Impacting the Environment: NationSwell Members

In honor of earth month, we are highlighting our NationSwell council members who are contributing to a more sustainable tomorrow. The steps they are taking are pivotal for future generations to enjoy the planet and keep it healthy. Please show your support by sharing their work and congratulating them on their continued impact!

Dan Chu: Executive Director, Sierra Club Foundation

Dan joined the Sierra Club Foundation as Executive Director in November 2016. Chu thinks critically about moving capital investments towards clean energy, public land protection, and environmental goals.

Dan started his environmental career in the 1980s as a door-to-door canvasser in Colorado. He and his wife then volunteered with the Peace Corps, assisting farmers in Panama. Upon returning to the U.S., Dan became the Executive Director of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation and then the national Vice President for regional programs at the National Wildlife Federation.

Carol King: Chief of Staff, National Marine Sanctuary Foundation

Carol King joined the Foundation in 2017 as Director of Development, overseeing all aspects of the Foundation’s fundraising program, including corporate philanthropy and individual giving. In her current role as Chief of Staff, she remains focused on growing the organization’s capacity to fulfill its mission and strategic goals. Prior to joining the Foundation, Carol served as the Director of Community Philanthropy at the Humane Rescue Alliance. She continues her work on behalf of animals as a board member of Thoroughbred Placement Resources. She is a passionate advocate for all communities' roles in creating opportunities and improving our world.?

John Opperman: Executive Director, Earth Day Initiative

John is Executive Director of Earth Day Initiative, a 30-year-old environmental organization that puts together the most high-traffic Earth Day events every spring and operates year-round environmental awareness programs, including a sustainable food toolkit and a green building publication. The organization’s mission is to carry the enthusiasm and spirit of Earth Day into the 21st Century to meet today's environmental challenges. John serves as the leader and spokesperson for the highly visible and public Earth Day events, including partnerships with dozens of media outlets, non-profit organizations, government agencies, multinational companies, and educational institutions.?

Chad Frischmann: Senior Director, Project Drawdown

As head of Drawdown Solutions since Project Drawdown’s inception, Chad is a key spokesperson and coalition-builder dedicated to sharing the message and model of the Drawdown Framework to the world. Leading a global team of researchers, Chad designed integrated global tools to assess the world’s most effective climate solutions and determine if, when, and how the world can reach “drawdown,” the point in time when the concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases begins to decline on a year-to-year basis.?

Will Allen: Senior Vice President of Strategic Giving & Conservation Services, Conservation Fund

Will oversees the divisions of Marketing & Communications, Development, Freshwater Institute, Resourceful Communities, and the Conservation Leadership Network. He formerly served as the Fund’s lead on strategic conservation planning and enterprise geospatial services and served as an instructor for green infrastructure and conservation GIS training courses.

He is the co-author with Dr. Kent Messer of the Cambridge University Press book entitled?The Science of Strategic Conservation: Protecting More with Less.?

Jon Stott: Executive Director, EcoRise Youth Innovation

Jonathan Stott is an experienced leader passionate about building community and driving impact. He believes that a non-profit organization can further its mission through a values-based organizational culture that fosters staff autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

EcoRise inspires a new generation of leaders to design a sustainable future for all. Their school-based programs empower youth to tackle real-world challenges in their schools and communities by teaching them about sustainability, innovation, and social entrepreneurship.?

Sandra Goldmark: Founder, Fixup

In 2013, Sandra founded?Fixup ?(formerly Pop Up Repair) and began operating short-term repair shops and educational repair and reuse events around New York City. Sandra is also?an Associate Professor of Professional Practice in Theatre and Director of Sustainability and Climate Action at Barnard College.

Daniel Richter: Vice President of Government Affairs, Citizens' Climate Lobby

Daniel Richter came to work on climate by way of medicine. Realizing the potential for a warming world to make lots of people sick, he figured the best thing he could do for the most people was to prevent the warming in the first place. This led him to pursue a Ph.D. in oceanography, figuring an understanding of past warming and cooling would help him counter the current, human-caused warming.

Dr. Richter joined CCL’s staff in 2013 after 5 years as a volunteer, completing his Ph.D., and getting paid to do scientific research on all 7 continents. As CCL’s first staffer in DC, he established the DC office, where he has been responsible for developing our overall legislative strategy, clarifying the details of our policy, and interacting with other groups in DC. He has also overseen CCL’s research program, leading to our REMI Study, Household Impacts Study, and Dividend Delivery Study.

Donnel Baird: Founder, BlocPower

Donnel Baird is the founder of BlocPower, a cleantech startup based in New York City. BlocPower develops portfolios of clean energy retrofit opportunities in underserved communities and connects those opportunities to investors seeking social, environmental, and financial returns. BlocPower creates jobs for qualified local low-income workers, energy savings for community institutions, reduces carbon emissions, and provides returns to investors. BlocPower is backed by Kapor Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Eric and Wendy Schmidt, the American Family Institute for social and environmental impact, and Salesforce. Baird is a graduate of Duke University and Columbia Business School. He was a recipient of the Board of Overseers Fellowship and a recipient of investment from the Lang Fund for Entrepreneurial Initiatives. He spent four years as a political and community organizer and more than two years managing a national initiative to leverage American Reinvestment and Recovery Act energy efficiency investments in underserved communities

Stuart Davies: Chief Executive Officer, ORPC

Stuart’s focus is on driving growth and profitability at ORPC by overseeing the commercial rollout of the company's demonstrated and proven technology in the U.S., Canada and Chile.?

ORPC improves people’s lives and the environment through sustainable energy solutions. ORPC brings marine renewable energy technology and project development solutions to its community and industrial partners, specializing in the microgrid for the utility-scale river and tidal energy applications and underwater mobile power supplies for offshore energy applications. ORPC delivers practical, high-performing, sustainable solutions that provide clean, affordable energy while ensuring positive economic results.