Elizabeth (Betta) Broad, Director
Betta Broad is the Director of NYCP and has been an organizer for social justice, peace and sustainability for nearly two decades. She organized the major Earth Day festivals in NYC for five years before joining the campaign to ban fracking. While working for Catskill Mountainkeeper she created the RenewableNY program that subsequently received a $1.8 million award from NYSERDA to expand Solarize campaigns across 15 counties. She is one of the co-founders of the New York Energy Democracy Alliance and serves on the board of directors of Citizens for Local Power. A resident of Kingston, she was appointed to the Kingston Climate Smart Commission, Kingston Conservation Advisory Council and the Ulster Climate Smart Committee
Michaela Ciovacco, Program Coordinator
Michaela Ciovacco is the Program Coordinator at NYCP. Previously, she worked at Columbia Medical Center on Alzheimer’s research while actively participating as a youth activist to advance social and economic justice. She joined NYCP in January 2018 to assist with the campaign’s social media and website presence as well as developing a network of students among NYCP’s members. She took a leading role in organizing the 3rd Annual Climate Solutions Summit at SUNY New Paltz, and helped to build the Student Climate Coalition through her work with the NYCP interns. Michaela graduated with honors from SUNY Geneseo with a degree in Psychology.
Andrew Pezzullo, Clean Power Fellow
Originally from Maine, Andrew studied cultural anthropology and environmental science while gaining experience in political organizing, farming, and food systems. After graduating college, Andrew began his professional career as an organic farmer in the Hudson Valley and has worked at multiple farm operations across the region. He was part of the first class of the Hudson Valley Farm Hub’s professional farmer training program, leaving after 2 years to start his own farm operation. After 8 years in the agriculture field, Andrew transitioned back into grassroots organizing around climate and energy policy at the state level with Food & Water Watch and now with NYCP! He is a Clean Power Fellow working with renewable energy supporters Upstate and using the Green the Grid & Electrify Everything presentation and toolkit.
Jennifer Metzger, Senior Policy Advisor
Jen Metzger, PhD, former NYS State Senator (2019-2020) and previously, executive director of Citizens for Local Power, joins the NYCP team to provide expert guidance on state policies!
Prior to her election to the State Senate, Senator Metzger served for over a decade in local government in the Town of Rosendale, and co-founded and directed Citizens for Local Power, an organization dedicated to fighting unfair utility rates and practices and helping communities shift to a locally-based clean energy economy.
In the State Senate, Senator Metzger was a leading voice for action to tackle climate change, move away from reliance on fossil fuels, and increase job-creating clean energy investments. She was an active member of the Senate’s workgroup on the nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), which was signed into law in July 2019, and she led efforts in the State Legislature to create a permanent ban on fracking, passed as part of the budget in 2020.
Senator Metzger also introduced a number of bills to tackle climate change and encourage clean energy investments and practices, including the Freedom from Fossil Fuels Act (banning new fossil fuel infrastructure), a package of legislation to support and expand clean transportation, a bill creating a carbon-farming tax credit to promote healthy soils and sequester carbon, legislation to reduce high utility fixed charges, and bills to improve recycling and encourage re-use.
Tom Konrad, Clean Energy Coach
Tom Konrad, PhD, CFA, is a portfolio manager, financial analyst, and freelance writer specializing in renewable energy and energy efficiency, to review energy updates and state programs with community members. He is also serves as the Chair on the Marbletown Environmental Conservation Commission, and has joined the NYCP as our first Clean Energy Coach!
You can schedule a time to talk with Tom for free – click the button below for more information and to schedule a meeting.
Samrat Pathania, Clean Energy Coach
Samrat Pathania grew up in India. His childhood love for science and mathematics culminated in a degree in mechanical engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur (India). After working several years as a software engineer with various multi-national corporations, Samrat became a teacher and currently teaches physics, mathematics, and software programming courses at Wallkill High School. He is a member of New York State Master Teacher Program and was named the sole winner of the 2017 STEM Teacher Scholarship from the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation. Samrat is former chair and coordinator of the New Paltz Climate Action Coalition. He is also a Climate Reality Leader and currently serves as co-chair of the Hudson Valley/Catskills chapter of the Climate Reality Project.
Arpitha Abraham, NYCP Intern
Arpitha Abraham, is a Student Climate Coalition co-founder and a freshman at SUNY Oneonta. When she isn’t studying, she is helping to get a climate smart communities program started in the town of Suffern. As an NYCP intern she helps to research green job programs across the state and engages other students and young people about climate solutions.