When a Climate Action Now user in Virginia learned through the organization’s app that Utah had legalized plug-in solar panels, she decided to bring the idea to her own state. She contacted her legislators, advocated for the technology and helped make Virginia the second state to legalize it, according to the organization.
For Kalamazoo College alumnus Case Kuehn ’74, that story illustrates what can happen when people have practical ways to act on their concerns. As a volunteer chief financial advisor for Climate Action Now, Kuehn helps the organization expand its reach and connect more people with opportunities to influence climate policy.
The organization says its app and advocacy tools have facilitated more than 5 million climate actions. Its approach makes participation manageable. After users complete each action, the app offers another, whether that means learning about an environmental issue, contacting elected officials or supporting legislation.
“People care, but they don’t always know what to do,” Kuehn said. “This gives you a place to start and it amplifies your voice.”
A Practical Purpose
Kuehn’s path to climate advocacy took shape after retirement. He had long loved the outdoors, hiking in Maryland as a child and backpacking in Washington State after graduating from K. But he said his involvement with Climate Action Now grew from a broader concern about climate change and a desire to put his business experience to use.
Before joining Climate Action Now, Kuehn worked much of his career as a corporate turnaround specialist, helping to stabilize and rebuild financially distressed, underperforming or crisis-hit businesses. A music major at K, Kuehn happily worked the last decade of his career as CFO of LOUD Audio LLC and as president of Martin Audio North America, both manufacturers of equipment for the music industry. He also helped fellow K alumnus Stephen Mohney ’76 establish and organize Tech4Ghana USA, a nonprofit organization focused on education in rural Ghana.
When Mohney died and Tech4Ghana wound down, Kuehn began looking for another way to contribute. A friend introduced him to Climate Action Now’s app, which he began using himself. When he saw a fundraising appeal from the organization’s founder and CEO, Brett Walter, Kuehn offered to help. The pair had many conversations about how the organization could sustain and grow its work, leading Kuehn to accept the role of chief financial advisor.
Climate Action Now operates as a California benefit corporation rather than a nonprofit, a structure Walter chose to preserve flexibility for advocacy and lobbying. That choice can make traditional charitable fundraising more difficult. Kuehn helped explore alternative funding, including equity investments to support the organization’s operations and growth.
He has also taken on specific organizational projects. In 2025, Kuehn led the work to earn Climate Action Now certification as a B Corporation, a designation that independently assesses companies’ social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. He sees the B Corp community as another place where the organization could connect with businesses that want to engage in advocacy.
Making Participation Easier
Climate Action Now’s app keeps users engaged by prompting them to take another meaningful step after each simple action it recommends. Users average about 10 actions per session, Kuehn said.
This year, the company launched its program in web browser format, called the CAN Action Carousel. With just a few lines of code, schools, nonprofits, faith communities, businesses and other groups can host the carousel on their websites. The company provides this service at no charge.
The tool provides climate-related actions and educational content, along with participation tracking, without requiring organizations to build their own advocacy tools. About 27 organizations have adopted the carousel, though its effectiveness depends on how actively each group promotes it.
Get Involved with
Climate Action Now
Climate Action Now offers an app, educational resources and advocacy tools that help people learn about climate issues, contact elected officials and take part in campaigns.
- Download the app: Explore climate-related actions and take the next step suggested by the platform. Find it in the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.
- Read ‘Your Daily Dose of Climate Hope’: Subscribe to the organization’s newsletter highlighting climate solutions and developments.
- Host or join an action party: These online events bring people together to learn about an issue and take advocacy actions.
- Explore the Action Carousel: Organizations can embed the free tool on their websites to offer climate actions and educational resources to their communities.
Find Climate Action Now Online
- Website: Climate Action Now
- YouTube: Climate Action Now
- Instagram: @ClimateActApp
- Contact Case: ckuehn@climateactionnow.com
“We provide all the tools and all the content,” Kuehn said. “The only thing we can’t provide is a cheerleader.”
That distinction is important to Kuehn. Technology can make participation easier, but people still need to invite others in and keep the effort visible. He hopes more community groups and institutions will use the carousel to give their members a clear starting point.
A Lasting Connection to K
Kuehn sees an opportunity to connect Climate Action Now with schools like K that emphasize civic engagement, experiential learning and environmental awareness. Students could help promote the carousel, develop climate-related actions or introduce the tool to other colleges and community organizations, he said.
At Cornell University, a professor has incorporated Climate Action Now into coursework, giving students projects that include writing actions for the app. Kuehn said he would welcome an opportunity to work with K faculty or students who are interested in public policy and community advocacy.
The College remains deeply meaningful to him, he said, in part because of the serendipitous way he discovered it. Growing up outside Washington, D.C., Kuehn expected to attend an East Coast college. At a high school college night, he stopped at K’s table because the admissions representative appeared to be sitting alone. She introduced him to the K-Plan, which prompted him to visit campus. After spending a day attending classes and meeting students, he was ready to enroll.
“By the end of the day, my only question was, ‘Can I skip my senior year of high school and start in the fall?’” Kuehn said.
He still considers his four years at K among the best of his life.
Thinking Beyond the Next Action
Kuehn said he wants Climate Action Now to grow, not simply to become financially sustainable, but to have a larger impact. He hopes the organization’s technology will eventually be adopted or amplified by a larger climate organization, allowing its approach to reach more communities over time.
His motivation also extends to younger generations, who will live longer with the effects of climate change. Kuehn has four grandchildren, and he believes people with the time and resources to help have a responsibility to educate and engage those who will face the challenges ahead.
“Any impact is good,” Kuehn said. “But we didn’t get involved in this to have a small impact. Climate is the existential threat to all of us. If we don’t deal with it, none of the other issues we face are relevant any longer.”