Chuck Lohre

I'm excited to share that I will serve as the next Executive Director of Green Umbrella! The timing of this announcement is particularly fun because it was almost ten years ago that I went to my first Green Drinks hosted by Green Umbrella (September 1, 2016 at Arlin's), and I remember thinking "wow I hope I can work there someday." This role is truly a dream job for me, to say the least, and I am honored to have the trust of both the Green Umbrella board and staff to lead our next chapter. I've been passionate about environmental justice since I was a kid, and what I've grown to love about climate action work is that it requires all hands on deck. No one voice has all the answers, and doing this work well needs leaders who are able to coach each other and the next generation of changemakers, and learn along the way. The climate crisis is a profound, existential threat that calls for constant curiosity and care, and I have learned how important it is to pour into your team and broader community. Having worked in sustainability across sectors, in different cities, and with all types of teams, I know I specifically love Green Umbrella. I consider it a tremendous privilege to be able to live my values through collective impact work that I’m passionate about, with a team I trust, in a community I’ve called home for almost 25 years. On my first day as Interim Executive Director in February, we launched our new 5-year strategic plan. Since then, we've hosted the region's first Climate Week, expanded programs like the Green & Healthy Schools Network and Climate Action Fellowship, and launched new climate affinity spaces for young professionals, BIPOC leaders, and LGBTQ+ advocates. With the last six months as evidence, I can guarantee our next five years and beyond will be impactful, meaningful, and fun! I hope you'll join us as Green Umbrella connects and equips our communities to accelerate environmental progress for everyone in Greater Cincinnati. Thank you to everyone I've connected with through this journey. I am grateful for the colleagues, mentors, partners, friends, and family for their support, feedback, and insight over the years. I am grateful to follow in the footsteps of Ryan Mooney-Bullock, Kristin Weiss, and Brewster Rhoads, to partner with Board President Jaime Love and our Trustees, and to spend everyday building a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient Greater Cincinnati with my incredible staff and our partners. And I am grateful for the passion and creativity of every Greater Cincinnati resident and community I come across -- I love doing this work because I get to collaborate with you, and I can't wait to continue getting all hands on deck! Check out the press release here: https://lnkd.in/e9QP4uCJ

My travels recently brought me to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, just a short drive north of Cincinnati. The university is making strong headway towards their goal of carbon neutrality by 2040. They also have a number of other sustainability initiatives underway such as recycling and pollinator gardens. What struck me was the outreach placed throughout campus. It was accessible and engaging. They are proud of the sustainability work they have done so far, their plans for more, and it shows.

This is the room you want to be in. Not because of the agenda. Not because of the location. But because of the people. From human-centered AI and executive presence to transformational thinking, vocal intelligence, movement, restoration, and shared experiences, every facilitator has been carefully selected to contribute a different dimension of leadership. Together, they create an executive retreat unlike any other. One designed not around presentations but around conversations. Not around networking but around genuine connection. Not around inspiration but around transformation. 📍 Granada Hills, Los Angeles 📅 August 21–23, 2026 Mitra Manesh | 🦄 Helen Todd (Human) | Elaine Powell Thought Disruptor™️ Keynote Speaker | Mellini Monique | Jean Criss | Adrian Roup | Joe Adams | Gaura Taneja | Joseph "Jai" Kerr | Laura Velazquez | Harpinder Kaur Mann E-RYT, SEP | Cam Kashani, SSD, MBA Join us. Your next great conversation starts here. Register now: https://luma.com/qdruyvhi #TheDigitalEconomist #ExecutiveRetreat #ExecutiveLeadership #Leadership #LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutiveExperience #InnovationLeadership #FutureOfLeadership #StrategicLeadership #LeadershipCommunity 

GCP Seeds of Change Youth Climate Action Grants NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS! Cincinnati youth ages 15-24 can apply for mini-grants $1,000-$5,000 to lead sustainability projects in their community or at their school.  -Virtual Info Session: August 25th  -Transportation & Neighborhoods Idea Jam September 3rd  -Zero Waste Idea Jam September 12th  Learn more and apply by September 25th to be considered. https://lnkd.in/g2iehzPa    #gcpseedsofchange #youthclimateactionfund #bloomberg

After a national search, we've named our new Executive Director: Van Sullivan! Previously Green Umbrella’s Senior Director of Programs & Climate Strategy, Van has served as Interim Executive Director since February, following the departure of Ryan Mooney-Bullock, Green Umbrella’s former Executive Director of eight years. In that time, Van has overseen the production of Cincinnati’s first Climate Week; the expansion of the Green & Healthy Schools Network; and new initiatives like Cincinnati’s first Climate Storybank, the Food Policy Council’s Summer Farmer’s Market Tour, and affinity spaces for young professionals, BIPOC leaders, and LGBTQ+ advocates passionate about climate action. "Van has the vision, experience, and determination to keep Green Umbrella focused on our mission: making Greater Cincinnati a region that is healthy, resilient, and thriving, for all.” Jaime Love, Green Umbrella Board President During their six-year tenure at Green Umbrella, Van has been the architect of some of the nonprofit’s signature programs, including the 25 Communities Project, Climate Action Fellowship and Climate Research Incubator. Van was core support in designing the City of Cincinnati’s 2021 Climate Equity Indicators Report and 2023 Green Cincinnati Plan, and served as the inaugural Chair of Cincinnati’s Environmental Advisory Board. They also led Green Umbrella’s transition from a sustainability alliance into a Regional Climate Collaborative (RCC), positioning Green Umbrella among more than 30 other RCCs across the country and making it one of the nation’s largest.

It was great to host Kaitlin Kozak from The Ohio State University this week! Kate is a Cincinnati native, and past Mill Creek Alliance and Green Umbrella fellow. She is now in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University, and a member of the OSU Zero Waste team. As part of that team, Kate is working to establish capabilities to accept hard-to-recycle materials on campus, using the Hub as a model. Thank you, Kate, for your dedication to creating a more sustainable future! ♻️ 🌎️

One person more than anyone made my summer great - thank you Madison Blythe for working with me at altafiber! You did so much to advance our work in sustainability. You improved our annual reporting, our climate action plans (literally re-writing two of them!), and our climate risk management tools. You scoured our fleet data looking for carbon savings and helped me site new solar photovoltaics. You adeptly handled everything I threw at you, from corporate communications to data analysis. Wherever you land next, they are lucky people to work with you.

Bee Jones has joined the Hub team! Bee is our new General Waste Stream Coordinator and part of the team that manages our textiles, plastics, styrofoam, and more. Prior to the Hub, Bee worked in a repair/reuse capacity at REI and was a part of their Green Team — participating in waste-reduction & cleanup efforts, and in advocacy work for local nonprofits including Adventure Crew and Tri-State Trails. Bee has also been working towards a degree in Environmental Engineering and Sustainability at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. Welcome, Bee!

Eleven days ago, I responded to Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for his “positive AI superintelligence future for everyone,” centered on innovation — not automation (or humans, either, apparently).   He has since expanded his The Wall Street Journal op-ed into a roughly 6,500-word manifesto.   So, the timing of releasing my keynote couldn’t be better.   For the video title, I landed on:   I, 🦄 Helen Todd (Human), DO NOT CONSENT TO MARK ZUCKERBERG’S “POSITIVE INNOVATION-CENTERED AI FUTURE” — A RESPONSE FROM A FACEBOOK SUPERFAN & CONSENTICORN 🦄   On Friday, July 31, 2026, as part of my State of the Midwest closing keynote at the Midwest House: Ohio, hosted by the fabulous Ted Velie, I included my response to Zuck.   🔑 TL;DR — My three key takeaways are:   🚩 Access to intelligence is not the same as agency. 🚩 Distributing powerful technology does not automatically distribute power. 🚩 No technological future is inevitable.   And as Adam Becker argues in his book "More Everything Forever," focusing our attention on a perpetually just-over-the-horizon superintelligence can itself become a distraction — from the incentives, harms, infrastructure, power structures, and decisions being made RIGHT NOW in pursuit of that strategically leveraged hypothetical future.   Where should we focus our attention? Not to an undefined future. We need to be grounded, honest, and focus on what’s happening today.   And, I don’t know about you, but I’m done being a beta-tester for these multi-billion-dollar companies that are acting more like cowboys and that it’s the Wild Wild West.   It’s not. Especially not here in the Cincinnati Innovation District, home to CincyAI for Humans (CincyAI), our #CincyAI University of Cincinnati Organizing Partner Dr. Kelly Cohen, UC Digital Futures, and the 1819 Innovation Hub.   The #ImaginationAge is an invitation to dream a different dream than Mark Zuckerberg.   Thank you, Ted, for the stage and platform. Thank you to Stephen Adams and Jaw (JAMES A. WHITAKER, JR.) for recording it, and to everyone in the room who engaged so thoughtfully with the content.   ---   👋 Hi! While you’re here —    🪄✨ The Imagination Age: Cultivating Belonging over Extraction — please vote for my 2027 SXSW proposal: https://lnkd.in/e5NftwrW   💖 Join me at The Digital Economist Executive Retreat in LA, August 21–23, for a special Hospitality Machine Intelligence presentation + Tide Rise #RisingTideConvos: https://lnkd.in/e9zr7eaH   💖 Save September 25 for the first look at my new Imagination Age lecture at 1819 Innovation Hub, part of OhioX’s #OhioTechDay — details coming soon: https://lnkd.in/ez_ngx-U   💖 Interested in partnering on a 2027 Imagination Age activation in Austin? DM me.