Sustainability Committee Chairs

Downtown NOW... I was recently elected as Director, Area-Wide Work-Force Private Sector to the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council. This committee is an extension of my personal commitment to making a more sustainable future for our neighborhood through collaboration, outreach, and public participation. I hope to work with members of the community to develop tools for that we may all use to enhance not only our personal environment but that of the community at large. I believe that sustainability can be a fundamental part of how we live, work and play downtown and I hope we can lead the way for Los Angeles towards a greener future.

Recent work experience... I currently work downtown for AECOM, an architecture/engineering firm with a strong corporate commitment to sustainability - both in how it practices and what it designs. With their help, I recently became a LEED Accredited Professional which has given me an even more in-depth understanding of the steps we can take in the design and construction of better buildings. Previously, I worked as a design and marketing intern with Atelier Ten , a New York City environmental consultancy that uses tools such as daylight simultion and energy modelling to help designers understand the impact of their buildings.

Education... I graduated with honors from the Master of Architecture program at the Pratt Institute where I championed on-campus sustainability intitiatives as the Graduate Student Trustee. I have an undergraduate degree in political science from McGill University and am originally from Hartford, Connecticut. I have lived in Montreal, Toronto, Brooklyn, Rome, New Orleans and now Los Angeles where I have fallen in love with the historic buildings, natural density, and diversity of Downtown. I look forward to working with you over the next two years and encourage you to engage me as often as possible as we look to address the issues facing our neighborhood.

"Sustainability" as an idea to be explored... I believe sustainability is inherent to good design and healthy living. I believe we are all responsible and capable of contributing to the preservation and rejuvenation of our urban environment for future generations. I believe all stakeholders (see how this is defined in the Downtown Neighborhood Council bylaws) can and should be included in planning the future of our community. I believe Downtown Los Angeles is unique and this is where we can really work together to address the challenges facing our urban environment TODAY.

The Sustainability Committee has nominated two public vice chairs: Tamara Gishri and Pamela Tuttle. To be confirmed by Board of Directors January 12, 2010.

Tamara Gishri

Tamara is a special advisor on clean technology at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Her responsibilities include forging strategic water and energy partnerships with local universities, the development of a clean technology research campus, and advocacy of federal grant opportunities. She is also the primary liaison with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Prior to working at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, she worked in the Office of Mayor Villariagosa as a policy analyst on the Economic Development team, helping to create the CleanTech Los Angeles organization and establish a clean technology cluster in LA. Before returning to Los Angeles, she was a bilingual teacher and tutor to an elementary school and adult education program in Barcelona, Spain.

Tamara, also a resident of Downtown, received her Masters of Urban Planning with honors from the University of Southern California and a Bachelors of Business Administration from Emory University.