1Sky Staff [1] | 1Sky Board of Directors [2] | Consultants [4]

1Sky is building its team right now – and we need the best strategists, the most seasoned policy professionals, and the most powerful campaigners in the country with the passion to ignite this movement. Meet the team below – and apply to join us here [5].

Ada Aroneanu, Organizer: Ada has spent the past five years working in the social justice and environmental movements. As a student at Pomona College, she worked to organize around labor issues and immigrants’ rights both in Los Angeles and Latin America. After co-founding the Pomona Campus Climate Challenge, she led the college to substantial victories – over 80% of the student body signed a Green Pledge to reduce energy consumption, which led to an institutional commitment to achieve climate neutrality. A recipient of the Young People For activism grant and Draper research grant, Ada went on to campaign work after graduation. As the director of a Sierra Club State Action Fund campaign office in DC, Ada hired and trained a team that signed up over 5,000 new members in two months. Most recently, Ada had the opportunity to work on organizing Power Shift 2007 – the largest youth climate conference ever held. Ada graduated with a BA in Politics from Pomona College, where she received the Pomona College Award in Contemporary Politics. Ada is fluent in Spanish and Romanian.

Vivian Buckingham, Policy Director: Prior to joining 1Sky, Vivian directed the Campaign for Communities for Earth Day Network, worked for the Environmental Law Institute, the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the International Program of Earthjustice and the Center for International Environmental Law in Geneva, Switzerland. She was appointed a fellow by the First Nations Institute to the Roundtable on the North American Pharmaceutical Industry and Research Involving Indigenous Knowledge. In 2002 she directed and coordinated the "Conference on Trade, Sustainability and Global Governance" (Symposium Issue, Columbia Journal of Environmental Law, Volume 27 No. 2). Before joining the legal profession, Vivian enjoyed careers in the field of public relations, in university administration and finance, and in project management for Fortune 100 companies. She received her B.A. in Political Science from Columbia University magna cum laude and earned her JD from Columbia University School of Law graduating as a Lowenstein Fellow, a CLEA Outstanding Student awardee and a recipient of the Alfred A. Forsyth Prize for Environmental Law. She is currently active on the boards of the Institute for Conservation Leadership, the Eastern Environmental Law Center, Redefining Progress and the Columbia Law School Alumni Association of Washington, D.C. She periodically serves as a guest lecturer and is dedicated to the mentoring of students who are interested in serving in the public interest sector of environmental law.

Liz Butler, Field and Outreach Director: Liz has over 15 years experience organizing on forest and environmental issues with a focus on market campaigns for the last 10 years. Until recently, she has worked at ForestEthics, which she joined in 1998 – designing and implementing the overall organizing strategy and building the organizing team for ForestEthics. The organizing strategy has played a critical role in the many successes of ForestEthics campaigns by creating an international network of allies, leaders, and activists that engage in these campaigns. ForestEthics successes include the protection of over seven million acres of endangered forests and transforming the paper policies of multi-billion-dollar companies, including Staples, Office Depot, Victoria’s Secret, and many more. Prior to joining ForestEthics, Ms. Butler served as the national organizing director for American Lands Alliance, the director of Missouri Public Interest Research Group, and graduated from Green Corps’ Environmental Leadership Training Program. Ms. Butler has designed dozens of organizing strategies for successful environmental and corporate campaigns. She lives just outside of Washington, DC with her son.

Gillian Caldwell, Campaign Director (Executive Director/CEO equivalent): Gillian is a film maker and an attorney with thirty years of experience advocating for social justice in the United States and around the world.  She is the outgoing Executive Director of WITNESS (www.witness.org [6]), which uses the power of video to open the eyes of the world to human rights abuses.  Gillian led WITNESS’ rapid expansion during her decade of leadership and helped produce numerous documentary videos for use in advocacy campaigns around the world, including Outlawed: Extraordinary Rendition, Torture and Disappearances in the “War on Terror”, System Failure: Violence, Abuse and Neglect in the California Youth Authority, Behind the Labels: Garment Workers on US Saipan, and Operation Fine Girl: Rape Used as a Weapon of War in Sierra Leone.  She is also co-editor and author of a book published by Pluto Press called Video for Change: A Guide to Advocacy and Activism (2005). Gillian was formerly the Co-Director of the Global Survival Network, where she coordinated a two-year undercover investigation into the trafficking of women for forced prostitution from Russia and the Newly Independent States that helped spur new anti-trafficking legislation in the US and abroad.  Gillian lived in South Africa during 1991 and 1992, investigating hit squads and security force involvement in township violence, and has worked in Boston, Washington DC and New York on issued related to poverty and violence.  She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Echoing Green Fellowship (1996-1998), Rockefeller Foundation Next Generation Leadership Award (2000), Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship Award Winner (2001-present), Tech Laureate of the Tech Museum (2003), Ashoka: Innovators for the Public as a special partner (2003), Journalist of the Month by Women’s Enews (2004), Skoll Social Entrepreneurship Award (2005-present). She received her BA from Harvard University and a J.D. from Georgetown University, where she was honored as a Public Interest Law Scholar.  Under her leadership, WITNESS was also honored with numerous awards, including most recently the NY Times Award for Excellence in Communications (2007) and 2007 American Express Building Leadership Award from the Independent Sector.  Gillian speaks English and Spanish. 

Luis Hestres, Online Communications Coordinator: Luis has more than 6 years of experience in the field of online communications, working exclusively for nonprofit organizations.  He worked in public television for three years--first at MHz Networks, then at PBS--as a video editor, Web designer and content technologist.  After a second tour of grad school, Luis worked for 3 years as eAdvocacy Coordinator at Families USA--a progressive healthcare advocacy organization--then spent a year on Capitol Hill working for Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) and the House Small Business Committee.  Luis has a BA in communications from the University of the Sacred Heart in San Juan, Puerto Rico, an MFA from American University in Film and Electronic Media, and a masters’ degree from Georgetown University's Communications, Culture and Technology program. He received a distinction for his thesis "Peace for Vieques: The Role of Transnational Activist Networks in International Negotiations," which he presented as part of a human rights panel at the 2007 International Studies Association annual conference.  Luis is very excited to be part of the 1Sky team and to make a small contribution to solving the challenge of climate change. 

Isabelle Johnson, Office Services Coordinator: In her position, Isabelle is continuing her commitment to climate change, which began in the 1970’s as her family campaigned for environmental stewardship of the Long Island Sound.  She continued campaign and environmental work in college through Conn PIRG and the Colby Democrats.  While living in Boston, Isabelle worked and consulted for a variety of non-profit institutions as a fundraiser and administrative manager, including Harvard School of Dental Medicine, United South End Settlements, and Fenway Community Health Center.   She continued to build her administrative expertise in Ithaca, New York as Assistant Director of the local historic preservation group.  Isabelle moved to Washington, DC in 2005, and joined 1Sky this August.  Other professional roles include Montessori pre-school teacher and cheesemonger.  She lives in Takoma Park and dedicates considerable free time to constructing robots with her son, and playing the washboard in a Baltimore hootenanny. 

Mary Kadzielski, Executive Associate: Mary recently spent fourteen months conducting in-depth research on the issues surrounding and solutions to the environmental and energy crises for a television documentary. She is co-founder of an environmental media company, Ground Up Productions, and has been active in the Los Angeles environmental community. Mary is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine, where she studied literature and creative writing. She has worked in magazine writing, and her poetry has been published in several journals. She is also a nationally certified massage therapist and an avid traveler.  Mary is thrilled to be a part of the 1Sky team, working on a daily basis to address the challenge that is climate change.  

Jason Kowalski, Policy Fellow: Jason has played an active role within the climate movement for years. As a National Coordinator for Step It Up 2007, Jason succeeded in connecting hundreds of people with the political process via an open source web-based campaign. Step It Up sparked 2,000 organic actions in all 50 states last year, and that grassroots momentum opened the door for the bold sustained vision for 1Sky. Jason also has experience working with executives and financial officers on college campuses to dramatically reduce their carbon emissions using the most economical means available. He recently worked with Clean Air-Cool Planet, expanding their Campus Carbon Calculator to include economic analysis and a detailed greenhouse gas emissions inventories. Over 450 institutions of higher education will be using the Calculator to create and implement carbon neutrality plans in the coming academic year. Jason is a native of Buffalo, New York, and a recent graduate of Middlebury College.

Robert Lyon, Development Coordinator: Bob began his career in the world of environmental/social justice non-profit organizations at Greenpeace in 1992. Since then, he has worked in an administrative or fundraising capacity for organizations that worked on direct aid to developing countries, labor rights, peace and disarmament, the environment, and animal welfare. Bob has a 5 year old daughter, a dog, and reduces his carbon footprint by commuting to work by bike. 

Aditya ("Adi") Nochur, Organizer: Adi is a Boston native and a recent graduate of Tufts University, he spent over three years organizing in the youth climate movement.  Working with student organizations like the Sierra Student Coalition, Energy Action Coalition, Climate Campaign and EnviroCitizen, Adi has coordinated local activist networks, organized state and regional conferences and facilitated the development of national clean energy campaigns.  He has also participated in international climate policy negotiations as part of a large youth delegation to the United Nations climate change conference in Montreal in 2005.  In recognition of his organizing activities, Adi was awarded a Morris K. Udall Scholarship in 2006.  Adi currently serves on the Sierra Club’s Environmental Justice Committee and he recently co-authored a book chapter on climate justice in Ignition, a compiled volume of climate change essays.  Adi was first inspired to environmentalism by his uncle, a longtime campaigner for social and environmental justice in India. Adi is fluent in Spanish and Tamil. 

Michael Silberman, Internet Director: Michael is a Partner and Co-Founder of EchoDitto, a leading strategic online communications and technology firm dedicated to building vibrant communities online and empowering people through the creative use of emerging technologies. Silberman’s expertise in leveraging new media and participatory technologies to affect positive social and environmental change includes exciting projects with the Clinton Foundation, the Service Employees International Union, and the U.N. World Food Programme. Prior to co-founding EchoDitto, Silberman managed the grassroots field organizing and leadership development programs for Howard Dean’s renowned presidential run in 2004. As National Meetup Director, he developed a team and technology strategy that mobilized 189,000 volunteers in over 1,200 cities worldwide. He is a frequent writer and speaker on the effective use of technology for converting online activity into real-world action. Silberman’s latest publication includes a chapter for Mousepads, Shoe Leather, and Hope: Lessons from the Howard Dean Campaign for the Future of Internet Politics (Paradigm2007). Michael also gained valuable organizing and political experience at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and in the Clinton White House at the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). He graduated on skis with a B.A. from Middlebury College. 

Melisa Stodieck, Organizer: Melisa is a recent graduate of Green Corps' Environmental Leadership Training Program, where she was chosen out of 2,000 applicants. As an organizer, Melisa partnered with Environment America during the Presidential primaries to birddog and lobby all of the presidential candidates on clean energy.  She has also worked with Campaign for America's Wilderness and the Nevada Wilderness Project on federal wilderness designation.  In the fall of 2007, Melisa partnered with National Environmental Trust and organized around passing bold legislation on climate change. During this time, she planned and launched a Climate Activism Training with environmental leader Bill McKibben and Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network Mike Tidwell, turning out over 200 activists from across Florida.  Before her work as an organizer, Melisa enjoyed working in higher education and graduate admissions in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  She is a graduate of Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota, where she studied Environmental Studies and Anthropology. As a student, she was president of the student of color organization Alma Latina.  Melisa is excited to be on the 1Sky team and working on the most important issue of our time.