Diversity and Inclusion at CCL

What is Diversity & Inclusion?

In 2019, CCL adopted the Diversity value. It states: “We empower everyone in exercising their personal and political power regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, ability, or political affiliation. We continue to bring awareness of important issues to all our volunteers and foster a sense of belonging to our organization.”

CCL’s focus on Diversity & Inclusion
We define diversity and inclusion as follows:

Diversity includes all the ways in which people differ, and it encompasses all the different characteristics that make one individual or group different from another. It is all-inclusive and recognizes everyone and every group as part of the diversity that should be valued. It is important to note that many activists and thinkers critique diversity alone as a strategy and often when people talk about diversity, they are thinking only of the “non-dominant” group. (For more information see UC Berkeley Center for Equity, Inclusion and Diversity’s Glossary of Terms) and Baltimore Racial Justice Action “Our Definitions” (2018)).

Inclusion has been defined as “authentically bringing traditionally excluded individuals and/or groups into processes, activities, and decision/policy making in a way that shares power.” (OpenSource Leadership Strategies).

CCL National Goals

In 2019, CCL developed its own DEI Strategic Plan. That plan involved looking at different aspects of our organization, setting certain goals it wished to accomplish and the plan helped establish how we would work on diversity and inclusion going forward. You can learn about our DEI programs here.

Diversity & Inclusion Training Programs

Diversity and inclusion work takes time. It is not an activity one can do one day and then expect immediate results. But every daily activity can create long-term relationships and that is what we want to continue to foster at CCL.

The following trainings have been put together to give you an overview of some of the topics that are often discussed in most diversity and inclusion spaces:

1. Diversity and the Climate Movement

By Clara Fang, Former Higher Education Director
This training is geared at reviewing the historic and cultural barriers for people of color in the environmental movement and helping your group with strategies and tools to expand your chapter’s diversity footprint and become more inclusive through representing a more complete array of your local community’s constituency.

2. Anti-Racism & Allyship Resource Guide

By Karina Ramirez, Vice President of People & Culture with members of the Community Ambassadors Team: Lydia Koltai, Shelley Buonaiuto, Sue Hughes-Smith, and Jess Wilber
This training will educate CCL volunteers about anti-racism, highlight portions of our ongoing work regarding Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), and discuss why this is essential to our work as climate advocates.

3. Diverse and Equitable Outreach In Your Chapters

By Danielle Whyte, Former CCL Chapter Development Intern
This training helps provide CCL volunteers with suggestions and actions to build inclusive chapters that promote equity with diverse representation.

4. Working with Environmental Justice Communities

By members of the Environmental Justice Action Team
This training helps volunteers practice two larger approaches within environmental justice outreach: building personal relationships built on genuine interest and working toward broader community engagement through shared alliances.

Diversity & Inclusion Action Team

A new affinity team was created in 2023 to foster community and bring together people from all walks of life and political leanings. At each team meeting, members learn about a different diversity and inclusion topic through programs and workshops. 

The team has an educational library composed of sessions created by CCL Inclusion Team Members and CCL Staff as well as volunteers. The sessions began in 2021 with the first class of Inclusion Fellows. 

Spanish-Language Info Sessions

These training sessions will not be available at this time. 

D&I Race, Climate, & Culture Conversation

Since the Fall of 2020, Citizens’ Climate Lobby has hosted conversations about the intersectionality of race, climate, and culture. This conversation is a two-hour, standalone workshop that requires the participants to look at how structural racism has impacted them directly (either positively or negatively). Participants gain insights about themselves that help build their strength as climate advocates. This workshop is offered quarterly, and for now, it has been paused until the Fall of 2025. | View the last 2024 Conversation

Affinity Action Teams

Since 2017, CCL action teams have expanded to include groups targeting BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) and diverse populations. All of these teams were started by our own volunteers who saw the need to do particular work with members of their communities. The national groups are as follows:

• Asian Pacific (2020)
• Climate and Culture (2018)
• Persons with Disabilities (2021)
• Diversity & Inclusion (2023)
• Latinos (2017)
• Higher Education (2016)
• LGBTQIA+ and Allies OUTreach (2020)
• Listening to Indigenous Voices (2020)
• People of the Global Majority (2018) (For BIPOC only)
• Youth (2019)
• We also encourage participation with our partners at the Conservative Outreach and Climate & Environmental Justice teams.

2025 Inclusion Team

Each year, a team of Inclusion Fellows & Interns, Community Ambassadors, and volunteers help advance local, state, and national DEI initiatives. This year’s team includes:


Christian Lucius (She/Her)
Community Ambassador
Olympia, WA

Daniel Opoku (He/Him)
Volunteer
Toledo, OH


Emily Gutiérrez (She/Her)
2025 Inclusion Fellow
Washington, DC


Joy Sullivan (She/Her)
Community Ambassador
Dallas, TX


Karina Ramirez (She/Her/Ella)
Vice President of People & Culture
Honolulu, HI


Kendyl Brown (She/Her/Hers)
2025 Inclusion Intern
Huntersville, NC

Lily Hardwick (She/Her)
2025 Inclusion Intern
Poughkeepsie, NY


Minerve Jean (She/Her)
Inclusion Conference Coordinator
Gainesville, FL


Phalika Oum (They/Them/Theirs)
2025 Inclusion Fellow
Dover, DE


Rachel Porter (She/Her)
Community Ambassador
Durham, NC


Saravanan Thangarajan (He/Him)
Community Ambassador
Boston, MA


Zach Steward (He/Him)
Volunteer
Belmont, MA

If you are interested in becoming a fellow, please email the Vice President of People & Culture at inclusion@citizensclimate.org. Intern opportunities are available upon request. 

The Role of Community Ambassadors

The Community Ambassadors are volunteers who help support the national inclusion work. As CCL continues to grow and diversify, we want to ensure that all our chapter volunteers receive the needed resources, training, and support to conduct this important work.

Community Ambassadors act as an extension of the Vice President of People & Culture and become representatives for diversity work at local chapters and states. The volunteers meet weekly with the Vice President of People & Culture.

Career Opportunities

A space for members to post and find job opportunities in the climate and environmental field. Any post in this forum is visible to the public to help share opportunities!

For more information, please contact:

Karina Ramírez
Vice President of People & Culture | karina.ramirez@citizensclimate.org | (She/Her/Ella)