CivicSpark - AmeriCorps Program

Last week, I completed my 2023-24 CivicSpark - AmeriCorps Program Fellowship! I am extremely proud of all the work I was able to accomplish with the CA State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) at their Office of Research, Planning, and Performance’s Climate and Conservation Unit.  While serving, I had the opportunity to gain first hand insight within the SWRCB’s climate action programs, working on projects related to racial equity, outreach, sustainability, and environmental justice. I enjoyed the formal professional growth training and community service coordinated by the CivicSpark Program, as well as skill-building training courses such as ArcGIS Pro and advanced Excel at the SWRCB. This service year has prepared me for future career opportunities through project management, qualitative data analysis, research, and professional writing! Looking back, my service has given me such an incredible understanding of water policy and environmental science, further cementing my passion for social justice and community service. Environmental policy plays a vital role in empowering one’s own community and I am honored to have played a part in that work at the SWRCB. It was a wonderful experience and I wanted to give a huge shout out to my Site Mentor, Ava Scally, Climate Lead Christopher Hyun, as well as my wonderful team for all of the insight and mentorship! I also want to give a shout out to the Hi-Desert Water District Team, who I’ve had the pleasure of working with throughout my service year. They all have played an integral role in making my experience special throughout and I could not be more grateful! 

I have had an amazing 8 months with the City of Grand Junction working on sustainability initiatives with Jenny Nitzky and City staff in recycling, water conservation, planning, and other areas. This fellowship opportunity was managed by CivicSpark - AmeriCorps Program and couldn't be happier with my experience. I have learned a tremendous amount about working in local government, which has inspired me to look for sustainability work in the public sector in the next chapter of my career. The projects that centered community engagement and community science was a highlight of my time at the City. I took on the responsibility of managing the City's Urban Heat Island Mapping Campaign, a program launched by NOAA: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration and administered by CAPA STRATEGIES, LLC. My favorite part was meeting all of the volunteers from the community and hearing about why they wanted to be involved in the study. Amazing things can be accomplished when passionate people come together! I am also very proud to have been part of the development of the City's Sustainability and Adaptation Plan that was adopted in July. This Plan took a lot of hard work and coordination among City staff. It would not have been nearly as relevant and actionable without the community's input during every phase of its development. I want to congratulate the City, and especially Jenny, for this amazing achievement! This Plan will set Grand Junction on a path to making everyone's way of life more sustainable and help protect the resources that are so precious in a desert ecosystem. I'm currently looking for my next opportunity! If you have any suggestions for places that are hiring and align with my interests, I would greatly appreciate your guidance. Thank you!

Last week I finished my second term as a CivicSpark - AmeriCorps Program Fellow at South Tahoe Public Utility District. During my terms of service, I worked in the District’s engineering department and helped with various GIS and asset management projects. Some highlights from my terms of service included analyzing and reporting on eight years of electricity data trends for all the District’s water & wastewater facilities, inputting nearly 3000 customer water meters into the GIS network, and mapping the District’s system of recycled water assets in Alpine County. In addition to my project work, I co-lead six AmeriCorps Service Days and worked with my co-fellows to recruit volunteers for the 2023 & 2024 South Lake Tahoe Earth Day Festivals. Check out my capstone poster and photos from the service year below. I’m super grateful for this opportunity and all the people who have helped me learn and grow over the past two years. I want to especially thank my Site Supervisors Jim Kelly, GISP & Steve Caswell, the engineering department staff, my Regional Coordinators Lindsey McCandless & Daniel Keim, and my co-fellows Emilie Comer & Elsa Erling. While I’ll miss this position and the Tahoe Basin, I’m excited to start my new role next week as a Staff Environmental Planner at Dewberry in Rancho Cordova.

Last week, I completed my second and final CivicSpark - AmeriCorps Program fellowship term with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's Climate Team. It's been a pleasure working with everyone in the Climate Section: Monte DiPalma, Amy Dao, Rich Chien, Idania Zamora, Sally Newman, ( Ella Heimbrodt this summer), and I want to express special gratitude to Abby Young and my supervisor, Jamesine Rogers Gibson, for their leadership and guidance along the way. I couldn't have asked for a better mentor while entering the Bay Area climate world than Jamesine Rogers Gibson! During my time there, I worked on three projects. 💡 Through research and many cross-divisional conversations, I developed several equity tools to guide the Climate Team's work. 💡 I collaborated with a small but mighty team to reimagine the Planning & Climate Protection division's Local Government Support Program (https://lnkd.in/gkcVxRv3), from big-picture visioning, to program design, and implementation. One of our big accomplishments was restructuring webpages and developing this Local Government Resource Library: https://lnkd.in/gUtmGDSB. 💡 Finally, I was part of the BARCAP (Bay Area Regional Climate Action Planning) team as the Air District became lead agency to develop an EPA-funded Priority Climate Action Plan and a (now in-progress) Comprehensive Climate Action Plan - the Bay Area's first-ever regional climate action plan (https://lnkd.in/gSDr2X79). I provided key research, writing, planning, and administrative support on many different workflows for the BARCAP project. Throughout the planning efforts, I've also gotten to know and work with several great Bay Area community based organizations, other regional agencies, local government staff, and contractors, including R. Paul Herman, FSA and his team at HIP Investor Inc., who I worked with closely as they have developed impactful and informative funding research. From all of these projects, I honed my research and analysis, facilitation, communication, project management, and collaboration and leadership skills. I'm grateful to have gotten such a wide breadth of experiences to learn from. This fellowship also gave me the chance to reflect on my career journey and where I want to go from here. My experiences at the Air District helped me develop a strong interest in climate communications. Next, I plan to utilize my background in art and passion for writing and climate action to build up my portfolio over the coming months. I'm looking to connect with others in the climate communications field, including art and journalism, as I explore this intersection.

Over the past 11 months, I have been serving as a CivicSpark - AmeriCorps Program fellow at Santa Clara Valley Water District. My fellowship has focused on contributing to the District’s Watershed Master Plans through GIS mapping, data analysis, graphic design, and stakeholder coordination. I am incredibly grateful for the mentorship and support I have received from my CivicSpark regional coordinator Lindsey McCandless and countless people at Valley Water. I’d also like to thank my co-fellow Talia Paulson for co-leading the Bay Area cohort service days with me. I look forward to continuing my work at Valley Water in a temporary role as an Assistant Water Resources Specialist. 

Over the past eleven months, I have had the pleasure of working as a CivicSpark - AmeriCorps Program fellow with the City of Emeryville. I worked with the city's Environmental Programs Department adding capacity to their team and implementing various aspects of the city's Climate Action Plan. Specifically, some of the projects I worked on included a Street Tree Plan aiming to plant over 300 trees in high equity areas in the city, successfully transitioning city facilities to use reusable foodware, using GIS to update the city's storm drain system map, and designing outreach and educational materials for the city’s annual environmental events. Additionally, at the end of my service term I had the opportunity to present a Climate Action Plan Progress Report to Emeryville’s City Council detailing the city's progress on its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and climate action goals. I want to express my gratitude to Emeryville's Public Works and Environmental Programs team, including my Site Supervisor Nancy Humphrey, as well as Matt A.. I'd also like to thank my CivicSpark regional coordinator Lindsey McCandless for her support and mentorship, and my Co-Fellow Olivia Cobb for co-leading CivicSpark service days with me. I've learned so much this year and am very grateful for this impactful experience. Feel free to check out my end-of-year capstone poster and a few photos from the fellowship including Emeryville’s Bike to Work Day event and a Civic Spark service day focused on tree care in San Francisco. 

I just completed my term as an Inland Regional Energy Network (I-REN) Fellow for the City of Canyon Lake as part of a brand-new partnership with CivicSpark - AmeriCorps Program and three councils of government, including the Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG). I accomplished so much in my 11-month term, including the facilitation of an energy audit for the Canyon Lake City Hall and Canyon Lake Fire Station, the creation of an Energy Efficiency Action & Outreach Plan, the development of the city’s solar permitting program, the creation of the city’s first-ever Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan, the “Save Green, Go Green” rebate campaign, and an official city volunteer program. With IREN’s support, I also enjoyed many different networking and professional development opportunities, such as a field trip to the Esri headquarters in Redlands, the WRCOG General Assembly at Pechanga Resort Casino, and the 15th annual Climate and Energy Collaborative (CCEC) Forum in Palm Springs, where I spoke about my experience as a featured panelist. It was a great opportunity to serve this community and region, and I hope this program continues to make a difference for our Inland Empire communities! I am sincerely grateful to those who supported me along the way, including IREN’s knowledgable and connected staff, our City of Canyon Lake staff and city council, and my amazing site supervisor, Jessica M. Sanchez, MBA, for their guidance and mentorship. After this year’s fellowship term, I am excited to announce that I will be attending UC Irvine to pursue a Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP)! Go Anteaters! #inlandregionalenergynetwork #iren #cityofcanyonlake #wrcog #ccec #esri #civicspark #civicwell #uci #zot

As my term serving as a CivicSpark - AmeriCorps Program Fellow is wrapping up, I’m proud to share some highlights from the work I’ve completed. With City of Berkeley and Rebuilding Together East Bay Network, I’ve had the amazing opportunity to work on an equitable home electrification project. The Just Transition project aims to help income-qualified homeowners get their homes off of fossil fuels and improve their home’s comfort and air quality by providing them with free, high-quality electric appliances. I have chiefly been responsible for establishing a group of RTEBN volunteers called Climate Coaches, who will be providing personalized guidance to homeowners interested in lowering their energy bills. Anyone who is interested in learning more about the Climate Coaches (or even becoming one!) should check out this sign-up form: https://lnkd.in/gFy5VNjV I’ve also had the incredible chance to work firsthand with the City of Berkeley’s existing climate outreach & engagement projects such as Ride Electric at the Harvest Festival (an EV showcase at a lovely community event) and the East Bay Green Homes Tour.  Throughout my time as a CivicSpark Fellow, I have utilized and learned vital skills such as designing in Canva, best practices for volunteer outreach, management, and recruitment, and soft skills such as teamwork. I’d especially like to thank my Site Supervisor, Marna Schwartz, and my supervisor at Rebuilding Together, JW Frye. I'm excited to announce that I will be continuing my Just Transition project work with RTEBN as a Community Sustainability Manager.