Story by Kriselda Bautista, 2014-15 CivicSpark Alumna, Sierra Nevada Region
I’m Kriselda Bautista, and I served last year in the Sierra Nevada region with the Sierra Business Council. I am still with the SBC, and the work my partner Evan Pierce and I started last year with writing and developing Energy Action Plans for 7 different jurisdictions in the Sierra Nevada has continued this year with implementing the EAPs. With Jill Sanford and Alyssa Collins, our CivicSpark 15-16 fellows, we have expanded our efforts to bring more robust and meaningful capacity to these jurisdictions.
With hard work, determination, and an unwavering effort to understand this area, we’ve been able to help these small, rural communities accomplish substantial energy efficiency goals and become leading examples in the Sierra Nevada. It has been a joy to see the program continue to grow and build a stronger connection among our rural and urban communities through rich collaboration.
CivicSpark has done the daunting work of coordinating California’s climate action efforts by putting energetic, vibrant, and passionate young people where they are needed at the local government level. This friendly competition is part of what keeps our job interesting and exciting–helping improve the lives of others socially, economically, and environmentally. I commend you, LGC, for sustaining a program that I do believe is making a difference in California communities.
