Host: City of Alameda
Region: Bay Area
Openings: 1
Project Focus: Climate Adaptation, Climate Mitigation
Skills Needed: Community Engagement, Project Management, Community Outreach, Technical Writing, Detail-Oriented, Self-Motivated

Service Needs & Plans

The City of Alameda strives to be a leader in climate action and resilience. The City’s first Sustainability and Resilience Manager was hired in 2021, new programs are being launched, and new policies are being adopted. Through adoption of its award-winning Climate Action and Resiliency Plan (CARP) in 2019, Alameda has set an ambitious goal of reducing emissions by 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 and becoming carbon neutral as soon as possible. The CARP charts a course to achieve this goal through improvements to transportation, buildings, energy use, and waste management. If we are successful, we will reduce Alameda’s greenhouse gas emissions, increase quality of life, and build a resilient, thriving city.

As we accelerate CARP implementation, there is great need and opportunity for a Fellow to provide creative input and leadership to shape future programs and initiatives. The Fellow will report to the Sustainability and Resilience Manager and will be supported by staff and department heads in many departments, as well as engaged community groups who will all be eager to support and mentor the Fellow as they do their work.

The role of the Fellow will be to expand the capacity of the sustainability and resilience program to take bold action, rooted in equity and community resilience, and to reduce our GHG emissions through decarbonization of transportation and buildings, sequestering carbon through expanding the urban forest and adapting to sea level rise and other climate hazards.

Specifically, the Fellow will work to complete and implement the City’s Urban Forest Plan, which is currently in development and seeks to equitably increase tree canopy across the city and provide the benefits of a healthy urban forest to all residents. The Fellow will also work to implement the Equitable Building Decarbonization Plan adopted in 2022 and increase adoption of electric vehicles, support implementation of EV charging in rental and multi-family properties and support the expansion of public EV charging on city-owned properties.

The Fellow will also support implementation of $3.34 million in long-range sea level rise adaptation projects being led by the City of Alameda on behalf of the San Leandro Bay/Oakland-Alameda Estuary Adaptation Working Group. The Working Group is a coalition of shoreline communities and stakeholders working to co-create a coordinated and inclusive future-looking action plan and subregional organizational structure to accelerate sea level rise adaptation, protect and restore water quality, recreation, habitat, and promote community resilience.

Project Description

The Fellow will focus on planning, programs, outreach, education, and policy development to support Alameda’s goals of decarbonizing the transportation and building sectors, sequestering carbon through enhancing the urban forest and adapting to sea level rise and other climate driven hazards. With Alameda Municipal Power providing 100% clean energy to all customers, the stage is set for a transition to an all-electric future. Alameda has adopted an Equitable Building Decarbonization Plan in partnership with AMP and is beginning implementation of priority actions to equitably electrify all existing buildings in Alameda. The roadmap provides a phased approach that includes new policies, financing options, expanded rebates, and community education and outreach. The roadmap aligns with other citywide efforts to create affordable, safe, healthy and resilient housing. The role of the Fellow will be to implement priority initiatives, including community education and outreach and pilot projects. This fellow may also work on related efforts to seismically retrofit older multi-family residential buildings.

As funding increasingly becomes available to support public EV charging, Alameda is also looking to increase the availability of EV charging citywide. We believe expanded public charging is key to increasing adoption of EVs and supporting renters and multi-family dwellers who have more difficulty installing home EV charging. Staff anticipates receiving funding for a number of EV charging projects in 2023 and the Fellow will support implementation of these projects and coordinating with Alameda Municipal Power to provide additional resources and support to multi-family and commercial property owners to install additional chargers on their properties.

Alameda is increasingly focused on adapting to a changing climate by equitably preparing for sea level rise and other climate related hazards and expanding our ability to sequester carbon already in the atmosphere. In 2021, staff convened the San Leandro Bay/Oakland-Alameda Estuary Adaptation Working Group comprised more than 30 agencies, jurisdictions and community organizations to coordinate flood and adaptation projects to protect and restore water quality, habitat, and community resilience. The Fellow will support implementation of $4.14 million in grant funds to develop a long-range shoreline adaptation plan and shorter shoreline projects in partnership with community partners and stakeholder agencies.

The Fellow may also support implementation of the city’s Urban Forest Plan expected to be completed in late 2023. The plan seeks to grow the urban forest and select water efficient, shade-producing, fire-resistant tree species adapted to Alameda’s changing climate. The plan will also focus on ensuring an equitable tree canopy distribution to protect from extreme heat and air pollutants. This Fellow may also work on sequestration projects related to compost and mulch application, wetlands restoration and implementation of other priority adaptation projects.

Throughout the service year, the Fellow will support deep community engagement and education for various projects and support data collection and communication of our progress towards achieving CARP goals through the 2023 annual report and dashboard.

Desired Skills

The ideal Fellow is a self-starter who is passionate, creative, critical thinker who has a strong understanding of the root causes of social inequity and is dedicated to inclusive community engagement and creating sustainability and resilience solutions that achieve equitable outcomes. Attention to detail, strong analytical and writing skills are key. Interest in planning, policy development and analysis, public outreach, clear communication, marketing, and the ability to juggle multiple project demands at once will all be important. This position has the rare opportunity to work closely with multiple department heads and high-quality work products will be expected. The Fellow will also be expected to take a high level of initiative and work independently on projects. In turn, the Fellow will have the opportunity to work on interesting and complex problems and can expect high quality mentorship and experience with a city at the front lines of climate impacts.

Organization & Community Highlights

Alameda’s relatively flat geography, and compact urban form make it particularly conducive to biking and walking. Some of the city’s highlights include a 3-mile beach, stunning views of San Francisco, and lots of sunshine tempered by a cooling Bay breeze. The community is diverse and very family friendly. Just over half of the population are renters, and just over half are people of color, with Asians being the largest group after whites.

Alameda has a strong sense of community connection and local pride. Alamedans are enthusiastic about climate action and focused on adapting to the rising seas threatening the city. Many community organizations are actively involved in a variety of aspects of climate action and adaptation. Both city government and the community are focused on living out our unofficial motto, “everyone belongs here”. That commitment takes many forms across the community and has catalyzed the community to declare itself a sanctuary city, setting up an alternative mental health response team, and being the first city to pay a Shuumi Land Tax to participate in rematriation of land to Indigenous people.

Alameda’s livability, access to recreation, compact urban design, and central location make it an ideal place for a Fellow to stay. Previous Fellows have also stayed in nearby Berkeley, Oakland and Walnut Creek during their service year. Alameda is easily accessible from those cities by bike, ferry, bus, and train. Alameda is in the center of the 9-county Bay Area, meaning that a wealth of recreational and professional development opportunities are easily accessible.

As a microcosm of the Bay Area’s resilience and sustainability challenges and a leader in climate action, Alameda is a fascinating place to work. The City of Alameda is a welcoming, diverse and supportive place to work and the Fellow will have many opportunities to work with a wide range of professionals across many different departments as well as with the community.

The island city is both small enough that a motivated Fellow can make a meaningful impact in 10 months and large enough to be dynamic and exciting.

Remote or On-Site Placement

Hybrid