Meet the Team

Our team is made up of people who care deeply about Colorado’s climate and justice communities. Together, we steward the Alliance Center, convene leaders, and support the collaborations that move collective work forward.

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Staff

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  • Jolie is a community leader focused on strengthening civic participation and advancing regenerative solutions. As Director of Programs at the Alliance Center, she develops initiatives that bring together community members, organizations, and decision-makers to address shared environmental and social challenges. Her work centers on community-led solutions and the relationships that support long-term, place-based change. She brings this approach to statewide initiatives, including service on Colorado’s Independent Congressional Redistricting Commission and a current appointment to the state’s Produced Water Consortium. Previously, she led the Washington Street Community Center, strengthening neighborhood connection in South-Central Denver.

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  • Born and raised in Colorado, Alison brings two decades of experience growing systems-change organizations. She holds a communications degree from Pepperdine University, and a master's in Community Development and postgraduate diploma in Program Monitoring and Evaluation, both from Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Alison built communications, research, and impact functions at GlobalGiving, held a communications role at the Denver Art Museum, and served as a Kiva Fellow in Kenya. She is trained in nonviolent communication, restorative justice, and facilitation, and loves helping groups sense, listen, experiment, and learn.

  • A graduate of CU Boulder with a focus on Operations Management and Peace & Conflict Studies, Patrick has 6 years experience working in a variety of operational roles on the front range. From a tech-startup accelerator, a regenerative farm, a food-rescue organization, and property management, Patrick enjoys building processes that lift up the community around him. He is excited to bring his experience in operations and property management to The Alliance Center and foster a physical space that leaders in the impact world can find community, support, and opportunity. Outside of work you can find him practicing yoga daily, and taking woodworking classes, and playing volleyball with friends. 

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  • Mariah has called Colorado home for most of her life and is dedicated to making it better. She spends her days supporting The Alliance Center's tenant community and ensuring the building is as welcoming and energy-efficient as possible. A natural problem-solver, she's always looking for ways to improve the systems and processes that keep things running. Mariah completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Denver and has worked in the nonprofit sector ever since. When she's away from the office, you'll find her at the movies, sipping whiskey, or on long walks with her two rescue pups.

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  • Tymber Hudson is a storyteller, artist, and advocate from rural Oklahoma. Rooted in justice and liberation, Tymber's work centers Black LGBTQIA+ communities as both a professional focus and personal calling. From leading the Biden Foundation's "As You Are" campaign, to directing youth leadership programs at Youth MOVE National, to advising federal juvenile justice policy, their career has been built on one thread: making sure community voices get acted on. For Tymber, this is a lifelong commitment to dismantling what harms us and building what frees us.

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  • Tilly is a 2-year-old Golden Retriever. Her full name is “Tilly Tucker Pickle Indiana Feliz Navidog Carlman,” and she belongs to Alison on the first floor of the Alliance Center. She's training to be an office dog, but still a little shy with people. She’s at her best when wrestling with furry friends who also work at the Alliance. Look for her on Tuesdays and see if she'll give you a wet nose boop!

Board of Directors

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  • Jeff Ackermann advises governmental energy officials and advocates on clean energy policy as a senior policy advisor with The Center for the New Energy Economy. His 30+ years of experience includes four years as Chairman of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (2017–2021) and four years as Executive Director of the Colorado Energy Office beginning in 2013. Jeff has engaged the utility regulatory process from multiple perspectives—as an advocate for income-constrained households, as a green pricing program developer, and as chief policy researcher for Colorado's public utilities commissioners. He is also a Senior Fellow with Gridworks, facilitating collaborations that advance decarbonization. Jeff holds a Master of Nonprofit Management from Regis University and a BA in Environmental Economic Policy from Albion College.

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  • Robert Anderson is Vice President at Amey. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President at JLL, where he leads strategic initiatives within the Energy Advisory and Infrastructure practice. He brings expertise in implementing comprehensive energy solutions, including electric vehicle charging infrastructure, solar installations, battery energy storage systems, and microgrid development. Robert's approach combines financial structuring, commercial negotiations, and technical knowledge to guide complex projects from concept through execution. His career includes advising on more than $5 billion in public-private partnerships and turnaround initiatives across diverse sectors. Robert's experience spans major infrastructure projects in office facilities, correctional institutions, and transportation networks throughout Florida, Alabama, Virginia, and the United Kingdom.

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  • Eliana Blancas brings 13 years of cross-sector experience in strategic development and philanthropy, focused on equity-centered, community-driven solutions. She is co-founder of Terra Collaborative, a regenerative agriculture cooperative supporting farmers and early-stage builders across Colorado's Front Range. Her career includes leading fundraising and engagement strategies at Social Venture Partners Denver, education policy work at the Illinois Community College Board, and DEI recruitment strategy at Northwestern Mutual. Eliana is pursuing her SHRM certification in global HR management. Outside of work, she hosts a Recipes of Rest dinner series and tends her Denver Urban Gardens plot—and welcomes collaboration with others working toward a more just and regenerative future.

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  • Sarah is currently working with a variety of organizations to help them achieve their goals around impact-focused convenings, strategic community building, fundraising and communication functions. Organizations include CorpsAfrica, GMMB, The Wellbeing Project, Play Verto and Denver Seminary. Prior, Sarah oversaw the Skoll Foundation's Community of Awardees and Skoll’s high-profile platforms including the Skoll World Forum, as the Vice President of Community and Convenings for 12 years. Earlier in her career, Sarah served in executive capacities at companies and organizations with a focus on community building, communications and convening experience in the public, private and government sectors. She honed her skillset and talents at the X PRIZE Foundation, Girl Scouts, Porter Novelli International, Peace Corps, and the Clinton Administration.

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  • Susan Graf brings decades of leadership across private sector operations, HR, and finance. As the first female CEO of the Boulder Chamber, she founded CO-LABS and co-founded Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy. She has since served as VP of Finance at Bhakti Chai, SVP at B Corp New Resource Bank, and VP of Regional Development at Alpine Bank—where she managed an ISO-certified environmental system and built strategic relationships across Colorado's sustainability ecosystem, including with the Alliance Center. Graf has served on the boards of Boulder Community Health, Naturally Boulder, and the Colorado Enterprise Fund, where she is past Treasurer and Board Chair. She currently serves on the boards of Namaste Solar and Impact Charitable, and mentors students at CU Boulder's Center for Leadership.

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  • James McClair is the Director of Operations at Impact Charitable. He is driven by his commitment to equity and inclusion in all he does. He worked for 21 years with Oppenheimer Funds in a wide variety of roles as a business analyst, customer service lead, retirement plan senior specialist, and fraud analyst. In each role James used his ability to ask difficult questions and desire to see more than one perspective to drive success in sometimes unconventional ways. Most recently, James entered the impact investing field with a personal focus on diversity and inclusion within the philanthropic and investment sectors. He has a BA in Biology from Denison University. Music and sports have been a big part of James’ life and continue with his wife Rachael and two boys.

  • Hilda's story begins in a Venezuelan oil camp—an origin that shaped her resilience and global outlook. After relocating to Caracas and later Colorado, she studied International Business and French in France before earning her degree at Colorado State University. As Protégete Program Director at Conservation Colorado, she led environmental initiatives that launched her into her current role as Senior Director of Civic Engagement at LCVEF, where she has helped register over 1.5 million voters in marginalized communities. She co-chairs Colorado's Health Equity Commission, has served on the Environmental Justice Action Task Force, and played a key role in Denver's "Waste No More" initiative. A youth mentor and nonprofit leader, Hilda brings together environmental justice, health equity, and community empowerment in everything she does.

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  • Founder of Alliance for Sustainable Colorado in 2004 and full-time volunteer, John has been on the board since inception. He is a board member of Conservation Colorado and the Educational Foundation of America. From 2006 to 2012 John was a member of the Greenprint Council, a citizens’ advisory committee to the Mayor of Denver’s Sustainable Development Initiative.

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  • A nationally recognized authority, consultant, and resource to the Sustainable, Responsible, Impact investment industry, Steve brings nearly 30 years of experience directing capital toward a more sustainable future. He spent eight years at Calvert Investments, including four as President of Calvert Distributors, and served eleven years as Chair of the Board of US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investing. From 1999 to 2017, he served as Principal, President, and Chief Marketing Officer of First Affirmative Financial Network. For nearly 20 years, he was Executive Producer of The SRI Conference—North America's premier gathering of sustainable and responsible investment professionals. Steve's career reflects a sustained commitment to aligning capital with intentional, transformative impact.

  • Patti Mason is a Senior Climate Action Strategist at DLR Group, where she has spent the past three years developing and launching a climate strategy initiative within a 100% employee-owned integrated design firm. At DLR Group, she supports architecture, engineering, interiors, planning, and smart building teams in delivering projects that elevate the human experience while aligning with bold commitments such as the AIA 2030 Commitment and the 2030 Challenge. Previously, Patti served as Chief of People, Culture and Impact at Switch Automation and as Vice President of Operations, leading U.S. operations and strategic planning. She also spent more than a decade with the U.S. Green Building Council, as Mountain Region Director and Executive Director of the Colorado Chapter, where she advanced market transformation and energy efficiency policy. Patti holds a Master’s degree in Natural Resources Law and Policy from the University of Denver, is a LEED Accredited Professional, and is based in Denver, Colorado.

  • Alex is a senior outreach manager for Mayor Mike Johnston, with over a decade of campaign organizing experience—including Johnston's mayoral run, where he served as Regional Organizing Director. Born in Los Angeles to parents from Aguascalientes, México, he brings a lifelong commitment to community empowerment and building a more inclusive future through civic engagement and public service.

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  • Praful Shah is an angel investor focused on social impact who has invested in 75 start-up companies, mostly in Colorado. He has been a mentor, an advisor or on the Board of several organizations. His passion is to alleviate poverty of all kinds (especially ignorance) and provide richness to lives. He spent over thirty years as a scientist and an executive in the Research and Development departments of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. His educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, an MBA (Finance) and Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics. He lives near Boulder, Colorado with his wife Karen.

  • Jonathan Lyons is the founder of Among & Between, an independent advisory firm that helps climate and clean energy companies scale. Based in Denver, he has spent 20 years building startups, leading commercialization efforts, and creating coalitions across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. He holds an MBA from Wharton and professional credentials in business valuation. Jonathan is active in both national and local climate policy advocacy.

  • Ellen is an energy attorney whose career spans the Colorado Attorney General's Office, Western Resource Advocates, and most recently General Counsel for the Colorado Solar and Storage Association, where she shaped legal strategy through some of Colorado's most consequential clean energy decisions. She now moves into a government affairs role at Jupiter Power, bringing deep fluency in electric utility law and PUC proceedings to the energy storage sector.

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  • As a pioneer in remote work and employment innovation, Sara has spent nearly three decades creating transformative solutions that reshape how we work. She founded multiple groundbreaking platforms, including FlexJobs and Remote.co, which have helped millions find flexible and remote career opportunities while supporting businesses in adapting to evolving workplace dynamics. A World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and Edmund Hillary Fellow, Sara brings deep expertise in workforce technology, economic development, and entrepreneurship, along with a proven track record of building mission-driven organizations that create positive systemic change.

  • Anna is Vice President of Business Development at Collective Clean Energy Fund, where she leads partner engagement and project development across Colorado's clean energy sector. She brings a career spanning Colgate-Palmolive's global supply chain, Citigroup's co-branded product work, and over a decade commercializing innovative clean energy technologies. She holds engineering degrees from MIT and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

A building built for the planet.
A community built for collaboration.