Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins

Chief Executive Officer, Green For All

"Whoever wins this contest, one thing is already certain: all ten finalists display the kind of American ingenuity we will need to stop climate change. It is inspiring to see everyday people come up with solutions to our nation's most pressing challenges. We need more opportunities like the Green Effect for this kind of talent and inventiveness to come to the surface, where all of us can benefit from it."
—Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins on the Green Effect finalists

Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins is the new Chief Executive Officer of Green For All.

Prior to coming to Green For All, Phaedra was head of the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council and Working Partnerships USA. While there, she earned her reputation as one of the nation's most brilliant, inspirational and creative problem solvers for working families. She also earned a wealth of experience that will help her lead Green For All to new heights:

Expanded job opportunities in the realm of green improvements. Working Partnerships USA's efforts to integrate environmental projects included additional training for roofers on solar panel installation, retrofit programs and state policy advocacy.

Expanded the Living Wage. Phaedra's experience crafting and making the case for policy centered on economic justice will be key in making sure the new green economy benefits everyone.

Launched the Partnership for Working Families. Phaedra co-founded the Partnership for Working Families, a national coalition to bring the principles of good jobs and community benefits to local economic development. This is the sort of national, inclusive scale-building that non-profit organizations need to maximize their always limited resources, while helping to drive a specific agenda more broadly.

Community Benefits Agreements and Team San Jose. Phaedra led the fight to create one of the first Community Benefits Agreements in the country. That agreement provided community standards for a large-scale economic development project in San Jose. Now she is bringing her innovative thinking about how public investment can assure benefit to workers and the community to make sure the green jobs movement can create real pathways out of poverty and into prosperity.

That is just the beginning of Phaedra's highlight reel. The scope and scale of her many achievements have won her wide praise. San Jose Magazine named her one of the 100 most powerful people in Silicon Valley. The Silicon Valley Business Journal called her one of "40 to watch under 40".

As a woman of color, Phaedra has distinguished herself as an innovative leader in California and led the way for emerging leaders in the American progressive movement, directing campaigns to win policy victories on local, regional, and state levels. She has been featured in the Wall Street Journal online, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, America at Work, NBC News and ABC News.

An alumna of American Leadership Forum, she has served on the boards of the Progressive Technology Project, New World Foundation, the Women's Fund of Silicon Valley, the City of San Jose General Plan Update Task Force and the Central Labor Council Advisory Committee. She serves on the board of the Leadership Council of California Forward and is Chair and Co-Founder of the Partnership for Working Families.