Our Team

Clare is the Chief Programs and Operating Officer of the Solutions Project. She is an experienced and imaginative social impact executive with deep expertise in creative advocacy and philanthropy. She brings a strong gender lens to her work on climate action with a track-record working on issues of gender equality.

Clare previously served as a Senior Advisor to the United Nations’ milestone Generation Equality initiative, where she played a leading role in the initiative’s launch, which garnered an unprecedented $40 Billion in new global commitments for gender equality. She was also previously the VP of Programs and then COO of Global Fund for Women, leading the organization’s global strategy, operations, grantmaking and advocacy. Her responsibilities included oversight of grantmaking of over 250 grants in over 50 countries per year, benefiting 1.5 million individuals annually and contributing to significant legal and policy change.

Clare has a track record catalyzing creative projects that drive money and attention to critical social causes. She is the former CEO of International Museum of Women (IMOW), an innovative online museum and a global hub for digital story-telling, art and advocacy. During her tenure, the organization created 7 digital exhibitions reaching more than 2 million online visitors and initiated events and installations in 14 countries on five continents. As a VP at the Women’s Funding Network (WFN) she spearheaded the communications launch of Women Moving Millions, a major giving campaign that garnered over $180 million in its initial phase.

Clare was previously Head of Communications at King Charles’ UK charity for young people, The Prince’s Trust, overseeing media relations, celebrity engagement and all marketing communications.

When not working towards climate action, Clare enjoys reading, travel and exploring Northern California with her husband and two children.

“I joined The Solutions Project as the first Executive Director in 2014 because of the founders' bold vision and actionable case for a world powered 100% by the wind, water and sun — and because we agreed that in order to get free of fossil-fuels, we had to free up resources for leaders of color whose lives and livelihoods were by far the most affected by old dirty energy. Being closest to the problem, those leaders were also already implementing clean energy solutions and The Solutions Project gets to follow their lead with our grantmaking, media and capacity programs!”

Sarah Shanley Hope is the VP of Narrative Strategies at The Solutions Project following seven years as the organization’s first Executive Director. Under Sarah’s leadership, the organization transformed its mission and culture to center racial and gender equity, launched one of the field’s first and only award-winning intermediary climate and equity funds, and grew a celebratory, collaborative and inclusive movement for 100% clean energy. She now leads the dynamic team of staff and program delivery partners amplifying the climate justice solutions and growing the capacity of frontline grantee partners to scale their influence and impact. Sarah has held executive or leadership roles at the Alliance for Climate Education, Green For All, Cargill and Best Buy over her 20 years of experience in brand strategy, philanthropy and social change. She has raised and helped deploy more than $75 million in support of a racial equity and climate solutions agenda over her tenure in the field.

Shanley Hope graduated with an MBA from the University of Minnesota and a BA in political science from Vassar College. She grew up in Buffalo, NY and lives with her husband, daughters and dog in Oakland, CA.  She sits on the boards of Native Renewables and the Kairos Fellowship. Sarah’s work has been featured in a range of outlets including the NY Times, People Magazine, and the Daily Show. She has spoken about the vision, strategies and stories of change at the intersection of climate solutions and equity as part of TEDxMidAtlantic, Climate One, the Social Venture Network, Climate Week NYC, and Bioneers.

Oscar nominated and multi-time Golden Globe winning actor Don Cheadle is, without question, one of the most highly sought after and premier actors of his generation. He’s well known for his passionate performances on stage and screen, from his breakout performance in Devil in A Blue Dress, to his portrayal of War Machine across the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to Hotel Rwanda, for which his performance garnered all the Best Actor Award nominations you can think of. Don is also a regular on Showtime’s Years of Living Dangerously, which tells the story of our time: climate change and the impact it is having on people right now in the US and all over the world.

Cheadle’s other philanthropic work includes serving as a U.N. Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme as well as one of The Solutions Project’s Board of Directors. He’s produced the documentary film, Darfur Now, an examination of the genocide in Sudan’s western region of Darfur, and in 2007, he and George Clooney were recognized for their work for Darfur. The pair shared a Peace Summit Award at the 8th Annual World Summit of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in Rome.

Favianna Rodriguez is an interdisciplinary artist, cultural strategist, and activist. Her work and collaborative initiatives address gender equality, racial justice, immigrant rights, and climate change. Favianna works with cultural movements around the United States bringing together the powerful intersection of art, entertainment, social justice, and cultural equity. Most recently, she has been collaborating with women in the entertainment industry to design timely initiatives addressing equity and inclusion, including 5050by2020.com. She is the Executive Director of CultureStrike, a national arts organization that engages artists, actors, writers, and producers in immigrant rights.

In 2012, she was featured in a documentary series by Pharrell Williams titled “Migration is Beautiful”, which addressed how artists responded to failed immigrant policy in the United States. In 2016, she received the Robert Rauschenberg Artist as Activist Fellowship for her work around mass incarceration. In 2017, she was awarded an Atlantic Fellowship for Racial Equity for her work around racial justice and climate change. Favianna lives and works in two California culture capitals: the Bay Area and Los Angeles.

In addition to being an innovative leader in the cultural sector, Rodriguez also has helped build The Lab, a co-working space in the heart of downtown Oakland that’s focused on racial justice, culture change, and climate justice. She brings expertise in designing co-working spaces that foster collaboration, innovation, and friendship.

Zelalem Adefris is the Vice President of Policy & Advocacy at Catalyst Miami, where she oversees Catalyst’s Policy & Engagement Department. Zelalem joined Catalyst Miami in 2016, directing the organization’s climate resilience programs and advocacy work. Her previous work experiences include environmental justice organizing at the Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island and conducting emergency preparedness research at the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She holds an MPH in Global Environmental Health from Emory University and a bachelor’s degree in Community Health from Brown University. In addition to being a philanthropic trustee of the Solutions Project, Zelalem serves as a steering committee member of the Miami Climate Alliance, as well as a board member of the Miami-Dade College Earth Ethics Institute and Miami-Dade County Community Action Agency.

Elizabeth Yeampierre is a internationally recognized Puerto Rican attorney and environmental and climate justice leader of African and Indigenous ancestry born and raised in New York City. A national leader in climate justice movement, Elizabeth is the co-chair of the Climate Justice Alliance. She is Executive Director of UPROSE, Brooklyn's oldest Latino community based organization. Her award winning vision for an inter-generational, multi-cultural and community led organization is the driving force behind UPROSE. She is a long-time advocate and trailblazer for community organizing around just, sustainable development, environmental justice and community-led climate adaptation and community resiliency in Sunset Park.

Prior to assuming the Executive Director position at UPROSE, Ms. Yeampierre was the Director of Legal Education and Training at the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund, Director of Legal Services for the American Indian law Alliance and Dean of Puerto Rican Student Affairs at Yale University. She holds a BA from Fordham University, a law degree from Northeastern University.