DNC Council on the Environment and Climate Crisis
Advisors
Hedieh Briggs, MSW, Advisor to the Chair on Mental Heath and the Environment, has been a mental health practitioner, researcher and educator for over 20 years. She is an activist who has held and continues to hold positions at the Executive Board level in several Democratic Party organizations, including the Michigan Democratic Party, the Ann Arbor Democratic Party, and the Washtenaw County Democrats. Hedieh has been a member of the Justice Caucus Board since 2014. She is passionate about social justice, equity and creating access for mental health treatment for all. She is also deeply invested in addressing the role that climate and environmental changes play in impacting mental health needs. Hedieh is a mother and is deeply engaged in her community, serving on the boards of Arts Engines and other organizations.
Russ Conn, Regional Advisor to the Chair, serves with the Florida Democratic Party as the Vice Chair of the Committee on Clubs, Organizations and Caucuses. There, he offers support and guidance to hundreds of Democratic clubs across the state. Russ recently completed his term as the Florida Chapter President of the Democratic Environmental Caucus. During his involvement, he led the largest membership growth — over 600 members and 25 county-level chapters — to take action in service of the environmental mission in Florida to elect environmentally-conscious Democratic candidates. He excels at streamlining and documenting best practices for effective voter engagement; identifying and mentoring young activists for positions of leadership; and supporting candidates to increase their environmental knowledge, fundraising, and voter support. He also works with Democratic Environmental Caucuses and other organizations to increase their members' environmental knowledge to successfully message and bring about change.
Pete Lee, Policy Advisor, is the son of Korean immigrants. He was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. A former Reagan Republican, he finally broke ties with conservative ideology after witnessing malfeasance at—and being fired from—Enron. He subsequently volunteered for both of Obama’s presidential campaigns—and has continued a commitment to building grassroots movements and electoral power ever since. Pete’s professional background includes senior consultant and analyst roles in the technology, healthcare, and insurance sectors. Over the last decade, he has served as a senior utility analyst on renewables integration, grid modernization, and tariff/regulatory innovation. Prior civic service includes board membership for homelessness, environmental and healthcare justice nonprofits, as well as emergency medical services, search & rescue, disaster relief, and amateur radio emergency communications. Pete presently serves as the Vice Chair & DNC Member for the Democratic Party of Oregon. He is a proud member of the ACLU, NAACP, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Finlandia Foundation, and the IEEE Power & Energy Society.
Lake Liao, Regional Advisor to the Chair, is a climate and labor activist and incoming freshman at Princeton University from Troy, MI. He is the founder and coordinator of Sunrise Troy, a chapter of Sunrise Movement, as well as a national organizer in Sunrise. Lake has also worked on the 2020 Biden Presidential Campaign and various congressional races such as Andy Levin in 2022. He is interested in the connection between the labor and climate movements and how environmental justice can bring equitable, union jobs in green infrastructure. His activism surrounds youth community organizing and strategic political campaigns.
Reverend Michael Malcom, Policy Advisor, is the Executive Director of Alabama Interfaith Power and Light and a licensed and ordained United Church of Christ Minister. Reverend Malcom is the former Senior Pastor of Rush Memorial Congregational UCC in Atlanta and the founder of The People’s Justice Council, a non-profit focusing on environmental justice. Reverend Malcom serves as the Environmental Justice Minister for the Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ and is co-chair of the Building Power from the Grassroots Action Team with US Climate Action Network, co-facilitator for the International Solidarity Working Group with the National Black Environmental Justice Network, co-chair of the Climate Impacts Working Group with the Kitchen, and a board member for the Southeast Climate and Energy Network. He sees environmental justice as the moral obligation to love your neighbor and the solution to the climate crisis: "There can be no environmentalism without environmental justice. If you help the people, you'll heal the planet."
Ron Meehan, Regional Climate Advisor to the Chair, is thrilled to work across the Western region to organize around climate challenges and opportunities. His background in campaign management, Democratic Party organizing, and nonprofit leadership allows him to effectively support communities, advance DNC Climate Council initiatives, and address pressing global environmental and climate issues. He currently serves as the Finance Chair of the Alaska Democratic Party, Vice Chair of the Alaska Democratic Party Climate Caucus, and Vice Chair of Communications for the Young Democrats of America Environmental Caucus. He is also the Director of Government Affairs for the Food Bank of Alaska where he coordinates advocacy efforts for more than 180 food banks and food pantries, tribal organizations, faith-based groups, health and senior centers, among others across Alaska. He has extensive experience in youth political engagement through Young Democrats of America, College Democrats of America, and the Alaska Democratic Party. He earned a BA from Wesleyan University in Government and Environmental Studies and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the Foraker Group.
Steve Newman, Policy Advisor, is a software engineer, climate philanthropist and investor, climate blogger, and serial entrepreneur. In the San Francisco Bay Area, where he lives, the effects of climate change are constantly felt, from wildfire smoke, to enduring drought, to heat waves overwhelming the grid. Steve is a Co-Founder of Writely, the startup which became Google Docs, and of Scalyr. He is currently the CTO of Data Services at SentinelOne, a cybersecurity company. As a climate blogger, he has grappled with the importance of methane to tackling the climate change, as well as exploring thorny issues including carbon offsets and zero emissions targets. Steve states, “Climate science is complicated, but the imperative it leads to is not: Zero emissions. Pretty darn soon. Methane first.”
Christopher Round, Science Advisor, is an expert in the fields of climate change policy and risk. He is a Lead Scientist for Booz Allen Hamilton, where he is the leader for the Climate Change & Resilience Community of Practice. He has consulted on climate and energy issues for the EPA, FAA, National Park Service, and Department of Defense. At the Department of Defense, he led the development of climate data analytics platforms to support Deputy Secretary Katherine Hicks. As an analyst, he has deep experience in understanding the risks posed by climate change to socio-ecological systems & infrastructure and how to present them to decision-makers so they may take decisive action. As an advisor, he submitted policy recommendations for the Democratic Party National Platform and the Biden Presidential campaign. As a scholar, his focus is on the intersection between data sovereignty and environmental sensing technology. Chris is a skilled systems thinker known for his insight into climate policy and political economy.
During the 2020 Presidential campaign, Chris was a co-director of the Biden Digital Coalition. He led a team of over 70 people in developing public policy communications for the Biden campaign as well as researching and countering misinformation campaigns. He helped to lead social media war rooms during the 2020 Presidential Debates. Within the political and activist space, Chris has contributed to campaigns led by 350.org, Environment America, and the Sunrise Movement.
Dr. Linda Rudolph, Policy Advisor, is a public health professional with decades of experience in local and state government and non-profits. She fights for climate policies that address the intersectional environmental, health, racial, and social justice crises: “Carefully crafted climate solutions are our best opportunity to achieve health justice and a livable world for our children and grandchildren.” Dr. Rudolph works to support public health and medical professionals around the nation, building capacity for health advocacy to address the climate crisis and centering social justice. She played a key role in developing the 2019 Climate, Health and Equity Policy Action Agenda (see www.climatehealthaction.org) that has been endorsed by over 150 health organizations and was selected as a White House Champion of Change on climate and health by the Obama White House. She also was a principal contributor to this Council's Policy Agenda Recommendations for the 2020 Democratic Party National Platform.
Michael A. White, Advisor to the Chair, is an attorney at law in private practice and the Democratic National Committeeman from the Northern Mariana Islands. He lives and works in Saipan. He is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University and holds a law degree from Temple University. Originally from Philadelphia, he is a former Peace Corps Volunteer. He has served as a member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association, as a Special Judge of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and at present serves as a member of the Northern Marianas Humanities Council. He has traveled extensively throughout the Pacific Islands, and has first-hand experience with the effects of climate change in the area. He is married, with five children and ten grandchildren.