Sustainability Leaders Podcast

California State Senator Fran Pavley is widely considered to be the mother of CA climate policy. From her humble beginnings as a 29-year 8th-grade civics teacher and then mayor of Agoura Hills, she burst onto the state political scene in 2000 as an Assemblymember before serving from 2008 to 2016 in the Senate. In addition to authoring the Global Warming Solutions Act, she held the Clean Cars Bill that Trump is now threatening to undo. Join our wide-ranging conversation about her career, her outlook on current climate policy, and her advice for those wanting to save the planet.

I sat down with Senator Scott Wiener in his San Francisco offices to discuss his childhood in New Jersey, his early leadership on LGBTQ issues at Duke University and his work as a San Francisco supervisor on solar power and public transportation. Scott has emerged as a new leader in the California Senate on issues that effect climate change, energy transition, and transportation. I think you'll enjoy his story.

Assemblyman Garcia became Mayor of Coachella City at the tender age of 29. He has emerged as a key leader on climate action in the California legislature, doing more to broaden the tent of environmental policy to include disadvantaged and environmental justice communities than perhaps anyone. I think you'll enjoy learning about Eduardo's unique path and outlook on the impact of climate policy on the future of clean energy jobs and the economy.

Appointed by Governor Jerry Brown, first to the California Energy Commission in 2011 and then to the California Public Utilities Commission in 2012, Peterman has overseen the ramping up of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy storage and electric vehicle regulations in the state. Join us for a wide-ranging conversation about Carla's path from Rhodes Scholar to Commissioner, and her insights into the energy transition and its attendant job opportunities.

Appointed by Jerry Brown in 2011, Secretary Rodriquez has overseen California's emergence as a renewable energy powerhouse that is pushing the vanguard of climate change policy across the world. I sat down with Matt at the Cal EPA building in Sacramento for a ranging conversation about his life, career and the policy priorities critical to a sustainable future. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.