Citizens Climate Education

Working to Preserve a Livable Planet

Leadership Team

George Hansen

Growing up in Southern California, I loved nature and animals. Hiking in the hills and swimming in the ocean were some of my favorite activities. When I learned to scuba dive, I gained an appreciation for the beauty of the ocean and the marine life below the surface. I then learned to surf and moved to the Central Coast where I could pursue all of my passions.

When I saw An Inconvenient Truth in 2007, I realized that climate change was threatening nature and the animals that I loved. In Citizens’ Climate Education, I found a community of committed and talented people fighting against climate change. From educational tabling to writing letters to the editor, from planting trees to promoting EVs, together we are working to preserve a livable world.

Cate Galloway

My love of nature started when I planted my first tree at five years old. As a child, I climbed the giant trees surrounding my home, hiked the mountains, and swam in lakes, always feeling safe in nature. I blossomed into a fierce advocate.

The Earth needs defending, and I want to make a difference in preserving a livable planet for my son’s future.

Kathleen Bond

Hiking, backpacking, camping and outdoor exploration have been a staple in my life since I was a very young child. Growing up in rural Oregon meant being outside from morning until evening and engaging directly with nature by climbing trees, playing in creeks and ponds, watching wildlife, hiking in canyons and “saving” polliwogs when their pond was drying up by moving them to a new watery location!

During my first year of teaching in 1970, an entire school-wide celebration of the first Earth Day was carried out by my very first class of disabled middle school students. I will never forget their enthusiasm in wanting to “Save the Earth.” To inform others about science and nature and engage them in positive change through grassroots action is my climate voice and is a source of optimism for me.

Jim Wright

Jim and his wife Tina moved to San Luis Obispo in 2022, a few years after his retirement as an elementary school teacher in Morgan Hill. He has valued our environment since going on second-grade bird walks in the 1950’s. Now, above all, he wants his children and grandchildren to be living in a beautiful and sustainable world in the 2050’s. Jim is grateful for all he has learned from fellow members of CCE, including the very supportive writing team.

Don Maruska

I’ve always had a love of nature and a passion for public service. Early in my career, I was Joe Biden’s first legislative assistant in the U.S. Senate. I’ve been attracted to Citizens’ Climate Education/Lobby because it has an outstanding nonpartisan approach to public policy to get things done in politically polarized times. My book “Solve Climate Change Now: Do What You Love for a Healthy Planet” mobilizes people from teenagers to retired people to boost awareness, action and advocacy for a healthy climate.

My “Aha” moment about climate change came when our daughter and I were in the ice caves of Iceland and saw the rapidly melting glaciers. I resolved there and then to apply my energies and experience for a healthier climate future. I like CCE’s Healthy Forests initiative and the joy of true “down-to-earth” actions that my wife and I experience in planting trees to capture CO2 and convert it into living carbon and healthy soil.