Host: City of Berkeley
Region: Bay Area
Openings: 1
Project Focus: Affordable Housing, Climate Adaptation, Climate Mitigation, Energy Efficiency, Public Health, Renewable Energy, Transportation / Mobility
Skills Needed: Community Engagement, Project Management, Community Outreach, Stakeholder Engagement, Flexibility / Adaptability, Teamwork

Service Needs & Plans

The Fellow will work in the City of Berkeley’s Office of Energy & Sustainable Development (OESD). OESD leads Berkeley’s sustainability efforts to reach the City’s ambitious Climate Action Plan and fossil fuel-free goals, and efforts to advance community resilience. OESD strives to help Berkeley residents, businesses and city government create a healthy, equitable, and safe community. OESD coordinates with multiple city departments to monitor and track CAP implementation and metrics, and advances climate mitigation efforts including clean energy, electric mobility, energy efficiency, and green building related policies, as well as equitable climate adaptation and resilience initiatives.

The Fellow will increase capacity of OESD staff to support successful implementation of two pilot projects, the Climate Equity Pilot Programs (CEPP) and Home Electrification Equity Project (HEEP). Both CEPP and HEEP provide a variety of resilience benefits (building upgrades, increased access to electric mobility, and other resilience measures) to low-income, BIPOC and other underserved communities. The Fellow will play a key role in providing critical coordination across projects, teams, and a variety of community stakeholders.

Both the CEPP and HEEP projects address climate inequities by engaging frontline communities that are hit first and worst by climate change. The CEPP specifically seek to elevate voices of historically marginalized communities to co-create climate and resilience solutions. The HEEP utilizes data-driven targeting to serve low-income homeowners and support energy resilience.

Project Description

Project 1: Climate Equity Pilot Programs (CEPP): In 2021 the Berkeley City Council approved $600,000 for a two-year Climate Equity Pilot Program to promote building and transportation electrification for low-income residents, and to elevate the voices of historically marginalized community members to co-create climate and resilience solutions. The Climate Equity Pilot Program builds off of the Electric Mobility Roadmap and Existing Buildings Electrification Strategy to ensure all community members can transition to a fossil fuel-free future and benefit from clean and affordable energy, healthy, safe and comfortable homes, and a carbon neutral transportation system that supports active transportation.

During the second year of the pilot, the Civic Spark Fellow will support implementation across three separate project areas: 1) Resilient Home Retrofits; 2) Electric Mobility Access; and 3) Community Electrification Engagement. The Fellow’s role will include:
•Support community engagement, outreach and events
•Support program implementation and deliverables
•Support coordination and relationship development across multiple stakeholders
•Support data collection and evaluation

Project 2: Home Electrification Equity Project (HEEP): In 2022, ICLEI in partnership with Google.org awarded $1M to the Home Electrification Equity Project (HEEP), through which Habitat for Humanity is helping develop data-driven targeting to serve low-income homeowners with holistic electrification, while supporting energy resilience in Berkeley, Fremont, Hayward, and Oakland. Other partners include California State University East Bay, Rebuilding Together, and GRID Alternatives. Grants will make holistic electrification upgrades and key repairs – preventing displacement, preserving our affordable housing stock, and strengthening both our neighborhoods and our energy infrastructure (more information here). The CivicSpark fellow role may include:
•Support project coordination across the various parties involved in the grant – including cities, non-profit organizations, and CSUEB
•Support data gathering on local building stock to inform data tool being developed by CSUEB
•Help to identify eligible potential buildings to participate in the program
•Help develop program evaluation processes
•Help coordinate meetings (virtual, and potentially in-person), as needed

Across both projects, the Fellow will support various deliverables (i.e., meetings, trainings, convenings, evaluation reports, etc.) The Fellow’s coordinating role among multiple stakeholders will help ensure that the target communities are receiving effective climate and resilience solutions.

Desired Skills

The ideal candidate is passionate about climate change and equity, has strong communication, outreach, public speaking and organizational skills, and an ability and desire to work with diverse populations. Fellows need not have content expertise, but rather the desire to learn about topics such as sustainable transportation, electric vehicles and micromobility, building electrification, energy efficiency, and the nexus of health and climate. The ideal candidate is a collaborative team player, and is comfortable managing tasks from multiple complex projects, coordinating across multiple staff members and organizations, and effective at clearly communicating any questions or needs. As both projects are pilots, the ideal candidate is flexible and adaptable as program needs and priorities may shift.

Additional desired skills include second language proficiency, graphic design, and web communications.

Organization & Community Highlights

The City of Berkeley, located in the East Bay across from San Francisco and home to the University of California, is famous for its progressive politics and environmental leadership. Berkeley’s community is diverse, racially, ethnically and socioeconomically, and includes many foreign-born residents. With both a high concentration of academics and unhoused residents, the disparities in educational attainment, wealth, and housing are striking. Yet, there is an engaged community eager to explore bold solutions to a range of social and environmental problems.

Living in or around Berkeley is both challenging and rewarding. The City and government offices are served by public transportation (BART train and bus), and many City employees and residents enjoy biking or walking to work. The cost of living is high. There is a large student population, so competition for affordable housing can be challenging. On the other hand, Berkeley provides a diverse range of cultural (music, museums, dance, food, etc.) and outdoor and recreational opportunities, with its proximity to many regional parks.

The City of Berkeley’s Office of Energy & Sustainable Development (OESD) is a small, close-knit team within the City’s much larger Planning Department. OESD works on a variety of climate mitigation and resiliency programs, with a focus on equitable outcomes for our community. OESD has hosted five CivicSpark members previously, and all have gone on to exciting positions, including one alum who was hired by the City to lead our building energy efficiency and climate inventory efforts. At OESD, the Fellow will gain insight into the unique role of local governments in the climate arena, while having the opportunity to learn about and contribute to a range of projects that will provide professional development opportunities. The Fellow will be encouraged to participate in meetings, webinars, and other training opportunities to develop subject matter expertise and understanding of the policies, programs, barriers and strategies to advance equitable climate solutions. Additionally, the Fellow will gain mastery in effective communication, facilitation and community-driven outreach, and experience working in a diverse community with a range of stakeholders.

Remote or On-Site Placement

Hybrid