Eddie Ahn has been engaged in policy and legal advocacy since 2009. He is also the writer and artist of “Advocate,” a graphic memoir to be published by Penguin Random House on April 16, 2024.

In addition to his work for Brightline, Eddie serves on three commissions for local and state government agencies related to environmental policymaking. In 2017, Eddie was appointed to the SF Commission on the Environment, which sets policy for the SF Department of Environment and advises the City and County on environmental matters. In 2018, he was appointed to the SF Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), a state planning and regulatory agency with regional authority over the Bay Area. In June 2020, he was appointed to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), which plans and finances transit in the nine Bay Area counties. In 2022, he was elected by his peers to serve as President of the SF Commission on the Environment. He has also served on the boards of Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) and Mission Housing Development Corporation.

Prior to being a nonprofit attorney, he was an AmeriCorps member, teaching public speaking and arts workshops in Oakland’s Chinatown. While working toward his law degree, he continued to teach art and public speaking workshops for youth and worked for the Assembly Judiciary Committee in Sacramento. His workforce development expertise and analysis of federal constitutional law has also assisted multiple municipalities in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. In December 2021, Eddie was inducted into the State of California’s Clean Energy Hall of Fame for his work in equity and clean energy.

Eddie has received his J.D. from University of California, Hastings College of the Law and his B.A. from Brown University. He is also a member of the California State Bar.

Carolina Correa coordinates the expansion of Brightline’s Air Quality Monitoring Program under the Air Quality Collaborative-Bay Area. In addition to this, Caro is responsible for all of Brightline’s communications and social media presence. Caro is a previous 2020 Summer Policy Fellow and a graduate of Brown University, where she studied Environmental Studies and Hispanic Studies. Caro has worked within communities in Los Angeles, where she canvassed community members for their needs pertaining to the pandemic and connected community members to free public health services. She is passionate about environmental equity in low-income communities!

Peter supports Brightline as outside legal counsel. He is a shareholder at Ton Law P.C. where his practice is devoted to environmental counseling and litigation relating to hazardous substances, hazardous wastes, water quality, air quality, endangered species, and environmental health & safety compliance. He represents private and public sector clients in state and federal court, and before administrative bodies. Peter also has an active pro bono practice focused on issues of equity. 

Peter received his J.D. from UCLA School of Law and his B.A. from U.C. Berkeley. He is a member of the Executive Committee for the Environment Law Section of the California Lawyers Association and is the former chair of Environmental Law Section of the Alameda County Bar Association. Peter currently serves on the board of GRID Alternatives Bay Area, a nonprofit whose work focuses on ensuring an inclusive and just clean energy transition.

John is Brightline Defense's Director of Communications, bringing more than 20 years of experience in media and communication to the organization. John’s communications and marketing work has focused on real-world environmental justice wins, including halting border wall construction in environmentally sensitive and culturally sacred lands, expanding solar capacity, and improving infrastructure for electric vehicles.

As a journalist, John hosted KQED's The California Report. He also served as a national correspondent for CNN. John’s investigative work has led to multimillion dollar settlements, changes to various state’s laws, and the shuttering of the country's largest coal fired power plant. He also founded the J-Lab @ CSUMB, an innovative journalism program for college students in Monterey County.

Sarah Xu is Brightline’s senior policy associate leading our policy work on empowering communities through thoughtful policymaking. Sarah’s body of work primarily focuses on California’s energy future through her work on offshore wind development, energy reliability, and energy resiliency. Sarah also leads Brightline’s work on building decarbonization policy and co-leads youth empowerment programs. She is an alumni of Brightline’s policy fellowship program. Sarah hopes to continue building her skills and knowledge on environmental policy to help make the world a more equitable and sustainable place.

Sarah has received a BS in Environmental Economics and Policy from the University of California, Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources.

Cristina is a recent graduate of the University of California, Berkeley with simultaneous degrees in Conservation and Resource Studies and Ethnic Studies. During her time at Berkeley she worked as an intern for the California Department of Public Health and the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water. More recently, as an intern alongside the Collaborative for Health and Environment, she researched the health impacts of synthetic turf and municipal efforts across the country to ban installation of turf fields. She is passionate about environmental justice and education with goals of working to protect and uplift communities that are reflective of the one she grew up in.

Emily is an MPH Candidate in Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. She received her B.S. at Georgetown University in Global Health and Biotechnology. Emily is furthering Brightline's mission as a Climate Data and Policy Analyst for the Summer of 2022. She is passionate about furthering climate-oriented goals through scientifically-informed policymaking that reflects the values and concerns of the most affected groups.

Rungsiri is studying Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. She is passionate about doing work that will uplift and empower the community in the areas of housing sustainability, the environment, and public health. Rungsiri was previously a Public Health & Technology fellow at Fung Fellowship at UC Berkeley, where she was able to work toward addressing real-world challenges, engage with communities, and develop solutions with help from industry and community partners. She joined Brightline as a College Corps Fellow and continues to learn about the intersection of policy, community-building, and environmental justice through her position as Program Liason.

Trinity Vang supports the administration of the Brightline Air Quality Monitoring Program and conducts policy research around offshore wind. Her passion for environmental justice stems from seeing her community's struggle for basic needs in her hometown of Fresno, California. She previously interned with Brightinline as a Policy Fellow in 2020. After graduating from the University of San Francisco, she worked with California Common Cause to ensure federal, state, and local redistricting processes included the voices of disenfranchised communities. She aspires to learn from community members and to utilize policy to empower environmental justice communities.

Paige Hopkins helps support the research and development of Brightline’s policy work. She received her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies at Portland State University. Previously, Paige worked in Oregon as a community organizer to support environmental justice communities with local climate and energy-resilient projects and policies. She looks forward to working with and learning from underserved community members who can help inform policy decisions that create a more climate-resilient and equitable future.

Nicole is a rising junior at the University of California, Berkeley majoring in Environmental Sciences. She is involved in the environmental community at UC Berkeley through organizations such as SDG Undergraduate Research Group (SURG), Student Environmental Resource Center (SERC), and the ASUC Eco-Office. With these organizations, she strives to help communities and ecosystems facing the effects of climate change through outreach, community-building, and scientific research. As Program Liason, Nicole is excited to learn more about the ins and outs of environmental policy to advocate for clean energy and sustainability in the Bay Area.