NY Renews Staff
Stephan Edel (he/him), Executive Director
Stephan Edel, the Executive Director of NY Renews, has worked on environmental, justice, and labor issues for over two decades. Previously, he was the New York Project Director for Working Families. He also worked as a union and community organizer before attending law school. Stephan holds a JD from The City University of New York School of Law, and a Master’s Degree in Global Politics from Birkbeck College of the University of London.
Since joining Working Families a decade ago, Stephan has worked extensively doing climate and environmental coalition work to expand and implement the landmark Green Jobs Green New York energy efficiency program and pass On-Bill Recovery financing. He has also worked on campaign research and legislative efforts across issues in New York and other states and was involved with NY Renews from early on as an active steering committee member.
Some of his proudest work is supporting efforts to build a stronger democracy, a worker-cooperative economy in NYC, and a strong climate movement across the state. City and State Magazine named him to the Energy & Environment Power List in 2020, 2021, and 2022, recognizing the work of the coalition.
Emily Earle (she/her), Development Lead
Emily is committed to mobilizing resources for a more just world. She has spent 17+ years in organizational development and fundraising focused on environmental justice, education, work, and housing. Over the past decade, Emily held leadership roles at Per Scholas and FoodCorps. She began her fundraising career at WE ACT for Environmental Justice, a member of NY Renews, so supporting revenue abundance for the coalition feels like coming full circle.
A first-generation college grad, Emily has a BA from Williams College, and an MA in urban and environmental policy and planning from Tufts University. She lives on Lenape ancestral land, in Brooklyn, with her partner and two lively little ones. One day, she’d like to put her experience waiting tables to use by opening a cooperative cafe.
Xaver Kandler (he/him), Campaigns Director
Xaver is the Campaigns Director at NY Renews. He previously worked for Environmental Advocates, NY, a member of the NY Renews Steering Committee before joining NY Renews Staff in 2019.
Xaver deeply believes in the power of intentional personal relationships and is passionate about social movement theory and practice, organizational culture, and intersectional climate justice—much of which was nourished while getting a degree in Environmental and Urban Studies at Bard College.
In his free time, Xaver can be found backpacking, bird watching, and drinking tea with loved ones.
Irene Kim (she/they), Operations Director
Irene is the Operations Director at NY Renews. Previously, they worked at Greenpeace USA as a Program Operations Coordinator.
Though born and raised in New York, Irene has spent the last 10 years in Washington, D.C., after graduating from The George Washington University with a BA in Environmental Studies and Biological Anthropology.
Marie Scarles (she/her), Communications Director
Marie is the Communications Director at NY Renews. Previously, she was the Media Organizer and a proud union member of the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union.
Marie has worked as a critical and creative writing lecturer at Rutgers University, an editor at Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, and a freelance writing coach. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Rutgers-Camden and a BA from Wesleyan University.
Marie believes in the power of storytelling as a way to build solidarity and organize toward a just tomorrow.
Avrielle Miller (she/her), Policy Director
Avrielle is the Policy Director at NY Renews. With her multi-faceted background, she remains dedicated to addressing the ubiquitous challenges facing our environment(s) while promoting clean practices and forward-thinking solutions. Throughout the course of her career, Avrielle has worked at the intersection of research and advocacy operations, and policy application with various NGOs and international humanitarian organizations. Prior to NY Renews, she worked under the United Nations with a multi-stakeholder network committed to ensuring the equitable development of interlinked water and energy solutions in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
She holds a Master’s Degree in Food and Agriculture Law and Policy from Vermont Law School and a BA from Hampshire College.
Aurora Crooks (she/her), Member Partnership & Engagement Manager
Aurora serves as the Member Partnership & Engagement Manager for NY Renews. She comes to NY Renews with several years of organizing, facilitation, and management experience in the environmental movement, with a specific focus on the intersection between the environmental sphere and the social politics of protecting and conserving environmental habitats. Most recently, she served as the Community Science Program Manager at New York City Audubon where she worked on protecting migrating birds from window collisions. There she led all efforts that connected New Yorkers to the natural and biological spaces of New York while advocating for city-wide policies that protected migrating birds and crafting impactful programs and advancing strategic partnerships. Prior to her work at Audubon, Aurora held roles at New York City Parks, Girls Who Code, and worked on advancing education advancement for young women globally at the New York Academy of Science.
Zasu Scott (she/her), Digital & Communications Manager
Zasu is the Digital & Communications Manager at NY Renews. Before stepping into her current position, she worked on NY Renews' mobilizations and other grassroots organizing efforts starting in 2020. Zasu has also worked as an organizer for a Congressional campaign, a fellow for the California LGBTQ+ Legislative Caucus, and as a public health researcher for a community organization in Southern India. She holds a BS from Cornell University in public policy and management.
Zasu is a passionate social movement organizer and is committed to fighting for justice and progressive change. She believes that at its core, organizing is about democratizing power.
Katherine Nadeau (she/her), Staff Supervisor
Katherine is Catskill Mountainkeeper’s Deputy Director and serves as NY Renews’ Staff Supervisor, providing strategic support and administrative direction to the staff team. In addition to her work with the staff and the coalition’s human resources arm, the Management Committee, Katherine co-chairs the Budgets & Regrants Committee and works with the Lobby Team, Steering Committee, and ad hoc committees as needed. Driven by a vision for equity, justice, and a world where everyone has clean air and water, Katherine collaborates to create lasting change. When she’s not working, you’ll find her hanging out with her fantastic family, outdoors with her Girl Scout troop, participating in a school board meeting, or in the kitchen, baking bread.
Siri Ketha (they/them), Donor Organizer
Siri is a movement fundraiser guided by transnational, intersectional, and abolitionist feminisms. Previously, they have been at the New York Foundation and Riders Alliance.
Siri has a BA in American Studies from Barnard College. They currently live on unceded Lenape territory in Brooklyn. They are South Indian and grew up in Dallas, Texas, the ancestral lands of the Caddo, Wichita, and Comanche. Siri likes to spend time with their friends and family, and collect trinkets.
Prerana Narahari (she/her), Digital Organizing Fellow 2023–24
Prerana is the Digital Organizing Fellow at NY Renews. Prior to this, she served as the Social Media Manager at Currently, a weather service platform focused on climate justice.
Originally from Bangalore, India, Prerana came to the US to study Journalism at Rutgers University and later decided to pursue a Masters in Environmental Policy at The New School. Her interests lie at the intersection of caste and climate change in South Asia, and the many ways in which caste abolition feeds into climate justice. She is passionate about using film, writing and other forms of digital media to advocate for these intersections.
REGRANTED STAFF
A central function of the NY Renews coalition is to provide support for our coalition members’ projects and priorities. We build movement power and coalition member capacity in a variety of ways, including popular education, training, toolkits, and funding regional organizers at several coalition organizations. The following staff are supported by NY Renews grants.
Michelle Wenderlich (they/them), Organizing and Policy Lead, Metro Justice’s Rochester for Energy Democracy Campaign
Read more about Michi here.
Celeste Perez (she/her), Policy Organizer, New York City Environmental Justice Alliance
Read more about Celeste here.
Monique Fitzgerald (she/her), Climate Justice Organizer, Long Island Progressive Coalition
Read more about Monique here.