A Note on Our Leadership Transition

Dear ClimatePlan Family, 

As you may already know, our former Executive Director - Chanell Fletcher - recently took on a new role as Deputy Executive Officer of Environmental Justice at the California Air Resources Board. We thank Chanell for her service at ClimatePlan and wish her all the best in her new role. 

At this pivotal moment for ClimatePlan, the ClimatePlan Team and Advisory Board are currently working together to make the leadership transition as smooth and seamless as possible. 

During the transition, Joshua Stark will be serving as the Project Lead for ClimatePlan and will be managing all administrative duties for the organization. ClimatePlan staff will continue carrying out our Strategic Direction and can be reached at the contact information below: 

Nailah Pope-Harden - State Policy Manager - policy-related matters (i.e. policy workgroup, state legislation). Nailah can be reached at [email protected].  

Amy Hartman - Network Engagement Manager - communications-related matters and Central Valley-focused work. Amy can be reached at [email protected]

Nicole Cheng - Americorps Civic Spark Climate Fellow - water and land use policy in the San Francisco Bay Area. Nicole can be reached at [email protected]

We are grateful to all the folks in the ClimatePlan network - partners at non-profit organizations, state, regional, and government agencies - for all of your support and partnership during this time, and we’ll be sure to be in touch with any updates on the transition. 

We look forward to continuing to bring about a more just, sustainable, and equitable California with you in 2021. 

Sincerely, 

The ClimatePlan Team and Advisory Board




Thinking Big and Bold: A Recap on 2021 Listening Sessions

“You can’t drive transformative change without talking about race.” - Tamika Butler, Keynote Address at Listening Sessions 2021

In late January 2021, we held our annual Listening Sessions in a half-day virtual summit over Zoom. 65+ ClimatePlan network partners, including the ClimatePlan Advisory Board and representatives from CalTrans, CalSta, and CARB, all joined and provided their thoughts and input on what we’re working towards in 2021. 

Background and Goals

Long-time ClimatePlanners know that in the past we have held an annual retreat where the ClimatePlan Advisory Board and Staff come together to set the agenda and work plan for the coming year. Last year, however, in addition to hearing from our Advisory Board, the ClimatePlan team decided we wanted to get a more local and regional perspective across the state from our network partners. We travelled to seven different regions of the state and held day-long meetings and happy hours with our local and regional partners. But this year - due to COVID - we moved everything online and we’re so grateful to all of our partners that attended and provided such invaluable feedback. 

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Farewell, ClimatePlan

Over the past ten years, I consider it an honor to have worked and built deep relationships with ClimatePlan’s impressive network of over fifty nonprofit partners, plus allies in public agencies, the private sector, and academia. When I started at ClimatePlan in 2009, I was motivated by the vision that we cannot solve the issues facing our state--and even our nation--alone. We must find ways to authentically work together, and build power collectively. Now, in 2021, I feel privileged to have been a part of this network’s work and evolution. I consider it one of the greatest pleasures of my life that I had the opportunity to work closely with some of the smartest and most brilliant people in California (and beyond). 

This is my last blog post as a ClimatePlan staff member and it is incredibly bittersweet. I want to thank everyone for the lessons you’ve taught me, the meaningful work we were able to do together, and memorable experiences I got to share with each of you.

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Dear White Folks, Part 2 - Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

“There is something dying in our society, in our culture, and there’s something dying in us individually. And what is dying, I think, is the willingness to be in denial. And that is extraordinary. It’s always been happening, and when it happens in enough of us, in a short enough period of time at the same time, then you have a tipping point, and the culture begins to shift. And then, what I feel like people are at now is, no, no, bring it on. I have to face it — we have to face it.” - Rev. angel Kyodo williams 

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Dear white folks, 

Back in late May of this year, as so much was unfolding around the news of George Floyd, I published a blog called “Dear White Folks, we need to talk about racism.”  Now, at the end of 2020, I thought we could take the time to reflect on the changes we’ve witnessed over the past year and honestly assess where we’re at in terms of our own progress - as white folks - in dismantling white supremacy. 

It all feels like a mixed bag, to say the least. 

I’m seeing symbolic “wins” in addressing systemic racism, personally and collectively, but I’m also seeing how far we still have to go.  I’m noticing a wide spectrum of reaction from white folks, ranging from some suddenly being mortified at what they’re seeing and claiming “we had no idea this was still happening” to long-time racial justice organizers committing even more deeply to becoming abolitionists and then everything in between. It does feel like we are going through an unveiling of deep injustices while also seeing the ignorance, hatred, and greed that has always existed come closer and closer to the surface. 

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Women can move California into a healthier, more equitable future!

The events of 2020 - a global pandemic, calls for racial justice, wildfires in our state, and a contentious national election - have put us in need of equity and climate focused leadership more than ever. A few weeks ago, ClimatePlan asked for real climate leaders who understand equity and justice. ClimatePlan welcomes the changes happening at the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which is at the forefront of combating climate change, and the State’s Legislature, which has developed some of the most ambitious climate laws in the nation. 

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