Dear CCL Family,

It is with great sadness that I must tell you that Marshall Saunders, founder and president of Citizens' Climate Lobby, has passed away at the age of 80.

To say that he made the most of his time on this earth would be an understatement. In addition to being the most kind and generous person I've ever known, he was also a visionary, someone who saw the things that are broken in our world and then set out to fix them. As Buckminster Fuller once said, "The things to do are: the things that need doing, that you see need to be done, and that no one else seems to see need to be done."

That was Marshall, doing the things that needed to be done that nobody else was doing.

As I reflect on his life, there's a scene in "It's a Wonderful Life" that comes to mind where the angel Clarence shows George Bailey all the lives he saved and transformed. I cannot even begin to count the number of lives that Marshall touched. Whether it was the thousands of women in Mexico who lifted their families out of poverty because of Marshall's microlending program, Grameen de la Frontera, or the many people who turned their despair about climate change into positive action through CCL, Marshall emerged as a beacon of hope for so many of us.

If you would like to express your condolences or share your remembrances of Marshall, we've set up a memorial page on CCL Community.

Marshall always told volunteers, “You're a dream come true.” He leaves us knowing that we are working hard on our shared dreams, and we will prevail. We will prevail, not only in preserving a livable world for future generations, but also in healing the deep divisions in our society and restoring faith in a government by and for the people.

His spirit and love will continue to live in all of us.

With deep gratitude for all of you,

Mark Reynolds