Who We Are

Our History & Mission

The Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative, a non-profit 501c3, was founded in 2016 by a small group of concerned citizens who recognized that climate change, rising sea levels, ocean acidification and intensified storms were already threatening Cape Cod’s homes, health, habitats, the economy, and entire ways of life. They saw that the Cape and the Islands were likely to experience the effects of climate change sooner and more severely than other parts of Massachusetts and the country.

To address this reality, they formed the Climate Collaborative with the Mission to:

Catalyze people and organizations to mitigate the ways in which we contribute to climate change as well as to adapt to and build resiliency to the impacts that are already emerging and are inevitable. The Climate Collaborative delivers on this mission through convening, collaborating, advocating, activating and communicating.

Our Selected Accomplishments

Since 2016, the Climate Collaborative has engaged with several thousand stakeholders including environmental leaders, elected officials, municipal planners, energy professionals, business executives, entrepreneurs, members of the faith communities, and youth activists in wide-ranging efforts to accelerate the creation and deployment of climate solutions. These efforts have included:

Formed the Cape Cod Climate Action Network—a chapter of the Massachusetts Climate Action Network—which has resulted in the creation of climate action networks (CANs) in (nearly) all towns on Cape Cod.

Produced 4 annual Net Zero Conferences attended by several hundred people each for in-depth learning, collaboration, and inspiration on climate change, solutions and opportunities for citizen and organizational action.

Produced and delivered the (still active) bi-weekly Climate Action Alerts E-Newsletter to over 2500 individuals sharing global-to-local climate issues, best practices, innovations, and opportunities for action.

Produced and delivered hundred of educational trainings both live and online on the climate crisis, innovative climate solutions, and opportunities for local citizen action.

Worked with citizen activists in the passing of Declarations of Climate Emergency.

Lobbied the Cape Cod Commission to create a regional Climate Action Plan which was completed.

Helped create the Faith Communities Environmental Network, a consortium of 45+ faith institutions to promote climate action, education, and environmental justice.

Co-sponsored Cape Cod’s first electric vehicle car show, attended by hundreds to learn about and test drive EV cars.

Engaged in many forms of advocacy (see more in section What We Do).

Leadership

Miranda Daniloff Mancusi

As the Executive Director of a division at Harvard University’s School of Public Health, she oversaw strategy, growth, staff, administration, outreach, and finances. She helped to create and build national and global public-facing scientific communications to showcase pioneering solutions, including those at the intersection of the environment, climate, and health. Miranda also built multiple programs to foster networks that brought together senior-level policymakers and public and private-sector leaders to bring about social and policy changes. A former journalist, storyteller, and editor at the Christian Science Monitor, WGN Radio, and New England Cable News, Miranda has consulted for numerous nonprofits and has volunteered for climate-focused groups such as Mothers Out Front and Catalyst 2030.

Miranda has a Bachelor of Science in Speech from Northwestern University and an MBA from Simmons School of Management. Miranda fell in love with the Cape at a clambake when she first visited as a child. She and her husband are residents of Barnstable Village, where she also performs and volunteers for the historic community theater, the Barnstable Comedy Club.

Executive Director

Officers

Dorothy A. Savarese

The President of the Board of the Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative (the Collaborative), Savarese is former CEO and Executive Chair of Cape Cod 5, recognized as a leading bank and top employer.  She recently stepped down from her position after leading the community bank for nearly 20 years, during which time it grew to  more than $5 billion in assets with 550 employees in 26 locations. Savarese formalized the integration of environmental stewardship into the “5 Ways” the Bank serves the community and expanded it to include mitigation of and adaptation to climate change. Savarese extends her commitment to combating climate change and building resiliency to her volunteer and community activities, in addition to her service to the Climate Collaborative. Just recently, Savarese was appointed by Governor-Elect Maura Healey to the Climate Readiness, Resiliency and Adaptation transition policy committee. Previously, she was appointed by the former governor of Massachusetts to the Clean Heat Commission. She traveled with a Massachusetts group to Denmark in June 2022 to learn more about the country’s clean energy transformation. 

Savarese has also been recognized for her efforts in the banking industry, being named to the list of 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking by American Banker Magazine for 11 consecutive years, was the chair of both the American Bankers Association and the Massachusetts Bankers Association and has been named to committees advising the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and the FDIC. She is the recipient of an honorary doctorate from Suffolk University and recently joined the Board of Trustees. In addition, she has served on a number of local boards serving the region and has received numerous awards and recognitions.

President

Janet Williams

Coordinator, Chatham Climate Action Network
Chatham

With a background in environmental law, education, and consulting, Janet Williams brings a unique set of experiences and skills to the Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative. She spent a dozen years as an environmental enforcement attorney with the EPA, five years providing legal counsel to commercial real estate developers and lenders, and several years building and teaching social science education programs at the secondary level. She discovered a passion for and commitment to fighting climate change while volunteering as a pro bono legal researcher with the Climate Justice Programme in London in 2005. She’s been in the fight ever since. And she’s not giving up.

Other: Chair, Chatham Conservation Commission; Coordinator, Chatham Climate Action Network; Secretary, Pleasant Bay Community Boating; Member: Conservation Law Foundation

Janet has a BA from Boston College, Teaching Certification from Northeastern University and JD from Villanova University School of Law and is a LEED Accredited Green Associate.

Vice President

Maggie Phelan

Treasurer

Beth Wade

Clerk

Directors

Rob Brennan

President, CapeBuilt

Margaret Downey

Ms. Downey is the Administrator for the Cape Light Compact. Prior to serving as the full-time Cape Light Compact Administrator, Maggie served as both the Assistant County Administrator and Compact Administrator for 17 years. The Cape Light Compact service territory consists of Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard, approximately 205,000 year-round residents. The Cape Light Compact is the first municipal aggregator in Massachusetts. Ms. Downey is responsible for management and direction of the Cape Light Compact’s electric power supply aggregation program and energy efficiency programs. She has previously represented the Cape Light Compact on its sister organization, the Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative, which is has installed 49MW of distributed renewable energy projects. Ms. Downey has been working on energy related issues for over 20 years. Prior to joining Barnstable County in 1994, she served as the SEPA/Public Affairs Manager for the City of Issaquah, Washington. Maggie earned her Masters of Public Administration from the University of Washington at Seattle and holds a Graduate Certificate in Management from Harvard University Extension School.

Executive Director, Cape Light Compact

Rosemary Dreger-Carey

Chair, 350 Cape Cod

Paul Niedzwiecki

Executive Director, Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce

Don Keeran

Association to Preserve Cape Cod, Asst. Director
Brewster

Don Keeran is assistant director of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod. He focuses extensively on environmental policy and advocacy for the organization, and acts as APCC’s liaison for most state and federal environmental legislative and policy issues. Don works on the state, regional and local levels on growth management initiatives, promoting the adoption of land use and planning policies that advance smart growth, natural resource protection and climate change. He is responsible for developing many of APCC’s positions on topical environmental issues, including proposals for regional development projects and other projects that could impact the Cape’s natural resources and quality of life. Don serves on a variety of boards and committees focused on issues such as climate change, land use planning, water quality and open space preservation. He has been a resident of Brewster since 1997.

Assistant Director, Association to Preserve Cape Cod

Ella Sampou

Community Organizer and Youth Mentor

Dana Rebeiro

Massachusetts Community Liason, Vineyard Wind

Lewis Stern

Gail Melix

Dan Wolf

Dan Wolf founded Cape Air in 1989 and served as the company’s Chief Executive Officer from its founding through 2021. Dan continues to serve the company as the Chairman of the Board of Directors and stays current with his Air Transport Pilot license. Dan was elected in November 2010, 2012, and 2014, respectively, to represent Cape Cod and the Islands in the Massachusetts State Senate, where he served from 2011 through 2016. Each term, Dan was appointed as the Senate Chair of the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, focusing on legislation around labor, workplace safety, and workplace development. As a business and community leader, Dan continues to serve on many of the region’s most important non-profit and civic organizations, including on the Board of the Collaborative, as Chair of the Governance Affairs Committee.

Bob Ryley

Habitat for Humanity Cape Cod

Chris Flanagan

Director,  Homebuilders & Remodelers of Cape Cod

Mark Robinson

Executive Director, Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts

Tom Cahir

Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority

Maria Marasco

Executive Director, Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative

Bonnie McEwan

Provinctown Land Trust/New School

Jim Wolf

Cape Air

Lauren McKean

Park Planner, Cape Cod National Seashore

Wendy Northcross

Executive Director, J.F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum

Brian McGurk

Co-Chair, Faith Communities Environmental Network

Matt Burke

Cape Cod 5

Heather Goldstone

Dr. Heather Goldstone oversees Woodwell Climate Research Center’s communications activities, bringing the rich stories of Woodwell scientists to diverse public audiences. Dr. Goldstone has extensive experience as both a scientist and a journalist, and she is passionate about melding data and narrative in climate change stories that build awareness and inspire action.

Dr. Goldstone came to Woodwell Climate from WGBH, where she founded and hosted a weekly science-focused radio show, Living Lab Radio. Previously, she wrote the Climatide blog about coastal communities facing climate change. Her extensive reporting on science and the environment has appeared in outlets ranging from Cape Cod Times and Commercial Fishery News to NPR’s Morning Edition, The Takeaway, and PBS News Hour. In 2014, she was recognized for the breadth of her work with WGBH’s Margret and Hans Rey/Curious George Producer award.

Dr. Goldstone fell in love with the ocean as a child and pursued a career in marine research before discovering a passion for science communication. She serves on the Woods Hole Sea Grant Marine Outreach Guidance Group, is deeply involved in supporting local public schools, and frequently teaches or mentors students in communication skills.

Woodwell Climate Research Center

Richard Delaney

Inspired by COP21 (aka the Paris Climate Accord) of 2015, Rich Delaney co-founded the Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative in 2016. The Climate Collaborative is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to reduce the Cape & Islands region’s contributions to climate change and protect our region from its potentially devastating impacts. Its leadership team includes a coalition of business, environmental, energy, building, transportation, conservation, policy, housing, faith, and civic leaders while its audience comprises over 3,000 concerned individuals from the Cape & Islands and the Commonwealth.

Delaney is well known for his environmental work spanning 45 years, including 14 years as President and CEO of the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown where he continues to serve as part-time Senior Advisor and interim Director of the Marine Policy Department.

Previously, Delaney founded the Urban Harbors Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston; served as Assistant Secretary of Environmental Affairs in Massachusetts; and was National Chair of the Coastal States Organization in Washington DC. Delaney has consulted to governments in over 20 countries regarding climate change, coastal and ocean management, capacity building, institutional development, and public outreach, and participated in numerous international conferences.

Alternates

Kristin Andres

APCC

Stephanie Spadoni

Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority

Eugene Curry

Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce

Julie Early

Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts

Amy Henderson

Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts

Susan Starkey

Nate Mayo

Vineyard Wind

Heather McElroy

Cape Cod Commission

Erin Perry

Cape Cod Commission

Michelle White

Cape Cod Commission

Help Us Win the Fight Against Climate Change

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