Alan Anderson
RCAT Founder, Climate Activist
Alan got his degree in Wildlife Management from Oregon State, ran a small business and then spent the rest of his work life as an executive with the Boy Scouts of America. After retiring in 2012 he started working on climate issues and giving public education talks. His motivation was and is his five grandchildren.
Alan has been a Rotarian for many years and is the program co-chair for his Northfield Club of 130 members. He is a Paul Harris Fellow, a member of Rotary International’s Environmental Sustainability Action Group, and he started a Rotary Climate Action Team in his club. He has presented on climate change to 34 Rotary clubs in his area, as well as to many other church, school, business, fraternal and senior organizations.
Topics: 1) Basic Climate Science, Impacts & Solutions; 2) Rotary’s work in the world & the Challenge of Climate Change; 3) Ocean Acidification, Impacts & Solutions; 4) How a “Revenue-neutral Carbon Fee and Dividend” decreases emissions while growing the economy; 5) How and Why to start a Rotary Climate Action Team in your club
Rotary Club: Northfield MN, District 5960
Contact: [email protected]
Mitch C. Williams
Climate Reality Leader
Mitch is the Owner/CEO of Home Helpers of San Mateo County, which has received numerous accolades, including: Leader in Excellence Award Home Care Pulse; Brand Ambassador Award; BOLD Diamond and CEO Master’s Club Awards, as well as many others. Home Helpers San Mateo makes life easier while helping seniors stay safe at home. He is active in a number of areas associated with his work and community: Chair of the Northern CA Board of the Home Care Association of America; Chair of Home Helpers Corporate Innovation Council; Chair of the Home Care Association of America Advisory Council; Board Member, Executive Committee Member San Mateo Chamber of Commerce; co-chair Half Moon Bay Adult Day Caregiver Support Group; member BANG (Bay Area Networking Group); member ProVisors San Mateo 1.
Mitch is a recent graduate of Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project Training and an active Rotarian with the Rotary Club of San Mateo, where he is a Board member and a dedicated participant in the Club’s Climate Action Team.
Topics: Climate Crisis Overview, Supporting RCAT Creation in Your Club
Rotary Club: San Mateo, District 5150
Contact: [email protected]
Michelle Thatcher
CEO and Co-Founder, U.S. Green Chamber of Commerce
After pursuing a degree in Visual Arts from Western Washington University she worked with NPR and PBS as a professional photographer and videographer, becoming increasingly involved with environmental issues. At that time businesses seemed to be the Goliaths, sustainability and conservation voices the Davids, creating an “Us vs Them” mentality that seemed entrenched and insurmountable.
She regularly spoke on environmental and sustainability challenges caused by massive growth, and served as Executive Director of both the Seminole Soil and Water Conservation District and the Association of Florida Conservation Districts, consulting directly with 350 elected officials for 8 years.
Michelle’s greatest pioneering breakthrough came when she realized that there was a huge opportunity for businesses to be part of the solution, as opposed to the problem. This was a revolutionary concept. Michelle recognized a HUGE opportunity to bring together like-minded businesses who valued sustainability, but whose voices were not being recognized in local, regional or national affairs.
She began the Green Chamber of Commerce in 2008, joining forces with our San Diego chapter to Co-Found the U.S. Green Chamber of Commerce in 2010.
Today Michelle is internationally recognized as an expert on Sustainable Businesses and is a guest lecturer on Advocacy, Conservation and Business leadership at conferences and government symposiums around the globe. She serves on advisory boards for the International Green Energy Council, World CSR Congress, World Brand Congress, and Ideas for Us, a United Nations accredited Non-Profit Organization and other prominent boards.
Steve Bender
Charter President, Rotary Club of Newport Beach
Today, Steve sits on the Sustainability Leadership Program’s Advisory Board at the University of California-Irvine. He joined the Newport Bay Naturalists and Friends Board in 2009 and chaired the committee that rebranded the organization as the Newport Bay Conservancy. The Conservancy elected him President in 2010. Steve was also appointed to Vanguard University’s “Ethics in America” Board, which honors nationally prominent individuals like John Wooden who display a commitment to ethical decision-making in their corporate philosophies and actions.
His volunteerism produces results. Steve successfully lobbied for the Laguna Beach Marine Reserve. He also successfully lobbied against the failed San Onofre Nuclear Power plant with fellow activist and environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr. Steve is currently working on a project to design and build net positive solar powered high efficiency electric homes for Homeless Veterans.
Outside of his environmental activism, Steve sits on the boards of Orangewood PALS as well as the “Doc in a Box” Organization, a group which works with high schools to design and build mobile medical centers. He is the President of the Newport Beach Sunrise Rotary Club and AYUDA International, an organization which provides free dental care to the underserved. He also founded Steve’s Vision, which donates eyeglasses to those in need, and The Cleft Project, a charity which raises funds and supplies to support surgery for patients suffering from cleft palate. Steve chaired the Newport Beach Host Town committee during the 2015 Special Olympics in Los Angeles. Most recently, he founded and is the CEO of the California Inclusive Sailing Organization, which teaches wounded veterans and Special Olympics athletes how to sail via a custom-fitted boat. Steve is also the past president of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and a volunteer for the American Cancer Society.
For his service, Steve and the groups he supports have been recognized by the California State Assembly, the City of Newport Beach, the Daily Pilot, and Rotary International.
Terri Main
Owner, The Main Company Inc.
Terri Main is a member of the Rotary Passport Club of the Central Coast of California, where she serves as Community Services Chair, and is a member of the RCAT Network leadership committee. Terri and her husband Charlie operate The Main Company Inc., a general contracting firm, and are focused on using their experience and expertise to advocate for climate action and climate friendly practices in the building industry. Terri and Charlie have made connections with Rotarians in Uganda and are proud to support their efforts to improve schools and to help young women finish their education. Terri currently serves as an advisor to a local non-profit on housing affordability projects, and as President of The Endowment for the Advancement of Children advisory board, a local education non-profit.
Leia Lowery
Executive Director, The Climate Initiative
Leia Lowery is the Executive Director of the Climate Initiative, where she fosters relationships between regional and national partners to create climate action. Leia has accomplishments, including receiving the 2019 Gulf of Main Council Visionary award and having 3 programs featured in the National Land Trust Alliance Magazine. She is a member of the Kennebunk Rotary Club and committee member of the Nature Based Education Consortium.
Dave Rice
President, United Nations Association Orange County Chapter
Dave Rice is the President of United Nations Association Orange County Chapter, where he focuses on the Local 2030 program to apply the 17 Sustainable Development Goals for the world to the Orange County community. He is also a leader in the Southern California Secular Coalition to bring leaders tougher for mobilization on advocacy, social causes, and community building. Dave is also a member of Mike Congressman Mike Levin’s Talk Force on Nuclear Waste at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. He previously worked in the corporate technology industry for 25 years and 10 years in consulting.
Jeff Larsen
Owner, Larsen Consulting, Strategic Nonprofit Mentor and Community Volunteer
Jeff is an accomplished business leader with three decades of diverse, progressive experience in for-profit and nonprofit enterprises in both product and service business models. He leverages his business skills and desire to make a difference in the world to benefit a wide range of environmental and social welfare organizations as a community volunteer.
Jeff is a past president of the Rotary Club of Boise Metro where he launched the Earth Stewardship Action Team and significantly reduced the carbon footprint of their weekly meetings. He is currently a member of the Rotary Club of Newport Beach.
Jeff earned his Economics degree from Stanford University and his MBA from Booth School of Management at the University of Chicago.
Hadley Willman
Administrative Coordinator, RCAT Network
Hadley Willman (she/her) serves as the Administrative Coordinator at the Rotary Climate Action Team (RCAT) Network, Assistant Director at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Initiative for Climate Leadership and Resilience, and Conference Manager at Engineers for a Sustainable World. She is also a member of the Rotaract Club of Newport Beach. She is the Creator and former Director of the University Climate Ambassador Program at the Global Climate Pledge. Her passion within the climate movement lies in connecting new stakeholders and bringing new people into the fold through thoughtful education and engagement, thereby leading to meaningful collaboration for a greener future.
John G. Mathers
Rotarian, Business Advisor, Author, Climate Advocate
John Mathers was a founding member of the RCAT Network and passed away in August 2023 (read his obituary here). He was a business advisor and personal coach in Mill Valley, California. Over four decades, John has worked with hundreds of Fortune 1000 companies and their management team, as well as thousands of team leaders and individual contributors. The focus of the work has been on enhancing team and individual performance, which equates to workplace equity and corporate sustainability. John has captured his experience in various magazine articles and books about building high performance teams and the crisis of leadership in the 21st century.
John is a past president of the Rotary Club of San Francisco and has held several positions with Rotary District 5150, including Youth Services and OD Specialist. Although John has been a Rotarian for only a little more than a decade, he had been serving the Bay Area community through pro bono consulting services for more than three decades. John’s special interest in climate change is the direct result of being a grandfather and working extensively on Rotary projects with an environmental focus. He has spoken at various U.S. and international clubs on the climate issue and the need for Rotary to step up to address this existential crisis.