With wildfires worsening, temperatures peaking (2020 was the hottest year on record!), and air quality decreasing, our communities in the Bay Area have already begun to feel the overlapping impacts of climate change in our very own backyards. Building climate SMART infill housing is one of the most effective tools for reducing climate pollution with local policy. As our cities gear up to update their Housing Elements for 2022, we must make sure they balance the new growth of our region with impending climate risks.
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Zoe Siegel
Director of Climate Resilience – Greenbelt Alliance
Bay Area native and current Oakland resident, Zoe is passionate about making sure our local communities are able to respond, adapt and thrive in light of current climate threats. She brings experience as a Program Manager for Resilient by Design where she helped lead the year-long effort to come up with innovative strategies for resilience around the region.
Previously, Zoe worked for Resources for Community Development, Panoramic Interests, Rebar Art & Design Studio, BCDC, the Municipal Arts Society, SPUR and the City of Oakland. This is Zoe’s second time at Greenbelt Alliance. From 2012 – 2014, Zoe served as the assistant to former Greenbelt Alliance Executive Director Jeremy Madsen. Her original tenure at Greenbelt Alliance led her to recognize the importance of climate-smart growth and good urban design in the Bay Area.
Zoe holds a Masters in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Arts in Human Geography from the University of British Columbia. She is also a LEED Green Associate. Outside of work Zoe loves hiking with her dog Stella, is an avid traveler, and is a practitioner and teacher of yoga.
Allison Chan
Political Director – Save the Bay
Allison directs Save The Bay’s Policy team, advocating for urban development policies that protect the health and accessibility of the Bay and the overall sustainability of our region. She has led campaigns to reduce plastic pollution, fund and enforce efforts to keep trash out of the Bay, and implement green infrastructure in our region. Prior to Save The Bay, Allison worked for the Ocean Foundation’s Coastal Ocean Values Center, developing economic indicators of ecosystem health in Santa Monica Bay, Morro Bay, and Elkhorn Slough.
Aaron Eckhouse
Regional Policy Director – California YIMBY
Aaron grew up in Iowa after his parents were forced out of the Bay Area by high housing costs and underfunded public schools. He moved to California two years ago, where he was taken by the beautiful landscape, amazing produce, and obscenely high rent. He is excited to apply his organizing experience from the 2012 Obama campaign and his YIMBY experience with East Bay for Everyone to the task of ending California’s housing shortage.
Pedro Galvao
Policy Director– Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California
Pedro directs NPH’s legislative and regulatory advocacy, working closely with state legislators and elected officials to make the Bay Area a more affordable place to live. In his first year, he successfully shepherded reform of California’s Surplus Land Act, through AB 1486 (Ting), to prioritize surplus public lands for affordable housing, and led our work on a $500 million expansion of the state’s low-income housing tax credits through AB 10 (Chiu) and zoning reform to build more homes through SB 50 (Wiener). Pedro also oversees NPH’s regional work having championed the incorporation of an affordable housing-focused Action Plan for the region’s 25-year Plan Bay Area and authored “On Track Together,” NPH’s plan for linking transportation and affordable housing investments. Before joining NPH, Pedro worked with the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) on Plan Bay Area, documenting the region’s housing issues and trends, and creating technical resources for local government. Prior to that, he worked as a policy advisor for two San Francisco Supervisors and founded El Proyecto Voz Latina, a grassroots organization focused on Latino voting and representation.
Pedro holds a B.A. in Politics from Whitman College and a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University.