After a long and successful tenure heading the U.S. office of the world’s first and largest sustainability organization focused on local and regional governments, Executive Director Angie Fyfe is stepping down from ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA (ICLEI USA) to pursue artistic and business leadership roles to address sustainability and climate.
Angie led the organization through a period of significant growth and increased impact. She joined ICLEI USA in March 2014 as a clean energy expert. The organization had just launched the national version of ClearPath, its nationally recognized greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)-management software tool. She was named Executive Director on January 1st, 2016.
Leveraging her experience working in both the public and private sectors and as an entrepreneur, Angie built on the foundation created by the newly inked Paris Climate Agreement, to create a clear and compelling brand for ICLEI USA. Since January 2016, she has overseen a 60% growth in ICLEI USA membership. She also launched a new business line of technical advisory services, which now accounts for a substantial part of the organization’s annual revenue.
“Thanks to Angie’s leadership and vision, ICLEI USA is exceptionally well placed to support the growing role of local governments in addressing the climate crisis at this critical time. We deeply appreciate Angie’s enormous contributions to ICLEI. She will continue to be solutions-oriented in her next chapter,” said ICLEI USA Board Chair, Travis County, Texas, Commissioner Brigid Shea.
A few highlights from Angie’s tenure at ICLEI USA include:
- Developed resilience, nature, circularity, and equity pathways to complement decarbonization for local governments across the United States.
- Grew ClearPath database to include county-level GHG emissions data, forecasts, and strategies for ~50% of the country’s population. ClearPath is independently identified as the preferred local government emissions-management software tool.
- Developed strategic partnerships with industry leaders, including Google and the U.S. State Department.
- Grew ICLEI USA’s technical service portfolio to more than $5.5 million in the calendar year 2023.
- Mentored a team of technical experts who now provide thousands of hours of expertise to nearly 500 cities annually.
- Strengthened ICLEI USA’s advocacy engagement, which contributed to an explicit role for local governments in the Paris Agreement text.
- Established 2030 science-based targets for ClearPath users, putting hundreds of local and regional governments on track for zero emissions by mid-century.
- Created member journeys, customizing roadmaps for cities, towns, counties, and regions of any size and capacity to set and achieve ambitious sustainability goals.
- Collaborated on projects and programs with ICLEI offices across the globe.
Angie’s previous experience includes serving as the Associate Director of the Colorado Governor’s Energy Office, where she led two of the signature American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s clean energy programs: the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) and the State Energy Program. She was part of the team to develop and implement 57 pieces of clean energy legislation under Governor Bill Ritter and served as the executive director of the U.S. Green Building Council Colorado Chapter; as a Real Estate Product Manager for a global corporate-relocation services firm, and as a dot-com entrepreneur. Angie plans to remain in her role until mid-July 2024 to assist in this transition. A selection committee of the ICLEI USA Board is leading the executive search.