Our Leadership Team
Born in Louisville, KY and brought up in Columbia, MD, Paul graduated from Cornell University in 1988. He spent 23 years working in Russia, living in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk and Irkutsk. He also worked in Latin America until retiring in 2018. Paul joined The Climate Reality Project after participating in their online training in 2020. Inspired by the knowledge and skills gained at the training, Paul joined CRP’s lobbying efforts of the federal government to pass robust climate legislation until the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. Since then, Paul has focused his energy on lobbying the NY state government for the passage of the laws required to meet the CLCPA, and the NYC government to protect its landmark legislation, LL97. When not being a climate activist, Paul can be found maintaining trails for the NY-NJ Trail Conference with his dog, Dolly.
Paul Kiesler | co-chair
Deepa is a native New Yorker, born and raised in Queens. Holding a Master's degree in Public Health from Columbia University, she has devoted much of her career to tobacco control. Realizing the public health threat posed by the climate crisis and the fossil fuel industry's use of the same deceptive tactics employed by Big Tobacco, she was determined to become a part of the solution. After attending the Climate Reality Project's first virtual training in 2020, Deepa became an active member of the NYC Metro Chapter, including its lobbying efforts for climate solutions at the federal and state level.
Faith is a journalist, senior copy manager, and editor. Her work has been published in British Vogue, ELLE, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, and numerous other publications, with a focus on talking to women founders and celebrities of color about their experiences breaking ground. She is also an e-commerce industry expert, with over a decade helping brands translate their experiences and products into the digital world. Faith is a linguist by trade, having studied French and Arabic at Tufts University, while also growing up speaking Spanish in her family. She loves film, going to the museum, being a patron of the arts including the New York City Ballet, and spending quality time with family and friends. Faith's passion for mitigating the harm done to the planet and climate led her to join The Climate Reality Project, where she now serves as Co-Chair of the New York City chapter. Originally from Queens, she currently lives in Harlem.
Faith Cummings | Co-Chair
Philip has been a New York City resident for 40 years, during which he led his family’s textile manufacturing firm. Prior to his moving to New York, he was graduate student at the University of Washington where he completed a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science. Since the sale of the business, he has worked in renewable energy and educated himself about climate change. In 2013, he joined Citizens Climate Lobby, and he completed presenter training at the Climate Reality Project’s Chicago Training. Currently, he is focused on supporting New York State’s efforts to meet the goals of the CLCPA.
Deepa Prasad | Advocacy Co-Director
Minnie Li was trained as a Climate Reality Leader in 2021. Prior to joining the NYC Chapter, she started and ran an Employee Resource Group with a focus on climate change at work. She’s a filmmaker and producer with a corporate job at a financial firm. She received her BAs in Communications and Philosophy at University of California, San Diego, and a MA in Cinema Studies from New York University. Besides her love for films and climate advocacy, she enjoys fencing, tap dancing, and laughing out loud at The New Yorker Cartoons.
minnie li | Engagement Director
Paola Garcia is an Argentinian, born in Queens, NY.
Raised between North & South America, she’s dedicated her life to bridging people across geographies and interests.
Paola is on the Policy & Steering Committee of CRETF, the Climate & Resilience Education Task Force where she & an intergenerational team are advocating to pass a Climate Education Bill that ensures Climate Change be taught in all subject areas from grades Pre-K to 12.
With a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts @ Amherst, a Masters from Milano, The New School of Public Engagement, & being an accredited GRP, Green Roof Professional, Paola is committed to optimizing collective wellness via built-environments, pedagogy and policy.
Catalyzing communities through programming around cultural literacy and experiential & project-based learning, she has paved a career fusing her interests & developing high-level projects across disciplines.
Completing her Climate Reality training in NY, April of 2024, Paola remained involved in her
local Chapter by joining the Policy Working Group. Compelled to do more and galvanize greater direct action opportunities, she Co-founded a new Working Group, the Stewardship Impact Collective with Cyntia Abarca. As an Ambassador with The Billion Oyster Project and Super Steward with the NYC Parks Department, Paola hopes to extend, connect, and build upon these partnerships for her new Climate Reality Collective!
paola garcia | stewardship Director
Philip Kahn | Advocacy Co-Director
Jen is a climate justice advocate with a passion for solutions-based communications that combat defeatism, build solidarity, and inspire collective actions. Over the past decade, Jen has been involved in grassroots campaigns centered on inequality and environmental injustice. Since joining Climate Reality in 2024, she’s been helping the Advocacy team coordinate with city and state coalitions to enact and implement legislation that will end the era of fossil fuels. Jen is scientific copyeditor and writer with a bachelor’s in chemistry and a background in biomedical chemistry research. She is also an avid reader who enjoys hiking, visiting dog parks, writing essays, and repairing broken things.