Host: Town of Truckee
Region: Northern California
Openings: 1
Project Focus: Climate Mitigation, Energy Efficiency, Waste Management
Skills Needed: Community Engagement, Research, Data Analysis, Stakeholder Engagement, Communication, Critical Thinking

Service Needs & Plans

The Town of Truckee is a mountain community inextricably connected to the outdoor world and dedicated to fostering a sustainable community. True to its entrepreneurial and progressive spirit, Truckee has embarked on climate action and resilience efforts to build a strong community in the face of climate change. The CivicSpark Fellow would assist the Town’s Sustainability Division, Keep Truckee Green, in implementing key climate action and waste reduction programs.

The Town has adopted ambitious climate action goals and is developing new policies and programs in collaboration with local partners. The Fellow will assist the Town in conducting an updated greenhouse gas inventory and support development and implementation of building decarbonization programs to reduce emissions. The Fellow will also help implement policies to reduce waste from single-use items and support a cultural shift towards reusable items, with the goal of reducing litter and landfilled waste in our community.

Project Description

(1) Conduct Community and Municipal Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Working closely with the Keep Truckee Green team and regional partners, the Fellow will conduct updated community and municipal greenhouse gas inventories for the Town of Truckee and prepare a report summarizing key sources of GHG emissions and changes from previous inventories. Previous experience conducting GHG inventories is not necessary; Keep Truckee Green staff can provide necessary training on GHG inventory methodologies and guide the Fellow through this process. However, strong quantitative data analysis skills are essential to success in this task. With support from Town staff, the Fellow will be the lead on collecting data, calculating GHG emissions, and preparing a report summarizing the findings. The updated GHG inventory for the Town of Truckee will help assess the Town’s progress towards meeting its climate action goals and inform the development of climate action programs to address the major sources of GHG emissions in both the community of Truckee and the Town’s municipal operations.

(2) Support Building Decarbonization Programs

The largest source of GHG emissions in the Town of Truckee is building energy use, and the Keep Truckee Green team is currently developing programs to reduce these emissions from existing buildings. These programs may include measures such as weatherization, energy efficiency, and electrification with a focus on equitably decarbonizing both residential and commercial buildings throughout the Truckee community. The Fellow will support the development and implementation of building decarbonization programs, which may include research into similar programs in other jurisdictions, analysis of relevant program data, and stakeholder engagement in the community (residents, business owners, contractors, etc.). Depending on the stage of development of these programs, the focus of this project may be more on research or stakeholder engagement. The Fellow will also assist Town staff in collecting and analyzing energy use data and other key program metrics to assess the success of these programs in reducing GHG emissions in the Truckee community.

(3) Support Single-Use Item Reduction Programs

The Fellow will assist Keep Truckee Green in implementing new policies and programs designed to reduce the use of disposable items in Truckee. The Town has adopted a foodware ordinance to reduce the use of disposable foodware in Truckee, with several measures going into effect January 1, 2024. Additionally, the Town is considering regulating the sale of bottled water or other beverages in single-use containers to further reduce the use of disposable food packaging. Implementation of these policies will require education and outreach to the business community, members of the public, and visitors. The Fellow will assist with developing communication materials, conducting one-on-one outreach and technical assistance to business owners and employees, and collecting data to evaluate the effect of the new policies. Efforts will include working with partner organizations to help with outreach, including the Truckee Chamber of Commerce and Visit Truckee-Tahoe, the local tourism bureau. The Town of Truckee also operates the only jurisdiction-run reusable foodware program, which allows customers to purchase a reusable takeout container for $5 and bring it back to any participating restaurant to exchange when ordering a takeout meal. As part of engaging with restaurants, the Fellow will aim to increase participation in the reusable green box program and monitor the program’s success. Resources developed will include a summary of performance data collected from businesses (disposable items reduced, number of businesses participating in the green box program, etc.) as well as tracking the outreach and engagement activities conducted.

Desired Skills

The Fellow’s projects will involve a significant amount of engagement with the local business community and Town of Truckee staff across departments and programs. The Fellow will be tasked with clearly communicating policy and program goals to local businesses, and will require strong communication and interpersonal skills. The Fellow should be enthusiastic about GHG reduction and zero waste programs and should be confident in their ability to respectfully and effectively engage with all segments of the community on complicated and sometimes controversial topics. Ability to speak Spanish is a plus.

Some of the projects also require quantitative data analysis skills. The Fellow will be tasked with tracking the success of climate action and zero waste programs developed, and should have strong organizational skills. Basic knowledge of building decarbonization programs such as energy efficiency, electrification, and/or weatherization is helpful, but not required.

Organization & Community Highlights

Located in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Lake Tahoe, Truckee is recognized for its year-round outdoor recreation and its extraordinary natural environment. Truckee maintains a “small town” character and engaged community, while it is also a popular visitor destination. Surrounded by lakes, world-class ski areas, hiking and mountain biking trails, and only 30 minutes from the city of Reno, NV and 3 hours from the Bay Area, Truckee is a fantastic place to live, work and play!

At the Town of Truckee, you will work with a lively team of professionals who value a “work hard, play hard” work ethic. Fellows will have an opportunity to develop professional project management, research, and outreach skills while making an impact on significant community priorities. We value that our work contributes to the betterment of the community. Our elected Town Council has identified Workforce Housing, Greenhouse Gas Reduction, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as three of its top priorities and the Town’s CivicSpark fellows will work directly to support these focus areas. Because we are a small town (population: 17,000) with a relatively small and flat Town government organization, your work will have a measurable and meaningful community impact. Our past CivicSpark fellows have had opportunities to meet regularly with Town leadership, present their work at city council meetings, and to represent the Town with external stakeholders and community events.

Town of Truckee staff and decision-makers embrace a set of operating principles known colloquially as “The Truckee Way,” which means that we will approach issues with creativity, innovation, and encourage the free exchange of ideas and information through open and honest communication with the community. Over the past two years, the Town has embraced a Council priority of “community cohesion,” and our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion directly supports this goal. Demonstrating this commitment, in 2022 the Town of Truckee was one of the first communities our size to hire a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Program Manager. In 2023 we will be developing our first DEI action plan. Equity work has always been at the core of our sustainability and housing programs, and is interwoven into Climate Ready Truckee, the 2019 climate adaptation plan, which informed the Town’s Climate Action element. Building on those efforts, the DEI program manager is working closely with community partners, particularly with Latinx leaders, to ensure the Town has meaningful engagement with our historically underserved populations.

Remote or On-Site Placement

On-site