Tom Owens is the Executive Director of Center for Oil and Gas Organizing. He has worked on environmental issues for the past 18 years spanning philanthropy, policy advocacy, strategic communications and movement building.

Tom joins COGO from the High Tide Foundation where he led programmatic work focused on oil and gas and climate. He helped grow their grantmaking portfolio to nearly $100M/year and served as the early program lead for the Global Methane Hub’s initial grantmaking.

He worked at a variety of organizations spanning the climate, energy, and water space including the U.S. Water Alliance, Pisces Foundation, Avaaz.org, Repower America, Energy Action Coalition, and Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

Tom graduated from Virginia Tech with a B.S. in Biochemistry and a Master of Environmental Management (M.E.M.) from the Yale School of the Environment, where his research focused on how solar and wind development could alleviate poverty in Brazil. He was born and raised in a Pennsylvania coal and gas community where he first recognized the need for a just transition from fossil fuels that centers communities and workers.

Hilary Flint is the PA Field Organizing Manager for Center for Oil and Gas Organizing and also works for Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community and Clean Air Action Fund. Her expertise spans critical issues, including health harms generated by the petrochemical buildout, natural gas extraction, plastic pollution, railway safety, and overarching corporate greed. As a cancer survivor, chronic illness warrior, and community member affected by the East Palestine train derailment and chemical disaster, Hilary is committed to advocating through the lens of disability justice and supporting communities through mutual aid. 

As a lifelong learner, Hilary is constantly driven by curiosity and a desire to understand the world through an intersectional lens. Her intellectual interests range from diving into history, philosophy, and psychology to thoughtful conversations about organic gardening, food systems, politics, permaculture, conscious capitalism, and mindfulness.

Rachel is a Management and Operations Lead with almost two decades of experience working in climate and environmental issues across nonprofits, financial services, consultancy and academia.

Today, Rachel specializes in the development and maintenance of strong operating systems and infrastructure for mission driven teams and organizations. Through her consulting practice, ADK Advisory, she partners with nonprofits and businesses to realize efficiencies, free up capacity and streamline processes so more time and resources can be invested in achieving the mission. 

Prior to setting up ADK Advisory, Rachel spent more than 13 years at Climate Nexus where she held a series of increasingly responsible positions, the most recent of which was Managing Director, Operations. She has also worked at Accenture, Standard Chartered Bank, MVA Consultancy and the University of Westminster, and has held board positions – including Chair – at the US Climate Action Network. Rachel holds an MSc. Environmental Policy from the London School of Economics and an MA (Hons). History from the University of St. Andrews. 

Born and raised in the United Kingdom, Rachel has called the United States home for the past 15 years. She lives in New York City with her husband, two daughters, grumpy old dog and large, noisy cat.