Meet the Climable Team
Climable is made up of a passionate team of Boston-based students, climate activists, and experienced community leaders.
Erin Ash
Interim Executive Director
Erin Ash (she/her) is the Interim Executive Director of Climable where she manages operations, staff, and strategy. Erin also supports microgrid development, community resilience, and future leaders training projects. Erin previously spent seven years at the energy and environmental consulting firm Synapse Energy Economics. At Synapse, Erin managed recruiting and operations focused on organization goals, objectives, policies, procedures, and recruiting strategy. Prior to joining Climable and Synapse, Erin worked as an Environmental Educator at a science museum and as a Program Coordinator in Addiction Medicine at Boston Medical Center.
Erin holds an MPH in Environmental Health from Boston University, a BS in Environmental Science from Lyman Briggs College at Michigan State University, and a Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate from Georgetown University. Erin enjoys being outside, learning new cooking techniques, and spending time with her dog.
Sarah Tahang-bianco
Finance and Operations Manager
Sarah Tahang-Bianco (she/her) serves as the Finance and Operations Manager at Climable, focusing on accounting, bookkeeping, and fundraising efforts, as well as operations and human resources. Prior to joining Climable, Sarah served as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator and Associate Director of Admissions at an independent school in Cambridge.
Sarah is a graduate student specializing in Equity, Access, and Community Art in Education as well as an artist, crafter, and a lover of music, spending much of her downtime vending various arts markets and events around the Boston area.
Elena Gonzalez-Sosto
Technical Director
Elena Gonzalez-Sosto (she/they) is the Technical Director of Climable. At Climable, Elena provides guidance on engineering, energy, and sustainable development aspects of projects, through a lense of social justice and policy making. She develops guides for communities to implement community microgrid projects. Originally from Costa Rica, where she studied and worked as a civil engineer in public infrastructure projects, private real estate development, and customer support.
Elena holds a MSc in Engineering and Public Policy from Northeastern University and a Licensure degree in Civil Engineering from Universidad Latina de Costa Rica. During her time as a grad student at Northeastern University, she worked as a Co-op at the Boston Planning and Development Agency as a Development Review Co-op. Elena enjoys gardening, learning new crafts, and spending time with her family.
maisy rohrer
Program Manager
Maisy Rohrer (she/her) is the Program Manager at Climable where she manages interns and both leads and collaborates on many projects. Maisy also supports the Technical Director and Interim Executive Director, as needed, on strategy and operations. Prior to her time at Climable, Maisy worked for the Michigan Public Service Commission as a renewable energy researcher and as a freelance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultant for natural resource management agencies. She has experience with community organizing and engagement and a background in social science research.
Maisy holds an MS in Environmental Policy and Environmental Justice from the University of Michigan and a BA in Philosophy and Psychology from New York University. Maisy enjoys spending her free time with friends, family, and pets, walking, hiking, reading, and painting.
INTERNS
Jean Ann Ramey
Founder
Jean Ann Ramey (she/her) is the founder of Climable, where she previously directed and supported projects focused on the impacts of energy use and climate change. She is also a co-founder of the energy and environmental consulting firm Synapse Energy Economics. Her professional experience also includes working as an economist in the Electric Power Division of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities and as an analyst at Tellus Institute.
Board members
Åsa Aulin Ahlberg
Åsa advises startups and non-profits on issues relating to finance, operations, and HR. She has served as the CFO of multiple startups and had a career in venture capital with Flybridge Capital Partners and Masthead Venture Partners before that. Early in her career, Åsa worked in real estate for construction company Skanska in Sweden, the US, and in Bermuda. She served on the Board of Directors of the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce of New England for 8 years. Åsa holds an MBA from MIT's Sloan School of Management and a M.S. in Civil Engineering from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. She’s passionate about environmental issues and is thrilled to be able to serve on the Climable board.
Mary Custic
Mary Custic is a marketing professional with over 15 years of experience in marketing communication, loyalty program management, events, and campaign creation and implementation at Intel and other high tech firms and non-profit organizations. Her latest pursuit is to master digital marketing. She is passionate about the environment and female empowerment, just like Climable! Mary has a B.A. in International Relations & English from the University of Toronto and she studied Marketing at Ryerson University in Canada.
Sonia DeMarta
Sonia has a Master's degree in environmental management from Boston University. She worked at The Spoleto Festival, The Cousteau Society, Preserve, and Whole Foods before becoming the proud owner of a home chef business. She is also the founder of the Lexington Farmers’ Market. She has three children, a husband, and two dogs and practices yoga to keep sane. She is very proud of Climable and our aim to help stem the tide of climate change.
Patricia Flaherty
Patricia Flaherty has a Master's degree in public and nonprofit management from Boston University. She worked at the State House as a Fiscal Policy Analyst in the Department of Administration and Finance during the Weld and Cellucci administrations. After a break from full-time employment to raise two daughters and work on a variety of volunteer projects at their school, she returned to part-time work for an Early Literacy Program for the Cambridge Public Schools. For the past 9 years, she has been visiting families in Cambridge to provide a play-based, preschool readiness curriculum for 2-3 year olds and mentoring for their parents. Patricia is excited to support Climable's growth in developing community-based environmental programs.
Carolyn Gillette
Carolyn has supported water and climate change programs at the national, regional, and state level with a focus on water infrastructure finance and resilience, outreach, and regulatory implementation. Her past work with NOAA and the EPA led her to Eastern Research Group where she is a senior program manager. Carolyn holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and an M.Sc. in international relations from the London School of Economics. She is proud to serve on the board of an organization that proactively takes on the urgent challenges caused by climate change to facilitate real and positive change.
Gabby LaPorta
Gabby (Gabrielle) LaPorta has a B.B.A. in Public Accounting from Baruch College in New York City. She is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Maine working as a tax manager with BerryDunn. Since she has worked in the Renewable Energy Sector for over three years she has a great understanding of the many different types of renewable energy projects from development to energization. In her spare time she volunteers at a local animal shelter, The Haven. Gabby is proud serve on a board that educates the public and makes clean energy technology understandable.
Marjorie Morales
Marjorie manages an analytics team at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Her team provides deep dive analytics and strategic solutions on initiatives for the Chief Quality Officer with a focus on reducing patient harm, improving quality of patient care, and providing equitable healthcare to all patients. In conjunction with the UT System, she has established several endowments and volunteers to help promote educational advancement with a focus on diversity and inclusion. She is a member of the UT Chancellor's Council Executive Committee and helps with initiatives and issues of importance to higher education in Texas. Marjorie received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Computer Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin. She is passionate about providing equity in education, healthcare, and environmental outcomes and is proud to serve on Climable’s board.
Awinja Otiato
Awinja is Chief of Staff and Director of Policy at the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind (MCB) where she advises the Commissioner in deciding strategic, policy, program and communication issues; identifies and implements strategies to accomplish office
strategic, program and operational goals; and directs and exercises an efficient system
of control through the development and implementation of office operational policies
and procedures. Awinja earned her B.S. in Accounting from the Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science (now Philadelphia University). She earned her MBA in Social Policy & Management from Brandeis University’s Heller School of Social Policy & Management in Waltham, MA. She is excited to be part of Climable, a team of individuals who are devoted to challenges caused by climate change, and who are actually doing something about it.
Contributors
Past MassCEC and other interns:
Olivia Goolkasian
Olivia Eschenbach-Smith
Nathaniel Mendez
Isabel Jordan
Sofia Bacon
Justin Galle