director of oversight and investigations for the House Natural Resources Committee Democrats, and as director of government reform, among other roles, during a seven-year tenure at the Center for American Progress. Reece began his career working on regulatory and information policy issues at OMB Watch (later called the Center for Effective Government). He received his degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.

As Creative Content Director at Climate Nexus, Monika Sharma brings her extensive media and communications experience to the Nexus Media News team, managing multiple streams of content and helping the brand reach its full potential. Prior to joining Climate Nexus, Monika was ‘doing good’ at MTV Networks, where she led numerous issue-focused campaigns across MTV’s various media platforms. Monika further honed her marketing skills on the social innovation team at Weber Shandwick, where she was responsible for brainstorming and pitching sustainability ideas to corporate clients.

Monika is a graduate of Duke and Columbia. She is an avid yogini, francophile and music fan, who is constantly inspired by her native New York.

Elisabeth Soto is a highly motivated, full-stack digital native with over ten years of experience and a startup marketing mind. She holds certifications in marketing automation, digital marketing, data analytics, e-marketing, SEO, and front-end web development.

Her digital and communications experience spans a variety of sectors — from financial services to philanthropy — and institutions including Cohen & Steers, the Latin American Private Capital Association, and Sony DADC.

Elisabeth holds a BA in political science from Columbia University and is a General Assembly alum.

She is also a coffee addict with a love for vegan cooking. When not fighting climate change, she is probably Netflix binging, cry laughing at TikToks, or traveling between coasts and throughout LatAm.

Emma Stieglitz is a skilled communicator with years of experience securing high-value media placements for progressive campaigns and causes. As one of two media directors, she works with journalists to showcase the diverse range of voices and stories that drive home how climate change impacts our lives.

Before joining Climate Nexus, Emma was a communications consultant at BerlinRosen, where she led and executed national and local media strategy for a range of labor and nonprofit clients. Her writing has appeared in outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and The Guardian.

Courtney St. John is the senior director of science and energy. She has extensive experience working across policy, academia and communications on environmental issues.

Prior to joining Climate Nexus, Courtney was the outreach director at the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions at Columbia University’s Earth Institute. Before that, she was the Climate Change Affairs Officer for the U.S. Navy’s Task Force Climate Change, overseeing execution of the Navy’s Climate Change Roadmap. She was a John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellow in the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy, working on marine and coastal policy issues.

Courtney has authored publications on a variety of environmental issues, including the national security implications of climate change and climate change communication. Courtney holds a Master’s Degree in City and Regional Planning and a certificate in Risk Communication. In 2015, she was named a Climate “sHero,” one of nineteen women working to advance climate action in New York City.

Phoebe Sweet began her environmental activism in kindergarten by successfully lobbying the principal to cancel her school’s annual balloon release to protect turtles and other marine life. Today, she is Climate Nexus’ managing director leading the Campaigns & Strategies team in Washington, D.C.

Phoebe was previously a partner at a progressive strategic communications firm, where she led the firm’s energy and environment practice and managed its gun violence prevention work. Her political career began on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s against-all-odds 2010 reelection campaign, where she served as communications director for the Nevada State Democratic Party, after which she joined Reid in Washington as his speechwriter and communications adviser. Phoebe also worked as the director of speechwriting at progressive think tank Center for American Progress, where she wrote extensively about domestic and foreign policy issues and created the progressive think tank’s first speech training program for policy professionals.

Before jumping into politics, Phoebe worked in journalism for almost a decade, most recently as an investigative environmental reporter in Las Vegas. She graduated from Boston University and is a Political Partner with the Truman National Security Project, a community of progressive foreign policy and international relations leaders. She is originally from Maine, lives on the Maryland shore, and prefers dogs over cats.

As a Communications Associate for the Projects and Partnerships team, Vivian Taylor works to connect experts and thought leaders with media and activists to help promote strong understandings of the links between climate and human health.

Prior to joining Climate Nexus Vivian served as a Chaplain’s Assistant in the US Army in the War in Iraq, the executive director of the Episcopal Church’s national LGBTQ ministry, and wrote about peace and justice issues for various newspapers.

Vivian has a Masters of Divinity and a Masters of Public Policy with a focus on renewable energy from Duke University.

In her personal time she enjoys walking her dog while listening to podcasts, playing video games, and writing science fiction.

Sabrina E. Williams Sabrina E. Williams is the acting deputy managing director. She is a non-profit communications leader who has been at the forefront of social change strategy for more than two decades.

Prior to joining Climate Nexus, Sabrina was a Senior Communications Consultant/Principal with Williams & Associates Public Relations. She served as the Communications and Volunteer Director with Montgomery Housing Partnership (MHP), an organization dedicated to preserving and expanding quality affordable housing. A problem-solver by nature Williams provided her clients with an effective course of action by designing and executing strategic communications plans with a focus on audience refinement and messaging to increase and improve their desired outcomes while serving as a Vice President with GMMB Public Relations, a nationally recognized, progressive strategic communications and issue advocacy agency in their global health practice.

Always an advocate for racial equity, Sabrina served as the Managing Director of Communications for Advancement Project, a national racial justice organization, that works with organized communities of color to bring about sustainable progress that advances universal opportunity.

She holds an MA in Public Communications from American University and a BA in Television Production from Howard University. She is left-handed, a servant leader, Candy Crush and Fortnite aficionado, native Floridian (second home is Washington D.C.), friend, sister, daughter, and best of all AUNTIE.

James Wyatt oversees survey research and polling for Climate Nexus. This includes integrating the latest survey science methodologies and advanced machine learning techniques to accurately measure public opinion on a wide range of issues.

Prior to joining Climate Nexus, James served as the Senior Polling Director at Morning Consult where he managed polling for a variety of Fortune 500 companies and industry trade groups.  His polling research has been cited by top media organizations such as POLITICO, The New York Times, Vox, Bloomberg, and FiveThirtyEight (among others).  Prior to that, James served as the Data Scientist for Working America, AFL-CIO, where he managed data analytics and voter target for the largest paid canvassing operation of the 2014 political cycle.  James also has experience working as a political consultant, and served as a lobbyist for municipalities in South Florida focusing on energy issues and appropriations.

James has co-authored book chapters on minority voting in the United States and holds two master’s degrees with specialization in research methods.

Shoko Yanagawa is the manager of broadcast associate at Climate Nexus, working to increase national TV news coverage on climate change and its impacts.

Prior to joining Climate Nexus, she served as a general-assignment news producer for the NYC bureau of Japan’s Fuji Television, covering everything from breaking news and international diplomacy to a skyscraper-climbing raccoon.

A native of Shizuoka, Japan, Shoko has lived in Alaska and Wisconsin prior to making a home for herself in New York City. She enjoys cooking, crafting and traveling, including to places she can reach by bike share.