Sacramento Sustainability Forum is a monthly venue for connecting businesses, non-profits, government and interested citizens in the Sacramento region in order to promote sustainability, share insights and resources, and support movement towards a more sustainable future.

Upcoming Speakers!

September 17th: Cecilia Jensen, Sustainability Program Manager for Sacramento County

Ms. Jensen is a licensed civil engineer with over 23 years of experience in the environmental field. She holds two Bachelor’s degrees in Microbiology and Civil Engineering from California State University, Sacramento.

She has six years of experience in the private sector as a consulting engineer and joined the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District in 1992. During her tenure with the District, Ms. Jensen served as the Recycled Water Program Manager and developed the program framework for the reuse of tertiary treated wastewater for landscape irrigation purposes in the Elk Grove area. With Sacramento County’s Department of Water Resources, she was the County’s Stormwater Program Manager and subsequently served as Division Chief of the Water Protection Division with the County’s Environmental Management Department. As Division Chief Ms. Jensen managed numerous regulatory compliance programs and was responsible for the development of an EPA award-winning industrial stormwater compliance program.

In October 2008, she became Sacramento County’s first Sustainability Program Manager which she has declared as the toughest assignment she has ever had.

October 15th: Graham Brownstein, Executive Director for the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS)

Graham has been a community organizer and policy advocate for 17 years, with experience on campaigns and issues relating to the environment, labor, community development, public health, and essential services infrastructure (utilities, food, water, transportation).

After majoring in Environmental Studies and American Studies and receiving his BA from Yale University in 1996, Graham worked for nearly six years as Director of Community Organizing and Outreach for The Utility Reform Network (TURN), a statewide utility consumer advocacy organization based in San Francisco. During those years, Graham helped communities and individuals across the state navigate the California energy crisis, spearheaded endorsement efforts for the “Yes on Prop 9 – Block the Bailout” initiative, and organized a successful campaign to stop a major increase in telephone rates for rural customers.

Graham left TURN in 2002 to pursue a JD at the University of California at Davis School of Law (King Hall), with particular focus on administrative, regulatory and environmental law and policy. Upon completing his law degree in 2005, Graham accepted the Executive Directorship at ECOS, where he has focused on augmenting the organization’s internal and political resources.

November 19th: Panama Bartholomy, Advisor to the Chair of the CA Energy Commission

About the Format

• Includes a half hour of open networking with drinks available at the bar

• Each month the forum hosts a speaker from the business, non-profit, or government sector to discuss sustainability perspectives, efforts, challenges, and victories

• Following our speaker, participants break into circles to discuss key topics for sustainability in Sacramento

• The final portion of the evening brings summaries and requests for support to the whole group

Goals:

1. Learn from each other

2. Foster supportive relationships

3. Build on collaborative projects and resources

4. Strengthen a synergistic movement towards a sustainable future

Supporters:

Becoming a supporter is entirely FREE. Our supporters are businesses and organizations aligned with the purpose of the Sacramento Sustainability Forum who help get the word out through their networks.  To discuss becoming a supporter, please contact us.