Environmental Consultant & Lobbyist
I helped organize the first California Healthy Soils week in partnership with other firms, non-profits and the California Department of Food and Agriculture. We did everything from tour composting facilities to farms using healthy soils practices. We had a reception honoring some of the long-time advocates and governmental champions of soils policy in California.
Working for Environmental and Energy Consulting allowed me to develop a specialization in conservation, environmental health and water policy. I was lucky to be part of a dynamic team that served a number of non-profit clients. Sometimes people think of the environment as a postcard of mountains or a place that is somewhere else. The environment is also where you live. Part of my role was to make sure that key issues in conservation and environmental health were clearly communicated to the necessary decision makers.
Flyer I designed for CA Healthy Soils Week.
I supported the passage of first-in-nation cleaning product disclosure bill by facilitating a coalition of NGOs and green businesses. We negotiated with trade associations and large multinational corporations over hundreds of hours to achieve broad support of a key compromise that allows consumers critical access to what is in their products. I was honored to be mentored by a number of people who had worked towards these disclosure goals for ten years. The experience reinforced the importance of getting at fundamental interests rather than focusing on positions.
Some of my other work within the firm included elevating the importance of wildlife connectivity during a changing climate by facilitating a coalition of environmental NGOs, academics, and land trusts. We built relationships with key governmental agencies on data collection, data-use issues and infrastructure design standards on road. It was a great opportunity to draw on my strength in the sciences to connect the importance of data to policy makers.
Social media post I designed for CA Healthy Soils Week.
I analysed the landscape of ocean climate policy, science and funding in the West Coast in collaboration with a federal consultant in order to generate an in-depth report on policies that can not only defend against federal rollbacks, but move towards critical next steps. I also collaborated with key partners to secure $26 million of funding for adaptation on natural and working lands to ensure that California invests in solutions with 50-year conservation benefits.
All my work in policy as a lobbyist and consultant highlights that no one can act alone successfully within the policy sphere. Research becomes a combination of doing your own homework combined with knowing the experts you can trust and call to get key information. The only way to get major funding measures passed or major legislation accomplished is through coalitions and collaborations. The process can feel far from perfect at times and yet many of my proudest moments came from the outcomes that we knew could help both people and the environment in which they live.