As you may already be aware, the Civicspark team that was assisting us with work in the San Joaquin Valley graduated in September of this year. We appreciate all of their hard work, and were sad to see them go. However, we are excited to introduce to you our two new community forestry advocates in the region, Trevor Wilson (pictured, left) and Mitchelle DeLeon (pictured, right). Please read on to hear more about their backgrounds.
Trevor Wilson speaks about his background and passions:
“I grew up in a college-town in the middle of Michigan called Mount Pleasant where I completed my high school education at Mount Pleasant High School. After I completed high school I moved on to Michigan State University where I received a bachelor’s degree in International Relations. While the focus of my degree was public policy in an international setting and various international public affairs topics, I primarily focused on renewable energy policy and topics of sustainability. I wrote my senior thesis paper on Germany’s energy transition to renewable energy which led me to a summer internship with an environmental protection organization in Berlin, Germany. Now I am a fellow for an incredible program, CivicSpark, where I hope to utilize my passion for sustainability to tackle the drought in California, help “green” its cities, and put a serious dent in climate change.”
Mitchelle DeLeon’s Bio:
Mitchelle De Leon is a CivicSpark AmeriCorps Fellow with the Local Government Commission. As a fellow, he works with the California Urban Forest Council to provide technical assistance to grant applicants for Cal Fire’s Urban and Community Forestry Program. He also develops drought response training programs for local governments in the San Joaquin Valley, including an upcoming training on the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014. Alongside other staff members from the Local Government Commission, he also manages the Water-Energy Community Action Network San Joaquin Valley, a rebate and job training program for drought-tolerant landscapes in disadvantaged communities. He graduated from CSU Bakersfield with a Bachelor of Science in Economics in 2015.
The team and I are very excited to provide technical support to those interested in applying to CalFIRE’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Grants. While grant funding has been delayed, it never hurts to start the application process now! If we can provide you with any support, please contact me at projectmanager@caufc.org.
-Elizabeth Lanham, Program Manager
