Leah Qusba

Leah’s interest in social justice work sparked as a teen growing up in the “Paper Valley,” a section of the Fox River in northeastern Wisconsin with the highest concentration of paper mills in the world. When she was in high school, a 39-mile stretch of the river she often played in as a kid was designated as a Superfund Site by the EPA from unregulated dumping by the paper industry. Ten years later, in 2009, she found her home at ACE. She was inspired by the mission and felt called to help lift up the voices of young people on the frontlines of climate and environmental injustice.

Leah has been with ACE for a decade and has had the unique experience of working to build the organization from the ground up, helping it grow into a national leader in youth climate education and engagement. Before becoming Executive Director, Leah served as Deputy Director, leading the organization’s 2018 midterm election strategy, a multi-tactic youth voter engagement program that reached more than 3.7 million young people online, through SMS, and in-person. She has worked with research partners to design and launch field experiments in the electoral and advocacy space, and has worked across more than 20 states in the coalition, policy and campaign space.

Prior to the role of Executive Director, Leah also served as ACE’s Communications and Marketing Director, managing ACE’s media, PR and communications work. Before ACE, Leah worked with Global Impact, an international federation of charities based in the Washington DC area. She and her husband, Sunil, live in Milwaukee with their two fantastic kids.