Aina (she/her) is a Nigerian-American immigrant who found her calling as a systems interventionist and has built her multi-faceted career on making innovation more just and impactful. Aina is currently the President and Executive Director of VertueLab, a Pacific Northwest center for developing and deploying climate tech with a justice-first lens. In her previous work as a social impact strategist, Aina worked with historically marginalized communities across the globe to ensure real impact in health, tech and finance outcomes on projects by clients ranging from Meta, Logitech, Merck and Novartis to The Obama Foundation.

When a further pivot into software put Aina in the roles of founder and CEO in both health and climate tech, Aina notably became the first Black woman to run a venture-backed company in Germany. And as a person displaced from her homeland by the ruthless hand of fossil fuel extractivists, Aina believes there is no greater and more sacred privilege than supporting a just transition, especially for Black and Indigenous people. When discussing her passion for climate justice, Aina shared, “In my pursuit of a just transition, I have embraced the sacred privilege of working at the intersection of innovation and the wisdoms of long-silenced communities and cultures.”

Andrea (she/her) is an advocate and filmmaker whose work is inspired by social and environmental issues at the intersection of the natural world and health. As the Program Manager for Resource Legacy Fund’s Ocean, Coast, and Fisheries programs, she shapes and oversees projects that advance coastal conservation, climate resilience, and equitable coastal access. She has over a decade of experience supporting advocate networks as well as efforts to bring public and philanthropic funding to frontline communities.

Andrea is the co-founder of Surfgrass Productions, a communications and film production company working to connect science, conservation, and environmental justice through film. In previous roles, she has worked on ocean data and design projects, sustainable agriculture, western clean energy campaigns, and federal clean energy policy efforts. Driven by her experiences as a second-generation immigrant, Andrea participated in the union negotiating team for UAW Local 2103 - Sierra Employee Alliance and the diversity, equity, and inclusion committees at the Energy Foundation and Resources Legacy Fund. She holds a BA in International Relations from San Francisco State University and a Master of Advanced Studies in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

Andrea joined the Community Advisory Board for the opportunity to bring racial justice and community impact perspectives to potential investments. She believes that environmental and racial justice issues are inextricably linked and that more inclusive financial markets can help transform the legacy of disenfranchisement that Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color face. Andrea shared, “We can’t save the planet or improve individual communities without addressing the systems that actively work against sustainability, including the exploitation of workers and the perpetuation of racial injustice.”

Christina (she/her) is a freedom fighter and truth teller who understand the importance of centering Black and Brown voices in the environmental justice movement. Christina currently serves as the Vice President Operations, Partnership for Southern Equity (PSE). PSE advances policies and institutional actions that promote racial equity and shared prosperity for all in the growth of metropolitan Atlanta and the American South. She is PSE’s staff lead for the Just 40 Accelerator. The Justice40 Accelerator seeks to leverage the Biden-Harris Administration's Justice40 commitment to radically reimagine the existing government resource delivery system as a restorative and reparative framework that better supports Black and historically disinvested communities of color

In response to joining the CAB, Christina shared, “All climate solutions are local. We don't need saving; we need a check and the agency to implement our solutions!” To that end, Christina works to design programs that help close the wealth gap for Black and brown communities. She has completed numerous regional leadership programs, including the prestigious SEED fellowship with the National League of Cities (NLC) and the Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) in 2019. She serves on numerous non-profit boards and is often asked to serve as a guest speaker regarding her work in Economic Development. Prior to joining the PSE, Christina served as the Director for Housing and Community Development for the City of Atlanta and the Deputy Director for Community Development and Regulatory Affairs at the City of South Fulton. Christina’s educational background includes a Master’s of Public Administration from the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies and a BA in Sociology from Georgia State University.

Michael (he/him) s a Climate Policy Activist who has devoted his life to advocating for Energy Justice and seeing an equitable Clean Energy Economy transition in Black Communities. Michael is the Co-Founder of Klean Energy Kulture. This not-for-profit production company partners with Billboard Topping Hit Music Artists to accelerate awareness of the Clean Energy Transition in Black Communities. Over the last decade, Michael has led pivotal campaigns that successfully generated awareness and engagement in Communities of Color, resulting in substantial participation in Climate Change Advocacy. These leadership experiences include being Georgia’s Deputy Field Director for Barack Obama's first Presidential Campaign, Vice President Al Gore's Repower America Campaign, Greenpeace, and the Beyond Coal Campaign with the Sierra Club.

His community-centric orientation in all of these roles has garnered the respect and trust of Stakeholders at all levels. When sharing why he joined the CAB, Micahel said, “I look forward to a world where communities of color are not just the receivers of clean energy but are generators of clean energy too for decades to come.”

Shaun (she/her) is a Turtle Mountain Chippewa citizen, and has been working to reduce the intergenerational, intractable poverty in Native America and the associated psychological and physical stress and resulting addiction outlets by building strong, independent tribal economies for over 25 years. She focuses on reducing regulatory barriers to access capital so tribes can build the infrastructure needed to support responsible development on tribal lands. Shaun actualized the Administration’s commitment to allocate 40% of the benefits from the clean energy transition into historically underserved communities by developing renewable energy on tribal lands. She now works for the federal government and currently serves as the Director of Native Affairs and Economic Development at the U.S. Department of Commerce in the Secretary’s Office.

Shaun is a graduate of Stanford University & received her law degree at the University of Arizona. Shaun shared she is excited to continue to sit on the CAB because “It has been a privilege to sit at the top of the decision-making tree of financial opportunity to learn how the process works & help our communities gain better access.”

Silky (she/her) is the Senior Director of the Housing & Community Development Division at the National Urban League (NUL). NUL is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to empowering African Americans and underserved communities to enter the economic and social mainstream through programs, advocacy, and research. Silky has over a decade of experience in the housing and economic development sector, managing and directing initiatives, advocacy, policy development, and fundraising. Through these experiences, Silky worked with low to moderate-income communities of color in the housing, energy efficiency, and economic development sectors. In her current role, she leads NUL’s signature comprehensive housing counseling program. She stewards a myriad of projects related to asset building and intergenerational wealth preservation for low- and moderate-income populations across the country.

Prior to joining NUL, Silky served as the Neighborhood & Housing Preservation Specialist at Chhaya Community Development Corporation. This community-based organization works on the housing and immigrant rights of the South Asian community in New York City. She was leading the energy efficiency program in Queens, NY, that helped low to moderate-income residents with resources to reduce their energy burden. Silky also previously worked with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs at the United Nations, furthering their global research on e-Government initiatives. Silky completed her Master’s in Urban Planning from the State University of New York at Buffalo and has a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from India.

Silky is committed to empowering communities of color to break down barriers and work towards obtaining economic equality and building sustainable communities. She believes that climate solutions have to be economically viable; they have to account for the realities of our communities. She has joined the Community Advisory Board for an opportunity to work with this diverse group to devise strategies aimed at closing the climate gap by fully accounting for the communities who are at the boot end of this conversation.