OUR TEAM
The Power Behind SCEN
ALEX EASDALE
Executive Director (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Alexander is the Executive Director of the Southeast Climate & Energy Network (SCEN), where he leads and manages a network of 78 organizations across 11 Southeastern states. Alexander was most recently Associate Campus Director of Ana G. Mendez University System - South Florida Campus, where he helped manage the entire Campus operation, including academic and student affairs, and community outreach. Previously, he was Foundations Director at the Democracia USA project of the National Council of La Raza, where he was charged with managing its institutional donor portfolio, while also supporting major individual donor fundraising. Alexander has worked in Hispanics in Philanthropy, where he was responsible for leading program design, fundraising, and project management for capacity building, educational, and economic development projects in varied regions in the U.S. and in Latin America. Alexander also worked as a consultant in the Argentine Consulate General in Miami supporting international trade negotiations. In his varied roles and as a consultant, Alexander has managed and built multiple stakeholder networks, also raising millions for multiple initiatives and causes through donor cultivation and grant-writing activities. He is a college professor and seasoned presenter at conferences and training workshops on topics such as leadership, fundraising, organizational development, and network management.
AMY ADAMS
Deputy & Programs Director (Washington, NC)
Raised on the Pamlico River in Washington, N.C., Amy has spent her career in public service for environmental protection. She earned a B.S. in biology and M.A. in environmental science education at East Carolina University and spent three summers researching sharks in the Bahamas in association with researchers from the School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. She served as an outreach specialist for the Center of Applied Aquatic Ecology before joining the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources in 2004. Over the next decade, Amy rose in the ranks to become the regional office supervisor for DEQ’s Washington region. in 2013, Amy joined Appalachian Voices, a non-profit based in Boone, NC that promotes diverse local economies and thriving communities and defends the land, air, and water of our region from the worst environmental threats. She is a project partner on The Lilies Project, a project to use art and creative placemaking to increase awareness of the impacts of coal ash and to aid in uplifting the communities who bear the toxic burden of our electricity's hidden cost. Amy joys spending time outdoors with her two children, hiking, boating, camping and playing music together. Amy served as the co-chair for the Environmental Justice Working Group from 2016 to 2017.
DALLAS CONYERS
Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Manager (Greenville, SC)
Rev. Dallas Conyers works as a Body Restoration Specialist: teaching yoga, foods for healing, and spiritual reestablishment to help people become ABLE to live out their creation purpose.She is a certified Sustainable Agriculturalist, Beekeeper, and Greenhouse Husbandman. She uses her micro-farm to practice and educate others on: eco-system restoration, soil regeneration, no-till square foot farming, and pollinator cultivation; for our world and for our survival. Dallas delightedly sits under the leadership of Rev. Dr. M. Keith McDaniel as an associate at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church.
SOPHIA PESSAGNO
Operations & Communications Manager (Greenville, SC)
Sophia is a sustainability scientist whose passion lies in communications and marketing.
She graduated from Furman University with a Bachelor of Science in Sustainability Science and a passion for grassroots movements. Over the summer of 2018, Sophia conducted research for her senior thesis in Costa Rica, which focused on the challenges of scaling up grassroots conservation programs and mapping partnerships in the area.
Since graduating in 2019, she interned for Miliken & Company, a diversified industrial manufacturer. Her roles included: data visualization, an overhaul of the recycling program at headquarters, and the creation of sustainability PowerPoints. Most recently, she worked with a non-profit located in Greenville, SC on marketing and research projects. Recently, Sophia joined SCEN as a fellow to assist with communications and the new asset mapping project.
ABIGAIL FRANKS
Programs and Policy Manager (Birmingham, AL)
Abigail Franks graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a B.A in Political Science and Peace, Justice, and Ecology and was a 2019 Rhodes Finalist for the University of Oxford. She is especially passionate about transforming the South into a sustainable and resilient region through advocating for and, eventually, crafting climate mitigation and adaptation policies. Abigail’s interests include nonviolent social movements, environmental policy, community-based leadership, clean energy, and grassroots climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. Previously, she has worked for the nonprofits People’s Justice Council and Black Warrior Riverkeeper, and in college she founded and led the organization WEARE (We Envision Alabamian Renewable Energy). In her free time, Abigail enjoys listening to podcasts, exercising (whether it be dancing, yoga, or running), and cuddling with her dog: Ginny.
SABINA IBRAGIMOVA
Advancement Manager (Alexandria, VA)
Sabina graduated with honors from the Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) in Tacoma, WA, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Strategic Communications. She joined the nonprofit sector when she was a teenager, and ever since, her primary goal has been to help nonprofits advance and achieve their mission. Previously, Sabina worked as a Grants Manager for local nonprofits on both the East and West coasts, bringing an international perspective to working with nonprofits around the globe. Sabina is also an active Board Member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals South Sound (AFPSS) Chapter and a Marketing and Communications Committee Chair. She was also nominated and received a Diversity Scholarship to attend the annual world’s No. 1 fundraising conference-AFP Icon, in New Orleans, LA. In her free time, Sabina watches Russian comedy shows, reads books, listens to podcasts, spends time with her family and fur babies, and enjoys sending postcards to her friends worldwide.
YURI OWENS
Membership & Outreach Coordinator (Atlanta, GA)
Yuri is a graduate of Georgia State University with a degree in Environmental Science. Yuri’s mission is to continue the work of those who have come before him in the environmental justice movement. He’d really like to take the baton and run his leg on his EJ journey to cultivate social and political power in black and brown communities. It is through Love that makes his work move and reaches lives in an impactful way. Black and brown people have long been stewards of the Earth and it is his intention to tap into that natural inclination toward environmental stewardship as well as cultivating that same inclination in others.
ALEXANDER DOEDDERER
IT Consultant (Argentina)
Alexander is a cybersecurity consultant with more than 19 years of experience in the IT industry, managing the entire life cycle of projects and leading teams. During his career, Alexander worked in different industries and government customers, developing and implementing many IT and security solutions.
He considers himself a self-taught entrepreneur whose passion is solving problems.
RON JOHNSON
Controller (Hollywood, FL)
Ron holds a Master of Science in Finance and Finance Management Services from Florida International University and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.
Before joining SCEN, Ron served as the Chief Executive Officer at Paragon Advisory Partners. Here, he was instrumental in preparing financial statements and IRS memos for large-scale properties, while also consulting on grant administration and compliance.
Prior to that, he co-founded Indelible Solutions, a company dedicated to conducting Medicaid-related performance audits and played a key role in managing a $586 million Public Assistance grant for the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Other roles include business development at Gastro Health, and leading audit teams at Deloitte & Touche, focusing on valuation and asset management strategy for numerous acquisitions.
Ron holds NEO4J Fundamentals and an Executive Certification in M&A from the University of Chicago. He has also completed Stanford Online courses in machine learning, rounding out a skill set that includes critical problem analysis, risk assessment, and productivity improvement. His diverse skills and experience make him an ideal fit for his forthcoming role as Controller at SCEN.
Our working group co-chairs and collaborators
JAIRO GARCIA
Co-chair SCEN Working Group
Dr. Jairo Garcia is an expert in sustainable urban development, carbon mitigation, and climate resiliency. Dr. Garcia's main area of research is focused on elements of spatial data analysis for ecological assessments and to identify climate vulnerabilities and risk analysis.
As the former Director of Climate Policies and Renewables with the City of Atlanta, Dr. Garcia developed the first Climate Action Plan and led a coalition of stakeholders to craft the application for Rockefeller’s 100 Resilient Cities program, which the City of Atlanta was awarded in 2016. Dr. Garcia holds an engineering degree, an MSc in Management of Information Technologies from Syracuse University, an MSc in Sustainability Management from Columbia University, and a Doctoral degree in Educational Technology and Sustainability from Pepperdine University. He has held research and academic positions with the Earth Institute at Columbia University, UCLA, and presently teaches classes at Georgia Tech in Sustainable Urban Development, the Sustainable Cities Studio, and Introduction to Land Use Planning. ​
​
​
REN MARTIN
Co-chair SCEN Working Group
Ren is a youth environmental justice activist who graduated from Virginia Tech in 2021 with a degree in Agricultural Sciences. During university, they led as a VP of a student organization, joined a sustainability scholar cohort, and served as a founding member of a student coalition to fundraise donations for the BLM movement. Now, as a full-time organizer, they enjoy working at the intersections of faith, food, art, energy, and environmental justice!
Ren serves as the Southeast regional representative for the National IPL Steering Committee, is a member of the American Society of Adaptation Professionals, and acts as a voting participant of the US Climate Action Network. Ren is a previous co-chair of the USCAN Building Power from the Grassroots Up action team, and is currently an active member of the JEDI committee, acting as a lead organizer of one of its sub-committees. Through storytelling and community organizing, Ren seeks to educate, inspire, and mobilize a movement to equitably act on climate.
​
​
​