Raised in Honolulu, Hawai`i, Vanessa Shin moved to the Bay Area to study at Santa Clara University, where she received a B.S. in Environmental Science. While an undergraduate student, she enjoyed the opportunities to engage her campus community in sustainability, participate in community-based research, and explore environmental justice in various communities.  Vanessa served with the…

Edgar served as a 2017-18 fellow primarily with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), but was also engaged with the County of Sacramento as well as the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD). His project focused on seeking to better understand the effects of heat pollution and its implications for the public and private…

Elena Guevara is a policy analyst with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Office of Sustainability where she helps oversee the food systems and resource recovery programs and initiatives outlined in the Mayor’s Green New Deal. Elena joined the Mayor’s Office in October 2016 as a CivicSpark Climate Action Fellow. She was previously a sustainability associate…

Chelsea Marcell is an Environmental Planner with Jacobs Engineering based out of their Oakland office. In her position, she provides planning support for a state-mandated critical infrastructure program where she identifies environmental and land impacts, constraints, and solutions as well as facilitates long-lead permitting efforts across multiple resource and ministerial agencies. She ensures projects are…

Arlin is focused on environmental and community outreach work. Early in his childhood, he had opportunities to engage in volunteer work around outreach and providing community residents in multiple communities around Marin County, CA, the resources that support healthy quality lives. These experiences sparked a genuine interest in public service, which led Arlin to study…

Naomi Lopez was working for the County of Orange as an Affordable Housing Specialist in their Housing and Community Development Department. Her role was to push for affordable housing to be expanded throughout the region by taking a regional approach at a local and legislative level. The main responsibilities were project management and tracking, interpreting…

Emily Ontiveros is pursuing her Master’s in Landscape Architecture at the University of New Mexico. She plans to focus her research on river restoration design through equitable, watershed-based approaches to stewardship. As a 2019-2020 CivicSpark Fellow, Emily served with the California Department of Water Resources in Sacramento. She worked within the Office of the Tribal…

Sam currently works for Ascent Environmental in the Lake Tahoe region. As a Climate Change Analyst, he primarily works with local governments and other public agencies on climate mitigation and resiliency projects, which include greenhouse gas emissions inventories and forecasts, climate action plans, and climate adaptation plans. Sam strengthened his skills with these types of…

In 2019-2020, Lauren served as a Climate Fellow with the Butte County Department of Development Services to set up a framework that would allow community members and other stakeholders to collaborate for climate change adaptation and mitigation policies for the unincorporated areas of Butte County. There she focused heavily on close engagement with various community…

Skylar is currently a Sustainability Specialist for UC Davis Student Housing and Dining Services where she manages sustainability education and engagement programs for Student Housing residents, and large waste-diversion initiatives during residence hall move-in and move-out.  Before joining UC Davis, she served as a CivicSpark fellow at the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District. As…