CCL’s restructuring - Your questions answered
Dear CCL volunteers,
As you may have heard from your State Coordinators, your Group Leaders, or perhaps your Regional Directors themselves, CCL is undergoing a restructuring of our program department.
Thank you for your patience as we shared the news first with our volunteer leadership and our staff earlier this month. I have seen your comments and questions on the Community forums and appreciate the discussion and perspective you’ve shared there. Hopefully this post answers your questions about the restructuring and gives you clarity about where you can find staff support moving forward.
If you have further questions that aren’t answered here, please feel free to ask your question in the comment section below or on the forums.
What does this restructuring entail?
Our Program Department will now be the Field Operations department. Effective at the end of this month, all of CCL’s Regional Director positions will be eliminated, and a smaller and differently organized team has been put in place to support your volunteer work in the field. Some of our existing program staff are filling those new field operations roles, but some are losing their jobs. This is a significant change, and the leadership team and I understand that it may bring a mix of emotions. We’re here to support you as we navigate this transition together.
Why is CCL restructuring?
This restructuring is necessary to reduce CCL’s overall expenses and bring them in line with sustainable revenue. Financial stability is essential so we can continue to do our work and maximize our impact far into the future. This is a painful transition, and it is not a reflection on the incredible work and dedication our Regional Directors brought to this work over the years. Each of them has done incredibly valuable work and made meaningful change in their regions and on the organization as a whole.
Why are finances an issue if we met our year-end fundraising goal?
We did have a very successful year-end fundraiser, and the boards and staff are deeply appreciative of the commitment and enthusiasm you all showed through your support. Our target was $1,250,000, and we closed the year with an outstanding $1,467,661 raised. This is a big portion of CCE/CCL’s average annual revenue of around $5 million. But as with any budget, income is only part of the picture — it’s also important to make sure expenses don’t exceed that income in a way that puts the organization at risk.
Who is leaving staff?
The Regional Directors who will no longer be on staff are Elizabeth Dell, Peter Dugas, Laurel Eastman, Sabrina Fu, Solemi Hernandez, Tasha Reddy, John Sabin, and Tamara Staton. Prior to this restructuring, Susan Adams accepted a role with another organization.
To share your well wishes and messages of support with any of these Regional Directors, please visit their individual Kudoboards here:
Who is supporting volunteers now?
Every member of CCL’s staff remains deeply committed to understanding and meeting your needs as CCL volunteers. We have always been a grassroots organization, and we remain a grassroots organization. Here are the new staff roles specifically tasked with program support:
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Mindy Ahler will transition to a new full-time role as Congressional Liaison Program Manager, reporting to CCL’s Government Affairs team.
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Drew Eyerly will transition to a new role as a full-time Action Team Director.
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Bill Barron will transition to a new role as a full-time State Network Director.
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Jon Clark will also transition to a new role as a full-time State Network Director.
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Elli Sparks will transition to a new full-time Senior Director of Field Operations role.
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And, as a reminder, Ricky Bradley moved into the Vice President of Field Operations role in December upon Brett Cease’s departure.
Bill, Jon, Elli, and Ricky will all be scheduling meetings with states beginning this week.
You can also turn to your Group Leader and/or your State Coordinator for support.
What should I / my chapter / my Action Team be working on right now?
2025 is already shaping up to be a busy year for climate policy needs — both defending what’s in place and working to secure additional wins. Right now, you can work with your chapter and across your state to collect and document IRA benefit stories. We’ll use these personal stories during our 2025 IRA defense efforts.
Continue to watch for CCL’s monthly Climate Action Program emails, the monthly Action Sheets, and attend our monthly meetings for strategic guidance, training, and actions to take.
Again, if you have further questions not answered above, please feel free to post your question in the comments section or on the forums.
Thank you,
Rachel Kerestes
CCE/CCL Executive Director
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