Susan Kruse (she/her)

Executive Director

Susan has been advocating for environmental protection and justice for 25 years. After launching the Allegheny Defense Project in her native Pennsylvania in 1994, Susan helped to found the National Forest Protection Alliance and joined the staff as the Eastern Field Coordinator. She led their federal legislative efforts to protect national forests before ultimately serving as the organization’s executive director. In 2006, Susan pursued her passion for philanthropic work and became the Director of Development for the Legal Aid Justice Center in Charlottesville, Virginia. After 10 years of growing Legal Aid’s development program and becoming a major gifts specialist, Susan returned to environmental work in 2016 to join Appalachian Voices as their Director of Philanthropy. Excited to merge her passion for the planet and the community she loves, Susan became C3’s executive director in 2019. She was appointed to Virginia’s Clean Energy Advisory Board for a three-year term by Governor Ralph Northam in 2019, and she was named in Virginia Business Magazine’s list of 100 people to meet in 2022 as an Impact Maker in Virginia. Susan is a graduate of Clarion University in Pennsylvania and resides in Charlottesville with her husband Mike and their two nature-loving boys, Evan and Sebastian.

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Coles Jennings (he/him)

Director of Corporate Sustainability

Coles combines 15 years of engineering experience with a passion for sustainability, energy conservation, and affordability. One of his core beliefs is that the key to a sustainable future lies in decoupling pollution and production. Through his years of consulting for building design and performance, he has completed energy and sustainability assessments and designed system upgrades for commercial and government facilities all over the world. Coles is thrilled to put this experience to work helping organizations in the community reduce their resource footprints and realize better returns on their energy investments. Coles graduated from the University of Virginia with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. He is a Professional Engineer in the state of Virginia, an AEE Certified Energy Auditor, and a LEED Associated Professional. Born and raised in Roanoke, VA, his love of the Blue Ridge mountains has kept him in the state his whole life. Outside of work, you can find him outdoors with his wife and three children, playing and coaching soccer, or generally stumbling through amateur carpentry projects. He’s also a die-hard UVA basketball fan despite his own below-average jump shot.

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Leah Jones (she/her)

Director of Communications

Leah Jones is an enthusiastic community advocate passionate about using communication strategies to shed light on the intersections between environmentalism, race, gender, and class. Her studies in Biology and Environmental Science and Policy at William and Mary led her to dedication to environmental justice and building bridges of understanding with communities of color and other underserved communities. Before joining C3, Leah advocated and organized with frontline communities to advance environmental justice policies and initiatives throughout the Commonwealth. Leah is excited to bring her skills in climate communications, environmental education, and community engagement to continue expanding C3’s connection to local communities and empowering them to take action on climate. With her work, Leah hopes to continue improving our communities, developing them to be more resilient and fully allowing the chance for all Virginia residents to thrive. In her downtime, Leah loves to check out local concerts, spend time outdoors, attend the occasional salsa lesson, and relax with her two cats.

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Aidyn Mancenido (she/her)

Director of Development

Aidyn brings her background in cultural anthropology and over two decades of experience working directly with communities around the world and throughout Charlottesville. She has researched, consulted and advocated in areas such as affordable housing, health equity, food access, and employment. She approaches these and other justice-based efforts by prioritizing local voices and community partnerships to seed and power systemic change. Aidyn is excited to bring her experiences in community- and donor engagement, to mobilize the resources necessary to move towards greater climate justice. Aidyn holds a PhD in cultural anthropology and a masters degree in art. She maintains her mixed-media art practice to approach social challenges from new perspectives, and to creatively build and embody the futures we desire. She lives in Charlottesville with her daughter and enjoys walking amongst trees, and swimming in open bodies of water.

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Jacqui Bauer (she/her)

Climate Services Manager

Jacqui has worked for 25 years in the field of local sustainability.  She was the first sustainability coordinator for the City of Bloomington, Indiana, where she spearheaded energy efficiency, waste reduction, active transportation, and renewable energy programs throughout the community. During this time, she also served in leadership positions with the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, co-chairing the Innovation Fund Committee. Based on her city experience, she co-founded a startup called RentLab, focused on creating tools to promote efficiency, sustainability, and affordability in rental housing. Prior to her work with the city, she served as the assistant director of the Ostrom Workshop at Indiana University under Nobel Prize winner Elinor Ostrom, and as the state director of the Indiana Rural Community Assistance Program, where she worked with rural communities to improve access to clean water. She holds master’s degrees in Public Policy and Environmental Science from the O'Neill School at Indiana University, and a bachelor’s degree in Japanese Language from the University of Michigan.

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Sarah Delgado (she/her)

Operations Manager

Sarah is originally from Williamsburg, VA and fell in love with the Charlottesville area while in school at the University of Virginia, studying Environmental Science and English. She has long had a passion for reducing pollution and supporting climate organizations in her personal life. She has 10 years of experience in retail banking management and recently moved to the non-profit sector by managing the finances at the Sexual Assault Resource Agency here in Charlottesville. Sarah is looking forward to supporting the continued growth of C3 and managing operations so that our team can continue their focus on accelerating local climate action. Sarah spends her time outside of work taking walks with her daughter and husband, playing with their 3 cats, crafting, and watching sunsets from local wineries on the weekend.

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Sadhbh O'Flynn (she/her)

Climate Justice Policy manager

Sadhbh joined C3’s policy team to channel her passion for researching climate justice and transportation justice into community-centered advocacy. Her interest in community activism was fomented during her participation in a 10-year grassroots campaign for debt justice in Ireland, where she learned first-hand the value of coalition-building across diverse societal strata. Her professional and academic background comprises a cross-sectoral path that ultimately led her away from the travel industry and into a Master of Science in Climate Change: Policy, Media, Society from Dublin City University. Her Masters work focused on indigenous sovereignty, just transition, public transit, and the dichotomy between the urban and rural within climate change policy. For her Master's capstone project, she focused on rural rail revitalization in Ireland as a method to achieving just transition in a decarbonized economy. With expertise in policy analysis and project management, Sadhbh is committed to empowering communities to make evidence-based demands for equitable solutions to the climate crisis, both locally and globally. Outside of C3, Sadhbh sings in harmony, hosts dinner parties, bakes bread, goes outside, and travels - ideally, by long-distance rail.

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Madelena Eifert

Climate Justice Fellow

Madelena is a recent graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Public Health. Her background in epidemiology and biology has led to a passion for health equity informed by rigorous research. The disparities within Richmond, Virginia, caused by institutional, structural, and historical injustices, has motivated her to examine the role of one's built environment and the impact of climate change on health. In her spare time, Madelena enjoys having coffee with friends, attending concerts, and spending quality time with her partner. 

Ava Marshall

Climate policy Intern

Ava Marshall is a second year at the University of Virginia. She is majoring in Environmental Thought & Practice and Economics. Originally from Fairfax County, VA, she became interested in sustainability during high school. After her interest sparked, she got involved in environmental clubs and implemented sustainable practices into all aspects of her life. In the future, she hopes to pursue a career in environmental economics. She is excited to work with C3 to make a difference in the Charlottesville community!

Alex Yeager

Development Intern

Alex Yeager is a fourth year studying Environmental Science at the University of Virginia. He grew up in Richmond, Virginia, where he found a passion for the environment after spending much of his childhood outside in nature. This led to him choosing a major in environmental science and interning at C3 to help create impactful change that will
benefit the environment. After college, he hopes to work in a space where he can help companies be more sustainable, whether it is supporting them reduce carbon emissions
or their wastewater. In his free time, he loves playing disc golf, riding his bike, and skateboarding.

Aarushi Shah

Aarushi Shah is currently a junior at Albemarle High School. She enjoys traveling, hiking, and spending time with family and friends! She is very excited to be working with C3 this year because she wants to be part of the active change towards a better and safer Mother Earth for our community.

Harper MacQueen

Harper MacQueen is a rising Senior at Western Albemarle High School (WAHS). Harper’s interest in climate and policy first started to take shape once she was accepted into the Environmental Studies Academy (ESA). Harper is a member of the Green New Deal for Schools club, which works to guide WAHS students toward a more complex education surrounding the environment, where she co-created a documentary highlighting the dangers of fast fashion to Charlottesville. As president of the We the People club, a club which seeks to promote civic engagement in 13-18 year olds, Harper has worked to educate her peers on climate change and climate policy through their debate competitions. Harper plans to study environmental science on a pre-law track with aspirations to be an environmental lawyer. In her free time, Harper loves to watch movies, hang out with friends, and paint.