The Staff

The Energy Action Coalition has a small and dedicated central staff with offices in Washington, DC and San Francisco, CA. The central staff is responsible for keeping systems moving for the coalition and driving strategic planning and communications.

Kassie Rorhbach - Co-Director, Operations

Kassie is Co-Director and one of the co-founders of the Energy Action Coalition. Kassie graduated from Connecticut College in 2003 where she led a student campaign to purchase renewable energy. Today they purchase 100% of the campus' electricity from Green-e certified wind power. Prior to joining EAC Central Staff, Kassie spent three years at the Center for Resource Solutions working on the Green-e Renewable Energy Certification Program.

"We need a massive movement to take on this climate crisis and EAC is here to support it and help it grow. I'm honored to work for this coalition and the people that make it possible."

Email: kassie [at] energyaction.net - Phone: 415.575.5531

Jessy Tolkan - Co-Director, Programs

Jessy is a rock star of youth voting and empowerment and a Co-Director of EAC. At UW-Madison she worked to organize student vote coalitions in 2000 and 2002, helping to elect Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin to office, and engaging students in local politics through her own bid for the Madison City Council at age 19. After graduation, Jessy worked as the Wisconsin State Director for the New Voters Project, helping to produce one of the highest youth voter turnout rates in the country.

Email: jessy [at] energyaction.net - Phone: 414.520.5655

Arthur Coulston - Digital Organizer

Arthur got his start in organizing as a student at the University of California where he worked with the California Student Sustainability Coalition and Greenpeace to help pass an ambitious statewide renewable energy policy. At founding meeting of Energy Action Coalition Arthur volunteered to convene the website committee and soon became the volunteer webmaster.

"I'm so stoked to be a part of this movement and to get to work with so many amazing people from my generation. Together we will build a more just and sustainable world!"

Email: arthur [at] energyaction.net - Phone: 415.828.1354

Ragini Kapadia - Field Director

Ragini Kapadia is currently the Field Director for the Energy Action Coalition. Before joining Energy Action, she was the Program Coordinator for the Apollo Alliance, a broad and diverse coalition boldly working to create over three million good new jobs and make our nation energy independent in ten years. She has academic and organizing expertise within the anti-SUV movement, and has previously managed public campaigns to address the economic, social, and environmental impacts of adverse trends within the auto industry through political organizing and strategic communications. Ragini is a graduate of Wesleyan University with a B.A. in the College of Social Studies.

"We're not just hijacking the environmental movement, we're rebuilding it and recentering it from the ground up in a way that calls for a clean, just, and sustainable new energy future."

Email: ragini [at] energyaction.net - Phone: 202.286.0122

Brianna Cayo Cotter - Communications Director

Before joining the Energy Action Coalition, Brianna worked as the media director for the Rainforest Action Network for three years developing cutting edge traditional and new media strategies to successfully push some of the world's largest corporations towards environmental and social responsibility. In 2004, Brianna co-founded and directed Bike for Democracy, a cross-country youth bike project committed to underrepresented voter registration, outreach, and election protection. Prior to that Brianna worked in The Netherlands and Spain as an organizer and communications whiz for a variety of international reproductive rights, economic and environmental justice NGOs. While in high school Brianna co-founded the Girls Advisory Board at The Empower Program and worked as a domestic violence communications and outreach coordinator in Washington, DC. Brianna graduated from Oberlin College with a degree in Gender Studies and the Universiteit van Amsterdam with a certificate degree in International Relations.

Email: brianna [at] energyaction.net - Phone: 415.575.5536

Whit Jones - Program Coordinator

Whit recently graduated from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he majored in International Relations and minored in Political Economy and Environmental Studies. While on campus, he and his friends worked to make Carleton carbon neutral by designing a Sustainability Revolving Fund, studying the feasibility of bringing new wind turbines to campus, and participating in Minnesota Campus Wars. He spent his summer organizing the March to ReEnergize Iowa and participated in the international climate negotiations in Bali as the Partnerships Coordinator for SustainUS in December of 2007.

"It's incredible to work with so many inspiring and creative people, I'm excited about building this movement in the U.S. and across borders"

Email: whit [at] energyaction.net - Phone: 914.671.1880

Madeline Gardener - Partnerships and Actions Director

Madeline dove into activism at age 17 by living at a yearlong native land occupation to protect a Dakota sacred site and a park. From there she went to the University of Minnesota to get busy co-founding a group to promote equal access to education for low income and first generation college students. Not long after, she was in Washington DC, bringing 50,000 people together for actions and workshops on global economic justice. Madeline has provided tireless action and organizing support to  local and national groups working on a  variety of issues. Most recently Madeline was an actions coordinator for SEIU on a groundbreaking contract campaign for private security officers. Madeline is excited to work with coalition partners on integrating strategic direct action and deepening frameworks of justice.   She works to expand EAC's work to include more front-line communities and underrepresented groups for the most powerful movement ever.
 

Email: madeline [at] energyaction.net - Phone:  612.807.0981