meet our team
Max Frankel
Max Frankel is Executive Director of SEEC Institute. Max brings a decade of experience in energy and environmental policy to SEEC Institute, working both within and outside of government to advance climate solutions that meet the scale of the challenges we face.
Prior to leading SEEC Institute, Max was Deputy Director of Americans for a Clean Energy Grid, a broad-based interest organization working on expanding, improving, and modernizing America’s high-voltage energy system. Before joining ACEG, Max served as a Director in the Energy practice at Invariant, where he leveraged his policy expertise to help businesses and policymakers understand one another at the intersection of the environment and economy. Prior to Invariant, he spent more than five years in Rep. Mike Quigley’s (D-IL) office, where he served as policy advisor and legislative director, working on energy, environment, transportation, housing, infrastructure, and appropriations issues. Before working on Capitol Hill, Max was part of the climate and energy team at the World Resources Institute and was also a fifth and sixth grade science and social studies teacher with the Teach for America program in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Max received his BA from Vassar College in New York and lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Karla, and their two cats, Sunny and Cleo.
Pearson Croney-Clark
Pearson Croney-Clark is the Director of External Affairs at SEEC Institute. Her career spans work in France, Canada, and the United States, focusing on critical issues such as climate change, food systems and agriculture, foreign affairs, and global business policy.
Before joining SEEC Institute, Pearson served as Public Affairs Manager at Oatly, the oatmilk company, where she developed strategies at the nexus of food systems and climate policy. Previously, she was a Policy Advisor to Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, spearheading initiatives on food security, sustainable agriculture, and equitable food systems. In France, Pearson was part of the Government Relations team at the American Chamber of Commerce, where she facilitated dialogue on key business and trade issues with French, EU, and US government representatives.
Pearson holds a Master’s degree from Sciences Po’s School of Public Affairs and an Honors Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and American Studies from the University of Toronto.
A native of Paris, Kentucky, Pearson now lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, Pierre.
Sara Anderson
Sara Anderson is the Development Associate at SEEC Institute. Her academic and professional work has covered a variety of topics including youth activism, international environmental security, online child protection, and clean energy policy.
Before joining SEEC Institute, Sara was the Business Development Fellow at Tech Matters, where she managed the fundraising efforts for Aselo, a single-pane helpline software designed for low-income communities to reach children in need.
Sara graduated from Pomona College in Los Angeles, CA with a BA in International Relations and a focus on environmental policy. Her thesis, “Getting Youth on the Streets: Accounting for Levels of Youth Mobilization Among International Climate Organizations,” has been published in the Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union, having received the “Outstanding Paper Award” from the institution.
Born and raised in Oklahoma City, Sara has lived in DC for the past year and a half. Some things she love to do in her free time include writing poetry, trying new restaurants, rock climbing, and volunteering at local community farms.
