Valley Water: County-Wide Watershed Master Plan Implementation (Bay Area)
Organization: Santa Clara Valley Water District
Openings: 1
Work Schedule: Hybrid, 4 days in office (Mon-Thur)
Project Description:
This mission of the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and consumer energy costs by advancing clean energy, energy efficiency and zero emission vehicles to benefit all Coloradans. We do this by developing and implementing highly impactful policies and programs, establishing Colorado as a leading state for climate action. The Colorado Energy Office is a great place to work, with collaborative and talented employees who are passionate about our mission.
This project will support Valley Water in translating its completed watershed master plans into a coordinated, actionable implementation strategy. The Fellow will help strengthen long-term planning and decision-making around flood protection, creek infrastructure, watershed health, and climate resilience across Santa Clara County.
Project Needs & Goals
-Develop a County-Wide Implementation Roadmap: Consolidate recommendations from five watershed master plans into a coordinated work plan with priorities across 10-, 30-, and 50-year planning horizons.
-Prioritize Watershed & Infrastructure Projects: Help identify and sequence projects that reduce flood risk, maintain reliable creek infrastructure, improve habitat and water quality, and increase climate resilience.
-Strengthen Data & Planning Resources: Organize watershed information and develop maps, data summaries, and other tools to support project prioritization and decision-making.
-Identify Funding & Partnership Opportunities: Research potential grants, funding sources, and partnerships that can help advance priority watershed projects.
-Improve Regional Coordination: Support collaboration with cities, community organizations, funding agencies, and other partners involved in watershed planning and implementation.
-Increase Organizational Capacity: Expand Valley Water’s ability to translate existing plans into actionable projects and coordinate long-term implementation across programs and departments.
-Support Transparent Decision-Making: Develop clear and accessible planning resources that help communicate priorities, timelines, and implementation strategies to partners and communities.
Advancing Building Energy & Water Efficiency in San José (Bay Area)
Organization: City of San Jose
Openings: 1
Work Schedule: Hybrid, 3 days in office, (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)
Project Description:
The City’s Climate Smart San José team facilitates the City’s climate action efforts under the Climate Smart San José plan and Pathway to Carbon Neutrality by 2030. The team strives to create equitable, climate-resilient, and carbon-neutral communities.
– In 2018, the City of San José voted to adopt the Energy and Water Building Performance Ordinance (BPO). This ordinance builds on existing state law (CA Assembly Bill 802) and supports the City’s greenhouse gas emission reduction and water conservation goals under Climate Smart San José.
– The Fellow will expand workforce capacity for the Climate Smart San José team by communicating with building owners and operations staff and managing reporting data to ensure compliance.
– The Fellow will also support additional community engagement and education efforts.
– This work to improve energy and water efficiency as well as support broader community engagement efforts is critical to community planning and achieving the City’s Climate Smart San José plan and Pathway to Carbon Neutrality by 2030 goals.
– In 2018, the City of San José voted to adopt the Energy and Water Building Performance Ordinance (BPO). This ordinance builds on existing state law (CA Assembly Bill 802) and supports the City’s greenhouse gas emission reduction and water conservation goals under Climate Smart San José.
– The Fellow will expand workforce capacity for the Climate Smart San José team by communicating with building owners and operations staff and managing reporting data to ensure compliance.
– The Fellow will also support additional community engagement and education efforts.
– This work to improve energy and water efficiency as well as support broader community engagement efforts is critical to community planning and achieving the City’s Climate Smart San José plan and Pathway to Carbon Neutrality by 2030 goals.
City of Livermore: Building Heat Resilience in Livermore Neighborhoods (Bay Area)
Organization: City of Livermore
Openings: 1
Work Schedule: On-Site
Project Description:
The Fellow will primarily support the City of Livermore Sustainability Program while building capacity across multiple City departments and community partnerships. The project will help translate long-term climate and resilience goals into coordinated, actionable programs and investments.
-Cross-Department Coordination: Strengthen collaboration across Public Works, Engineering, Community Development, the Library, and community partners.
-Climate Program Development: Research best practices, analyze data, and develop implementation-ready sustainability and resilience programs.
-Extreme Heat Resilience: Support development of a coordinated strategy to address increasing extreme heat and community vulnerability.
-Equitable Cooling & Shade: Identify opportunities to increase shade, cool walking routes and public spaces, and improve access to cooling resources.
-Neighborhood Greening: Develop a residential park strip greening program and evaluate cost-effective approaches for expanding tree canopy and stormwater features.
-Community-Informed Planning: Incorporate heat mapping, vulnerability assessments, and community priorities into tools for targeting future investments.
-Funding & Implementation: Identify potential funding opportunities and help move priority climate initiatives from planning into implementation.
Clean Power Alliance Community Benefits Grant Support (Greater Los Angeles)
Organization: Clean Power Alliance
Openings: 1
Work Schedule: On-Site
Project Description:
The Fellow will support Clean Power Alliance’s Community Benefits Grant program, which funds community-based organizations advancing clean-energy education, customer assistance, resilience, and environmental justice across CPA’s 38-community service territory. The project will strengthen CPA’s capacity to manage its growing grant portfolio, coordinate with community partners, document results, and communicate the impact of local clean-energy investments.
-Grant Project Tracking: Maintain accurate records of grant awards, project activities, schedules, spending, deliverables, metrics, and completion dates.
-Progress Monitoring: Track project milestones, identify delays or concerns, and follow up on missing or outdated information.
-Grantee Coordination: Communicate regularly with funded organizations and CPA staff to support successful project implementation.
-Meetings & Reporting: Coordinate grantee meetings and check-ins, prepare agendas and reporting tools, document decisions, and track follow-up actions.
-Community Impact Documentation: Organize project results, photos, testimonials, presentations, and other materials demonstrating community benefits.
-Data & Storytelling: Summarize project outcomes and translate quantitative results and partner feedback into clear impact stories.
-Community Outreach: Maintain and expand contact information for community organizations and support outreach for future programs, grants, and events.
-Program Improvement: Help identify trends, challenges, and lessons learned that can strengthen future Community Benefits Grant management and implementation.
California State University San Bernardino, Institute for Watershed Resiliency – Headwaters in Action: Monitoring, Stewardship, Workforce, and Community Resilience (IREN Project)
Organization: CSU- San Bernardino
Openings: 1
Work Schedule: Hybrid, 2 Days/Week in Office
Project Description:
The project will support the California State University, San Bernardino Institute for Watershed Resiliency; water and resource conservation districts; local governments; Tribal governments; schools; and community organizations that lack staff capacity to collect, organize, and communicate watershed information.
– Build a shared watershed conditions knowledge hub. The project will connect scattered information about water, vegetation, wildfire, erosion, habitat, and landscape change in an accessible system partners can use for education, planning, funding proposals, and resource-management decisions.
-Address community-identified priorities. Engagement with disadvantaged communities, Tribal partners, educators, and local organizations will identify concerns such as water quality, flooding, drought, wildfire recovery, habitat loss, public access, and unequal exposure to environmental risks.
-Strengthen coordination and funding readiness. The Fellow will help partners document needs, identify information gaps, develop collaborative projects, and prepare maps, outreach materials, and supporting information for future grant proposals without replacing existing staff.
-Connect knowledge, stewardship, and workforce development. Monitoring results will become understandable maps, educational resources, and outreach activities that support public participation while preparing a postbaccalaureate Fellow for careers requiring field monitoring, geographic mapping, data communication, community engagement, partnership development, and project coordination
Pending: Town of Crested Butte – Sustainability Analysis Fellow
Organization: Town of Crested Butte, Colorado
Openings: 1
Work Schedule: Hybrid, 3 Days/Week in Office
Project Description:
Town of Crested Butte Organizational Capacity: The project will strengthen the Town’s capacity to collect, manage, analyze, and communicate sustainability and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data. The Fellow will establish repeatable data collection systems, manage ClearPath 2.0 (a greehouse gas emissions software), develop standard operating procedures, and support sustainability reporting.
Climate Action Planning: The project will improve the Town’s ability to track progress toward its 2030 Climate Action Plan and identify where additional action or resources may be needed. Consistent tracking of energy, transportation, buildings, waste, and GHG emissions will provide data to inform future planning and policy decisions.
Community Sustainability Priorities: The project will support community priorities including reducing GHG emissions, improving energy efficiency, electrifying buildings and transportation, increasing renewable energy, and reducing waste. Improved data will help the Town evaluate the effectiveness of programs and investments and communicate progress to the community.
Long-Term Workforce Capacity: The project will create durable systems, documentation, and institutional knowledge that future Town staff can maintain. These tools will also strengthen the Town’s ability to pursue and report on grants and collaborate with regional partners.