ClimateWorks Foundation

Charlie McElwee practiced environmental and energy law for over 25 years at an international law firm. Working for the last five years in Shanghai, he developed an expertise in Chinese environmental and energy law and policy and served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Shanghai Jiaotong University’s School of Law. In 2009, he won the President's Prize, the University’s highest award, for extraordinary contributions to the University, and in 2008 was awarded the Shanghai Municipal Government’s Magnolia Award, the highest honor the city bestows upon foreigners. He is a board member of the Joint U.S.-China Collaboration on Clean Energy, and his book, Environmental Law in China, will be published by Oxford University Press in 2010. Mr. McElwee has a Juris Doctor from West Virginia University College of Law and a Bachelor of Science from Washington and Lee University.

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Mirka della Cava serves as the Program Officer for Energy Efficiency at ClimateWorks.  She is also involved in the development of the global Best Practice Network for Buildings. Ms. della Cava came to ClimateWorks from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory where she had been working for 15 years in the International Energy Studies and the Energy Analysis groups on a number of energy-efficiency and climate change activities including: the Collaborative Appliance Labeling and Standards Program (CLASP), the Water-Energy Technology Team (WETT), USAID's Energy Efficiency Project, the US Country Studies Project, and DOE's US Initiative on Joint Implementation. She previously worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Global Change Division promoting voluntary energy efficiency programs such as Green Lights and Energy Star. Ms. della Cava holds a B.A. in Political Science from Duke University and a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University.

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Gavin Purchas joined ClimateWorks Foundation in August 2010. Prior to joining ClimateWorks, Mr. Purchas worked in the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change as the head of policy for energy efficiency and households. He previously worked at the Sustainable Development Commission, where he prepared for the U.K. government advisory reports on nuclear, tidal, wind, and coal power; advice on energy efficiency; and an in depth review of the regulatory regime for the U.K.’s electricity and gas markets. Mr. Purchas started his career working as the private secretary to the U.K. Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, where he advised on climate change and sustainable development and worked on the U.K.'s second economy-wide climate change program. Mr. Purchas earned a degree in Politics and Economics from the University of Bath and a masters in International Relations from the University of Sussex.

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Jenn Fox formerly worked in the environment program at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. From 1998 to 2007, she worked for Energy Solutions on energy efficiency-related policy development. Ms. Fox wrote the first Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Plan for the city of Oakland, including performing baseline analysis and projections for the transportation, solid waste, and energy sectors. In 1996, Ms. Fox was awarded a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Service Medal for work on the Puna Geothermal Facility and California air quality implementation plans. Her work at EPA focused on air pollution control in California’s Central Valley and rule making for national emissions trading. She has worked domestically and internationally to apply science in resource conservation policy, including research as a Fulbright Scholar into the interplay between policymakers, engineers, geologists, and corporations in hydroelectric decisions. Ms. Fox is president of the board of directors of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and has B.S. and M.S. degrees in environmental engineering from Stanford University.

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Matthew Lewis has 17 years of experience as a journalist and communications professional. Since joining ClimateWorks in 2008, Lewis has worked with leading energy and climate policy organizations in China, India, Europe, Latin America, and the U.S. to develop and implement communications and media strategies. Prior to joining ClimateWorks, Lewis managed public relations and marketing programs for clean energy technology companies at Antenna Group, a San Francisco-based public relations firm. From 2002 to 2007, Lewis served as the energy program director for Resource Media, a non-profit communications consulting firm, and led media campaigns on clean energy and climate policy across the U.S. Through the 1990s, Lewis was an award-winning radio producer, newspaper editor, and magazine publisher. He received a degree in environmental science and literature from The Colorado College and completed graduate work in technical communications at the University of Colorado, Denver.

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Molly Singer has over 20 years of experience managing finance and operations for not-for-profit and for-profit companies. Ms. Singer began her career working in corporate finance for the Dun & Bradstreet Corporation and Apple Computers. Her for-profit work has focused on the high-tech venture-backed start-ups, serving clients such as Yelp, Stumble Upon, and Ad Mob. Ms. Singer's work in the not-for-profit sector includes serving as COO and CFO for the Research Libraries Group, a spin-off of Stanford University and a collaborative network of international research libraries, museums, historical societies, and government repositories created to establish standards for research sharing and preservation. Ms. Singer also worked as COO and CFO for Shanti (the San Francisco AIDS organization) and as Interim Finance Director for the Global Fund for Women. She has a B.A. from Case Western Reserve University and an M.B.A in Finance from Columbia University.

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Brian McCracken has over 15 years of experience in finance and business development roles, primarily in the internet and software industries. Prior to joining ClimateWorks, Mr. McCracken worked as an independent financial consultant, helping establish financial and reporting infrastructure at for-profit start-ups in addition to several emerging San Francisco-based non-profits, including ClimateWorks Foundation, Taproot Foundation, and Tipping Point Community. Mr. McCracken was also a key member of the senior executive team at iSyndicate, a digital syndication company, where he built and launched a service that became the web’s largest content affiliate network. Through his positions as Interim CFO, Vice President—Products, and Vice President—Business Development, Mr. McCracken helped lead iSyndicate from pre-launch to $12 million in annual revenues, and then brokered the sale of the company. Earlier, Brian managed the budgeting process and financial planning for Adobe Systems Incorporated. Brian holds a M.B.A. from the Darden School at the University of Virginia and a B.A. in economics from Whitman College.

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Joseph Ryan currently serves as Vice President, Latin America, and Program Officer, Transportation. Prior to joining ClimateWorks, Mr. Ryan spent ten years in the Environment Program at the Hewlett Foundation as Program Officer and Managing Director for Latin America. In that role, he managed the foundation's international air quality and transportation grant making, which contributed to significant environmental policy changes in Mexico, Brazil, and China. Mr. Ryan has worked in Latin America for the past 15 years, six of which he spent based full-time in Brazil while working for the Hewlett Foundation. He has a Ph.D. in economic history from the University of California, Los Angeles and is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.

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