Our Board

Melissa is guiding the Network toward its North Star goal of 80 percent greenhouse gas emission reductions in the Midwest economy-wide by 2050. Prior to coming to RE-AMP, Melissa served as the Executive Director of the State Environmental Leadership Program (SELP), a national network of environmental advocacy organizations seeking to help its members become smarter, more powerful and better run so they could be even better advocates for the environment. She holds a Master of Public Affairs degree with a focus on nonprofit management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Florida International University in Miami, Florida. She is affiliated with a Unitarian Universalist congregation. Melissa lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband, children, garden, chickens and beehives.

Gopal D. Patel is a faith-based environmental activist, campaigner and consultant. For more than a decade he has spearheaded the development of environmental initiatives engaging religious communities and leaders in India, East Africa, Europe and North America. He is Co-Founder and Director of Bhumi Global, a non-profit organization that works to educate and mobilize Hindu communities globally for environmental action. He is co-chair of the United Nations Multi-faith Advisory Council and is a member of the Advisory Board to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. He also serves as an Advisor to a number of interfaith and environmental initiatives, including the WWF Beliefs and Values Programme, the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology and the Parliament of the World’s Religions. Born and raised in England, he currently lives in the New York City Metro Area. 

Sam Schuchat became Executive Officer of the Coastal Conservancy in July 2001. He serves on the boards of the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority, the Baldwin Hills Conservancy, and the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission. He served on the California Fish and Game Commission from 1999 to 2004 including two years as Vice-President. He was the Chairman of the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority from 2008 to 2012, and is currently its Executive Director. He was the Executive Director of the Federation of State Conservation Voter Leagues from 1998 to 2001; the Federation is the trade association of 26 environmental Political Action Committees (PAC) in as many states. From 1992 to 1998 he was the Executive Director of the California League of Conservation Voters, the nation’s largest and oldest state environmental PAC with 25,000 members. He earned his B.A. from Williams College in Political Science and his M.P.A. from San Francisco State University.

Rev. Susan Hendershot has served as president of Interfaith Power & Light since 2018. She was raised in a blue-collar family outside of Cleveland, Ohio, before attending Bethany College in West Virginia where she graduated with honors with a B.A. in Religious Studies. Rev. Hendershot went on to graduate school at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia where she received her Master of Divinity degree from Candler School of Theology. After graduate school, she moved to Iowa, where she was ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and served as a pastor in local congregations, focusing on social justice. Rev. Hendershot also led faith-based nonprofit organizations and served as the first Heartland Field Organizer for the ONE Campaign on global poverty. Just prior to her current role, she served as the Executive Director at Iowa Interfaith Power & Light, one of the state affiliates in the Interfaith Power & Light network. 

Gregory is a professional with nearly a decade of global experience working towards a more just and sustainable future. Gregory developed the Climate Program at the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, and as Program Director, he granted and invested over $10M to advance clean energy, conservation, and sustainable food solutions in marginalized communities. Based in Los Angeles, CA, Gregory currently advises public and private clients on social and environmental impact strategy. He also serves on the Advisory Committee for 7^th Generation Advisors and is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned a B.S. in Environmental Science and a minor in Environmental Systems and Society.

Rev. Melanie Mullen serves as Episcopal Church’s Director of Reconciliation, Justice & Creation Care – charged with bringing the Jesus Movement to the world’s concerns. Before joining the Presiding Bishop’s staff, she was the Downtown Missioner at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, leading a historic southern congregation’s missional, civic, and reconciliation ministries. Before receiving her Masters in Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary, she studied history as an undergrad at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, and in a graduate program in Africana Women’s Studies at Clark Atlanta University. Melanie worked in campaign fundraising and development, raising more than $10 million for leadership PACs, the Congressional Black Caucus, and US Congressional and gubernatorial races from Louisiana to Connecticut; and she served as Development Associate for the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, with a focus on poverty advocacy.

Vy Nguyen is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and currently serves as the Executive Director of Week of Compassion- the relief, refugee, and development mission fund of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  In his role, he works with domestic and global faith-based partners to respond to disasters and provide support for refugee families.  In 2014, Vy was awarded the Martin Luther King Jr Award, a recognition of great achievements for justice contributed by Disciples in the Northern California-Nevada Region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Vy brings many years of experience building relationships between churches, volunteers and partner organizations; and has a passion for bringing people together around the table.  Vy is based in Alameda, California.

As Executive Director, Codi leads all policy, program, and outreach efforts, spending much of his spring at the Capitol during the legislative session. He also directs GIPL’s flagship programs, Power Wise, Solar Wise, and Water Wise, bringing sustainable and energy alternatives to communities of faith, while managing GIPL’s Green Team Registry, Green Team Coaching Program, and the development and implementation of all GIPL educational programs. Codi has been involved with environmental justice campaigns and the philosophy of sustainability since college. Codi also brings to GIPL his experience working abroad in the field of international peacebuilding and conflict transformation, working with communities in Israel, Palestine, and Belfast, Northern Ireland, and examining the degree to which environmental degradation relates to international conflicts. Codi holds a Masters of Divinity (MDiv) from Candler School of Theology at Emory University with concentrations in Justice, Peacebuilding, and Conflict Transformation (JPCT), Theology and Ethics, and a Graduate Certificate in Human Rights. Also holding a BA in Religion from Samford University, Codi is interested in working at the intersection of religion, human rights, public policy, and the environment.

Climate & Energy Advocacy Consultant; Co-Founder of the Climate Advocacy Lab