Staff

Krystal Garcia Centeno

Administration and Operations Coordinator
kgcenteno@cleanenergyjobsjustice.org

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Krystal Garcia Centeno

As the Administration and Operations Coordinator at the Clean Energy Jobs and Justice Fund (CEJJF), Krystal helps build and strengthen the systems that support CEJJF’s work and continued growth. She manages cross-functional projects, develops and improves internal processes, coordinates organizational initiatives and events, and helps ensure teams have the systems and resources they need to work effectively. Drawing on her background in nonprofit operations and organizational management, Krystal brings a systems-focused approach to building strong, sustainable organizational infrastructure.

Krystal has spent her career supporting organizations working at the intersection of environmental, economic, and labor justice. Before joining CEJJF, she worked at re:power a national training organization dedicated to building a multiracial democracy, where she supported organizational operations, development, and communications. She previously held roles with the Sierra Club and Warehouse Workers for Justice, supporting national environmental campaigns and helping strengthen the operations of a growing worker justice organization.

Rebeccah Sanders

Executive Director
rsanders@cleanenergyjobsjustice.org

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Rebeccah Sanders

Rebeccah is executive director of the Clean Energy Jobs and Justice Fund (CEJJF), which supports the equitable development of Illinois’ clean energy economy by providing capital to the businesses and communities that face barriers to traditional financing. Her work is grounded in partnership and collaboration, backing clean energy and efficiency projects led by frontline communities and supporting the creation of clean jobs throughout the state.

Rebeccah has built her career growing community-centered institutions. As inaugural executive director of the Chicago Cultural Alliance, she built a coalition that strengthened the city’s cultural communities. As Chief Field and Strategy Officer at the National Audubon Society, she launched the Great Lakes program and oversaw conservation, climate, and clean energy work across 39 states, expanding the organization’s reach by deepening its relationships on the ground. She sits on the board of U.S. Green Bank 50 and is vice chair of The Wetlands Initiative.

Rebeccah holds a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, an M.A. from the University of Georgia, and a certificate in Clean and Equitable Energy Development from Yale University’s Center for Business and the Environment. She is a Fulbright Scholar and a Chicago Community Trust Emerging Leadership Fellow

Board of Directors

Board Leadership

Memuna Lee
Board Chair
Sourcing Consultant
COUNTRY Financial

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Memuna Lee

Memuna Lee grew up in Los Angeles and later moved to Northern California, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. She has been married to Craig Lee for 19 years. Memuna has two children, ages 15 and 16 years old. Mrs. Lee moved to Bloomington 14 years ago, Lee is dedicated to helping low and moderate income residents of the community levereage fuel efficient ways to live. Memuna is currently Sourcing Consultant for COUNTRY Financial.

Delmar L. Gillus, Jr.
Board Vice-Chair
Chief Operating Officer
Elevate

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Delmar L. Gillus, Jr.

Delmar Gillus is the COO of Elevate and has been passionate about leading and supporting Elevate’s core operational functions – legal, IT, cybersecurity, application development, office operations, workforce development, and Elevate’s project management office. Mr. Gillus also supports Elevate’s portfolio of clean energy programs that are focused on ensuring everyone has access to clean air, clean water, and clean energy. Mr. Gillus is a crucial member of the IL Clean Jobs Coalition that passed one of the country’s most comprehensive clean energy bills – the IL Climate and Equitable Jobs Act – that ensures the benefits of the clean energy economy and the jobs that it creates are accessible to all communities across the state. Mr. Gillus is passionate about equitable clean energy policy and implementation and frequently works with community organizations as well as local, state, and federal agencies to ensure we reach our shared climate and environmental justice goals.

Chandra Christmas-Rouse
Board Treasurer
Founding Principal
Marie Consulting Group

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Chandra Christmas-Rouse

Chandra Christmas-Rouse is an urban planner, economic mobility strategist and artist based in Chicago, IL. Chandra is the founding principal of Marie Consulting Group (MCG), a strategic consulting firm that partners with social change leaders to ensure communities thrive in place and to transform systems to work for all. A background in community development and environmental justice informs her design approach of working with community stakeholders in a participatory process to support capacity building, achieve place-based solutions, and reimagine systems. Prior to founding MCG, Chandra worked at PolicyLink where she led strategy for bridging technical assistance and capital to advance local projects at the intersection of climate action and racial equity in cities across the Midwest and South using a collective impact approach. Her past experiences include integrating policy and strategy consulting with technical knowledge to advance economic mobility and sustainability for a number of national and international organizations and firms including the Metropolitan Planning Council, Enterprise Community Partners, United Nations-Habitat and Jacobs Engineering Group.

Additionally, as an interdisciplinary artist and educator, Chandra creates participatory projects that engage local Black geographies, histories and spatial imaginaries. She is the author of a graphic novel entitled Where the Sidewalk Grows and creator of the Maplibs Project, a living atlas of the spaces that make us remember, feel and imagine community. She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Chicago and serves on the Chicago Mayor’s Equity Advisory Council. Chandra was a 2020 Threewalls Artist Fellow and 2023 Chicago United for Equity Fellow. She holds a BA in Environmental Sciences & Policy with distinction from Duke University and a Master of Urban Planning with a concentration in real estate finance from Harvard University.

Brad Roos
Board Secretary
Retired

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Brad Roos

Brad Roos is the Secretary for the Clean Energy Jobs and Justice Fund. Brad is retired after serving for over 40 years in neighborhood development with nonprofits in Champaign-Urbana, IL and then in the Midtown District of Rockford, IL where he developed affordable and market rate housing, managed a workshop for less-abled and migrant citizens, developed Rockford’s first permanent supportive housing facility for chronically homeless men and women, and created a world-class wellness program for seniors. Brad recently devised an innovative historic tax credit financing mechanism to restore a 90-year old building in Midtown where he lives.

Brad has also served in numerous leadership positions in Rockford, consulted with neighborhood nonprofits in four states, been a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago’s Citizen Advisory Council, and served on the national Lutheran Climate Change Coalition. Most recently Brad founded Sustain Rockford, a nonprofit grassroots organization working to help make the Rockford region more sustainable environmentally, economically and socially.

Board Members

Joel Freehling
Founder and President
TBL Growth Advisors, LLC

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Joel Freehling

Joel Freehling is the Founder and President of TBL Growth Advisors, LLC, a boutique consulting firm focused on assisting mission-driven organizations with strategic planning, program and pilot design, market assessments, and go-to market strategies that promote sustainability and decarbonization.

Joel brings more than 25 years of experience building triple bottom line companies and creating and scaling programs, products and services that promote sustainable outcomes and social impact.

During his 25+ year professional career, he has assisted with nearly $3 billion in investments for decarbonization and green buildings, with the lions share flowing to disadvantage communities and households.

His expertise spans energy finance, building decarbonizations, and micro-mobility.

Monique Green
Executive Pastor/Consultant

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Monique Green

Monique Green is an Executive Pastor/Consultant for a nondenominational church in Collinsville, Illinois. She is a former corporate executive with over 25 years of domestic and international experience focusing on business operational strategies and tactical execution for peak business performance. She has worked for Fortune 500 companies in the biotechnology, automotive, pharmaceutical, and agricultural industries. She has contracting experience with the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health. She is the co-founder of a pharmaceutical start-up company. Monique has served as a board member with several community-based non-profit organizations. Monique is a member of the Leadership Council of Southwestern Illinois and serves on the Workforce Development Committee. She holds a B.S. degree in Pre-Professional Studies and Economics from the University of Notre Dame and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Monique is from East St. Louis, IL and where she currently resides.

Dany Robles
Climate Policy Director
Illinois Environmental Council

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Dany Robles

Dany joined the Illinois Environmental Council in the winter of 2023 as the Climate Policy Director, previously working at IEC as the Chicago Energy Policy Coordinator. In his new role, he coordinates with IEC affiliates to successfully implement the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, explicitly supporting the implementation of workforce hubs and equitable transportation policies and transit goals. Additionally, he will look to continue developing the narrative around the need for climate migration solutions to be addressed as the looming effects of climate change continue to displace people worldwide.

Prior to joining IEC, Dany spent several years working in Corporate Security and Investigation before getting involved in political organizing. Dany worked as Regional Field Director for Congresswomen Marie Newman (IL-3) and Lauren Underwood (IL-14) and as Latine Bilingual Trainings Coordinator for the Sunrise Movement. Most recently, Dany worked with the IL Green New Deal Coalition as their State Coordinator.

Dany earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Criminology, Law, and Justice from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is an alum of the Chicago City Council Latino Caucus Foundation Fellowship.

Liliana Scales
State Director
Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition

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Liliana Scales

Liliana Scales serves as the State Director for the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition (ICJC). ICJC is made up of hundreds of environmental advocacy organizations, businesses, community leaders, consumer advocates, environmental justice groups, and faith-based and student organizations working together to improve public health and the environment, protect consumers, and create equitable, clean jobs across the state.

After more than three years of community organizing and policy leadership, in 2021, ICJC was instrumental in helping pass the nation-leading Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA). Lili is a graduate of John Carroll University (Cleveland, OH) where she received her Masters in Nonprofit Administration. She was a 2020 Chicago United for Equity Fellow. She resides in Chicago with her family.

Karen Weigert
Director
Baumhart Center

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Karen Weigert

Karen Weigert is a transformational leader with a deep track record across sectors. In her work, she focuses on the practical ways we can create thriving communities in an inclusive economy on a healthy planet.

She serves as the Director of the Baumhart Center for Social Enterprise and Responsibility at Loyola University Chicago, focused on the intersection of profit and purpose. At Baumhart, she leads the Baumhart Scholars, an MBA program 100% focused on social and environmental impact, and broader engagement and thought leadership directed on using business skills to address the challenges of our times.

Previously, Karen served as Executive Vice President of Slipstream, a nonprofit focused on accelerating climate solutions. There she led the Chicago office and national finance team. From 2011 to 2016 Karen served as the first Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Chicago, building innovative pathways and solutions to make Chicago more livable, competitive and sustainable, including the award-winning Sustainable Chicago Action Agenda, Retrofit Chicago and the Energy Benchmarking ordinance. Karen brings broad-based communications expertise to her work, currently serving as the sustainability contributor for WBEZ’s Reset, and previously appearing on CBS This Morning, the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, and Crain’s.