Alan Palm, Executive Director, [email protected]

Alan joined Better Future Project in 2017 as the Director of Organizing for 350 Mass and took on the Executive Director role for BFP in 2022. Alan began educating and advocating for just solutions to the global ecological crisis 2007 when he co-founded a sustainability education organization that traveled to 46 states aboard vegetable oil and solar powered school buses, presenting at schools and supporting the youth climate movement. Alan later joined ACE: Alliance for Climate Education where he led a team that presented to nearly half a million high school students throughout New England, and trained dozens of youth to lead campaigns for issues like Fossil Fuel Divestment and 100% Renewable Energy. After completing Marshall Ganz’s course, “Organizing: People, Power, Change,” Alan joined the BFP team as the Director of Organizing for 350 Mass where he supported municipal, statewide, and national campaigns and coalition efforts. Alan was born and raised in Massachusetts with roots in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Stud Green, Director of Finance & Administration, [email protected] 

Originally from Virginia with deep roots in New England, Stud has worked for the past 15 years collaborating with nonprofits and small businesses. With a background spanning finance, operations, and fundraising, Stud is passionate about supporting mission-based organizations and looks forward to contributing to  Better Future Project and helping to chart a course for the future.

Evan Bell, Director of Organizing, [email protected]

Originally from Connecticut, Evan cut his teeth in organizing in the fossil fuel divestment movement as an undergraduate at Tufts University. Evan joined Students for a Just and Stable Future, devising retreats and direct actions. As an intern for Better Future Project, he staffed the Climate Summer Program and supported renewable energy campaigns. After moving away from the Boston area, Evan led trainings with the Sierra Club and the Powershift Network, organized with SEIU 32BJ on the airports campaign, and mentored student leaders from New York City at the Posse Foundation. Evan is dedicated to building stronger communities founded in justice. Outside of organizing, he enjoys reading, basketball, and bad horror movies.

Hannah Toriz Perez, Political Manager, [email protected] 

Hannah began her advocacy career in Rhode Island, where one of her first campaigns was Drivers License for All, organizing alongside immigrant communities to expand access to driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status. She later moved into federal advocacy, supporting national coalitions working on community development, economic justice, and early childhood education, including work with the National AgFamilies Head Start Association and its nationwide network serving farmworker and agricultural families. Across these experiences, Hannah has sought to center the real-world impacts of public policy and believes lasting change should be shaped and led by the communities most affected. Hannah supports 350 Mass’s legislative advocacy and helps lead the Make Polluters Pay campaign. She brings experience in organizing and coalition building working across local and national efforts to build collective power.

Rachael Boyce, Director of Climate Justice and Resilience, [email protected] 

A queer feminist and Maryland transplant, Rachael relocated to Massachusetts to work as a pastry chef. Working in the hospitality industry for 12 years gave her the opportunity to work alongside and learn from the vibrant immigrant community that now call the Northeast home. It was specifically working with undocumented communities navigating exclusionary immigration policies that she was inspired to pursue graduate work focused on grassroots organizing and proactive policy solutions that prioritize community resilience. Her research and activism has focused on the intersectional impact of the housing and climate crises on Massachusetts communities. In 2023, she joined the Better Future Project to support their CREW resilience hub program and to co-lead the Make Polluters Pay campaign. A systems-focused thinker, Rachael believes in the power of collaboration to address the intersectional impact of mounting crises including but not limited to housing insecurity, climate change, and energy burden.

Leigh has been with Communities Responding to Extreme Weather (CREW), as a volunteer since 2018, both as an organizer for their annual Climate Interfaith Summit and member of a local CREW chapter in Somerville, MA, and she now serves on the staff as the Project Manager. She’s had the honor of serving her community in many capacities – public education, songwriting and performance, community organizing, grants management, and even ecological landscaping. She feels most joyful and in flow when she gets to be creative, curious, and connected to nature, and when she can support others in accessing these as well. With her stellar teams at CREW, Leigh will be coordinating community engagement work for a Charles River Flood Model project, as well as a community participatory research study in downtown Boston, always with her eye and heart on ways to engage people authentically, equitably, and through mutual learning.

Nurah Abdulhaqq , Communications Associate, [email protected]

Nurah Abdulhaqq (She/Her/Hers) is originally from Atlanta, Georgia and recently moved to Massachusetts following her graduation from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY. As a teenager Nurah worked for March For Our Lives (MFOL), leading statewide program initiatives in Georgia. She later ended up joining MFOL as a national youth organizer serving on the inaugural iteration of the organization's Youth Congress.  Beyond MFOL Nurah has worked as a surrogate on Senator Sanders 2020 Presidential Campaign, with Giffords as CVI Program Intern, and at Common Cause NY as an Election Protection organizer. Nurah has had the pleasure of translating her organizing skills into communications work. From public affairs and crisis comms to arts communication; Nurah is well versed in copy editing, traditional and digital communications and media and the convergence between social justice and communications. Outside of organizing, Nurah likes to read, play music, and hike.  

Fellows

Asher Cohen, Campus Organizing Fellow, [email protected]

Asher Cohen is a current Sophomore getting a BFA in Theater Arts at Boston University. He is the co-founder of Egg Eats Chicken Theater, a company creating experimental new works. Originally from Brooklyn, N.Y, Asher got involved in climate organizing in high school, volunteering with 350 Brooklyn in their legislation and arts committees. In the years before college, he organized compost collection and processing with local Brooklyn community gardens. This past summer he canvassed for New York Public Interest Research Group, raising awareness for their campaign against AI Data Centers in the state. This year he is the co-leader of the 350MASS Boston Youth Node. 

Sophia Mackinnon, Resilience Hub and Policy Fellow, [email protected]

Sophia recently returned to Massachusetts after earning her degree in Sustainability, Ecology, and Policy from the University of Vermont, with a concentration in Environmental Planning, Policy, and Law. At UVM, she spent three months living on a cacao farm in Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula, learning about tropical ecology, ecotourism, and sustainable community development alongside local community partners. This experience sparked her passion for community-centered work and intersectional environmentalism. She later worked at the Vermont State House during the 2026 legislative session, gaining firsthand insight into the impact of meaningful policy on local communities. Sophia is now pursuing a master’s in National Security and Intelligence at Northeastern University, with the goal of working at the intersection of climate/energy security and community self-determination, while advancing environmental and immigrant justice.

Interns

Monica Claros, CREW Fall Intern, [email protected]

Monica Claros (she/her/ella) is from Everett, MA, and is a recent graduate from Brandeis University, earning a B.A. in Sociology and Politics. Her advocacy and research examines the socio-cultural and -spatial impacts of casino development in Everett and residential resilience from urban flooding in Waltham, MA. She also has previous municipal experience examining pedestrian mobility in Quinta Normal, Santiago, Chile, which sparked her passion to work with community members directly, to best organize for their needs. She aspires to pursue graduate school in urban policy and planning to build a career that gives communities a right to their city. Outside of community engagement, Monica likes to run, listen to music, and try new coffee spots!