My Climate Plan

About

How can we make ourselves and our families safe as fossil-fuel driven climate change brings chaos to our world? How can we do our part to look after the land we live and rely on? How can we do our part to make the changes that need to be made in this time?

Those were the questions at the heart of a conversation between friends that turned into a conversation between families. As we talked, the bigger picture became clear: the best way to help ourselves is to help each other. That idea is at the core of My Climate Plan.

We closed our co-founding period in July 2023 and now our launch boards, core team and collaborator networks continue to evolve and grow.

Co-founders

  • Jamie Biggar – Jamie has a decades-long track record of co-founding high-impact organizations that empower people to improve their climate, democracy and economy. Before starting work on My Climate Plan full-time, Jamie served as the global leader of the country-based citizen-empowerment teams at Change.org, overseeing their work to help 80 million people around the world win their campaigns in 2021 alone.
  • Manu Kabahizi – Manu brings incredible experience in product design, technology and business development. As Co-founder and CTO of Ulula, he led the development of a supply-chain stakeholder engagement platform that engages millions of people in 30 countries. Manu is now the Head of the Accelerator for the federal government’s digital operations.
  • Jessica Wood Si Sityaawks – Si Sityaawks (Woman who creates change) is from the Gitxsan and Tsimshian First Nations with extended roots among the Tahltan and Nisga’a Nations. Her career spans senior leadership roles in advancing Indigenous rights, race relations and community development. Jessica was recently the second Policy Practitioner Fellow at UBC’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs.
  • Adam Lynes-Ford – Adam’s career spans senior leadership roles in climate, health and government. From farming and volunteer ground search and rescue work in his rural community, to advising the highest levels of government policy and decision-making, Adam excels at building bridges and translating values into concrete action.
  • Reilly Yeo – Reilly has decades of experience in large-scale citizen engagement. Through her work as the Managing Director of OpenMedia and Director of Communications and Public Engagement at the David Suzuki Foundation, she has built high-performing teams and regularly changed national public policy. Reilly now serves as Intern Minister at First Unitarian Church of Victoria, with a focus on how we support each other through the climate crisis.

Core Team

The core team is doing the research, engagement and prototype development for our founding year. Its members are:

  • Adam Lynes-Ford – co-founder, described above
  • Jamie Biggar – co-founder, described above
  • Reilly Yeo – co-founder, described above
  • Manu Kabahizi – co-founder, described above
  • Erica Morse, Lead Designer – a full-stack product designer with over ten years of experience at Youtube, Google and as lead Change.org working on consumer-facing web and native applications. She specializes in user research, product strategy, and interaction design. Erica believes that the best business strategies are anchored around solving meaningful user problems, that lean methodologies allow teams to deliver value more quickly, and that it’s never too early to get user feedback.
  • Bailey Dunyo, Climate Content Creator – Bailey has spent the past decade helping organizations connect with their people and tell their stories. In her career as a communications specialist and digital generalist, she has worked with nonprofits in Canada and internationally, spanning climate, health, education, and arts and culture. She excels at telling stories that connect, engage, and transform.
  • Trenton McIntyre, Partnerships Specialist – Trenton has a decade of experience in sales and public administration. He specializes in connecting people with the tools they need to prepare for and act on climate. Trent is from the Indigenous Gitxsan First Nation in Canada.
  • Karen Tam-Wu, Climate Solutions Lead – Karen Tam Wu has decades of experience in government and non-profits. She is able to connect and synthesize the work of a broad network of climate scientists, adaptation experts and solutions leaders for the My Climate Plan platform. She is currently working on the forefront of climate policy and action as a leading member of British Columbia’s Climate Solutions Council, and the founding member of the Metro Vancouver Zero Emissions Innovation Centre – two of the most advanced jurisdictions in North America and the world.

Launch Board

The launch board will serve from October 2022 to the end of December 2023, and will deliver a plan for the next phase of governance for the organization in the middle of 2023. The launch board will grow again in early 2023 to prepare for that work.

  • Nida Hasan – after starting her career as journalist, Nida became the Country Director for Change.org in India and led teams that supported millions of Indians to win campaigns that improved the lives of millions more. Nina is currently pursuing a Mid-Career Masters in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School, and is an award-winning advisor on tech, social good, gender, health and human rights in the US and India.
  • Rodrigo Samayoa – from leading digital campaigns for an open Internet and healthy environment, to public service, board leadership and volunteer search and rescue, Rodrigo’s career has always focused on the public good. Rodrigo is now training to be a software engineer, with experience developing for advocacy campaigns and electric vehicle companies, and is a leader amongst civic engagement and climate practitioners in Canada.
  • Sarah Lockwood – after starting her career at a public interest law firm challenging government abuses, Sarah went on to lead a 35 million-person strong email-based citizen empowerment list at Change.org North America. Sarah is famous for her skills in experimentation, innovation and cross-functional collaboration, and brings a relentless focus on continual evidence-based improvement to our work.

Collaborators

This is a partial list of the collaborators who are lending their incredible talents to developing and launching My Climate Plan:

Funding

We are proud to be supported by the monthly contributions of My Climate Plan founding members, non-charitable grant providers like VanCity, and, in partnership with Small Change Fund, charitable grant providers including the North Family Foundation, Houssian Family Foundation and Catherine Donnelly Foundation.

My Climate Plan is a registered non-profit with a partnership with a registered charity, Small Change Fund.

If you’re interested in supporting this work email adam (at) myclimateplan.com