Helping the climate community build grassroots power and win through evidence-based advocacy.
About
A community of over 3,000 climate advocates, organizers, field and academic researchers, and data specialists.
The vast majority of Americans care about the effects of climate change, but something is keeping them from taking action.
The Climate Advocacy Lab was created to help solve this problem …and it’s working.
Every day, thousands of advocates and organizers across the country work to reduce climate pollution and expand clean energy opportunities for healthier, thriving communities and a vibrant, climate-stable world. But, we are living in the most hostile political environment ever to climate action. We don’t have the time or money to waste on tactics that fail, or worse, that backfire. Policy- and decisionmakers won’t take meaningful action until they feel significant pressure from their constituents.
Enter the Climate Advocacy Lab. We use evidence, including social science research, data and analytics, field experiments, case studies, and campaign lessons learned to help climate advocates in every part of the U.S. run smarter public engagement campaigns. We raise the sophistication of the field and the appetite for evidence-informed decisions.
How we do it
The Lab helps climate and clean energy advocates, organizers, funders, social scientists, data experts, and others save time, money, and energy by centralizing and transferring knowledge created by the climate community. The Lab provides:
The ongoing, free state of the art tools and training our movement needs
Access to the rigor of testing and evaluation expertise to ensure our work is achieving intended impacts
A central platform that provides free access to the latest movement insights and learnings on what’s working – and what’s not
Movement connectivity across a network of 3,000+ climate “practitioners” in all 50 states working to build durable political power for lasting climate action.
History
Originally incubated at the Skoll Global Threats Fund, the Climate Advocacy Lab is now an independent project supported by the Skoll Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, the George Gund Foundation, Barr Foundation and others.
Reach us at info@climateadvocacylab.org.
Our Team
Carina Barnett-Loro
Title:
Deputy Director
Affiliation:
Climate Advocacy Lab
I manage the Lab's programmatic offerings, including our webinars and in-person workshops. Have spend the past decade organizing on and supporting state-level climate and energy campaigns. Email: carina@climateadvocacylab.org
Nathan Henderson-James
Title:
Digital Manager
Affiliation:
Climate Advocacy Lab
As the Digital Manager for the Lab, I help lead our best-in-class training program, with a special emphasis on using digital tools for advocacy. A veteran of over 25 years in progressive organizing and campaigns, I got my start with ACORN in Minnesota. I have spent the last decade building people power at the intersection of digital, technology, and field organizing. I have a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Carleton College and a life-long passion for science fiction.
Sean Kosofsky
Title:
Executive Director
Affiliation:
Climate Advocacy Lab
I have been a social justice advocate for more than 25 years, and now serve as the Lab’s Executive Director. I got my start in the environmental community in the mid-90s working on clean water campaigns with the Public Interest Research Group in Michigan. I have spent a large part of my career working for LGBT equality, reproductive justice, civil and voting rights, bullying prevention and more. I have deep experience working political campaigns and ballot measures, and a long history with polling, message development and framing across multiple movements and voter turnout efforts. I have also supervised cross-organization randomized controlled experiments with grassroots organizations. Most recently, I was leading my own consulting practice helping nonprofits with fundraising, management, strategy, and governance.
Lucía Oliva Hennelly
Title:
Community Development Manager
Affiliation:
Climate Advocacy Lab
Hi everyone! As the Lab's Community Development Manager, I help grow the Lab's network and deepen connections across our community; contribute to building out the Lab's capacity and resources; and help run our in-person and online events. I also support the Lab in strengthening and realizing our commitments to inclusion, equity, and justice. Prior to the Lab, I worked with Environmental Defense Fund, campaigned for both elections and policy issues, was a recipient of the Spiritual Ecology Fellowship, and studied and taught at Stanford University. A native New Mexican, I spent a decade in the Bay Area and am now based in the Catskill Mountains. Don't hesitate to reach out – I look forward to connecting with you! Email: lucia@climateadvocacylab.org.
Justin Rolfe-Redding
Title:
Social Scientist
Affiliation:
Climate Advocacy Lab
My research interests include persuasion, behavior change, statistical methods, and message design. My doctoral work investigates the role of hope in encouraging engagement with global warming, analyzing survey and experiment data. My research has also addressed the influence of political identity and values in global warming beliefs, and the effects of news coverage, social identity framing, and past behavior on attitudes and further behavior. In addition to a background in the environmental advocacy community, I have worked as a research consultant with the National Wildlife Federation, National Park Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency. I received a master’s degree in Communication from the University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Chicago. Email: justin@climateadvocacylab.org
Nay Secka
Title:
Administrative Assistant
Affiliation:
Climate Advocacy Lab
Nay is the newest member on the Lab team and she works behind the scenes to helps keep the organization's wheels turning. She is passionate about ethical fashion and will tell anyone who will listen about the perils of fast fashion. Email: nay@climateadvocacylab.org
Rebecca Tamiru
Title:
Program Lead
Affiliation:
Climate Advocacy Lab
In addition to leading key areas of the Lab’s strategic program work, I oversee operations. I received a bachelor's degree in Biology of Global Health from Georgetown University and have previously interned at organizations such as The Climate Reality Project and The BlueGreen Alliance. I aspire to contribute to the creation of an environmentally sustainable, clean energy future for the generations to come. Email: rebecca@climateadvocacylab.org
Jack Zhou
Title:
Social Scientist
Affiliation:
Climate Advocacy Lab
I produce and manage the Climate Advocacy Lab's social science resources for our webinars, workshops, and other outreach engagements. My research interests include motivated reasoning, framing effects, and political polarization. In other words, how people think about climate change, how they process information on the issue, and what gets in the way. Prior to joining the Lab, I worked as a postdoctoral associate in energy policy and survey methods. I received my B.S. from UC Berkeley and my Ph.D. from Duke University. Email: jack@climateadvocacylab.org
Our Advisory Board
The Lab is advised by a Governing Board made up of leaders from across the climate and clean energy communities, including:
- Bruce Lowry (Chair), Director, Policy and Global Security, Skoll Foundation
- Liz Judge, Communications Officer, Environment, Hewlett Foundation
- Aimee Witteman, Program Director, McKnight Foundation
- Keya Chatterjee, Executive Director, U.S. Climate Action Network
- Lisa Hoyos, Director, Climate Parents Program, Sierra Club
- Jamila Raqib, Executive Director, Albert Einstein Institution
- Kevin Grandia, Founder and President, Spake Media House, Inc.
- Refugio Mata, Program Director, League of Conservation Voters
- Sean Kosofsky, Executive Director, Climate Advocacy Lab.
We welcome feedback on how to make the Lab more useful to climate engagement efforts, so please do not hesitate to get in touch with ideas on how the Lab can better serve this community by sending us a note at info@climateadvocacylab.org.
Contact Us