TEAM

Enrique Nunez Ramirez, a fifth-year Geography student at the University of Colorado Boulder pursuing a GIS certificate, is captivated by the dynamic interplay between natural disasters, human life, and the environment. Through the innovative tools of GIS and remote sensing, he navigates the complexities of our changing world. Outside of his studies, Enrique enjoys the simple pleasures of hanging out with friends and soaking in the peace of nature's beauty.

Jeanette Scotti has been an educator for 22 years. She began her career as a classroom teacher in Boulder Valley Schools and then moved into a Teacher Librarian position in 2017. She considers herself a lifelong learner with room to expand and grow which is one reason she joined Classrooms for Climate Action. One of her biggests passions is teaching students about social justice, and how they can advocate for themselves and the world around them when injustices are present. C4CA and Tiffany Boyd's mission aligned with this theme. Now she feels passionate about teaching others to do this same in regards to Climate Action, Justice and Equity.

In her free time you can find Jeanette OUTSIDE still playing soccer, running on trails, eating, or reading (she better be!). She loves spending time with her husband, son, dog, Ozzy Bean as well as her friends who also love to laugh, play and eat.

Father, Husband, Engineer, Entrepreneur

Scott loves to spend time in the mountains of Colorado.  He went to the University of Colorado Boulder on an athletic scholarship where he majored in Electrical Engineering.  After working at HP for 15 years in the Test and Measurement Division, Scott had his first startup experience at Tellsoft Technologies in Colorado Springs.  Later, Scott and his brother Dan bootstrapped a company called ReadyTalk, a successful startup in the communications sector.  Scott and Dan sold ReadyTalk to  PGI in 2017.  After a brief retirement period, Scott started a nonprofit called Mission Zero, and created the Climate Action Fund at CU Boulder.  Scott believes that by educating our future leaders on the science of climate change, it will empower them with the skills necessary to tackle our climate crisis.

As a CU Buff, Scott was a letterman on the CU cross country team, was the IEEE president and ran the first ever Student Professional Awareness Conference for engineering students.  At HP, Scott was recognized for multiple awards in sales and management including the President’s Club in 1991.  During his time at ReadyTalk, Scott and Dan built an award-winning technology company that was ranked for 5 consecutive years on “Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500” and “Inc 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America.”  ReadyTalk was also recognized as one of the top companies to work for in Colorado and won Outside Magazine’s Best Company to Work for in 2012.   In 2008, Scott and Dan were recognized as the Rocky Mountain Region Entrepreneurs of the Year by Ernst and Young and later inducted into the E&Y Entrepreneur Hall of Fame.

Steve has been a lawyer for over 30 years with a practice that centers around western water, land, and environmental issues.  Steve’s law firm is in Boulder, CO and represents a wide range of public, private, and non-profit entities. Before entering the law, Steve obtained a Masters Degree in limnology and was a research scientist in the fields of aquatic biology and toxicology at Johns Hopkins University.  Steve also taught undergraduate classes in Ecology, Limnology and Icthyology at Iowa State University.  Steve has lived in Louisville, CO for the past nearly 25 years with his wife Katy where they raised two boys in the public school system.  Their family spends most of their free time in the mountains or traveling.

Simon is co-founder and CEO of Latimer Controls, a local startup born out of CU Engineering and the National Renewable Energy Lab that focuses on providing software to control and dispatch solar plants for electric utilities. Simon is extremely passionate about sustainability, renewable energy technology, and bringing impactful innovations from experimentation to real-world buy-in. Simon is an alumni of a sustainability focused cohort of Techstars Accelerator, and brings a young perspective with experience in STEM, the tech industry, raising money for early-stage ventures, and improving STEM education for under-represented communities.

With more than 30 years in public accounting, Ernie has dedicated his career to proving that anything is possible for business owners when they have proactive tax and business advice.

Ernie formed Boulder Valley in 2012, which merged with Accountability Services in January 2024. As Partner and Chief Advisory Officer, he is the chief strategist, principal advisor, and FP & A "guru." While Ernie is passionate about helping business owners grow, accumulate wealth, enjoy their businesses, and then exit successfully, what inspires him daily is his team. Ernie considers his team the finest human beings he has known. In his words, “The fearlessness they have and new ideas they bring to the table to help our clients exceed their goals is pure fire.”

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Ernie’s Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration is from Baruch College, City University of New York in 1997. He went on to get his CPA.

Outside the office, Ernie’s wife, sons, family and friends are his top priority. He has raised his boys to run through brick walls, listen more, and speak less in order to build long, deep, and strong relationships with people. In addition to mountain biking at night off trail, hiking, skiing, golf, and beer, Ernie may be the only person you’ll ever meet who has been on the David Letterman Show…twice! Ernie on tv.

A lifelong educator, Anne has spent most of her adult life in classrooms, working with teachers and kids.  She began teaching on the south side of Chicago, and then attended graduate school at the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois, where she received a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction. When her family moved to Colorado, she worked with the Public Education Coalition in Denver, supporting teachers to implement progressive literacy practices in urban and suburban schools.  ‘With colleague Stephanie Harvey, she has authored books and resources on reading comprehension instruction, research and inquiry, and American history.  Anne is passionate about creating ways for kids to explore the big, wide world out there and C4CA provides so many opportunities for this to happen. She believes that when kids experience in-depth learning about climate issues and climate justice, they become engaged citizens and thoughtful advocates for change. 

A recent graduate from the University of Denver with a degree in International Studies and pursuing a career in policy analysis. I have been involved with climate action for the past few years, focusing on fossil fuel divestment and climate justice.
In my free time, I love to paint, cook and, of course, get outside. I spent middle school and high school in the foothills of Boulder where I learned the importance of protecting our local just as much as our global environments.

Janet Hoaglund retired from Boulder Valley Schools in 2016. She has worked as an educator for 30 plus years. Exposure to social justice and learning to become responsible and respectful citizens were forefront for her students. She resonates with the understanding that life unfolds in a growing spiral. As a grandmother, she experiences her responsibility to consider beyond her human family to mother the earth. C4CA’s mission enables her to keep a commitment to nurture those younger

in knowledge and skills that will give them ways to hopefully care and cope in a climate changing world.

Janet grew up in Japan. Opportunities to use her bilingual skills, enjoy Japanese and Asian food, walking and gardening are among her favorite pastimes.

Beth is the owner and founder of SOBOBookkeeping LLC and is providing bookkeeping services for C4CA.  Beth has worked in the bookkeeping field for 20 years and currently serves many non-profit organizations.  Her passion is to help small organizations that provide needed services for the community.  Her clients range from working with climate solutions, education, and hydropower.  She is a native of Colorado and strives to make a difference in our changing environment.

A mother of three adult “children” with a Bachelors in Education and Masters in Deaf Education from Gallaudet University. I’ve been working in the educational system for more than 30 years in various capacities.

Honestly I’ve always tried to keep up with making a difference for Climate Change but have learned so much about making a collective difference with C4CA that I’m hooked and want to stay involved as long as possible.

I’m an outdoor enthusiast who takes advantage of all Colorado has to offer from hiking and biking to skiing and working out. I love to travel, read, play games and spend as much time as I can outside and with my family.  This all has inspired me to become involved with C4CA to help keep nature available for all of us.  I love teaching students about Climate Change, Justice and Action!

Jaye Zola is a retired Boulder Valley School’s teacher. She taught social studies and humanities and was a librarian.  She has had opportunities to write curriculum, run teacher trainings focused on improving school climate, equity, and active and engaging teaching activities. Jaye has taken teachers on study tours to Japan and provided professional development at overseas conferences for international schools. She and her husband John just published a book Teaching as if Students Matter: A Guide to Creating Classrooms Based on Relationships and Engaged Learning. Currently Jaye is a Climate Resiliency Coordinator with Classrooms for Climate Action. She is teaching about Nature based Climate Solutions in classrooms, helping coordinate NbCS curriculum, tree planting initiatives, and climate action at schools for C4CA.

Born into an adventurous family, they inspired my love for the outdoors and instilled a kinship and interest in taking care of our environment. After a 42-year career in education as an administrator and teacher, I enjoy working as a volunteer naturalist, monitoring raptor nests, leading school nature groups, organic gardening, and spending time outdoors with family and friends.

I value the opportunity to work with C4CA because I know we make a difference for the greater good by helping others understand how to live in a more balanced relationship with our natural world. Not only do we empower students with a voice and hope, but we touch their heads, hearts, and hands, and cultivate compassion for our planet.

Tiffany Boyd (she/her) is the Executive Director of Classrooms for Climate (C4CA) which is located in Boulder County, Colorado.  After growing up in Boulder, Tiffany taught in the Boulder Valley School District for 27 years and understands the unique challenges facing educators today. Throughout her teaching career, she has been passionate about getting students civically engaged. While teaching, Tiff started a club which connected students to local issues in their community.

After retiring in 2019, she was inspired by Greta Thunberg and started C4CA to connect teachers and students with local climate action. Together with other retired teachers and local community members passionate about climate action, C4CA helps teachers integrate climate into what they are already teaching.

Jessica Bean is the leader of the Understanding Global Change Project at the Museum of Paleontology at UC Berkeley, and the Director of Outreach and Science for the FieldScope Project. She designs tools for learning about the Earth as a dynamic, interconnected system. As a research scientist, she studies the effects of environmental change on marine invertebrates along the California coast, has taught college and graduate level biology and Earth science courses. She partners with K-12 educators to develop and implement new tools for learning about the nature and process of science, ecosystems, and climate change. Previously, she ran an NSF Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 Education Program at the University of California, Davis, where she received her Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Melissa Braaten's research aims to understand more about how teachers learn to teach science across multiple contexts for professional learning including the pre-service preparation of teachers in coursework and field experiences, professional learning in designed settings such as professional development for teachers, and professional learning that takes place 'on the job' in the day-to-day work of teachers in schools. She uses a variety of approaches to study science teachers' learning including: design-based research iteratively improving designs for teacher learning environments through cycles of research and development; narrative inquiries conducted in close relationship with teachers as they work to analyze, interpret, and improve their practice; school ethnography conducted with a team of researchers to make meaning of the complex, often paradoxical, contexts of teaching and learning in schools. See ambitiousscienceteaching.org for examples of her work with science teachers.