Tempest Advisors Staff
Sea Change Foundation and Sea Change Foundation International are advised by Tempest Advisors, which provides professional philanthropic consulting services to Simons family philanthropic entities.
Cliff Chen
Cliff is a Program Strategist at Tempest Advisors, where he focuses on strategies to accelerate the decarbonization of the power sector. Prior to Tempest, Cliff was a Senior Energy Analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and an energy consultant at Synapse Energy Economics. Cliff has authored numerous reports and articles on electricity and climate policy and presented at several national energy conferences. He holds an M.S. in Energy & Resources from U.C. Berkeley and a B.S. in Earth Systems from Stanford University, and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala.
Sandy Doyle
Sandy is a Program Strategist at Tempest Advisors, where she focuses on strategies to decarbonize the building and industrial sectors. Prior to Tempest, Sandy was a financial analyst at Bank America Robertson Stephens covering digital media and entertainment software. She has an MBA from U.C. Berkeley and a B.A. in Economics from U.C. Berkeley.
Anjali Jaiswal
Anjali is the Deputy Director of Tempest Advisors, working to address the serious threats posed by global climate change. She focuses on business operations, strategic planning, and philanthropic collaboration. Anjali is an expert in developing and implementing climate strategies with decades of experience in climate policy and law. Prior to joining Tempest Advisors, Anjali was the founding director of the India climate and energy program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and earlier she worked as a senior energy litigator and California water attorney. Anjali was a law clerk for U.S. Magistrate Judge Louisa S. Porter and a fellow in the Fulbright-Nehru Indo-American Environmental Leadership program. She holds a B.S. in environmental sciences from the University of California, Riverside and law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
LIZ JUDGE
Liz is a Program Strategist at Tempest Advisors, where she develops strategies on public engagement and communications on climate change. Previously, she was Communications Officer in Environment at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, where she led the foundation’s climate communications grantmaking. She was director of Earthjustice’s advocacy communications team and its media relations team, and led advocacy campaigns on Appalachian coal mining, climate change, and clean water. She served in various roles at the Aspen Institute, and before that, as managing editor of Aspen Magazine and fact-checker at New York Magazine. She has a B.A. in journalism from the Northwestern University.
Myesha Lawson
Myesha is an Executive Assistant who supports the senior leadership team Tempest Advisors. Prior to Tempest, Myesha worked in various roles at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, most recently as a Public Affairs Strategist for the Office of the President, managing internal and external speaking engagements. She holds a BA in Sociology from Sacramento State University.
Andrew McFarland
Andrew is the Grants & Knowledge Manager for Tempest Advisors. He leads the grantmaking process and knowledge practice, which includes both the mechanics of grantmaking and the conceptual frameworks that guide philanthropic strategy and learning. Andrew brings over twenty years of experience in philanthropic giving for a wide variety of charitable entities, including applicant research, full due diligence assessments, financial reporting, docket preparation, and assisting executive staff and board in fulfillment of organizational goals. He has a strong background in creating processes, implementing systems, and designing workflows for programs in early-stages of development. Andrew holds a BFA from combined study at Syracuse University and Middlesex University.
Kristin Pene
Kristin is the Program Coordinator for Tempest Advisors, managing projects and supporting Tempest’s Program Strategists and executive leadership. Before joining Tempest, she worked for former Vice President Gore’s Climate Reality Project and consulted for the Environmental Protection Agency. She holds a B.A. in political science and environmental science from the University of Notre Dame and a Masters in environmental management from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.
Patricio Portillo
Patricio is a Program Strategist at Tempest Advisors, focusing on transportation decarbonization and transitioning from fossil fuels. Prior to Tempest, Patricio was a senior advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a senior analyst at the National Governors Association, and a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute fellow on the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee. He holds a MA in international affairs from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and a BBA in international economics from Temple University.
Tom Steinbach
Tom is the Executive Director of Tempest Advisors, where he leads a team of philanthropy experts focused on addressing climate change in the United States and internationally. Tom is an expert in developing and implementing philanthropic strategies to address complex social and environmental challenges, and has more than 30 years of experience in philanthropy, the non-profit sector, and government. Prior to joining Tempest Advisors, Tom was Environment Program Director at the Hewlett Foundation and Executive Director of the Greenbelt Alliance. He holds a B.A. in economics from the University of Rochester and a Masters in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. Tom also serves as Executive Director of Sea Change Foundation and Sea Change Foundation International.
Bill Weil
Bill is a Program Strategist at Tempest Advisors, where he focuses on sustainable finance. Prior to joining Tempest, Bill spent ten years in London leading teams investing growth stage private equity into European renewable energy, energy efficiency, and recycling/waste companies. Previous to that, he was based in the Netherlands as General Manager of Strategy and Portfolio for Royal Dutch Shell in their renewables and CO2 division and started his career with ERM, advising Fortune 100 companies on sustainability strategies. Bill holds an MBA from INSEAD and graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania, with undergraduate degrees from both Wharton and the School of Engineering.