OUR HISTORY
innovate.
educate.
celebrate.
In 2019 Caroline was recognized by TIME magazine as one of the 31 most influential people in the South. She was also 1 of 12 individuals nationally recognized as a White House Climate Resilience Champion of Change in 2013. That year, Caroline also joined 100 leaders at the White House Leadership Summits on Women & the Environment and on Climate & Energy, co-hosted by the U.S. Dept. of Energy. In 2012, she was appointed 1 of 11 environmental education professionals to the EPA’s National Environmental Education Advisory Council.
OUR MISSION
To educate and promote an informed and engaged public that supports climate action.
OUR VISION
A WORLD IN WHICH ALL PEOPLE, GOVERNMENTS, AND ORGANIZATIONS ARE INFORMED, ENGAGED, AND TAKING ACTION ON CRITICAL CLIMATE ISSUES.
OUR PURPOSE
To empower communities across all levels of society with climate science education and demand climate policies from our elected leaders. We highlight the urgency of climate action, while championing solutions for a resilient future.
OUR People
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Caroline Lewis
Founder & Senior Climate Advisor
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Yoca Arditi-Rocha
Executive Director
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Natalia Ortiz
Director of Development
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Olivia Collins
Director of Programs
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Natalie Rivas
Program Manager
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Julieta Rodrigo
Associate Program Manager
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Mia Kirn
Events and Development
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Veronica Ybarz
Social Media Coordinator
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Gabriela Rodriguez
Program Coordinator
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Ian Quartin
Office Administrator
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Laura Betts
Program Manager, Orlando
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Aria McKenna
Associate Program Manager
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Salome Garcia
Policy and Campaigns Manager, Tallahassee
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Katrina Erwin
Program Coordinator, Tallahassee
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Karolyn Burns
Programs Manager, Tallahassee
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Dr. Bernard Horowitz
CLEO Board PresidentRecognized internationally for his research on blood viral safety and the preparation and characterization of new therapeutics from blood.
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Daniel Dietch
CLEO Board Vice PresidentFormer Mayor of Surfside and Project Director for SCS Engineers where he provides strategic solid waste and environmental consulting services to municipal and commercial clients worldwide.
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Tomás E. Castellanos
Miami attorney at Holland and Knight, and a member of the firm's Real Estate Practice. Mr. Castellanos focuses his practice on all aspects of commercial real estate transactions, including the financing, acquisition, disposition, leasing and development of real estate assets.
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Mario Facella
Senior lender at TD Bank specializing in commercial real estate banking activities.
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Ed Freedman
Consulted for over 40 years in human resources and employee benefits before retiring from the business world and moving to Pinecrest, Fla.
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Lindsey Wolfson Goldsmith
Asset Manager & Closing Coordinator at Pinnacle, a multi-family development and construction company dedicated to affordable/workforce housing.
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Cara A. Horowitz
Andrew Sabin Family Foundation Executive Director of the Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA Law, which is dedicated to advancing climate change law and policy.
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John Morales
Chief Meteorologist for NBC6 South Florida.
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David Martin
President and Co-founder of Terra Group.
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Monica O’Chaney
CEO of 3SE, a strategy firm focused on the nexus of the disruption of digital education and emerging businesses.
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Delaney Reynolds
Founder of the Sink or Swim Project MiamiSeaRise.org
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Dr. Harold Wanless
Professor of Geography and Regional Studies at the University of Miami.
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Dr. F. Lynn Leverett
Board Member EmeritusA native of Lubbock, Texas, graduated from Texas Tech University and then from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio.
The CLEO Institute’s Expert Advisory Council has been established to provide local, state, and national guidance and support.
The council is composed of top climate scientists, environmentalists, teachers, former elected and government officials.
Ricardo Alvarez
President & Director, MITIGAT.com. Specialties: vulnerability assessment & mitigation.
Maribel Balbin
President at Public Affairs Concepts and Voter Services Chair for League of Women Voters
Henry O. Briceño
Ph.D.- Professor at Southeast Environmental Research Center & Department of Earth and Environment at Florida International University.
Julie Dick
Environmental lawyer who is a relentless advocate for hurricane and sea level rise preparedness, conservation of coastal resources, and responsible planning.
Maribeth Gidley
Ph.D.- Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystems Division (NOAA) CIMAS.
Jane Gilbert
Chief Resilience Officer, City of Miami.
Brian Haus
Ph.D.- A Professor in the Ocean Sciences Department at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.
Ben Kirtman
Ph.D.- Professor, Department of Atmospheric Sciences; Director, Cooperative Institute for Marine & Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS); Director; Center for Computational Science Climate and Environmental Hazards Program UM RSMAS.
Amy Knowles
Chief Resiliency Officer for the City of Miami Beach.
Cindy Lerner
The former Mayor of the Village of Pinecrest and former President of the Miami-Dade County League of Cities.
Nancy Gassman
Ph.D.-Assistant Public Works Director - Sustainability, City of Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Michael E. Mann
Ph.D.- Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at Penn State, with joint appointments in the Department of Geosciences and the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute (EESI). He is also director of the Penn State Earth System Science Center (ESSC).
Camilo Mejia
Network Director for Catalyst, and author of an Iraq war memoir that details his journey from enthusiastic infantryman to conscientious objector.
David Nadeau
Marine educator and ecologist, captain, and nature photographer
Jayantha Obeysekera
Director and Research Professor in the Sea Level Solutions Center, Florida International University.
John(Jack) Parker
Ph.D.- Professor Emeritus, Smithsonian Environmental Science and Chemistry
Brian Soden
Ph.D.- Professor, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, UM RSMAS - Specialization: Tropical Climate Change, Climate Modeling, Remote Sensing.
Philip K. Stoddard
Ph. D.- Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, FIU; Mayor, City of South Miami, and appointed by the White House in 2015 to the Governance Coordinating Committee of the National Ocean Council where he developed national policy for sea level rise.
Tiffany G. Troxler
Ph. D.- Research Associate Professor, Southeast Environmental Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University.