Lori Lodes is the executive director of Climate Power, a strategic communications operation focused on building the political will and public support for bold climate action. It was founded going into the 2020 US presidential election and played a key role in establishing climate as core messaging pull through for the Biden campaign and Build Back Better agenda. Before stewarding Climate Power, Lori spent a handful of years in corporate communications at Apple. She was deputy director of communications for Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016, and she spent many years working on communication initiatives for the Affordable Care Act and healthcare.gov.
We were looking forward to talking with Lori to hear how she's taking her learnings from managing communications efforts at the highest levels of corporate and political initiatives, and applying them to climate. In the few short years that Climate Power has been active, it's shifted from helping place climate on the Biden campaign agenda, to supporting the passage of landmark federal climate legislation, to now highlighting stories of successful policy implementation at the state and local level. It's an ever-shifting chess board, and our chat with Lori helped us recognize just how much the conversation on climate has evolved in the national discourse in a few short years.
In this episode, we cover:
- [02:39]: Lori's background and initial reluctance to engage with climate
- [05:19]: Lori's move to Apple after working on the 2016 Clinton campaign
- [06:55]: How her experiences in government and at Apple have informed her communication strategy
- [11:49]: Lori's work with John Podesta and the origins of Climate Power
- [16:42]: Transitioning the climate conversation to the mainstream
- [18:38]: Climate Power's strategy to make climate a political issue and the urgency of the 2020 election
- [24:52]: The rise of climate as a "kitchen table issue" during the COVID crisis in 2020
- [26:40]: Aligning stakeholders and messaging to create favorable conditions for climate action
- [29:33]: The Inflation Reduction Act and clean energy job creation, particularly in Republican districts
- [32:03]: The challenges of the "implementation" phase of policy, and the importance of highlighting the benefits of climate action
- [36:34]: Climate social media influencers at the White House and "surround sound" communications
- [40:16]: How to get connected with Lori and Climate Power
Get connected:
Cody Simms
Lori Lodes
Climate Power Website
MCJ Podcast / Collective
*You can also reach us via email at info@mcjcollective.com, where we encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.
Episode recorded on April 27, 2023
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant
