Nicola leads implementation of The San Diego Foundation’s Climate Initiative, working with donors, nonprofits, and business and government partners to help spur action to reduce regional greenhouse gas emissions and deepen community awareness about the local impacts of climate change. Before joining The Foundation, Nicola was a field office manager with a multi-year World Bank research project in rural Malawi, exploring connections between education, income, and health outcomes.

Kelly Cunningham is the former chief economist and research director for the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, where he established a reputation for his understanding and expertise of San Diego's regional economy. He was also supervising economist at the City of San Diego and research analyst for Copley Press, Inc.

Ruth Bruland is Executive Director of St. Vincent de Paul Village www.svdpv.org/  and a Vice President of Father Joe's Villages.  She began working with Father Joe's Villages in 1998, as Executive Director of Las Vegas' MASH Village.  Prior to that she was the founding director of an interfaith emergency shelter for families.

International activities have included working for the UN World Health Organization (WHO) in Nepal (for polio eradication) and as an administrator for international non-profits. Humanitarian aid activities include maternal and child health, child survival, food security and food aid, water and sanitation, medical training, infectious disease, immunization, HIV/AIDS, and disaster relief and reconstruction in over 20 countries.