The Board of Directors of York Ready for Climate Action (YRCA), a grassroots citizen’s organization dedicated to increasing awareness of the causes and effects of climate change, has hired an executive director, the first employee for the organization. Marina Mails began her job as part-time Executive Director on February 13, 2023. Mails most recently served as Co-Director and Operations Director of the national climate advocacy organization, The Climate Mobilization. She managed finances, compliance, and human resources for that organization, and in her five years there she helped it grow from a small start-up to an influential force.
Mails holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish fromWake Forest University and a Master’s of Science in Counseling from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She was a licensed professional counselor before leaving that field to pursue work on climate change. Mails lives in York with her husband and two school-aged children.
A large part of York Ready for Climate Action’s work is providing the information and personal assistance that residents need to reduce their energy use and thus their carbon emissions. The group’s principal focus is individual homes, the source of the greatest carbon emissions in York. YRCA was formed in 2019 to help the community’s residents meet the bold and comprehensive goals of York’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) by helping residents reduce their carbon footprint.
“I’m thrilled to be working in my community to bring about concrete change,” Mails said. “YRCA has a team of incredibly committed volunteers who have begun the work of helping York reach its ambitious goals. I feel lucky to be a part of this team — working toward critical climate action alongside so many dedicated people.”
In 2022 YRCA achieved non-profit status and organized a suite of programs based on successful examples in other communities — such as the HeatSmart Alliance in Massachusetts, Bedford New York’s Energy Coach program and A Climate to Thrive on Mount Desert Island. YRCA’s Board has established Energy Equity as a priority and hopes to involve members of the community in planning energy solutions. The organization is working on strategies to reach all York households with its information on energy- and money-saving programs. This spring YRCA will launch an energy coach program to support York homeowners throughout the process of home energy improvement projects.