Niko Hartline
Safe Routes Coordinator
Burlingame School District
An avid bicyclist, Niko recently graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara where he studied Environmental Sciences and Economics. As a CCBA Fellow, Niko is working on Safe Routes to School, which encourages students to safely walk or bike to school instead of using motorized transportation.

Niko has been working to implement 10-day bike classes with Taylor Middle School in the Millbrae School District, as a permanent part of their PE program. He also recently lead a bicycle skills training, teaching over 100 children how to ride safely and confidently on the roads around their schools.

Niko has taken a bicycling-focused approach at the two school districts he oversees in the Safe Routes to School program. “I hope to raise low bicycling participation rates and encourage bicycling as a lifelong mode of transportation among the students. Together we can contribute to long-term reductions in carbon emissions and increase physical fitness,” says Niko.

Kristen Williams
Restoration Technician
Acterra Stewardship
Kristen graduated from UCLA with a degree in Geography/Environmental Studies and has since been working in the horticulture field. She is currently a restoration technician at Acterra Stewardship, a non-profit that restores and enhances local ecosystems through the help of volunteers. 

Kristen's efforts are focused around two restoration sites, Permanente Creek in Mountain View, and The Bay Trail in East Palo Alto. Along with organizing community volunteers to remove noxious invasive species and replacing them with native vegetation, local students visit these sites to learn about the importance of cleaning up our watersheds and the components of a healthy ecosystem. "My goal is to create sustainable watersheds while educating those that live in them through hands on involvement," says Kristen. Kristen looks forward to continuing work in the field once the Climate Corps fellowship is over as she has finally found the balance of people, plants, and sustainability she has been looking for.

Cassidy Anton
Zero Waste Programs Assistant
City of San Rafael

With a background in ecological conservation and environmental outreach, Cassidy finds joy in educating people how to be better stewards of the planet. As Zero Waste Programs Assistant in San Rafael Cassidy is helping the community reach their ambitious zero waste goals by reducing plastic bag waste, increasing recycling participation, and introducing new recycling services.

One zero waste strategy Cassidy leads is recycling workshops. He has seen an impressive growth in recycling participation rates from 20-50% at tenants properties that only began a recycling program a month ago. In addition, he has successfully started material recycling services and is now prepared to roll out the new organics recycling service to over 100 tenants in multi-family dwellings.  “Legislation and sustainability goals across the nation are driving haulers to start recycling food scraps in multi-family dwellings, so I’m thrilled to be on the ground floor of designing the outreach for this new service,” says Cassidy.

Cassidy aspires to excel in a career of leading environmental projects, and believes the skills he has gained in turning education into behavioral change and managing multiple projects simultaneously are invaluable additions to his repertoire.  

Jennifer Kreutzer
Green Home & Solar Advisor
Community Energy Services Corporation

Jenn graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Environmental Engineering Science. As a CCBA fellow, Jenn is partnered with Community Energy Services Corporation, a non-profit based out of Berkeley, where she is working with the SmartSolar and SmartLights programs to build sustainable communities through education on solar and energy efficiency technologies.

For the SmartSolar program, Jenn has provided numerous East Bay residents with free solar assessments and education on the feasibly of solar as a renewable energy source for their home. “I love being an unbiased and independent source of information to help support homeowners to understand their solar potential without trying to push a sale. It is very rewarding to help the community become more sustainable and understand the benefits of solar,” says Jenn.

As the CCBA fellowship program moves forward, Jenn is excited to assume the leadership role with the SmartSolar program as her supervisor goes on a three month sabbatical. After CCBA comes to a close, she hopes to secure a position with a firm that will further her experience in developing sustainable communities and promoting energy efficiency technologies. 

Kim Hazard
Greening Preschools Coordinator
Alameda County General Services Agency

Kim graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.S. in Society and Environment and a City and Regional Planning minor.
 
Kim is working for Alameda County’s Early Care and Education Planning Council as the Greening Preschools Coordinator. "I promote waste reduction and recycling in preschools and child care centers throughout the County. So far, I've trained over 300 preschoolers how to do the 4Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rot) and I'm looking forward to several more recycling program roll-outs," says Kim. 

Kim is currently developing strategies for parent engagement to build a bridge between waste reduction at home and at preschool. She is also excited to begin creating a green purchasing guide for early care and education settings to help providers make healthier, safer and more sustainable product choices.
 
After the program year, Kim looks forward to using her experiences with engaging the child care community to promote environmentally just and sustainable urban communities.

Jack Dunigan
Sustainability Specialist
City of Cupertino

Jack graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in Environmental Economics & Policy. As a CCBA Fellow, Jack is working with the City of Cupertino and their GreenBiz Program, and has launched a new GreenBiz program with the Chamber of Commerce in Mountain View. In this role Jack consults with businesses in Mountain View and Cupertino who wish to pursue their green business certification.

“I want to help communities replicate our program and engage their small business community. Our program has been successful in part because local business leaders care deeply about their community and their environment,” says Jack. The GreenBiz program is taking a new turn as a part of the ICLEI Green Business Challenge, which will begin to roll out in the coming months.

After CCBA Jack hopes to further develop his business development skills and energy efficiency knowledge in a corporate social responsibility or sustainability management role.

Amy has a BS in Conservation and Resource Studies from UC Berkeley, with a background in energy efficiency and sustainability programs. She joined CCBA as the Outreach Coordinator for Acterra's Green@Home program. Amy works with community members and volunteers from Palo Alto, Mountain View, Cupertino, and Sunnyvale to implement residential energy efficiency and water conservation programs.

Amy is currently leading outreach initiatives in Santa Clara County, including facilitation of community workshops, organization of  volunteer events, and communication with city and neighborhood leaders. To further involve Acterra volunteers and board members, Amy recently developed a specialized Outreach Training to prepare participants to table for Earth Month. 

Amy says, “the high tech, high touch aspects of Green@Home's programs are innovative because we combine the advantages of data analysis software with the benefits of personal assistance to maximize household energy savings. Although the program will continue after the end of my term, I hope I can help the Green@Home team confirm the value of this two-pronged approach.” 

On April 2 CCBA toured Facebook's campus in Menlo Park and learned about their innovative energy and sustainability work. Thank you for having us!