Weekly Briefing: A Warm Welcome To CCL's New Executive Director
June 26, 2024
It's an exciting day at CCL — our new Executive Director, Rachel Kerestes, officially joins the team! Rachel was hired by the Citizens' Climate boards this spring, and today she takes the baton from CCL’s longtime leader, Mark Reynolds.
“We are thrilled about the expertise Rachel brings to the Citizens’ Climate team,” board chairs Zaurie Zimmerman and Sandra Kirtland Turner wrote in a letter last month. “Rachel has impressed us as an enthusiastic and compassionate leader committed to bipartisan action on climate change.”
You’re probably eager to get to know Rachel, too. So next week, we’re holding a volunteer meet-and-greet call so you can get some facetime with her. We have a full agenda planned with spotlights on some great volunteer stories and plenty of time for Q&A with Rachel herself.
The call will take place next Tuesday, July 2, at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. See you there!
In other news this week:
• ADVANCE Act passes Congress - The ADVANCE Act, which CCL supports and was part of our permitting reform ask at our Conservative Lobby Day this spring, has passed Congress and is headed to the President’s desk!
CNN reports, “The bill represents one of the most significant actions Congress has taken to advance clean energy since Democrats narrowly passed the Inflation Reduction Act almost two years ago.”
Last week’s Senate vote of 88-2 indicates overwhelming bipartisan support for the legislation. The bill “will strengthen America's leadership on nuclear energy and provide climate leadership on the world stage,” says Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “The United States will now be able to realize the potential of this carbon-free energy source," he told E&E News.
CCL’s support of this bill is part of our overall push for permitting reform, boosting the deployment of energy options that don’t create carbon pollution.
Take action this week
If you have a little time: Clarify the connection between plastics and climate change. Our partners at Potential Energy have found that many people think — incorrectly — that plastics are a leading cause of climate change. About half of Americans think recycling can have an impact on climate change. Share our new blog post about the link between plastic pollution and climate change to make sure your friends and followers have accurate information about how to really help.
If you have more time: Call Congress about the PROVE IT Act. On June 11, we had 442 citizen lobby meetings on Capitol Hill, most of which focused on the PROVE IT Act. Let’s keep the drumbeat going! Can you reinforce the message with a phone call to Congress this week? We’ve set a goal of 3,000 calls to lawmakers about this bill, and we’re at 1,613 calls so far. Help us hit the goal and show Congress how much support this legislation has.
Featured: Bill Barron’s bike tour
Bill Barron is at it again! As the Regional Director for one of CCL’s largest geographic regions, Bill often tours his region by bike to visit volunteers, hold climate conversations, and drum up more local media interest in CCL’s climate advocacy work.
Right now, Bill is on the road for the “Northern Traverse 2024 Climate Ride” through Montana and Wyoming. He started pushing the pedals on June 15, and he’ll be on the road until July 1, covering 1,200 miles total. Bill is pictured above, center, with members of our Bozeman, Montana chapter.
“Climate change isn't just a global statistic; it's a local reality affecting our Mountain West communities in real-time — from water shortages and wildfire to extreme weather events,” Bill explained in an Instagram post. “This ride is my way of bringing those stories to the forefront and discussing how safe, affordable and reliable clean energy can transform our economy and protect our future.”
Bill is sharing updates from his tour on Instagram. Follow along there for behind-the-scenes photos, stories from the road, and upcoming events for the last few days of the tour.
Want to chat with Bill about how to organize a tour of climate-focused events? Join the conversation on CCL Community.
Available trainings
There’s tons of great information to absorb from CCL’s 2024 Summer Conference a few weeks ago. If you haven’t already tuned in, we recommend studying up on these sessions:
Motivational Interviewing - CCL staffer John Sabin reviews the key ideas of “Motivational Interviewing,” a communication style that will make your climate lobbying and all your outreach more effective. Watch the session here.
Breaking the Climate Silence - Guest speakers from Potential Energy and Science Moms walk through the messaging guidance from their groundbreaking “Talk Like a Human” guide. Watch the session here.
Making Climate an Election Priority - Nathaniel Stinnett, Founder & Executive Director of the Environmental Voter Project, joined CCL’s Brett Cease to discuss how elevating climate issues during campaigns and getting environmentalists out to vote impacts climate policy-making and builds on our lobbying efforts. This session also covers how CCLers of all ages are working to get out the climate vote this year. Watch the session here.To see other topics and past trainings, visit the Training Topics page of CCL Community.
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