Host: City of Redmond
Region: Washington
Openings: 1
Project Focus: Climate Mitigation, Energy Efficiency, Transportation / Mobility
Skills Needed: Project Management, Research, Stakeholder Engagement, Technical Writing, Critical Thinking, Self-Motivated

Service Needs & Plans

During the fellowship year, the Fellow will support multiple initiatives in support of the City’s Environmental Sustainability Action Plan. Specific initiatives include: 1) the development of a comprehensive EV roadmap to guide the city’s public and fleet EV initiatives; 2) outreach efforts to activate the community around climate and sustainability actions; and 3) advancing additional priorities including tree canopy expansion efforts, existing building outreach energy efficiency programming, and data tracking and reporting.

The CivicSpark Fellow will work with the Sustainability Program Manager in the Mayor’s Office at the City of Redmond. The City’s Community Strategic Plan and the Comprehensive Plan update (currently underway) both hold DEI and sustainably as core pillars for the Redmond community. To support these efforts, the city adopted a comprehensive Environmental Sustainability Action Plan in September 2020, which guides Redmond’s path to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050 and improve the health of its natural resources.

Project Description

The Fellow will support three core elements of cross-departmental work as it relates to the City’s sustainability programming.

• EV Roadmap. The Fellow will assist the Sustainability Manager in evaluating the City’s current EV programming and infrastructure and support the development of a comprehensive strategy to guide the City’s work moving forward. Redmond passed a Climate Emergency Declaration which commits the City to electrify its fleet as quickly as feasible. The City also has multiple public EV charging stations. The project will include research and analysis that outlines baseline conditions, electric vehicle readiness strategies for Redmond, implementation of strategies to support expansion of the City’s EV fleet, and advancing opportunities to increase infrastructure in the city.

• Outreach and Engagement. The Fellow will lead outreach and engagement efforts including the Eastside Climate Challenge, support of the city’s energy efficiency programing for small businesses and low- and moderate-income community members, and/or internal staff engagement. Outreach will include both online and social media as well as in-person events to engage residents and businesses. The prospective Fellow will play a leading role in engaging the Redmond community to become involved in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

• Other: The Fellow will have the opportunity – based on interests, experience, and skill sets – to engage in other key efforts in support of the City’s Environmental Sustainability Action Plan implementation efforts. Possible projects include tree canopy expansion efforts, data tracking and reporting, and energy benchmarking.

The ideal Fellow will be self-starters and be able to complete complicated tasks while also understanding when to ask for help. They should also be passionate and able to face hard problems and take on daunting challenges.

Desired Skills

The ideal Fellow will have strong research, data analysis, and communication skills, along with an understanding of the role local governments can play in promoting climate change and equity-related priorities. The ability to simply and clearly explain the results of thorough, well-documented research will be key, as will the ability to work with a wide range of staff and engaged members of the public.

The ideal Fellow will also be adaptable, with good communication and prioritization skills.

Organization & Community Highlights

The City of Redmond is located in the scenic and economically important region between the Cascade mountain range and the Puget Sound, at the north end of Lake Sammamish. Redmond is approximately 17 square miles and lies 15 miles east of Seattle and is the terminus of SR 520. The city boasts a high quality of life, good schools, a healthy economic base, a robust park system providing multiple active and passive recreational activities, diverse options for shopping and dining, safe neighborhoods, and a balance for quality development while protecting the natural environment. Redmond is also home to many important national technology and biomedical companies.

Remote or On-Site Placement

Hybrid