Staff

Jerome Ringo came to the Apollo Alliance in 2005 as a dedicated champion of environmental justice and vocal advocate of clean energy. He has first hand experience of the challenges we face after working for more than 20 years in Louisiana’s petrochemical industry. More than half of that time was spent as an active union member working with his fellow members to secure a safe work environment and quality jobs. Louisiana’s petrochemical industry focuses on the production of gasoline, rocket fuel, and plastics – many of which contain cancer causing chemicals. As he began observing the negative impacts of the industry’s pollution on local communities – primarily poor, minority communities – Jerome began organizing community environmental justice groups. Jerome’s experience organizing environmental and labor communities and his drive to further diversify the environmental movement bridges many of Apollo’s partners to create a broad based coalition to provide real solutions for our energy crisis. In 1996, Ringo was elected to serve on the National Wildlife Federation board of directors and, in 2005, Jerome became the chair of the board. In so doing, he also became the first African American to head a major conservation organization. Jerome was the United States’ only black delegate at the 1998 Global Warming Treaty Negotiations in Kyoto, Japan, and represented the National Wildlife Federation at the United Nations’ conference on sustainable development in 1999. Jerome inspires audiences around the world to create a new clean energy economy. Some of his most notable appearances include: the Montreal Climate Summit in 2006, the United Nations African Climate Conference in Nairobi, Kenya in 2006, the Kyoto Plus Conference in Berlin Germany in 2007, and the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver Colorado. In 2006, Jerome was a McCloskey Fellow and Associate Research Scholar at Yale University; in 2008, he was a Visiting Lecturer at the University of California, Santa Barbara’s Bren School of the Environment. Jerome is co-author of Diversity and the Future of the U.S. Environmental Movement (published in 2007) and The Green Festival Reader (published in 2008.)

Cathy Calfo joined the Apollo Alliance in November 2007, having served for the past decade as California’s Deputy State Treasurer and as a senior advisor to the former State Treasurer, launching some of the most innovative policy initiatives in the country, including the Green Wave which invested nearly $1.5 billion in renewable energy, cutting edge environmental technologies, and environmentally responsible companies; and Smart Investments and the Double Bottom Line, that redirected state funding to revitalize urban neighborhoods, curb sprawl and promote energy-efficient and sustainable development practices. A leader in her home community of Santa Cruz California, Cathy served as a founding member of the city’s commission for the prevention of violence against women, for five years on the city planning commission and as a member of the board of directors of Above the Line, a shelter for homeless youth. She has three sons — seven year-old Elijah; Kris, who recently graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz; and Kaj, who attends Sonoma State University.

Kate Gordon was one of Apollo’s first staffers, joining in 2004 as the director of the Apollo Strategy Center, the policy arm of Apollo formerly housed at the Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS). She then served as Apollo’s national program director before her promotion to co-director in mid-2008. Kate’s new role as senior policy advisor was prompted by her appointment in June 2009 to senior vice president for energy programs at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C., one of the premier energy policy positions in the country. Kate is nationally recognized for her work on the intersection of clean energy and economic development policy, and especially for helping to shape the modern definition of “green-collar jobs” as “well-paid, career track jobs that contribute directly to preserving or enhancing environmental quality.” She serves or has served on many boards and steering committees including RE-AMP, Clean Wisconsin, the Midwest Agriculture Energy Network, the National Wind Coordinating Committee, and the National Green Industries Policy Retreat. Kate has a long history of working on economic justice and labor issues. At COWS, along with her energy work, Kate focused on corporate tax policy, progressive federalism, and rural economic development. Prior to that she served as an employment and consumer rights litigator at Trial Lawyers for Public Justice in Oakland, California; in earlier years she worked as a tenant organizer and housing advocate in San Francisco. She is a primary or co-author on most of Apollo’s major reports, including The New Apollo Program, Green-Collar Jobs in America’s Cities, Greener Pathways, and the New Energy series. She is also the author of several published articles on contract fairness, federal preemption, mandatory arbitration litigation, and regional economic development.
Kate earned a JD and Masters in city planning from the University of California, Berkeley.

After working for ten years in Sacramento as a field staff member, then legislative director for the statewide environmental group, CALPIRG (now Environment California), Mary left to direct a non-profit health organization in San Diego. Mary then began consulting with organizations such as the Audubon Society and Physicians for Social Responsibility on program start-ups, organizational development and strategic planning. She also served as the development director for The Rockefeller Family Fund’s Technology Project and later at Stanford’s performing arts program, Stanford Lively Arts. Mary went on to become the executive director for the Stanford Institute for Creativity and the Arts, an organization spearheading interdisciplinary university-wide programs. Mary graduated with honors in international relations from Brown University.

Paul Blank has spent more than ten years providing senior strategic counsel and management for online, political and public affairs campaigns. Most recently, Paul served as national deputy campaign manager, in charge of day-to-day operations, for John Edwards’ presidential campaign. Prior to that, Paul founded and managed the WakeUpWalMart.com campaign, the fastest growing online, grassroots campaign for corporate responsibility in America, with over 431,000 supporters. Paul also served as national political director for Howard Dean’s historic 2004 presidential campaign and has worked on high-profile public affairs campaigns such as Fortune 500 company Qualcomm’s worldwide campaign for 3G telecommunications rights. Paul has been a frequent speaker on the power of the Internet and politics and has appeared in Fortune Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and on the Today Show, Fox News, and 20/20, in addition to many other media outlets.

Anthony Booth joined the Apollo Alliance in April 2008. Previously, Anthony worked for four years as a Finance Assistant on Phil Angelides’ campaign for Governor of California. During his time on the campaign he gained great knowledge of fundraising, database procedures and event planning. Anthony attends San Francisco State University, where he is working on a degree in political science.

Carla Din, Western Regional Director
din at apolloalliance.org

Carla Din joined the Apollo Alliance in 2004 as the Western Regional Field Director. Prior to this position, Carla served as the environmental liaison for the United Steelworkers, District 11, and led the labor program of the Rose Foundation for Communities & the Environment’s Maxxam Corporation capital strategies campaign to save Headwaters Forest. Carla serves on the AB118 Advisory Committee of the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program; and the Executive Board of the Northwest Energy Coalition. Carla is also an Advisory Board Member of MMA Renewable Ventures’ Bright Futures Program, and the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment’s New Voices Are Rising Project. In 2005, Carla was one of the recipients of the Byron Sher Environmental Leadership Award from the California League of Conservation Voters. Carla holds a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a M.A. in public administration from the University of Washington in Seattle.

Since joining the Apollo Alliance as Research Associate in September 2008, Elena has written numerous policy briefs, memos, and data points on green economic development, job quality standards, workforce development, and energy policy. She has been deeply involved with the Apollo Alliance’s work to inform Congress and the public about clean energy and green-collar job provisions in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and has prepared a number of memos and presentations on opportunities related to its implementation. Prior to joining Apollo she did research for the Labor Center at the University of California, Berkeley, where she conducted a study in Contra Costa County on opportunities in the green economy for cities and training programs, and published a paper on strategies for ensuring that green jobs are quality jobs. Elena’s roots are in community-based work and youth development, and she has experience in the United States and Latin America. She earned an MSW in Social Welfare and a MA in International and Area Studies, both from the University of California, Berkeley.

Sam Haswell, Communications Director
haswell at apolloalliance.org

Sam Haswell, a marketing, communications, and media specialist with a decade of public and private sector experience, joined the Apollo Alliance in April 2009. From 2006-2009, Sam was the director of communications for Rainforest Action Network (RAN), where he oversaw all of the organization’s communications strategies and platforms, and supervised a five-member staff. Prior to joining RAN, Sam directed communications and media strategy for Oceana Inc.’s successful campaign to convince Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines to install advanced wastewater treatment systems fleet-wide and also helped launch the organization’s Stop Seafood Contamination campaign. Earlier in his career, Sam served as press secretary to former U.S. Senator Mark Dayton and as deputy communications director for Minnesota U.S. Senate candidate Mike Ciresi. Sam earned a B.A. in philosophy from the University of Colorado in Boulder, and studied literature and philosophy at the University of Uppsala in Sweden.

Amelia Klawon, Executive Assistant
amelia at apolloalliance.org

Amelia Klawon joined the Apollo Alliance in September 2008. Previously, Amelia served as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer in Tucson, Arizona and an AmeriCorps National Service volunteer in East Palo Alto, California. As a VISTA volunteer, Amelia developed community volunteer care giving programs to serve elders, and co-authored a manual on how to develop and sustain such programs. She also developed and implemented a volunteer program for the new East Palo Alto YMCA and helped plan and lead a conference for young women of color. Amelia began at Apollo as a program intern before accepting her new assignment as executive assistant to Co-Director Cathy Calfo. She earned a B.A. in psychology with a double minor in Spanish and Family Studies and Human Development from the University of Arizona. Among her many accomplishments as a student was planning and organizing a program of daily and weekly workshops to assist incoming at-risk freshmen to strengthen their life and academic skills.

John “Mac” Lynch joined the Apollo Alliance in December 2007 as Program Assistant. During his brief and very productive career here Mac has distinguished himself as immensely capable in every facet of public interest research, communications, and program management. Before joining Apollo, Mac worked as education and outreach intern for the Lake Champlain Basin Program in Grand Isle, Vermont; and as outreach intern for Forest Watch in Montpelier. He graduated with honors from Hamilton College with a B.A. in environmental science and communications. While at Hamilton Mac co-led the Hamilton Environmental Action Group and continues his involvement as an active member of Graduates for a Greener Hamilton.

Heidi Pickman joined the Apollo Alliance as Communications Advance Associate in April 2008 following a nearly decade-long career as a producer and editor in public radio. Most recently, she was an independent radio producer for National Public Radio, Marketplace Productions, the New York Times, the Huffington Post, and YouthRadio. Prior to that Heidi was a producer for American Public Media, where she helped found and produce “Weekend America,” a program heard nationally on NPR member stations. She also was the Los Angeles bureau chief for Youth Radio, and produced Marketplace and the Marketplace Morning Report. Kai Ryssdal, the host of Marketplace, told us that Heidi was a superior talent, “a producer’s producer.” Heidi earned her B.A. and M.A. in economics from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, is a doctoral candidate in economics at UCLA, and has studied at the Institute for Justice and Journalism at USC. She has a keen interest in anything that has to do with Spain. She taught at the Institute for International Studies in Seville, and speaks Spanish fluently. Heidi says she has “a passion for social change,” and “would contribute an interesting background in environmental economics and journalism with a strong desire to see clean energy become the norm.” Sounds like she picked the right place to do her work.

Ron Ruggiero joined the Apollo Alliance in September 2008 after more than 15 years of organizing, representation, and negotiation experience in the labor movement. He is a graduate of the AFL-CIO Organizing Institute. In 1997, he was awarded the SEIU Western Region Organizer of the Year. After organizing thousands of workers across the country, he began representing workers and negotiating contracts, including unique partnership efforts between labor and management within Kaiser Permanente. Most recently, as staff director at SEIU Local 49, he helped lead a local-wide revitalization effort. This culminated in the local being awarded “Most Improved Local” for member political engagement by the international. In 2007, he joined an ad hoc environmental committee within SEIU and helped launch the “Negotiating Green” handbook. He also began attending local Apollo Alliance meetings in Oregon. He liked what he saw. “It is clear to me that building the clean energy economy can both solve the climate crisis and help us solve our inequality crisis by revitalizing family wage-paying jobs in the United States.” Ron enjoys hiking and camping with his wife, Cindy, and their two young sons, Justus and Zade. He holds a B.A. in sociology from the University of California, Davis.

Keith Schneider joined the Apollo Alliance in March 2008, the next stage in a 30-year career in journalism, public interest advocacy, and communications that included long stints at the New York Times and at the Michigan Land Use Institute, which he founded and directed.

Keith is a leading innovator in applying the new tools and techniques of online communication to secure public interest outcomes. As communications director at the Apollo Alliance he is helping to design and oversee a novel and effective program of Web-based research, content, communications, and dissemination to move the United States towards a clean energy economy.

Keith’s career in non-profit public interest communications began in 1995 when he founded the Michigan Land Use Institute, a statewide research and policy organization. He was executive director during the organization’s first five years, and later was editor, director of program development, and deputy director.

Keith, a nationally known writer, also reports for the New York Times, where he has contributed since 1981, and where he served from 1985 to 1995 as a national correspondent based in Washington. His work has been recognized with numerous honors, including two George Polk Awards for national reporting, among the most prestigious in American journalism. He earned a B.A. in American Studies from Haverford College.

Dana Sevakis joined the Apollo Alliance in April 2009. A Michigan native, Dana began her organizing career while attending the University of Colorado at Boulder where she helped direct the local chapter of the Rainforest Action Network. During that time she worked on a campaign to convince Home Depot and other major home improvement retailers to not sell products made from old-growth and rainforest timber. The successful campaign earned the Boulder chapter national recognition. After graduating in 2000 with a B.A. degree in environmental studies, Dana joined the Chicago Recycling Coalition to improve the city’s “Blue Bag” recycling program. She also worked for Chicago Jobs with Justice, a labor-community coalition engaged in strengthening worker’s rights. In 2004, Dana returned to the Detroit area as a member of the political and communications staff for SEIU Local 3, a Midwest regional “Justice for Janitors” local. During the 2008 national election, she was a consultant for Michigan Voice, a state group that coordinated civic engagement organizations, and America Votes, a national organization focused on mobilizing voters.

Shanelle Smith joined the Apollo Alliance in April 2009. As an undergraduate at Kent State University, Shanelle was leader in the university’s NAACP chapter. She was recently named a 2009 Ohio Political Leaders Fellow by the Center For Progressive Leadership, joining 45 other outstanding young leaders in the center’s inaugural class of Ohio fellows. Shanelle interned at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. Shanell, a native of Perrysburg who was raised in a strong union family, earned a B.A. in political science from Kent State University and is completing an M.A. in political science from the University of Toledo.

Joe Thomas, who was raised in St. Louis, Missouri spent three years as an organizer in the Show Me state before joining the Apollo Alliance in May 2009. Even before he graduated magna cum laude in 2007 with a B.A. in English literature from Washington University, Joe was a trainer in grassroots organizing with the United States Students Association, teaching college students how to build effective direct action organizations on campus. He also was the student youth co-chair for the St. Louis Area Chapter of Jobs with Justice, focusing on connecting students to community, labor, and religious organizations. After graduation, Joe was a deputy field organizer with Missouri Campaign for Change, and served in a number of organizing and office staff positions with Missouri Jobs With Justice, a coalition of community, labor, student, and religious groups committed to economic justice that grew out of the St. Louis chapter.