Justin Bibb

Justin M. Bibb is the 58th Mayor of Cleveland working to improve public safety, invest in neighborhoods and modernize City Hall. On January 3, 2022, Mayor Bibb took the oath of office as the city’s first millennial mayor. 

Mayor Bibb was born and raised on Cleveland’s southeast side in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood. Over the past 15 years, Mayor Bibb has worked in government, business and the nonprofit sector as an executive and nonprofit leader. He started his career in public service working for President Obama when he was in the U.S. Senate and later at Cuyahoga County as a Special Assistant advising on education and economic development policies. He led the Global Cities Practice at global research firm Gallup, served as Vice President at KeyBank and most recently as Chief Strategy Officer at Urbanova, a startup focused on improving cities. 

Mayor Bibb is a proud American University alumnus with an undergraduate degree in Urban Studies. He completed the General Course Programme with an emphasis in Social Policy and Economics from the London School of Economics and is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University. He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Doctor of Law (JD). 

Mayor Bibb’s vision for Cleveland is to become a national model for city management, police reform, and neighborhood revitalization.

Kate Gallego

Kate Gallego is the Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona, the 5th largest city in the nation. In November 2020, she was returned to office by the highest number of votes ever cast for a mayoral candidate in Phoenix.

Mayor Gallego is the second elected female Mayor in Phoenix history and one of the youngest big city Mayors in the United States. She graduated from Harvard University and earned an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Before being elected to Phoenix City Council, Mayor Gallego worked on Economic Development for local utility company, Salt River Project.

Mayor Gallego has focused on three key policy areas during her time in office: diversifying the economy, strengthening infrastructure investment, and working to make Phoenix a leader in sustainability. The year 2020 saw a significant addition to that list: ensuring the public health is protected by adhering to the evolving science around the COVID-19 virus.

Her record of proven results includes leading the campaign to pass Phoenix’s citywide transportation plan through 2050, which was the largest local government commitment to transportation infrastructure in the country when it passed in 2015. She has led efforts on criminal justice reform and ensuring equal pay for equal work. Mayor Gallego is passionate about building a Phoenix that works for everyone and improving the quality of life for all Phoenicians.

Lauren McLean

Boise Mayor Lauren McLean is committed to creating a city for everyone and has worked tirelessly toward that goal, advocating for open space conservation, tackling housing and homelessness side by side with the community, and leading nationally acclaimed climate action efforts. 

Mayor McLean was sworn in on January 7, 2020. She is the 56th mayor of Boise and the first woman elected to that position in the city’s 150-year history. She is passionate about public service, leading boldly with the community at the forefront of every decision. 

McLean’s service to the people of Boise began as a volunteer in 2001. She led the historic Boise Foothills Open Space Levy campaign and, along with hundreds of other dedicated people, secured protection of thousands of acres in the foothills for future generations. Lauren served on Boise City Council from 2011-2019 and served as Council President from 2017-2019. During her time on City Council, she led the effort to pass Boise’s 100% Clean Energy Plan. 

As Mayor, she leads the fight against climate change, setting ambitious goals to secure an environmentally and economically resilient future for Boise. Her vision is to create a city that is truly for everyone – one that offers equitable access to housing, living wage jobs, transportation, and a seat at the table for residents when decisions about the future of Boise are being made. 

Lauren currently serves on the Board of Governors at the Andrus Center at Boise State University. She has been recognized as one of the nation’s most promising young political leaders by the Aspen Institute and New Deal Leaders. She was selected to participate in the 2020 Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative on Economic Recovery.  

Lauren earned a Master of Public Administration from Boise State University as the first Carl Burke Fellow. She was born in Massachusetts and later lived in Texas and upstate New York. Before becoming a Bronco, McLean graduated with honors from Notre Dame. 

Lauren moved to Boise shortly after graduating college and marrying her high school sweetheart, Scott. Lauren and Scott are parents to Madeleine and Aiden. She is an avid trail runner, outdoorswoman, and reader. She and her family love to explore Idaho’s beautiful backcountry by foot or by ski. 

Satya Rhodes-Conway

Satya Rhodes-Conway is the 58th Mayor of Madison. She has extensive experience in local policy and practice, having worked with mayors across the country for over a decade, and serving three terms on the Madison Common Council. Elected in 2019, she is the city’s second female mayor and the first out LGBTQ person to serve as Mayor of Madison.

Rhodes-Conway was born in New Mexico and grew up in Ithaca, New York. She has degrees from Smith College and the University of California – Irvine. She moved to Madison in 2002 and has lived here ever since.

Rhodes-Conway was the Managing Director of the Mayors Innovation Project and a senior associate at the COWS (Center on Wisconsin Strategy) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for 13 years. She worked with cities across the country to implement innovative policy that promotes environmental and economic sustainability and builds strong, democratically accountable communities. During her time at UW, she researched and wrote extensively about local policy that promotes sustainability, equity and democracy. Rhodes-Conway served on the Board of the UniverCity Alliance and is a member of AFT Local 223.

Rhodes-Conway served three terms on Madison’s City Council, representing District 12 from 2007 to 2013. She was a member of Madison’s Food Policy Council from 2013 to 2019, and chaired the city’s Oscar Mayer Strategic Assessment Committee in 2018.

Before her time at UW, she analyzed state endangered species programs for Defenders of Wildlife, researched and wrote about progressive environmental policy at the State Environmental Resource Center, and taught undergraduate biology and ecology.

Rhodes-Conway and her partner, Amy Klusmeier, live on Madison’s east side with their dog Leo and three cats.

Kate Wright

Kate Wright is the Executive Director of Climate Mayors. Kate is responsible for strategic direction of the network, including helping cities implement bold policies and programs, supporting equitable climate action by the Federal Administration and Congress, and building initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while advancing economic growth and environmental justice. Prior to joining Climate Mayors, Kate served as CEO of CivicWell (formerly the Local Government Commission), where she worked with city and county leaders for fifteen years spearheading environmental initiatives on climate resilience, clean mobility, sustainable water management, livable communities, renewable energy, and affordable housing.

Matt Petersen

Katherine Gajewski

Kelly Shultz

Laura Spanjian

Laura Spanjian is the former Sustainability Officer for the City of Houston under Mayor Annise Parker where she coordinated initiatives to improve air, land, and water quality and that supported and expanded more livable and vibrant neighborhoods. Spanjian is an experienced director of public policy and communications, with a specialty in sustainability, and a demonstrated history of working in the public sector and the tech industry. She is currently the Global Director of the Public Policy team at Airbnb.

Rachel Isacoff

Rachel Isacoff is a Director at The Rockefeller Foundation where she leads the Foundation’s domestic climate solutions work and specializes in bridging economic opportunity and climate equity in the U.S. Outside of RF, she is a council member of the Climigration Network and is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Pratt Institute’s Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment.

Previously, she collaborated with private, nonprofit, and public partners across sectors to develop tools and equity initiatives that support communities on the frontlines of climate change. Most notably she worked on climate adaptation and 100 Resilient Cities strategies at HR&A Advisors, key climate justice and equitable relocation projects at the White House Council on Environmental Quality under President Obama’s administration, and energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions at HUD.

Kizzy Charles-Guzman

Kizzy Charles-Guzman is the Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Environmental Health. Her team protects people from toxic chemicals by working with communities, consumers, workers, government, and the private sector to demand and support business practices that are safe for public health and the environment. Kizzy has dedicated over 18 years of her career to deliver policy work at the intersection of environmental sustainability, public health, and racial equity on behalf of New Yorkers.

Jeff Hébert

A former senior city official and current global thought leader in economic revitalization and climate policy, Jeff Hébert is the CEO of HR&A Advisors, overseeing the company’s strategic direction and operations across its six offices.

Jeff has spent his career developing strategies that adapt and respond to changing economies and environments. Over the past twenty years, he has advised corporations, governments, non-profits, and philanthropies on issues of public policy, economic development, and climate resilience.

Since joining the firm in 2019, Jeff has served on the firm’s Management Committee and since 2020 as HR&A’s President, where he was critical to the historic growth of the company’s business and number of employees. He has also been a leader in the firm’s economic development and climate resilience practices with recent projects in New York City, Newark, Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, Dallas, Tulsa, and Washington, DC.

Before joining HR&A, Jeff served Mayor Mitch Landrieu and the City of New Orleans in many capacities including as the First Deputy Mayor & Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Resilience Officer, and as Executive Director of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority in the years following Hurricane Katrina.

Rachel Paris

Rachel Paris is the Membership and Communications Manager of Climate Mayors. Rachel is responsible for creating member mobilization opportunities, deploying engagement strategies, and communicating member successes in advancing equitable climate actions. Prior to joining Climate Mayors, Rachel was a Senior Advisor to Communications and Research at the Climate Action Campaign she spearheaded communications projects to support grassroots climate action initiatives.

Meghan Pazik

Meghan Pazik is the Policy Director of Climate Mayors. Meghan is responsible for leading member cities into thoughtful policy creation and program implementation, including supporting local leaders, dedicated to climate action, to implement the largest federal climate investments in history. Prior to joining Climate Mayors, Meghan served in Congress managing several climate initiatives, including assisting Members of Congress on their work on the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, Natural Resources Committee, and Science, Space and Technology. Meghan also holds a Master’s in Science in Energy and Climate Policy from Johns Hopkins University and resides in Washington, D.C.

Charlene Tayag