San Joaquin Valley

Located at the historic Chandler Airport in Fresno, Jessie Rudd, Jennifer Alvarez, Andrew Kopp, and Tommy Ta have been providing technical assistance and support to encourage urban forestry in the region. Andrew Kopp has also led CivicSpark with the County of Merced on their Climate Action Plan, and Tommy Ta rounds out his time working with member Zenia Montero on the SJV Clean Energy Organization on benchmarking for local communities. Misael Palacios is deep into his work with the City of Fresno on their business energy tune-up project.

The team has also had the chance to engage with the valley community through a range of trainings covering the topics of zero net energy technology, high speed rail, drought, and urban forestry. They toured the Fresno and City of Mendota waste water treatment plants, and even got an aerial flyover of the Central Valley.

CivicSpark San Joaquin Valley Projects

Business Energy Tune-Up Capacity Building Support Business Energy Tune Up program in Fresno County, providing outreach and education to business owners, support for engagement in rebate and incentive programs and follow-up post upgrade. Beneficiaries: City of Fresno, County of Fresno

Merced County Climate Action Plan Support development of content and completion of the Merced County Climate Action Plan. Beneficiary: Merced County

Urban Forestry in the Central Valley Support development of a core constituency who supports urban forestry by educating elected officials, staff and community leaders and Increase urban forestry expansion and management capacity through technical support and training. Beneficiaries: Kings River Conservation District

SJV Energy Management Provide technical assistance on building energy use for local governments in the Central Valley through initial benchmarking in EPA EnergyStart Portfolio Manager, then developing readiness reports to guide decision making and providing support for council policy making and peer information exchanged. Beneficiaries: Madera County, Kern County, County of Fresno, City of Fresno

RWJF Complete Streets for the Central Valley Support adoption of complete streets policies in the Central Valley through workshop development and technical assistance. Beneficiaries: Fresno COG, King COG, Stanislaus County

It’s amazing how a little support can go a long way in the Central Valley. There’s so much this region needs, and we’re excited to be able to offer help where we can.

– Jennifer Alvarez, CivicSpark Member

Meet our Team

Don Pauley, Regional Supervisor Don Pauley managed small cities in Minnesota and California for 38 years before retiring as City Manager from the City of Kingsburg, California in 2013. He brings management and leadership experience in small cities in the Central San Joaquin Valley to his Encore Fellowship as the San Joaquin Valley Regional Supervisor with the Local Government Commission and CivicSpark.

Jennifer Alvarez Jennifer attended California State University Stanislaus in Turlock, finishing with a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences with a concentration in ecology. While in school Jennifer worked on a multiple research projects including studying the genetic composition and physiological characteristics of the aspen tree population, and compiling a scientific review of ecosystem services found in urban areas.

Andrew Kopp Andrew Kopp is a graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studied Urban and Regional Planning. He has experience working on a long-range bicycle plan, neighborhood plan, and small area design interventions from start to finish.

Zenia Montero Zenia Montero graduated with honors from the University of California in Los Angeles in 2012, majoring in Political Science with a concentration in American Politics. In the fall of 2011, she was a legal intern at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, where she applied her knowledge of federal environmental laws and regulations.

Misael Palacios Misael Palacios is from Fairfield, CA and a recent graduate from California State University, Sacramento. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. Prior to CivicSpark, Miseal interned with Greenwise in Sacramento on their Better Building Challenge program, increasing building energy efficiency.

Jessie Rudd Before joining CivicSpark, Jessie spent three years traveling and working in diverse communities in Southeast Asia, Australia, Canada and Central America. Jessie is a graduate of University of California, Santa Cruz where she obtained a BA from their interdisciplinary environmental studies department with a concentration in law and policy.

Tommy Ta Tommy Ta received a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences at University of California Riverside, and a Master’s degree at Chapman University in the same discipline. With an interest in sustainability, Tommy hopes to bring his skills and knowledge to help the San Joaquin Valley deal with problems of water resources, energy consumption, and air quality issues.