Chris Kocher is the co-founder and co-executive director of Extreme Weather Survivors (EWS), and is an expert in building national survivor networks and trauma-informed advocacy programs. In 2020, he launched COVID Survivors for Change, where he co-created a national remembrance event that placed 20,000 empty chairs outside the White House lawn, provided thousands of hours of free grief support for those most impacted, and helped pass baby bonds legislation in California. Previously, he served as the founding director of the survivor network at Everytown and Moms Demand Action, where he connected and supported hundreds of families through grief and advocacy. Chris is an attorney and a first-generation college graduate of Cornell University and Duke Law School. 

Chris Kocher

Charonda Johnson is the Partnerships Manager for Extreme Weather Survivors and serves on the advisory board of Long Covid Families. A U.S. Air Force veteran, she completed three deployments—two supporting missions in Iraq and one providing humanitarian relief in the Pacific following the 2004 tsunami in Banda Aceh. After leaving the military in 2007, Charonda worked for then-Senator Joseph R Biden Jr. and Senator Ted Kaufman before serving as a Survivor Outreach Coordinator with the Delaware National Guard, supporting families of fallen service members. Following the loss of her father to Covid-19 in 2020, Charonda became a national advocate through her work with Covid Survivors for Change. Her efforts helped establish Delaware’s first permanent Covid memorial and contributed to the passage of the Healthy Delaware Families Act, ensuring paid family and medical leave. She has participated in numerous national Covid memorials, including singing on the National Mall in 2021 as part of the In America: Remember memorial—on what would have been her father’s 65th birthday.

Charonda Johnson

Amanda Rosa is a seasoned storyteller and advocate with a diverse background in research, filmmaking, and outreach. She has worked with networks such as the BBC, ABC News, Sundance, and Showtime. Currently, Amanda is the Director of Outreach at Extreme Weather Survivors, where she leads efforts to empower victims through community-driven storytelling. Her work at Extreme Weather Survivors is deeply rooted in her dedication to amplifying the voices of those impacted by environmental disasters, ensuring their stories are shared on their own terms. She remains dedicated to creating spaces where people can speak out and advocate for change.

Amanda Rosa

Gabrielle Lynn is the Digital Content Manager for Extreme Weather Survivors, joining the team with a background in communications and environmental studies. She is passionate about creating conversation and building community around positive change. Gabrielle has worked with multiple nonprofits to develop and execute organizing and communication strategies that empower communities to advocate for the social and environmental change they want to see. Outside of her work with Extreme Weather Survivors, Gabrielle teaches yoga and enjoys reading.

Gabrielle Lynn

Arianna Standish is the Program and Outreach Associate for Extreme Weather Survivors. With a background in Environmental Sciences and a passion for social justice, Arianna brings a tenacity and mission-driven approach to the team. She forges connections with people and communities whose lives have been forever changed by weather disasters, and helps uplift their voices. In her free time, Arianna enjoys dancing, gardening, climbing, crafting, and learning Spanish.

Arianna Standish

Erica Solove is the Community Program Manager at Extreme Weather Survivors, where she leads the creation of survivor communities and peer support programming to empower community-based recovery efforts.  Erica's drive and dedication to uplift survivors is inspired by her own firsthand knowledge of community organizing for disaster recovery after losing her home and rebuilding her life in the wake of Colorado’s more destructive wildfire.   She seeks to catalyze hope, smarter recoveries, and meaningful change for fellow disaster survivors. Erica holds a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Colorado State University, and has worked with dozens of Fortune 500 companies to optimize employee experience.

Erica Solove

Sierra Lindsey Kos is the co-founder and co-executive director of Extreme Weather Survivors in addition to being a filmmaker, advertising creative and presidential campaign veteran with extensive experience using storytelling to illuminate policy outcomes. Prior to flying on Air Force One as President Obama’s video director and producer, she found and filmed all the real human stories that helped explain Obamacare to the nation. Those stories were credited with helping make Obamacare popular by putting a human face on wonky lifesaving policy. Since then she executive produced a documentary that premiered at Sundance, oversaw a $200 million dollar winning ad campaign for a CA ballot measure and has built and led several creative, communications, public affairs and marketing teams in tech and progressive politics.

Sierra Lindsey Kos