BOSTON – The ELM Action Fund team congratulates Executive Director Clare Kelly on joining Mayor Wu’s administration as the Director of Intergovernmental Relations. In her two and a half years with ELM, Kelly successfully grew the power of the Action Fund and raised the profile of climate issues in local, state, and federal elections. Under her leadership, the Action Fund helped get more than 80 environmental champions elected to offices across the Commonwealth, including endorsing the most diverse slate of candidates in organizational history. Today, nearly a quarter of the sitting state legislature has sought and earned the ELM Action Fund’s endorsement.
Kelly established a program to recruit, train, and elect Municipal Light Plant board members and grew the Campaign & Advocacy Fellowship to train dozens of passionate, young climate activists. Additionally, Kelly played a crucial role in the advocacy for the passage of the Next Generation Roadmap bill in March of 2021, the most ambitious such law in the nation which committed the Commonwealth to carbon-neutrality by 2050 and codified environmental justice into state law.
“Massachusetts and the City of Boston are uniquely positioned to be national leaders on climate,” said Kelly. “I am proud to have worked alongside the dedicated team at the ELM Action Fund to shape policies and advocate for solutions that meet the scale and urgency of our environmental challenges.”
Casey Bowers, ELM’s Assistant Vice President for Government Relations, is assuming the role of Executive Director of the ELM Action Fund. For nearly four years, Bowers has helped to grow ELM and the ELM Action Fund’s influence by leading the organization’s advocacy efforts, achieving numerous policy victories across state, federal, and local government. Her deep and productive relationships with elected leaders throughout Massachusetts will serve her well in this new position. Prior to joining ELM, she served as the American Lung Association of the Northeast’s Massachusetts Director of Public Policy.
Bowers takes the reins of the ELM Action Fund as Massachusetts heads into a crucial election year with climate policy center stage. Residents across the Commonwealth are experiencing increased flooding from frequent intense storms, volatile energy prices, and disproportionate impacts of poor air quality; voters are looking to candidates for ambitious and actionable climate plans to improve the health, equity, and economy of our state.
“I’m honored and energized to lead the ELM Action Fund in 2022,” said Bowers. “The 2022 elections will be an opportunity to push the Commonwealth to effectively and efficiently achieve our climate goals. Our team will identify and support the candidates that put climate first and engage voters to send those leaders to the State House and statewide office.”
