Convening the Sierra – Fall 2026
September 25, 2026
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Join SBC at these Upcoming Events Across the Region
Kristina first started working 
with Sierra Business Council as a CivicSpark Fellow in January 2024 and very quickly was able to integrate her work and lifestyle within the Sierra Nevada region. Before moving to the area from Atlanta, GA, where she served as a Project Coordinator for a green roof company, Kristina earned a BA in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Colorado Boulder. In her role with the Sierra Business Council, Kristina has been actively involved in energy efficiency projects supporting rural public agencies and small businesses. We are thrilled to announce that Kristina will be joining SBC as a full-time employee, continuing her impactful work to foster an equitable and sustainable future for the Sierra Nevada region. Below are some of the projects that Kristina has helped to facilitate.
Kristina has been working with the City of Sutter Creek on several energy efficiency, sustainability, and resiliency projects. Kristina completed a 3-year building energy data benchmarking report and presented the analysis to City staff and the City Council. The analysis revealed that several of the City’s facilities could benefit from energy efficiency upgrades including HVAC, insulation, and building controls. The City is now working with trade professionals to identify equipment replacements that would qualify for financing programs to cover the cost of upgrades. Kristina is also helping the City explore additional resiliency measures including electric vehicle charging stations and solar and battery storage projects at several of the City’s facilities.
Kristina is also working with Sutter County to identify facilities that could improve from similar energy upgrades. She has completed a 3-year building energy benchmarking report and will be presenting the findings to the County’s Chief Office Administrationor at the end of August. The benchmarking report analyzed the energy usage and cost data for 10 County facilities energy. The report was also used to identify County facilities that would most benefit from energy efficiency upgrades. Kristina is working with the County to connect them with available funding and financing programs like Sustainable Solutions Turnkey (SST), a PG&E ratepayer program, that would include industry grade audits of county facilities and a comprehensive, County-wide proposal for energy efficient upgrades.
Kristina has also been
volunteering with non-profit organizations in the Tahoe area as part of her Fellowship. She completed her volunteer engagement project with Clean Up The Lake (CUTL), an environmental nonprofit based in Tahoe that dives for trash in Sierra Nevada alpine lakes. Kristina and her co-Fellow, Anika Kimme, traveled to Mammoth Lakes for 5 days with CUTL to perform in-person outreach and support marketing efforts, and assist with volunteer coordination during on-water operations. During the Mammoth Lakes trip, Kristina and Anika helped CUTL remove over 1,800lbs of trash out of Lake Mary.
Kristina and her Tahoe basin co-Fellows also participated in four service days throughout the year. Activities included organizing food boxes at Tahoe Food Hub, conducting trail clean ups with the Tahoe Rim Trail Association (TRTA), repotting plants, gardening, and trail maintenance with the American River Conservancy, and distributing food boxes with the Christmas Cheer Food Bank.
Throughout her Fellowship, Kristina has been able to broaden her scope of work and move into the climate and energy sector, develop her professional skills, and connect with many amazing people and non-profit organizations in the Tahoe and Sierra Nevada regions. Kristina is thrilled to continue her work with Sierra Business Council as a full-time Climate & Energy Technician after her fellowship.
Join SBC at these Upcoming Events Across the Region
Two SNEW services that are often requested by Sierra Nevada public agencies are energy benchmarking (sometimes including AB 802 reporting for buildings
California’s 2026-27 legislative session wrapped up September 1 after a turbulent final week of negotiations over wildfire policy, funding, and the state budget. While a last-minute proposal on wildfire liability ultimately stalled, the Legislature did restore and increase funding for climate resilience through Proposition 4 and the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF)—a meaningful outcome for Sierra communities amid a challenging state budget year.
The final plan includes $329.5 million for wildfire and forest resilience through Prop 4 and $118 million for wildfire prevention through GGRF. While these investments are an improvement over the June budget, wildfire resilience funding remains near historic lows, with no clear plan for sustained investment in future years.
Read more about the final budget, Prop 4 and GGRF allocations, and what’s next for wildfire and climate resilience in the Sierra.