The Breaking Barriers Collaborative
We help PNW businesses accelerate efforts to equitably curb their climate emissions.
Our action-oriented, hands-on programs are for businesses ready to break through barriers and decarbonize impactfully and cost-effectively.
The Breaking Barriers Collaborative believes in the power of businesses to rise to meet this decisive moment in the era of climate crisis. Our deep expertise in climate and equity, robust networks in the PNW, and long history of diverse and successful partnerships make us trusted collaborators as businesses lead the transition to a net-zero economy.
Founders of the Collaborative
Staff
The Breaking Barriers Collaborative is staffed by Climate Solutions.
Paul Bloom
Program Director
Prior to focusing his career to address the climate crisis, Paul held multiple product and business leadership roles in the technology industry, where he conceived, launched and scaled dozens of new products. At Microsoft, Paul was a founding member of the Microsoft Search product group, where his team managed relationships with more than 50 Fortune 500 companies and integrated them into the product development cycle. Prior to Microsoft, Paul was CEO of Rouxbe, where he transformed the cash-strapped startup into a profitable leader in the cooking e-learning industry. Paul was co-founder and VP Product and Marketing at lawyer directory and review website Avvo, which became the most visited lawyer directory in the U.S. and was acquired by Internet Brands.
Paul is the Board President at the Holocaust Center for Humanity in Seattle, where he has served on the board since 2016. He holds an Electrical Engineering degree from Western University in Canada, an MBA from Stanford University, and a Certificate in Sustainability from UCLA.
Emily Pinckney
Program Coordinator
Emily’s experiences as a queer black woman scientist led her to focus her efforts on diversity, equity, inclusion, and access in STEM and policy. She works to support underserved communities in navigating around systemic barriers to community-based decision making, particularly within environmental spaces. She is the former Executive Director of 500 Women Scientists, a social justice focused science organization that supports underrepresented folks in STEM. She has worked in wildlife spaces such as Seattle Aquarium and Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, and served on Governor Inslee's Environmental Justice Task Force. Currently, Emily serves on the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency board of directors, the Care about Climate board of directors, Sustainable Seattle board of directors, the Sustainable Tacoma Commission, and the WA Build Back Black Alliance.
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