Build It Green recently hosted an ‘electrifying’ panel for Affordable Housing Month Silicon Valley! Our incredible lineup of speakers shared strategies and considerations for advancing electrification efforts without sacrificing renter well-being.
It’s Net Zero Buildings Week, which makes it a great time to celebrate building decarbonization and electrification efforts across California! Check out this resource list to explore the work Build It Green has done in the equitable decarbonization and electrification space.
June Update: Explore the stories we’ve been reading, opportunities to get involved in intersectional work, and upcoming events you can attend to deepen your understanding of housing-related issues.
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) San Diego is a non-profit funding agency that takes a community- and partnership-driven approach to revitalizing neighborhoods. Ricardo Flores, Executive Director and a long-time San Diego resident, talks with us about the Black Homebuyers Program.
Build It Green has been convening a cross-sector group of leaders in California’s housing sector since our Building Our Future kick-off meetings last year. Below is a list of immediate opportunities/actions a few Policy as an Accelerant and Infrastructure Opportunity Working Groups’ participants wish to share regarding the intersection of infrastructure and affordable, equitable, environmentally friendly homes and neighborhoods.
May update: Explore the stories we’ve been reading, opportunities to get involved in intersectional work, and upcoming events you can attend to deepen your understanding of housing-related issues.
Build It Green has been hosting a cross-sector team of researchers, utility strategists, contractors, electricians, and others to discuss barriers and opportunities around electrical panels. Read to learn about the Panel Optimization Group’s (POG) start and how its members are using their collective knowledge to advance electrification efforts in California and beyond.
Build It Green recently hosted a virtual training session on feasible strategies for designing and building affordable, all-electric multifamily homes. The instructors, Nick Brown of Build Smart Group and Robert Fortunato of ForStrategy Consulting, have been designing and building net-zero homes for over a decade.
Arcata 30th Street Commons, a project led by the Yurok Indian Housing Authority, recently received $11.4 million from the California Strategic Growth Council’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program. This award represents the first time a Native American Tribe has been funded by the program, and serves as an important step in growing the community’s capacity to transform their own neighborhood.
We recently had the pleasure of sitting down and speaking with Rich Chien, a Senior Environmental Specialist and 18-year veteran with the San Francisco Department of the Environment. He served as the project lead on San Francisco’s 2021 Climate Action Plan, which details 31 strategies and 159 supporting actions to eliminate GHG emissions and advance environmental justice work in San Francisco over the next 20 years.
Alex Coba
Communication Associate
As a proud California native from Stockton, Alex brings a wealth of experience and a versatile skill set. He has a solid communication background with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Public Relations from California State University, Chico. Alex is adept at strategic communications and media relations, with experience gathering and sharing stories from his local communities that uplift the unique spirit and values of those places. He is excited to join Build It Green, where he can apply his talents to further BIG’s mission to help communities across California thrive