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Climate Corps Opportunities

Do you want to work directly with leading organizations in California to design and implement programs that increase community resilience and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions? Starting as a ground-breaking AmeriCorps service program, Climate Corps has placed hundreds of motivated candidates in 10-month opportunities since 2010, including 75 at Alameda County. The program now is a fellowship.

Alameda County Climate Corps fellows have gone on to energy companies, environmental consulting, public service, and graduate school. They have continued their careers with employers including the California Environmental Justice Alliance, City of Portland, City of San Jose, County of San Mateo, Gap Inc., Greenlining Institute, Grist, Mills College, PG&E, Recology, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, SCS Global, Salesforce, Sierra Club, StopWaste.Org, Tanko Lighting, and UCSF.

Climate Corps Openings

Applications have closed for 2024-2025 opportunities.

• Review job descriptions for 2024-25 opportunities at Alameda County.
• Visit www.climate-corps.org to learn more about Climate Corps and to apply.

Climate Corps at Alameda County 2023-24: In Depth

In 2023-2024, the Alameda County General Services Agency hosted three Climate Corps Fellows.

Name: Grace Kann
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Develop protective actions materials and training to help frontline communities respond to and prepare for climate-related events such as extreme heat, wildfires, smoke, power shutoffs, and floods
Goal: Build community resilience by providing educational materials for community-based organizations to adapt for and share with frontline communities such as older adults, the unhoused, children, and people with disabilities
Highlight: I co-developed and co-presented the Climate Disasters Preparedness Training to inform the public about climate disaster preparedness and share how frontline communities are affected by climate change. The training was provided in English and interpreted live in Spanish.

Name: Courtney Leader
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Integrate sustainable building strategies into lease negotiations and documents
Goal: Support colleagues managing County real estate with approaches to lower energy and water usage in leased space, in alignment with our climate action plan
Highlight: It has been rewarding working with other departments within the County's General Services Agency to implement the climate action plan. Having the buy-in from other departments has made the work progress quickly so I can see results during my fellowship.

Name: Ajah Quawiy
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Develop outreach materials to promote recycling and composting within County facilities
Goal: Enhance waste sorting practices among employees and visitors to over 60 County facilities to reduce contamination in waste and recycling containers and capture the environmental and economic benefits of recycling
Highlight: When I host recycling training workshops and participants ask questions or tell me that they've learned something new, I feel a sense of accomplishment. Their engagement shows that the effort I put into education is making a tangible difference in their understanding and actions.

Climate Corps at Alameda County 2022-23: In Depth

In 2022-2023, the Alameda County General Services Agency hosted five Climate Corps Fellows.

Name: Carol Lee
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Prepare for implementing a method to track participation in telework at the County
Goal: Ensure the approach is user-friendly to facilitate the collection of high-quality data
Highlight: It has been exciting to contribute to a data-driven initiative that advances climate and sustainability goals at a large organization, from reducing employee commutes to making informed decisions about future energy and office space needs.
Project Poster (PDF - 411kb) *

Name: Kameron Stoll
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Logistics
Major Project: Launch large-scale electric vehicle charging infrastructure project
Goal: Make a plan to acquire charging infrastructure to support the expanding electric vehicle fleet of the County, which is projected to need over 200 additional electric vehicle chargers by 2035
Highlight: It was satisfying to identify funding opportunities, learn about potential vendors, and know that my efforts greatly advanced this large, long-term project.
Project Poster (PDF - 500kb) *

Name: Samira Tootla
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Develop a comprehensive compliance strategy for the County to fulfill California's Senate Bill 1383 requirements in procuring recycled organic matter and meeting recycled content paper requirements
Goal: Update County's current organic matter and paper product procurement process, educate all stakeholders, and work towards compliance in procurement
Highlight: One highlight from this project is being able to share the climate benefits of SB 1383 with stakeholders, which has helped them understand the importance of the new procurement goals.
Project Poster (PDF - 324kb) *

Name: Ellie Vendegna
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Promote waste reduction in County facilities by conducting interviews and site visits with janitorial and building staff, updating waste infrastructure, and providing outreach materials
Goal: Improve correct waste sorting by employees at County buildings through providing waste infrastructure and creating workshops for employees
Highlight: I enjoyed engaging with stakeholders at 10 County facilities. Visiting these sites allowed me to gain a better understanding of the waste operations.
Project Poster (PDF - 868kb) *

Name: Erin X.
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Start implementing climate adaptation strategies identified in the Community Resilience section of the next Climate Action Plan
Goal: Strengthen community resilience to climate change by increasing preparedness and coordination of the County's services, supporting partnerships with community-based organizations, and utilizing robust research and data
Highlight: Highlights included working alongside my fellow cohort and working with geospatial information software (GIS) to map climate vulnerability in the community.

Climate Corps at Alameda County 2021-22: In Depth

In 2021-2022, the Alameda County General Services Agency hosted five Climate Corps Fellows, one starting mid-year.

Name: Olivia Baaten
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Facilitate compliance with a new state law that includes requirements for using recycled-content paper, SB 1383, when the County orders printing services
Goal: Prepare a summary of findings from discussing County purchasing patterns and brainstorming options with vendors
Highlight: When having discussions with vendors, I enjoyed the opportunity to learn about how the County purchases paper. One highlight occurred when one vendor shared that my explanation of SB 1383 made her feel more comfortable with the law.
Project Poster (PDF - 526kb) *

Name: Caroline Kim
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Revise and refine a set of recommended actions on community resilience for the next Climate Action Plan for Government Services and Operations
Goal: Achieve consensus from internal stakeholders on goals of recommended actions for resilience and incorporate feedback from the community into the action language
Highlight: I created a matrix to map community feedback to relevant resilience actions. Multiple internal stakeholders have told me this matrix was very helpful for them in understanding community feedback.
Project Poster (PDF - 165kb) *

Name: Jocelyn Rodriguez
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Develop an online feedback forum to solicit feedback from County residents on draft climate actions, as part of a broader effort to provide a range of opportunities for community input
Goal: Ensure that the recommended actions in Alameda County's Government Services and Operations Climate Action Plan reflect community feedback
Highlight: I am looking forward to seeing all the meaningful discussions surrounding draft measures on the online feedback forum. I feel really fulfilled knowing that I helped create a platform where community members can have their voices heard and share their thoughts with one another on important climate actions.
Project Poster (PDF - 812kb) *

Name: Chelsea Su
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Logistics Services
Major Project: Advance the County's fleet electrification goals by identifying and applying for grant opportunities
Goal: Secure funding for the County's first medium-duty zero-emission trucks and their charging infrastructure

Name: Sam Talarigo
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Promote waste reduction in County facilities by collecting data through interviews and site visits in collaboration with janitorial staff, creating outreach materials for County employees, and implementing upstream waste reduction strategies
Goal: Create and launch online waste sorting training modules for County employees to increase waste diversion
Highlight: I have enjoyed engaging with enthusiastic County stakeholders to collaborate on projects. It was a particular highlight to interview 11 stakeholders for a waste assessment report and to better understand waste operations at their facilities.
Project Poster (PDF - 1.5mb) *

Climate Corps at Alameda County 2020-21: In Depth

In 2020-2021, the Alameda County General Services Agency hosted six Climate Corps Fellows in five fellowships, as one fellowship was held by two fellows over the course of the year.

Name: Sofia Barandiaran
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Identify potential climate resilience and green economy actions to be considered in the next climate action and resiliency plan for County services and operations and co-lead the process of developing resilience metrics for the next plan
Goal: Ensure that the County's services and operations are prepared to help our communities respond to climate change by contributing to the development of a short list of community resilience and green economy actions for stakeholder review
Highlight: When I presented several options for how our team could use metrics to measure progress towards resilience, I was glad to be able to propose potential paths forward on a complex question. How to measure the resilience of a community or organization is a question that resilience professionals at all levels of government are considering, and it is meaningful to be part of shaping this new field.
Project Poster (PDF - 469kb) *

Name: Nicole Haynes
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Complete the buildings and infrastructure section of the County's 2019 government operations greenhouse gas inventory, an accounting of greenhouse gases released due to County activities like using vehicles or powering buildings
Goal: Collect and analyze electricity and natural gas data for over 100 County buildings to contribute to the inventory, which can then be used to check progress and identify next steps
Highlight: It was rewarding to analyze the buildings data from the greenhouse gas inventory to identify potential actions for the next climate strategy. The data showed that bold steps like switching from natural gas to electric equipment would directly result in greenhouse gas reductions.
Project Poster (PDF - 434kb) *

Name: Jennifer Liu
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Identify socially responsible and climate-friendly investing best practices relevant to the County
Goal: Contribute to knowledge development associated with ESG (environmental, social, and governance) funds and climate-risk disclosure in order to protect County and employee assets
Highlight: It was wonderful to be able to see the County's accomplishments in green building, fleet electrification, and climate adaptation in person while conducting a COVID-safe site visit for a climate video project.

Name: Jessica Navarro
Agency & Dept:General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Advance the production of a video to celebrate the past ten years of climate action
Goal: Ensure the video showcases successes from the 2010-2020 climate action plan by providing editorial support to the production team
Highlight: When I was asked to be included in the footage of teleworkers in the video, it was exciting to be given an opportunity to highlight remote-first working strategies.
Project Poster (PDF - 97kb) *

Name: Shona Paterson
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Promote waste reduction in County facilities by collecting data, researching best practices, and engaging employees
Goal: Engage 200 employees in waste reduction initiatives such as surveys about their recycling needs and virtual trainings about how to prevent waste in County facilities
Highlight: Presenting recycling trainings to social services employees and residents of interim housing was a highlight for me. It was uplifting to see County clients and employees asking insightful questions about waste reduction.
Project Poster (PDF - 565kb) *

Name: Gavin Siegert
Agency & Dept: General Service Agency, Logistics Services
Major Project: Initiating transition to electric vehicles for medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks and vans used by our Property and Salvage department
Goal: Demonstrate to stakeholders the feasibility of and cost savings from electrifying these vehicles by sharing cost-of-ownership analysis
Highlight: I really enjoyed developing relationships with electric vehicle (EV) truck dealerships. Because I worked with them to gather all the needed information about each EV model, we can now make informed choices for a decision that will affect the greenhouse gas emissions of County operations for years to come.
Project Poster (PDF - 330kb) *

Climate Corps at Alameda County 2019-20: In Depth

In 2019-2020, the Alameda County General Services Agency hosted seven Climate Corps Fellows in six fellowships, as one fellowship was held by two fellows over the course of the year.

Name: Bonnie Betts
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Complete recycling program update at two County buildings by implementing new waste/recycling infrastructure and facilitating employee trainings; document the approach for use in future buildings
Goal: Reduce recycling contamination at County buildings by designing and testing a replicable approach to updating recycling infrastructure and educating building tenants
Highlight: It has been meaningful to collaborate closely with my colleagues in the recycling program on a daily basis, especially to work together to develop new approaches that the recycling program can use after my term of service.
Project Poster (PDF - 841kb) *

Name: Melissa Brownlie
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Identify approaches and initiatives for the next phase of climate work by conducting research on best practices from other jurisdictions' climate strategies and reviewing our Climate Action Plan measures to highlight successes and areas to carry forward
Goal: Contribute to strategy development for how to proceed when the ten-year period for the Climate Action Plan for Government Operations and Services comes to a close
Highlight: It has been an incredible learning experience to collaborate closely with the Office of Sustainability staff in preparation for the next climate strategy. I have greatly enjoyed diving into the research and learning about how to apply an equity lens to this work.
Project Poster (PDF - 801kb) *

Name: Allison Eames
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Logistics Services
Major Project: Expand the use of zero emission electric vehicles in County business by developing infrastructure, performing data analysis to inform energy and money-saving strategies, and organizing employee outreach efforts
Goal: To install 7 new EV charging stations; to provide key data to help the County plan for long-term vehicle replacement and right-sizing efforts; to launch a new fleet website that makes it easier to request motor pool trainings
Highlight: When I watched seven social services staff eagerly volunteer to test-drive Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles at an EV training, I saw first-hand how new technologies can excite people into taking environmental action.
Project Poster (PDF - 625kb) *

Name: Selina Gomez
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Develop green purchasing initiatives for county departments and vendors to lower greenhouse gas emissions, save money, and promote environmental health
Goal: Implement a digital office initiative which could help save over $500,000; reach out to over 100 non-profit organizations with county service contracts to share resources that will help them make their operations more sustainable and resilient
Highlight: It was very satisfying and a great learning experience to complete the editing and production of a county training video titled Climate Action Through Purchasing, now posted online.
Project Poster (PDF - 223kb) *

Name: Neena Mohan
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Conduct initial stages of a first-pass climate vulnerability assessment for the county to learn about the impacts of climate change on services and operations
Goal: Collect data in areas including natural environment, transportation, and water to help identify high priority climate impacts affecting county agencies, to inform future climate action planning
Highlight: When reaching out with data inquiries, I was able to create new connections with relevant organizations and stakeholders. It felt good to build these relationships that could foster collaboration for the climate work we all hope to accomplish, especially to better support vulnerable communities.

Name: Lexi Oliva
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Early Care and Education Program
Major Project: Promote waste reduction best practices, with a focus on recycling and composting, and integrate 4Rs curriculum implementation in child care programs
Goal: Reach 20 new child care program sites and develop waste reduction strategies tailored to each facility
Highlight: As a part of my Rocky the Recycling Raccoon lesson, I ask for the children to engage in a waste sorting activity to test their knowledge at the end of the presentation. My favorite moment will always be the look of pride each child expresses when they sort an item correctly.
Project Poster (PDF - 775kb) *

Name: Kamya Sud
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Promote community resilience for residents of unincorporated communities in Alameda County by supporting a tree-planting and heat education pilot program, Cooling Our Communities
Goal: Develop partnerships with 7 cooling centers to facilitate registration for 300 trees to be planted within the communities served
Highlight: Tabling at the Ashland FamFest Fun Run allowed to me to meet the people that our program aims to benefit. Interacting with residents one-on-one gave me valuable insight into how we could tailor our outreach to make the program even stronger.
Project Poster (PDF - 459kb) *

Climate Corps at Alameda County 2018-19: In Depth

In 2018-2019, the Alameda County General Services Agency again hosted six Climate Corps Fellows. The Community Development Agency hosted one fellow.

Name: Kathryn Cunningham
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Early Care and Education Planning Council
Major Project: Promote waste management best practices in child care centers and family homes by educating children, teachers, and staff on the 4R curriculum (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot)
Goal: Support 25 child care centers and family homes in their efforts to divert as much waste as possible away from the landfill
Highlight: Seeing how engaged and interested the children are during classroom lessons. The children I work with are between the ages of 2 and 5, and seeing them understand what it means to recycle fills me with hope.
Project Poster (PDF - 1248kb) *

Name: Brittani Gallagher
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Logistics Services
Major Project: Promote utilization of electric vehicles (EVs) among employees to reduce the County's carbon footprint and contribution to air pollution
Goal: Achieve parity in vehicle miles traveled between County fleet gas vehicles and EVs
Highlight: It was rewarding to see that the employee EV trainings that I hosted and organized led to employees becoming more familiar and excited to use County EVs for their work-related travel.
Panel Presentation at AltCar 2019
Project Poster (PDF - 1326kb) *

Name: Alex Mesher
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Build on sustainable purchasing efforts at the County through policy research, data analysis and outreach to executives and other employees
Goal: Reduce climate pollution associated with manufacturing, transportation, use, and disposal of County purchases, including office supplies, office paper, and building materials, while maintaining or reducing cost to the County
Highlight: Conducting surveys on sustainable purchasing with County employees showed me how passionate and knowledgeable they are about environmental issues.
Project Poster (PDF - 1541kb) *

Name: Erin Tou
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Update County-wide wildfire smoke communications protocol based on research of best practices and input from populations most vulnerable to poor air quality
Goal: Increase coordination for county agencies' communications around wildfire smoke risk
Highlight: Helping to write an RFP for a community engagement consultant has shown me how much influence that local governments can have on incorporating equity into programs. It was empowering to be able to focus the community outreach on typically underrepresented populations.
Project Poster (PDF - 1275kb) *

Name: Micaela Unda
Agency & Dept: Community Development Agency, Planning Department
Major Project: Pilot a climate adaptation program focusing on green infrastructure implementation to prepare communities for public health risks from increased heat
Goal: Implement Cooling Communities program that will plant 300 trees, reduce heat in vulnerable communities, lower energy bills for households, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve livability through increased tree cover
Highlight: Since first sitting in on a healthy communities meeting and seeing the enthusiasm with which the Cooling Communities program was met, I've found the program to be incredibly rewarding work.
Project Poster (PDF - 1363kb) *

Name: Savannah Whaley
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Advancing climate change adaptation and equity work among county departments and partners
Goal: Adaptation and equity are incorporated into County climate action planning materials; other departments are considering the effects of climate change, like heat waves and wildfire smoke, on communities they serve
Highlight: Seeing all the progress the County has made on preparing for the impacts of climate change, and being able to share and learn from other jurisdictions, has been really encouraging.
Project Poster (PDF - 880kb) *

Name: Dominic Zona
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Logistics Services
Major Project: Encourage clean transportation to and from county facilities through expanding bike infrastructure and commuter programs designed to enable employees to get to work without driving alone
Goal: Reduce single occupant vehicle trips by county garage parking permit holders by 20% and increase number of employees engaging with our commute website, https://gsa.acgov.org/our-work/initiatives/clean-commute/, by 50%
Highlight: Seeing our parking cash-out program come together has been very rewarding. It's great to see all the planning and testing we have put into it result in a user-friendly program that will nudge commuters to explore options besides driving alone because they can be reimbursed for days they don't use their parking.
Project Poster (PDF - 1023kb) *

Climate Corps at Alameda County 2017-18: In Depth

In 2017-2018, the Alameda County General Services Agency again hosted six Climate Corps Fellows.

Name: Camyle Allen
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Early Care and Education Planning Council
Major Project: Educate children in preschool and child care on how to sort waste, train educators on sustainable facilities management, and create a platform for participants to share best practices
Goal: Increase waste diversion in 30 new centers through engaging lessons and staff training
Highlight: When I found out that I had expanded waste diversion capacity in our region's early care and education system by over 250 gallons in a few months through distribution of free recycling and organic bins, I felt like I was really making a difference.

Name: James Dunn
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Identify funding and financial incentives for climate action, such as rebates for individuals and developers
Goal: Develop a tool to assess climate transition risk in investment portfolios
Highlight: With a cohort of six fellows at Alameda County, we have a unique opportunity to collaborate and support each other on our projects. One particularly rewarding experience was working together to design and host an interactive game for employees to promote waste sorting.
Project Poster  (PDF - 896kb) *

Name: Sam Hill-Cristol
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Logistics Services
Major Project: Determining the most cost-effective strategy to expand electric vehicle charging at the County's central fleet facility, including assessing the results of a three-year "smart charge" pilot project
Goal: Reducing utility bill costs in County fleet facility by 20% while adding more electric vehicles and chargers
Highlight: When I planned a site walk-through of the County's main fleet facility with consultants and electricians, I was pleased that it turned into a two-hour problem-solving session leading to significant progress in the building analysis.
Project Poster  (PDF - 973kb) *

Name: Kevin Horng
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Logistics Services
Major Project: Promote sustainable modes of transportation to County facilities for employees and visitors by expanding commuter programs and improving bike parking
Goal: Increase number of employees using carpool matching service by 50 percent
Highlight: It was very meaningful to collaborate with other teams to create requirements for bike parking at new county buildings, because this is something that will outlast my fellowship term.
Project Poster  (PDF - 1092kb) *

Name: Pallavi Sherikar
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Advise county agencies on how to address the health impacts of climate change on county residents, based on analysis and synthesis of research into best practices for climate change preparedness
Goal: For two workshops, distill research into clear presentations on best practices to address heat and air quality issues
Highlight: After giving a presentation on what urban planners can do to prevent the heat island effect, I was told by a planner that it sounded like I had been doing this work for years. It gives me confidence going into graduate school to know that I have developed the ability to apply a climate lens to varied fields.
Project Poster  (PDF - 974kb) *

Name: Catherine Willett
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Expand compost and recycling program to additional county buildings and design an outreach campaign to help reach our facility waste reduction goal
Goal: Introduce compost and mixed recycling services to 15 county buildings and refresh existing programs in 10 buildings
Highlight: I enjoyed teaching County employees about recycling and composting at the annual health benefits fair. I was pleasantly surprised by how many employees enthusiastically participated in our sorting game.

Climate Corps at Alameda County 2016-17: In Depth

In 2016-2017, the Alameda County General Services Agency again hosted six Climate Corps Fellows.

Name: Natalie Calhoun
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Roll out compost and expanded recycling program to County buildings and research waste reduction strategies for hard-to-recycle items such as mattresses
Goal: Increase employee access to compost in 15 buildings and reduce the amount of recoverable material in the trash overall
Highlight: Designing the initial plans for new outdoor dumpster locations lets me lend a hand in the future of County infrastructure so that I can make a lasting physical mark here. Giving a how-to-recycle training at the animal shelter was a real treat, because I got to play with the cats afterwards!
Project Poster  (PDF - 1.2mb) *

Name: Narayan Gopinathan
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Transportation Services
Major Project: Oversee the implementation of a smart charging program as well as installation of a battery for stationary energy storage, in order to reduce the impacts of electric vehicle charging on the power grid
Goal: Reduce energy demand charges by 20% and building peak electrical demand by 18 kW in a County-owned parking garage
Highlight: A highlight has been learning about the advanced technologies at the forefront of electric transportation technology. These include the use of large batteries in parking garages that can save energy when it is cheapest for use later; smart charging to let electric cars charge when there is the most available energy; and vehicle-to-grid integration, which lets car batteries store energy for the power grid.
Project Poster  (PDF - 819kb) *

Name: Alisa Healy
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Early Care and Education
Major Project: Promote recycling and composting in over 30 additional Alameda County preschools and child care centers through the Green Child Care 4R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot) Education program
Goal: Increase the amount of waste that is recycling and composted by teaching students and staff how to sort waste
Highlight: Reaching the milestone of educating 1000 students. Educating preschool students to develop recycling and composting habits at a young age is especially important because climate change will affect their generation the most. When I see preschool students enjoy sorting their waste into the correct bins, I feel that I helped them learn an important habit that will better their future.
Project Poster  (PDF - 941kb) *

Name: Jacqueline Kha
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Support the strategic redesign of the sustainability intranet site to help County employees access the information they need to work more effectively and sustainably
Goal: Analyze the existing 90-page site, enter streamlined content into the new dynamic site template, and reach 1000 employees in the first months of launch of the new site
Highlight: Learning how to utilize appreciative inquiry for employee interviews was a great tool, and I was able to gain a better understanding of what it's like to be on both sides of an interview.
Project Poster  (PDF - 817kb) *

Name: Alex Sabo
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Transportation Services
Major Project: Launch a new carpool matching website for County employees, and plan and implement clean commute campaigns in Hayward and Oakland
Goal: Support at least 1000 employees to sign up for the County's new carpool matching site, and encourage employees who drive alone to work to switch to clean commute options like taking BART or biking
Highlight: I really enjoyed speaking with employees in person at the annual Employee Health Expo about their commute challenges and being able to offer resources to those who wanted to try out a clean commute like carpooling but didn't know how to start. It felt good to see people light up when they heard that they can try a clean commute like carpooling that also improves their daily commute experience.
Project Poster  (PDF - 1.2mb) *

Name: Liz Shenaut
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Office of Sustainability
Major Project: Develop recommendations based on best practices for managing internal revolving funds in local governments to inform a proposal for a potential county fund for climate action and other innovative projects
Goal: Obtain approval to go forward with establishment of a green revolving fund, which will enable departments to invest in efficient technology by getting help with the upfront costs
Highlight: At a presentation to County executives, my findings were used to answer questions about the initial concept for the revolving fund. I am now working as part of a team including local graduate students to prepare a more detailed proposal for the next presentation.
Project Poster  (PDF - 798kb) *

Climate Corps at Alameda County 2015-16: In Depth

In 2015-2016, the Alameda County General Services Agency hosted six Climate Corps Bay Area Fellows.

Name: Messay Betru
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Transportation Services
Major Project: Oversee the installation and management of a pilot energy storage battery system in order to reduce grid impact from the County's electric vehicle charging stations
Goal: Reduce electricity consumption at least 10% at a major County garage and minimize demand charge costs, which can be up to 40% of an electricity bill
Highlight: I met with potential vendors and evaluated return on investment to identify the best energy storage system. When I presented to the director of our agency on the system we recommended, I knew it was a milestone in my ability to clearly present my findings and gain project approval from executive leaders.
Project Poster  (PDF - 722kb) *

Name: Jessica Byron
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Early Care and Education
Major Project: Expand the Greening Preschools Program to engage child care centers and family child care homes in compost and recycling
Goal: Deliver waste education and technical assistance to 15 new child care centers and 10 new family child care homes
Highlight: Family child care centers tend to receive fewer resources and less support, so they appreciate that we are expanding our program to them. The staff and children at one home even prepared for my upcoming visit as Rocky the Recycling Raccoon by watching Wall-E. On lesson day, it was magical to see how engaged they were in sharing with me what they had already learned and why they were eager to start recycling!

Name: Hana Creger
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Transportation Services
Major Project: Contribute to the multi-year goal of reducing drive-alone commuters by 20% by running campaigns promoting new employee BART shuttles and training employees to become Clean Commute Champions in their workplaces
Goal: Encourage dozens of employees to switch from driving alone to clean commute options like carpooling and taking BART
Highlight: It's been rewarding working on a team to plan and implement our first-ever Community Commutes Day. This is a fun day in the spring when all employees are supported to try a clean commute option and can win prizes for participating.
Project Poster  (PDF - 1.2mb) *

Name: Alice Hewitt
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Sustainability
Major Project: Roll out compost and expanded recycling program to County leased buildings and provide refresher trainings to staff in owned buildings
Goal: Introduce compost collection to 15 new buildings and improve collection rates in 10 buildings with expanded recycling
Highlight: I was so pleased when a new mental health crisis center opened with the appropriate waste bins in place. Because we had worked with the center to select locations for bins to make it easy for staff and clients to use, the center could collect all recyclable and compostable materials from day one. I knew being part of a smooth move-in meant I had played a role in enabling the center staff to focus on providing the care their customers need.
Project Poster  (PDF - 1.2mb) *

Name: Caitlín Murphy
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Sustainability Program
Major Project: Support the implementation of organization-wide outreach campaigns to boost employee participation in sustainability programs, and track resulting progress on Climate Action Plan goals
Goal: Engage 200 employees in planning Green & Healthy events and meetings in order to reduce waste; Provide feedback to 19 agencies on climate action progress in order to foster data-driven decisions
Highlight: When I presented at two training sessions for peers working in the environmental field about how community-based social marketing techniques expanded Green & Healthy events at the County, it was rewarding to hear that several attendees planned to use these techniques to more effectively achieve their communities' climate action targets.
Project Poster  (PDF - 1.4mb) *

Name: Hannah Wiser
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Sustainability Program
Major Project: Make it easier for County employees to find and purchase green products by ensuring that products featured as green on our office supply ordering site meet rigorous environmental specifications
Goal: Develop and implement a "Green Favorites" list of office supply products
Highlight: When I evaluated 600 office supply products, I was delighted to find that 300 met our specifications, which gives employees a broad range of green options.
Project Poster  (PDF - 471kb) *

Climate Corps at Alameda County 2014-15: In Depth

In 2014-2015, the Alameda County General Services Agency again hosted five Climate Corps Bay Area Fellows.

Name: Nicole Gaetjens
Dept: Sustainability Program
Major Project: Develop environmental product and service standards to incorporate into lease agreements for County-operated buildings, ensuring County employees in all buildings enjoy high quality workplaces in terms of health and sustainability
Goal: Pilot environmental standards in three leased buildings
Highlight: When I presented my research and draft environmental standards to the head of the department in charge of leasing, and he expressed his enthusiasm for the project
Project Poster  (PDF - 1mb) *

Name: Debra Halligan
Dept: Sustainability Program
Major Project: Ensure progress on the County's Climate Action Plan by developing visualizations that communicate progress toward meeting sustainability goals
Goal: Provide useful management data to Climate Executive Committee by sharing climate progress dashboard quarterly
Highlight: At the first preview of our climate dashboard, agency heads asked questions, discussed, and seemed very interested in a visualization I made. I felt that my work was effectively communicating both progress and areas for improvement.
Project Poster  (PDF - 2.2mb) *

Name: Natalie Lessa
Dept: Early Care and Education Planning Council
Major Project: Expand Greening Preschools Program through putting in place recycling and composting services and providing staff training and classroom education ( see video)
Goal: Extend services to 25 new preschool facilities, increasing waste diversion by 100 tons annually
Highlight: The greatest reward is teaching three- to five-year-olds how to reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot because that skill and interest will last a lifetime. Plus, their teachers will continue to share their own new knowledge with future children in their classrooms.
Project Poster  (PDF - 1mb) *

Name: Matthew Petrofsky
Dept: Sustainability Program
Major Project: Expand compost and recycling programs to more county facilities and increase existing programs' effectiveness by providing outreach and trainings to staff
Goal: Roll out six new recycling and composting programs at County facilities, changing infrastructure where needed
Highlight: Revising the floor plans of a yet-to-be-remodeled building to add space for and design the needed waste enclosures. It felt great knowing that recycling would be an early consideration in the remodel, not an afterthought.
Project Poster  (PDF - 1.1mb) *

Name: Erica Tan
Dept: Transportation Services
Major Project: Expand employee use of clean commuting resources - such as County BART shuttles, pre-tax commuter benefits, Guaranteed Ride Home, and carpool matching - to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from 9000 employees' daily commutes to work at Alameda County
Goal: Recruit and train 100 employee volunteer Clean Commute Champions to engage fellow co-workers in learning about and taking advantage of clean commuting resources
Highlight: When we launched a new shuttle from BART to County offices at Embarcadero Cove in Oakland in response to employee requests, 45 employees participated in the shuttle outreach campaign. It was wonderful to celebrate with them on the shuttle just days after the new route's launch and hear how excited they were to avoid a long drive and to play their part in keeping our air clean.
Project Poster  (PDF - 1.1mb) *

Climate Corps at Alameda County 2013-14: In Depth

In 2013-2014, the Alameda County General Services Agency hosted five Climate Corps Bay Area Fellows, exposing Millennials to career opportunities in government.

Name: Sam Bliss
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Sustainability Program
Major Project: Measure the complete greenhouse gas emissions from the goods and services Alameda County buys
Goal: Create a "supply chain emissions inventory" that illustrates the full environmental impact of purchasing, identify the areas of highest impact to help prioritize green purchasing efforts, and create a guidebook to assist other public agencies to carry out the same assessment
Highlight: The first time I presented on my findings to County purchasing agents and staff working with community-based organizations, I wasn't sure how engaged they would be by this fairly technical information. I was delighted that everyone was interested to learn more about climate-friendly purchasing. It feels good to know that that my work will be put to use by County staff to carefully consider the upstream impacts of the goods and services they buy.
Project Poster  (PDF - 1.2mb) *

Name: Elliot Goldstein
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Sustainability Program
Major Project: Provide research, project management, and process facilitation support to the 2014 cross-agency teams developing programs to implement the County's Climate Action Plan for Government Services & Operations
Goal: Support teams to engage employees to take advantage of clean commuter benefits, make a video portal promoting alternative work arrangements, launch a Countywide desktop videoconferencing tool, and develop a sustainability dashboard to monitor progress on climate action.
Highlight: At the event to launch the 2014 teams, I was inspired to hear the members of past teams speak about what they had gained from being part of this effort. And when the County Administrator, Susan Muranishi, stressed the importance of sustainability to the County and community that it serves, I felt optimistic that the new teams' programs would be implemented.
Project Poster  (PDF - 846kb) *

Name: Kimberly Hazard
Agency & Dept: GSA, Early Care and Education Planning Council
Major Project: Promote waste reduction and recycling in child care centers and preschools throughout Alameda County
Goal: Improve recycling and waste reduction in 30 child care centers new to the program, divert at least 100 tons of waste from local landfills, and conduct outreach so that Alameda County preschool teachers improve their knowledge of recycling and waste reduction best practices and applicable laws affecting their programs
Highlight: When one provider told me how impressed she was that I, the one person working on the child care greening program, had reached so many children and centers, I was grateful for the opportunity to reach such a wide range of people who might not otherwise receive environmental education. Every time I complete a lesson , whether it is for 20 or 120 children , I know they are then set on a path to be the next generation of environmental stewards.
Project Poster  (PDF - 1.1mb) *

Name: Rachel Om
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Transportation Services
Major Project: Promoting bicycle commuting through outreach campaigns and infrastructure upgrades
Goal: Increase public and employee bike parking options by creating 150 to 200 bike parking spots and expand business travel alternatives by establishing an employee bike fleet
Highlight: In one week, I submitted an order for 18 bike racks and a maintenance station to install in a secure employees-only bike parking cage, submitted a grant application to fund 25 bike racks at County buildings, and finalized the guidebook for safe use of the upcoming employee bike fleet. It was rewarding to take action and feel confident these projects will be effective because they were designed based on my thorough research identifying the best methods of promoting biking to County employees.
Project Poster  (PDF - 892kb) *

Name: Nina Salvador
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Sustainability Program
Major Project: Implement organics (compost) collection and expanded recycling programs at County facilities, and create a toolkit so that other agencies can use our roll-out approach as a model
Goal: Roll out new organics and mixed recycling programs at seven County facilities, and audit the County waste stream to find further opportunities for recycling
Highlight: My favorite roll-out was at the Alameda County Parking Garage (AlcoPark), which many County employees visit daily to check out County vehicles. The paper, mixed recycling, and organics bins that I added there are a great way to promote the County's sustainability goals at a high-traffic location.
Project Poster  (PDF - 1.3mb) *

Climate Corps at Alameda County 2012-13: In Depth

In 2012-2013, the Alameda County General Services Agency hosted five AmeriCorps Members through Climate Corps Bay Area.

Name: Thomas Fenster
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Sustainability Program
Major Project: Implement composting and expand recycling programs at County buildings; run waste reduction campaigns
Goal: Roll out six new compost and recycling programs and run a major waste reduction campaign
Highlight: Exceeding my goal by rolling out composting at 10 new sites and running an agency-wide Ready Set Recycle competition. The competition was fun for both me and the participants and, through education and monitoring, greatly reduced contamination in the recycling stream of the participating buildings.
Project Poster  (PDF - 1.54mb) *

Name: Katherine H.
Agency & Dept: General Services Agency, Transportation Services
Major Project: Promote the adoption of sustainable commutes and business travel alternatives
Goal: Increase awareness of sustainable commute modes by holding multiple Clean Commute Fairs; provide a cleaner transportation option by expanding the employee BART-connector shuttle system to Hayward
Highlight: I designed a Clean Commute Fair to provide employees the resources they need to engage in sustainable commute modes. Attendees enjoyed participating in our scavenger hunt, seeing the iPad app showcase, hearing transit vendor presentations, and receiving free on-site bike tune-ups from a local bicycle technician.
Project Poster  (PDF - 1.60mb) *

Name: Jessica Jetter
Department: Child Care Planning Council
Major Project: Provide outreach and education to Alameda County preschools to help them green their schools
Goal: Assist preschools in rolling out new compost and recycling programs, train teachers and students on the RRRR (reducing, reusing, recycling, and rotting) curriculum, and promote overall greening of preschool sites using the Go Green rating scale
Highlight: A teacher from a school that I worked with to implement a new compost program told me that several parents had shared that their children were asking about the compost bin at home. This showed that the children had not only come to understand the purpose of compost in the classroom but that they were also bringing this knowledge home to their families.
Project Poster  (PDF - 1.29mb) *

Name: Nicole P.
Department: General Services Agency, Sustainability Program
Major Project: Promote recycled-content purchases and paper waste reduction; develop community-based social marketing campaigns, create outreach materials, and track outcomes
Goal: Recruit 25 Green Ambassadors into an official role as grassroots leaders to promote green habits and to help their colleagues conserve resources
Highlight: Successfully recruiting a group of enthusiastic County employees to participate in the Green Ambassadors network pilot. It was great to work with passionate people who truly support sustainability at the County and are willing to step forward to lead the change!
Project Poster  (PDF - 1.76mb) *

Name: Thomas S.
Department: General Services Agency, Administration
Major Project: Regional Renewable Energy Procurement (R-REP)
Goal: To install over 20 megawatts of distributed solar photovoltaic systems at public agencies throughout the Bay Area, facilitating local government agencies to achieve GHG reduction targets
Highlight: Assisting the County team with organizing and evaluating technical data for potential renewable energy sites under consideration for development through R-REP.

Climate Corps at Alameda County 2011-12: In Depth

In 2011-2012, the Alameda County General Services Agency hosted three AmeriCorps Members through Climate Corps Bay Area.

Name: Kayla P.
Department: General Services Agency, Administration
Major Project: Support implementation of the Regional Renewable Energy Procurement Project, an Alameda County-led initiative under which Bay Area public agencies throughout four counties will collaborate on purchasing renewable energy systems
Goal: Assist 20 to 30 agencies to cost-effectively deploy 20 to 40 megawatts of renewable energy on public facilities
Highlight: I am proud that my stakeholder engagement efforts as project manager of the R-REP are enabling us to meet our goals. As of May 2012, we estimate that the project will result in up to 50 megawatts of renewable energy at public facilities in the Bay Area.

Name: Will Q.
Department: General Services Agency, Sustainability Program
Major Project: Promote sustainable purchasing and waste reduction initiatives among County employees
Goal: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions through community-based social marketing and sustainability communications
Highlight: I designed and distributed a sticker that is posted in restrooms to encourage employees to take fewer paper towels. The County's Art Commission commented on its design savvy and encouraging message, and some employees have started taking other green actions at work because of the reminder.

Name: Jeff R.
Department: General Services Agency, Transportation Services
Major Project: Promote carpooling and clean commuting to the workplace
Goal: Reduce the number of single occupancy vehicles commuting to work by signing up over 1000 employees to Zimride, Alameda County's carpool network
Highlight: Creating the first-ever "March Madness" carpool tournament where sixteen agencies competed for the highest percent of employees registering to carpool. The awards were given at a Golden State Warriors game, giving participants a fun event to reward significant GHG reductions.

AmeriCorps at Alameda County 2010-11: In Depth

In 2010-2011, Alameda County hosted seven AmeriCorps Members in its General Services and Community Development agencies. These Members provided their volunteer energy to increase community awareness of climate change, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, save energy, and promote job opportunities for at-risk youth. Six of these members were part of the ground-breaking new AmeriCorps service program, Climate Corps Bay Area, which received grant funding from California Volunteers. The seventh member was part of the New Sector Alliance's Residency in Social Enterprise.

Climate Corps Bay Area

Name: Leigh B.
Department: General Services Agency, Transportation Services
Major Project: Support expansion of Clean Commute Program to encourage employees to walk, bike, take public transportation, or carpool to work
Goal: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the environmental impact of employee commutes
Highlight: I conducted a research project on local government employee commute programs. By corresponding with over 30 program leaders across the nation, I gained insight into employee commute program barriers and successes that we are using to shape the design of our program.

Name: Jason D.
Department: Community Development Agency, Neighborhood Preservation and Sustainability
Major Project: Perform energy efficiency assessments in homes to support the County's Weatherization Assistance Program for low-income residents
Goal: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions through helping low-income households to become more energy efficient, save on energy bills, and improve their level of comfort and indoor air quality
Highlight: When my first potential client met with me and recounted all the issues in her home, I was so grateful for the extensive technical training we received. It feels great to know that the work I am now able to do will help her and her family every day.

Name: Jon G.
Department: General Services Agency, Sustainability Program
Major Project: Assist with rolling out compost collection and expanded recycling program in County buildings
Goal: Achieve greenhouse gas emissions reductions by decreasing materials sent to landfill
Highlight: I had the opportunity to collaborate with another Member on recycling outreach. Together, we redesigned recycling outreach materials and planned pilots of several different community-based social marketing strategies to test which approaches most increase recycling and composting rates.

Name: Rieko N.
Department: Community Development Agency, Neighborhood Preservation & Sustainability Department
Major Project: Perform energy efficiency assessments in homes to support the County's Weatherization Assistance Program for low-income residents
Goal: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions through helping low-income households to become more energy efficient, save on energy bills, and improve their level of comfort and indoor air quality
Highlight: It's exciting for me to build my understanding of how government works. Recently, I read an article about a federal aid program, then discovered that that the county program I work on has aligned its standards with this federal aid program, showing me how important it is for policy-makers at all levels to consider how policies interact across agencies.

Name: Lou R.
Department: General Services Agency, Sustainability Program
Major Project: Support development of employee outreach initiatives to promote green workplace practices
Goal: To provide County employees with opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and waste in their workplaces
Highlight: I assisted with the design and analysis of a County employee survey on sustainability in the workplace, to which we received over 1800 completed surveys. I analyzed responses to several open-ended questions, gaining unique insight into some of the challenges faced by County employees. I was encouraged by the excitement many employees expressed about green initiatives.

Name: David S.
Department: Community Development Agency, Neighborhood Preservation & Sustainability Department
Major Project: Perform energy efficiency assessments in homes to support the County's Weatherization Assistance Program for low-income residents
Goal: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions through helping low-income households to become more energy efficient, save on energy bills, and improve their level of comfort and indoor air quality
Highlight: At a monthly training hosted by our parent program, Climate Corps Bay Area, I introduced other AmeriCorps members to weatherization and home energy assessments. The response of other Climate Corps members to my presentation reminded me of our work's potential to not only combat climate change but also improve the quality of life for the County residents we work with.

New Sector Residency in Social Enterprise

Name: Ben P.
Department: General Services Agency, Administration
Major Project: Research, recommend, and begin implementation of refresh to New Beginnings strategy and programming
Goal: Collaborate with New Beginnings Committee to expand youth job training and creative development program
Highlight: Along with a co-worker, I planned and led a strategic retreat with the County Administrator and several department heads to refine the mission, vision, and strategic direction of the New Beginnings Program.