Our Executive Team reflects the diversity of our membership. We bring expertise in climate policy, conservation, clean energy, corporate sustainability, and more.
Hailing from Fredericksburg, Virginia, Wes Gobar is currently a graduate student at the Yale School of the Environment. He is a co-founder of Evergreen Action and currently sits on their Advisory Board after previously serving as Coalitions Lead.
He also serves on the Advisory Board for ClimateVoice, and is a member of the Green Leadership Trust. Prior to joining the climate movement, Wes was an aide to Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring and graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor's degree in history. His interest in advocacy began in Charlottesville as a racial justice student organizer at UVA. Wes’s writing has been published in Vox and the Washington Post. In 2022, Wes was named to the Grist 50 Climate Fixers list of emerging climate leaders working on real world solutions to our planet's biggest problems.
A native of the Chesapeake Bay, Kiera is a BlackOak co-founder and recent graduate at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, where she was a Keller Scholar.
Kiera is now BlackOak’s Finance Director where she manages company finances and business administration after formerly serving as our Executive Director from 2020-2023. Previously, she worked at Ocean Conservancy as the Manager for Program Operations and as a Program Associate at Meridian Institute. Kiera has also conducted research on oyster fishery policy in Maryland, oyster restoration in the Chesapeake Bay, salt marsh restoration in Virginia, and alternative dietary feeds for farm-raised red drum.
Kiera graduated from the University of Virginia with a double major in Environmental Science and Anthropology.
2022 New Leaders Council Fellow, Sarah Nesbit earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the College of Charleston. She then complete a dual master's program in business at North Carolina State University and The Skema Business School of Paris, where she focused her research on social impact practices for luxury corporations.
She is currently a Principal Risk Associate at Capital One, serving on the Community Advocacy & Risk Team in External Affairs. Previously, Sarah was an Associate at JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPMC), contributing to their Small Business Philanthropy team and Corporate Sustainability team. She also worked at ClimatePower in conjunction with the Center for American Progress and for Senator Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 Presidential Campaign.
Sarah is a proud native of Columbia, SC. She was driven to work in the environmental space after experiencing the devastating effects of natural disasters at the home of her Gullah-Geechee grandparents on the coast of SC - where she spent her childhood summers. Environmental Racism has been a reality for many communities of color along the coast of the Carolinas for generations. In her free time, you can find her listening to 90s R&B, teaching classes at PureBarre, or watching anything on Bravo.
A part of a military family, Kelcey Williams was raised in Northern Virginia when her father was stationed at the Pentagon. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where she pursued her engineering degree focused in systems engineering and global sustainability.
After graduating, she returned to the DMV to work as a Federal Technical Consultant for Accenture Federal Services; she supported projects under the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Education. During the pandemic, Kelcey expanded her knowledge and passion for sustainability by enrolling in Harvard’s Business School Online and earning her certification in Sustainable Business Strategy. Kelcey is currently located in the Los Angeles area, working as a Salesforce Project Manager for large scale media and entertainment clients. In addition, she serves as BlackOak’s Digital Director & Strategic Partnerships Director. She manages and optimizes business processes through client-focused digital solutions, strategizes to improve BlackOak's digital platforms to increase member and partner engagement, and manages current and potential partner relations.
Miles Braxton is a clean energy enthusiast with over 5 years of professional experience working in solar development and asset management.
He currently serves as the Director of Risk Management at Summit Ridge Energy, managing the company’s insurance program and analyzing corporate and solar asset risks. Miles is formerly an associate at Goldman Sachs Renewable Power and Sol Systems. Miles co-founded BlackOak Collective in 2020 and served as its Director of Partnerships from 2020 – 2022, during which time he helped to launch the Green Gateways Program.
Miles graduated from the University of Virginia in 2018 with a B.S. in Environmental Science as a Rodman Scholar, minoring in Technology Leadership. Miles serves as a board member on the Society of Black Solar Professionals and chairs a committee for his chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Continuing to satisfy his entrepreneurial itch, Miles recently co-founded a ClimateTech startup centered around sustainable solar development.
A PMP-certified project manager, Ife loves to create experiences that foster learning, drive connection, and build community. She serves as BlackOak’s Events Director. In this role, she manages the Green Gateways Program and plans and executes events that embody the organization’s mission and values.
Ife is a project manager and facilitator at the Partnership for Public Service, where she manages initiatives and programs that prepare mission-critical federal professionals to become more effective leaders. As a trainer, she has facilitated leadership training and coaching sessions for hundreds of emerging leaders.
In service to her Nigerian roots, Ife's passion for developing emerging leaders led her to partner with CTCTW to design and deliver an innovation challenge for high school students, spotlighting the creative wealth of young Nigerians. She currently serves as a board member of SprinNG, an organization building a community of young Nigerians in writing and literature.
Koryn Guile is a budding environmental justice advocate and communicator from Prince George’s County, Maryland.
She graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2022 with a B.A. in Environmental Sociology. Most recently, Koryn worked as a Communications Intern with National Farm to School Network and a Research & Outreach Intern for LiUNA Local 386 in Nashville. One of her most formative experiences thus far has been working as a Training Fellow for Sunrise Movement where she witnessed the power of storytelling and organizing in empowering young people to affect change. Now, she works on the Recruitment and Communications Teams at Get Free – a new youth movement dedicated to mainstreaming repair and reparations as a public and political priority.
In her free time, Koryn keeps up to date with social media trends (especially on TikTok!) and is delving back into her love of reading climate fiction and poetry.
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An urban environmentalist, higher ed advocate, and community organizer, Semi (pronounced SHAY MEE) blends his passion for civic design and cross-sectoral innovation to build actionable solutions for communities of color. Raised in San Bernardino, CA, Semi studied at the University of California, Riverside, where he received his bachelor’s degree in Public Policy, and served his campus as Student Body President.
Currently, Semi works at UCLA’s Center for the Advancement of Racial Equity (CARE) at Work, a multidisciplinary research center, focused on addressing civic and economic inequities for Black working-class Californians. Additionally, Semi is the proud Co-Founder & Director of Business Development and Governmental Affairs at Saru Recycling LLC. Saru Recycling is a clean technology company that builds and deploys low-maintenance, autonomous smart bins capable of sorting diverse waste typologies, paying consumers to recycle, and utilizing waste data to better understand consumer behavior.