Where radical optimism meets strategy and experience.
New Fundamentals is a people powered consultancy firm that wins campaigns and builds lasting movements. Whether your organization is large or small, old or new, our proven framework will help you achieve real, measurable and durable change – even after our contract ends.
OUR TEAM
OUR TEAM
Claire Douglass
Founder and Chief Strategist
Claire Douglass is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of experience in the climate and energy campaign and movement building space. She has an impressive track record in winning issue campaigns and building diverse coalitions at the national, state and local levels. As the former National Campaigns Senior Director at the Audubon Society, Claire spearheaded successful climate and clean energy initiatives across various states, leveraging bipartisan support to not only win the campaign but make them durable to the political swings under different administrations.
During her tenure at Oceana, Claire demonstrated her ability to lead large coalitions and matrixed teams to develop and execute comprehensive strategies to reverse the decision to expand Offshore Drilling under the Obama and Trump administration. Notably, rallying support and building political power from a diverse array of stakeholders including coastal Mayors, numerous business alliances representing over 40,000 businesses, recreational and commercial fishing industry associations, and hundreds of coastal communities. Claire's hands-on experience leveraging grassroots, grass-roots, coalitions, expertise, legal, legislative, media and communications equipped her to win policy victories faster and once thought impossible.
Now, as the founder of New Fundamentals, a consultancy firm specializing in campaign strategy and building people power for durable change, Claire continues to apply her expertise to help clients drive societal change. With her proven track record of success and unwavering dedication to a people powered approach to movement building, Claire continues to support clients to make significant contributions at scale.
She lives in her hometown of Washington D.C. with her beloved husband she met at a billiards league, their 4 year old daughter who loves the music video Thriller, elephants, and space.
Ben Adams
Senior Strategist and Communications Director
Ben Adams is an advocate for clean energy, with a specific emphasis on engagement strategy and communications. Prior to working at New Fundamentals, he was a Transmission Fellow, working with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) and supported by training with RMI. For SACE, he conducted research and wrote articles and docket responses to advance the cause of transmission in the southeast. He also worked with fellow clean energy advocates to develop messaging and campaign strategies to get key policies passed at the local, state, and regional level.
Ben also spent nearly two decades publishing bestselling and award-winning books about a variety of nonfiction subjects, including science, technology, politics, and much more. He worked with high-ranking government officials, journalists, scholars, and public figures to help them refine and articulate the ideas for the audiences they sought to reach. Ben has a B.A. in English from the University of Chicago and lives in southern New Hampshire with his family. He is the proud owner of thirty-six solar panels and enjoys outdoor sports.
Caitlin Sanford
Climate Policy and Advocacy Manager
Caitlin Sanford offers a unique blend of analytical rigor and practical advocacy experience, with a background in product research, data science, and state government. She brings a data-driven perspective to campaign strategy, audience analysis, and performance measurement, crucial for shaping and testing responsive campaign models. She has an MPA in Economics and Public Policy from Princeton University and is also Co-President of Climate Action Rhode Island.
Julie Hansen
Operations and Administrative Manager
Julie Hansen is a seasoned administrative and operations professional with over a decade of experience supporting executives in mission-driven organizations. With a strong background in project coordination, strategic planning, and team management, Julie is known for bringing structure, clarity, and reliability to fast-paced environments. Her career has spanned nonprofit, consulting, and strategic roles, with a consistent focus on enabling others to do their best work through thoughtful support and operational excellence.
Our Story
Our logo, featuring a pinecone and a 3-dimensional illusion, embodies the New Fundamentals philosophy. Like a pinecone, campaigns are multidimensional and some species only can grow after a “wildfire.” Wildfires are “spark events,” they are the catalysts that ignite (or reignite) campaigns. Whether sparked by external forces, like historical events, or intentionally created, these moments transform your campaign’s landscape and create new opportunities. Consider Rosa Parks' courageous refusal to move, the seismic impact of George Floyd's murder, the Supreme Court's pivotal decisions, or environmental disasters like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill—all these are examples of “spark events'' that redefine issues and prompt us to re-strategize.
At the core of our identity is an image of a spark, nestled at the base of our pinecone-inspired logo. New Fundamentals goes beyond mere, short-term campaign victories. We are dedicated to sparking transformative campaigns that not only win, but build durable movements for lasting change.
“Knowing the difference between strategy and tactics has fundamentally improved my approach to campaigns.”
— Tykee James, President of DC Audubon Society and Co-creator of Black Birders Week