Savitha has been Deputy Director of Climate Solutions since June 2019, previously serving as Development Director since January 2010. To her, climate change is the biggest social justice issue of our lifetime and she has been working on the issue since 1997, when she interned at the US EPA's Policy office during the Kyoto Protocol negotiations.
Savitha is responsible for organizational effectiveness and also oversees the organization's development, cultivation and fundraising efforts, managing the team that raises funds from individuals, foundations and corporate supporters. Savitha helped form Climate Solutions Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Group and is a graduate of the Center for Diversity & the Environment’s Environment 2042 Leadership Program. She continues her activism through her volunteer service on the Board of Trustees for the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, on the inaugural Advisory Council of the University of Washington’s EarthLab and on the Steering Committee for the Capitol Hill EcoDistrict. Her Board service ended in 2017 for Mize Family Foundation, whose grantmaking focuses on climate justice. In 2018 she served on the fundraising team for the Yes on 1631 campaign, helping raise over $15M to take on Big Oil.
Prior to joining Climate Solutions, Savitha worked at Seattle Foundation where she served as philanthropic advisor to over 100 donor advised funds and the Environmental grant making lead; the Collins Group (now Campbell & Company) providing fundraising counsel for feasibility studies and capital campaigns; and at the Women's Funding Alliance in a fundraising and grantmaking role. In Washington DC, Savitha worked for the US EPA and Environmental Media Services (now Resource Media).
Savitha received a BA with Honors in Government and Environmental Studies from Bowdoin College. During her tenure at Climate Solutions, Savitha has been recognized with the 40 Under 40 award from the Puget Sound Business Journal and the Eco Women Making a Difference award from Women of Color Empowered & The Northwest Asian Weekly, and was awarded a Brainerd Foundation Fellowship to Social Venture Partners. She has lived in Seattle since 2000, and is a proud auntie.
