Former City Councilor Cambridge, MA

Quinton Zondervan is an entrepreneur, climate activist and elected City Councillor in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Quinton has been involved in local, city, state and federal conversations on climate change policy since his freshman days at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida.

In 2015, Quinton attended the UN Climate negotiations in Paris as an official observer on behalf of the business community. Quinton has founded and serves on the board of several climate change and environment related non-profits, and has founded for-profit software, cleantech and biotechnology companies.

Quinton holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT and two bachelor’s degrees in the fields of mathematics and computer science from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, and serves on the board of trustees at Eckerd. Quinton lives in Cambridge in a net zero emissions house.

Vice Mayor, City Councilwoman
Phoenix, AZ

Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari is the youngest woman ever elected in Phoenix City Council history and the first Iranian-American elected to public office in the state of Arizona. She is an Arizona native, daughter of immigrants, and a graduate of Stanford and Cambridge universities. She's dedicated her career to finding solutions to critical issues such as climate change, air pollution and public health, most recently as a senior policy advisor at the United Nations. In 2020, her policy work received recognition when she was named to the Forbes '30 under 30' list in Law and Policy. Ansari is ready to take impactful action at home in the city she loves. Her priorities include: leading District 7 residents safely and stronger out of the pandemic, expanding affordable housing, keeping neighborhoods safe, bringing high-quality jobs to the area, and ensuring clean air and water are accessible to all. Phoenix is the fifth-largest and fastest-growing city in the United States. Ansari is determined to build sustainable, equitable communities that serve future generations.

Youth and Climate Commissioner
Los Angeles County, CA

Emmanuel is a community leader whose work is aimed at increasing awareness of what local elected officials can be doing to create more livable and sustainable cities. Growing up as a formerly undocumented immigrant in South Los Angeles, he knows firsthand the need for housing, climate justice, and economic investment to address issues of equity.

Emmanuel currently serves as a Commissioner for Los Angeles County’s commission on youth and climate which advises the Board of Supervisors on the County’s climate-related goals, plans, actions, policies and initiatives.

Emmanuel also serves on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Environmental Youth Advisory Council, which makes recommendations to EPA Administrator Michael Regan.

He has previously worked as the Policy Director for Dulce Vasquez for Los Angeles City Council District 9, Chelsea Byers for West Hollywood City Council, and Marco Santana for Los Angeles City Council District 6.

Village Trustee Oak Park, IL

Susan is a village trustee in Oak Park, IL.

She’s also a physician working in environmental health, with an expertise in health problems caused by toxins and other pollutants.

Susan is a longtime climate champion and a cofounder of Oak Park Climate Action Network. During her time on the village board, Susan helped create and pass the village’s climate action plan, a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers, and a ban on fossil fuel infrastructure in new buildings, and many other local climate policies. Recently re-elected to a second term, she’s eager to continue Oak Park’s climate progress.

City Councilmember Denver, CO

Sarah is a trusted advocate for economic justice and workers’ rights. Her drive to run for Denver City Council came from her belief that when we invest in each other, we all win. In Denver, this means making city-owned social housing a reality, moving public safety resources away from criminalizing poverty, funding housing first and harm reduction models, and transforming transit with equity, climate resilience, and accessibility in mind.

Sarah began her career at Colorado Legal Services, fighting to protect older Coloradoans, young families, and other vulnerable homeowners from foreclosure. She then cofounded a small public interest law firm focused on representing workers. She is a go-to resource for policymakers fighting for the constitutional, civil, and workplace rights of their constituents, and was a primary drafter of the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, which made Colorado a national leader in pay transparency.

Sarah’s advocacy has led to: a verdict believed to be the largest disability discrimination verdict in Colorado history, the return of hundreds of thousands of dollars of stolen wages to 200 drywall workers on a luxury condo project, a seven-figure settlement for a family injured in a mistaken police raid, and a change in nationwide policy by the Centers for Disease Control leading to coverage for mammograms for low-income trans women, among many other outcomes.

Aside from her legal work, Sarah participates in mutual aid groups, shows up on picket lines, and mentors a broad range of young people. She has two small kids.

City Councilor Providence, RI

Sue AnderBois is the Councilor for Ward 3 on Providence City Council. Sue has spent her career as an advocate for climate resilience, clean energy, and sustainable food systems. She is currently the climate and energy program manager at The Nature Conservancy in Rhode Island, and also serves on the state’s energy efficiency council. She has previously served as Rhode Island’s first Director of Food Strategy, writing the state’s first plan to support the local food economy and systematically reduce food insecurity and food waste. Prior to this, she has also worked for the Northeast Clean Energy Council, as a contractor for the RI Office of Energy Resources, as a senior program associate for the Energy Foundation, among other roles. Sue has been an active member of her community – she is a founding board member of the Local Return, serves on the board of the Southside Community Land Trust, and has previously chaired the Providence Sustainability Commission for four years.

Sue has a undergraduate degree in environmental studies from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. She lives in Providence, RI with her husband Scott (a professor at Brown University), and their dog (Captain Ruggles) and two cats (Zeni & Wasabi). In her spare time, she likes to lift weights and eat/bake delicious vegan food.

Councilwoman Denver, CO

Shontel M. Lewis was born and raised in Denver. She’s the proud mother of two boys: a college student and two year old son. She’s a graduate of the University of Colorado Denver.

Her journey, one of redemption, second chances and transformation, has not been absent of mistakes, failures, personal growth and pain. It has been through this pain that she found precision in her pursuits to justice.

Shontel went from being a student in Denver Public Schools (DPS) to becoming a Director at DPS, leading family and community engagement initiatives. She knows what it takes to move from eviction to homeownership; she channeled that pain and perseverance into becoming a Vice President at the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. She knows resilience required to endure three hour bus rides, while working multiple jobs. Being a young mother and a full-time student fueled her to become an elected Director at the Regional Transportation District (RTD).

During her time on the RTD Board she served as the inaugural Chair of the Performance Committee helping to facilitate the development of the agency's strategic priorities and strategic direction in partnership with the CEO. As an RTD Board member she was a fierce advocate for RTD frontline staff and including ensuring access to PPE, the implementation of rear-door boarding and social distancing for transit providers throughout Colorado.

Shontel is an unapologetic Black, Queer, Womxn grounded in her values of love and humanity. She’ll continue to fight for people over politics every day and infuse city government with policy expertise, a lens for justice, and ancestral wisdom.

Former Director of Sustainability
Ithaca, NY

Dr. Luis Aguirre-Torres was the director of sustainability for the City of Ithaca, where he led the implementation of the Ithaca Green New Deal, including the City’s decarbonization and Climate Justice strategies. Prior to joining the City of Ithaca, he spent 12 years assisting Latin American countries develop innovation and climate change policies, sponsored by USAID and the US State Department, and providing technical assistance for the design, implementation and financing of long-term climate change and climate justice projects, sponsored by the UN Industrial Development Organization, the IFC-World Bank and the Breakthrough Energy Coalition. Since 2010, he led an ambitious climate justice and economic development program in Latin America, for which he was recognized as Champion of Change by President Obama in 2012 and by the White House Office of Science and Technology in 2016. Dr. Luis Aguirre-Torres is the former Chairman of the Latin America and Caribbean Council on Renewable Energy (LAC-CORE), and Chairman of the Energy Working Group at the Mexico -United States Entrepreneurship and Innovation Council (MUSEIC), sponsored by the US Commerce and State Departments. Currently, he is the co-chair of the NYS Climate Impacts Assessment, Society and Economy, technical working group. He holds a degree in Computer Engineering, a Master’s in Computer Science and a PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from University College London.

City Councilor Rye, NY

Sara Goddard is a member of the City Council in Rye, NY. For 15+ years, she has facilitated and led community engagement and advocacy initiatives for local and regional groups and organizations. As founder and former chair of the City of Rye Sustainability Committee, she was the chief architect of Rye’s first Sustainability Plan and spearheaded a community-focused plastic pollution campaign that produced the City’s plastic bag law — one of the first in the nation at the time and one that has since served as a municipal model.

In addition to consulting for environmental and climate advocacy groups, she is currently the publisher of Green That Life and serves as Board Chair of Sustainable Westchester. In her spare time, she enjoys all that Rye’s beautiful coastal environment offers with friends and her husband and three sons.

City Council Member Minneapolis, MN

Katie Cashman was elected to the Minneapolis City Council in November of 2023 with the support of Run On Climate.

Katie has worked as a policy advocate, a nonprofit leader and a community organizer building solutions to improve people’s lives. She studied geography, architecture and urban planning at McGill University, Columbia University, and the Technical University of Berlin. She worked at the United Nations for three years, helping municipalities around the world build environmental and social infrastructure.

Katie founded a nonprofit which fundraised for and built a community center, and started a small business which is training teachers to bring climate change science into the classroom, including her ward’s elementary schools. Katie currently works at the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, using the law and science to keep our air and water clean.

Katie lives in the Loring Heights neighborhood and can be found biking around Lake of the Isles or walking her rescue dog Hazel through the Sculpture Garden.

Councilwoman Highland Park, IL

Kim Stone has served as a Councilmember at the City of Highland Park City Council since May 2013. Kim has over 20 years of environmental and management experience, having previously worked at the Midwest Pesticide Action Center, Great Lakes Protection Fund, and Environmental Law and Policy Center. She has served on the National Advisory Board of the Union of Concerned Scientists since 2005, and on the Board of Community Partners for Affordable Housing since 2014. Kim co-chairs Go Green Illinois, a local collaborative that works to encourage and support the establishment of citizen's environmental groups in Chicago’s northern suburbs, to share best practices among the groups and to collaborate on addressing environmental challenges that cross municipal boundaries. She also co-chairs the Task Force on Transit Electrification of Climate Reality Project: Chicago Metro Chapter and serves on the Highland Park Bike Walk Advisory Group.

Kim graduated from Middlebury College and earned Masters degrees in Population Planning and Public Policy from the University of Michigan.

City Councilmember Boulder, CO

Ryan is the dad of two young girls who attend public school in Boulder. He brings a background and a passion for climate resilience, safe streets, and transportation and housing options.

He is especially excited about the potential to create a more multimodal, transit-rich transportation system that works for everyone in Boulder.

In his day job, Ryan is an advocate and advisor for climate action and transportation options. He runs the small consultancy, More Mobility.

Prior to being elected to City Council, Ryan served on Boulder’s Transportation Advisory Board (TAB). As a member of TAB, he helped to establish the Core Arterial Network which expands Boulder’s protected bikeway network, initiate a new program of e-bike incentives, and start to advance parking reform.

Originally from southern Oregon, Ryan has an undergraduate degree in finance from Oregon State University and an M.B.A. from Thunderbird. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kyrgyzstan.

City Councilwoman Antioch, CA

Monica Wilson is currently serving her fourth term on the Antioch City Council. She is the first Black woman to serve on the council and the longest serving Black person on the council. She is on multiple boards such as Tri Delta Transit and Delta Diablo. Councilwoman Wilson is the Northern California Vice Chair for the California Democratic Party Women’s Caucus. She is a graduate of the Emerge california class of 2011. In 2014, Wilson started the East Contra Costa County Women’s Leadership Initiative. Ms. Wilson recently completed the Water Education for Latino Leaders (WELL) Fellowship program.

In 2022 she brought an ordinance to ban oil and gas drilling in her city. In 2023 and beyond, Councilwoman Wilson plans to double down on efforts to eliminate fossil fuel use in Antioch.

City Councillor Cambridge, MA

Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler is serving his second term on the Cambridge City Council. Before starting on the Council, he worked with environmental programs at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in Cambridge. He served his first term on the City Council in 2020-2021 and worked to create more affordable housing, safer streets, more open space, stronger tenant protections, and more transparent and responsive local government.

Since the end of his previous term on the Council, he has been the New England Progressive Governance Director for the Working Families Party, working with state & local elected officials to pass legislation on topics like affordable housing and childcare — issues that are important to him coming from a family headed by a single mom that depended on both.

Councilmember, Council Vice President
Rochester, NY

Mary Lupien is passionate about preserving a livable climate through policy, increasing safe, stable and affordable housing and fighting poverty and institutional racism.

For many years, Mary was an organizer with Mothers Out Front, a group working to inspire bold climate action and mobilize the community to achieve a sustainable future for our children. She has also focused on community efforts to halt displacement and create access to quality, affordable housing and Mary has supported efforts to Re-imagine how the city provides Public Safety to the community in a way that keeps all residents safe.

City Councilor South Burlington, VT

Andrew Chalnick was elected to the South Burlington, VT City Council on March 8, 2023, garnering over 80% of the vote as a first-time candidate. Andrew is a long- time climate advocate and soon-to-be retired attorney.

Andrew is a husband and the father of four. He has decades of experience advocating for strong climate policy, including lobbying Congress with Citizens' Climate Lobby.

Andrew was instrumental in the passage of South Burlington’s 2021 Climate Change Resolution and adoption of its 2021 Climate Action Plan Task Force Charter. He was a driving force behind the City's recently adopted ordinance requiring renewable heating and hot water in new construction and the City's adoption of solar-ready requirements in 2021.

City Councilor Eugene, OR

Lyndsie Leech was appointed to the Eugene City Council in December 2022. Within the first 45 days of her tenure, she successfully helped pass Oregon’s first ordinance banning fossil fuel infrastructure in new residential construction. She is currently working on multiple climate action items on Council, including a Public Health Overlay Zone to limit polluting industry within city limits, banning new gas station construction, and Willamette River Greenway protections.

With a master’s degree in public administration and organizational sustainability, Lyndsie has primarily worked within the nonprofit behavioral health field for the past 13 years. She is now the Executive Director of WellMama, a peer support organization for new, expecting, and bereaved parents. She is passionate about ensuring quality of life for her children and future generations. As the council representative on the City’s Human Rights Commission, she believes that climate justice is social justice, and will be a part of a Revenue Committee that will be working to generate revenue for housing and supports for the unhoused population as well as carbon reduction efforts.

Former Commissioner Gainesville, FL

David Arreola was born in Gainesville, where he served as the youngest City Commissioner ever elected. His parents immigrated to the United States with scholarships to earn their advanced degrees and chose Gainesville as their home. David attended Buchholz High School and Santa Fe College, before transferring to Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida to earn his B.A. in Political Science. He later earned his Master’s in Business Administration from St. Leo’s University.

In 2018, David introduced a motion to commit Gainesville’s municipally owned utility, GRU, to 100% renewable energy. This later passed by unanimous resolution to be reached by 2045. Gainesville is now the statewide leader in renewable energy. David advocated for a strong urban forest master plan to protect trees and natural spaces. David advocated for environmental justice policies such as: Net Zero for All New Government Buildings, Electrification of Gainesville City Fleet, Gainesville Clean Energy Guarantee, Guaranteed Residential Weatherization, Guaranteed Sustainable Job Training Plan, Education of Conservation & Sustainability in Schools and the Community, Climate & Environmental Literacy Training for Government Staff, Creating a Circular Economy Plan

Whenever he can, David enjoys reading, being outside and spending time with family and friends.

Councilmember Evanston, IL

Jonathan Nieuwsma was elected to Evanston’s City Council in 2021 after more than decade of local environmental advocacy.

Jonathan was on the founding board and later served as president of Citizens’ Greener Evanston, where he led a successful campaign to bring low-cost renewable energy to all Evanston residents through Community Choice Aggregation. Under Jonathan’s leadership as president, CGE expanded its work in local food, natural habitat, sustainable transportation, and environmental justice, including the “Weatherization Works” campaign to promote energy efficiency in low-income communities.

Jonathan served two terms on the Evanston Utilities Commission, including two years as chair, leading the Commission’s work on Evanston’s Energy and Water Benchmarking ordinance.

Jonathan is a founding member of the Evanston Development Cooperative, a community-owned business that designs and builds affordable, sustainable housing by and for Evanston residents.

Jonathan holds an engineering degree from the University of Illinois and worked in the industrial sector for more than a decade before starting an international supply chain development business. Since 2010 Jonathan has been focused on renewable energy, working on solar and wind projects throughout the country as the principal partner at a renewable energy consulting firm.

Jonathan used to have interesting hobbies before he was elected; now he spends whatever free time he has with his family.

Town Councilor Franklin, MA

Cobi Frongillo is a Town Councilor and third-generation resident of Franklin, Massachusetts. As Town Councilor, Cobi has advanced initiatives on sustainable development, local arts and culture, and housing affordability. He was recently appointed as Vice Chair of the town’s Master Plan Committee. Cobi has also used his platform to expand his climate advocacy, including a 2022 fellowship with Elected Officials to Protect America through which he met with US Department of Energy officials and participated in national press conferences.

Councilor Frongillo currently works as a policy researcher for the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy; where he drafts and review state climate legislation. He is also the President of the Franklin & Bellingham Rail Trail Committee and a Board Member of both the SAFE Coalition and Greater Attleboro Regional Transit Authority.

He received a Masters in Public Policy, alongside bachelors degrees in Political Science & Economics, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. During his graduate studies, he completed a research project on the sustainable economic development of downtown Franklin and a thesis on municipal energy aggregation programs. In 2022, Cobi received a Graduate Certificate in Public Leadership from the University of San Francisco.

City Councilor Burlington, VT

Gene Bergman was first elected to the Burlington City Council in 1986 when Bernie Sanders was Burlington Mayor. Gene served 3 terms as a member of his Progressive Coalition and then went on to serve as Burlington's Asst. City Attorney for 11 years and Sr. Asst. City Attorney for 9 years. He was elected to the Council again in 2022 after retiring.

During his first three terms Gene sponsored major ecological legislation related to the preservation of the city's agricultural zone, the Intervale, the city's first recycling program, and the conservation of the city's central Waterfront for parkland and open spaces instead of commercial development.

As a city attorney Gene drafted numerous ordinances including those related to opening the city up to urban agriculture and establishing our storm water utility.

Since his 2022 re-election Gene has sponsored legislative zoning changes eliminating parking minimums and requiring transportation demand management, and he is currently working on cutting airline and military emission at the Burlington International Airport and biomass emissions at the City’s wood-fired 50MW electric power plant.

City Councillor Cambridge, MA

Patty Nolan is serving her second term on the Cambridge City Council, where she’s been a leader on climate related actions for the past three years. Her Council priorities are climate action, affordable housing including middle class families, fostering community throughout the city, and accountability in government.

As chair of the Climate Crisis Working Group, Patty gathered experts to change the culture in the city to one of accountability and action on climate to build on the work done over decades which laid the groundwork yet did not achieve stated goals.

Prior to serving on Council, Patty spent a decade on the School Committee, where she was an environmental champion and known for data-based policymaking and effective collaboration on educational excellence.

Nolan moved to Cambridge from Stamford, CT to attend Harvard College. After graduation, she did research in the field of American women’s history, was a policy researcher on work and family issues and a speechwriter for Brooklyn District Attorney Elizabeth Holtzman. She earned her Master's degree at Yale University's School of Management, where she founded a student newspaper.

Prior to elected office, her professional experience included work with McKinsey Consulting, LISC and the ICA Group. She served as CEO of an environmental company and a telecom sales and marketing company. Ms. Nolan has also been a consultant to many mission-based organizations.

Commissioner Travis County, TX

Brigid moved to Austin in 1988 to start the Texas chapter of Clean Water Action. Prior to that she had been an award-winning journalist at NPR stations in Minnesota and Philadelphia. In Austin, she was a leader in the Save Our Springs movement of 1992 which resulted in Austin’s historic SOS law to save Barton Springs.

Shea was elected to and served on the Austin city council from 1993 to 1996 where she championed consumer, electoral, and environmental reforms. She has been an advisor to the LCRA, Seton Hospital, and the City of Austin. Her carbon-reduction work won the TCEQ Environmental Excellence award in 2010. In 2014 she was elected to the Travis County Commissioners Court.

Currently, Shea is the USA Board Chair of ICLEI, Local Governments for Sustainability, the oldest UN recognized, non-governmental organization representing local governments; Chair of Air Quality subcommittee of the NACo EELU Committee. Shea served on the national board of Clean Water Action, is a member of the state board of Texas Campaign for the Environment, and is a former member of the Austin Chamber of Commerce Clean Energy Council. She was selected for the 2019 Women in Government Leadership Program of Governing magazine.

Shea was recently given a Lifetime Achievement award by the Texas Energy Summit.

Brigid is a native of North Dakota. She is married to John Umphress, a former Green Building specialist with Austin Energy and beekeeping entrepreneur, and together they have two sons.

City Councilor
Waterloo, IA

Jonathan has been a passionate champion of the environment and all living things since he was a child. May of his earliest memories were advocating for those who did not have a voice in the halls of power. He has been engaged in local, state, and national politics since he was a teenager. In 2019 Jonathan ran for the Waterloo City Council as a voice for a new generation of residents.

One of the very first actions that Jonathan took upon entering office was to author a resolution to declare a climate emergency in Waterloo. This resolution passed unanimously. In his time on Council Jonathan has fought for more sustainable engineering and development practices and the preservation of native spaces. He has been a vocal advocate for a walkable, bikeable, just and environmentally friendly city. He was the lead author on a resolution calling for Waterloo to be 24/7 carbon neutral in energy usage by 2035. The Waterloo City Council unanimously passed the resolution and Waterloo joined with only four other communities to make this pledge. Thanks to Jonathan’s hard work the city of Waterloo was honored as the first recipient of the Community Champion Award from the Iowa Environmental Council.

In addition to being a City Councilor Jonathan is a public school teacher. Jonathan is married and he and his wife have two wonderful daughters. Jonathan is a graduate of Luther College with a bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science and the University of Nebraska Omaha with a master’s degree in political science.