NCEL Announces Staff Restructuring and Enhanced West Coast Presence

The National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL) announced this month that it has restructured its staff titles to accommodate rapid growth in the organization’s staff, budget, and program capacity.

NCEL is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to empowering environmentally-committed state legislators, providing them with assistance on conservation and environmental issues, and creating platforms for them to connect with each other in-person and online to share ideas and collaborate on multi-state initiatives.

The goal of the change is to better define staff roles and create a team structure that can better accommodate future growth. NCEL’s full-time staff now include:

• Energy & Climate Coordinator Michael Bueno (formerly legislative coordinator),
• Environmental Health Coordinator Altinay Karasapan (formerly program associate),
• Communications Coordinator Taylor Anderson (formerly program associate), and
• Deputy Director Dylan McDowell (former program director). Dylan has recently relocated to Salem, Oregon, where he is able to provide even more direct assistance and organizing for NCEL participants in Western states.

In addition to changes to full-time staff titles, NCEL’s contracted consultants are now listed as Senior Advisors: former Minnesota State Senator Jane Krentz, who has a passion for clean water and environmental justice; conservation policy and law expert Ruth Musgrave; and former Minnesota State Representative Jeremy Kalin, a nationally recognized leader on clean energy finance.

Executive Director Jeff Mauk remarked, “We could not be more excited to share news of this reorganization and of the great progress NCEL is making during this remarkable time. We are grateful to be of service to environmental champions in state legislatures, and this growth is proof of the critical role of states in protecting the environment during this era of federal rollbacks of environmental protections.”

For the bulk of its 22-year history, NCEL’s staff consisted of one full-time executive director and the service of contracted consultants. In 2015, the board of directors initiated an organizational assessment that provided a roadmap for strengthening the sustainability and impact of the organization. Since then, NCEL has: unveiled a new logo, branding, and website; professionalized internal operations with G-Suite, Quorum, and other online tools; boosted legislator engagement through issue sub-caucuses and the creation of state lead positions; doubled the size of its board of directors; and in 2018 achieved its first-ever budget over $1 million. By the end of 2018, the staff will also include an Operations Coordinator and Conservation Fellow.

“As a state legislator, I have always relied on and appreciated the great work that NCEL has provided to me on my environmental initiatives,” said NCEL President, North Carolina State Representative Pricey Harrison. “The entire board and I are very proud of what NCEL has accomplished so far, and we are eager to see what more can happen under this new framework. We are also extremely grateful to everyone who has provided support to make this important work possible.”

For inquiries, please contact NCEL Executive Director Jeff Mauk at 202-744-1006 or jmauk@ncel.net.