We extend our welcome to City of Glendale Sustainability Officer David Jones! He officially started in this new role on September 1, 2020. That same day, Glendale city council members and the community heard him deliver a staff report on establishing a Glendale Citizens’ Sustainability Commission (see our recent City Council Wrap Up for more info). Assistant City Manager Roubik Golanian introduced him officially to the community as our very first Sustainability Officer.

Jones most recently served as Manager of the City of Lancaster’s Environmental Compliance Program. Prior to that he spent ten years managing the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s Office of Sustainability, chaired the university’s Sustainability Committee, and also while in Charlotte, NC served as chair of its US Green Building Council regional chapter. He holds a Master of Science degree in Ecological Economics from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and a postgraduate diploma in Environmental Management and Business from University of Hartfordshire in the U.K.

GEC looks forward to establishing a strong working relationship with Sustainability Officer David Jones, and with a Glendale Sustainability Commission, to bring environmental issues to the forefront of decision making. As council member Dan Brotman noted, sustainability issues cut across all areas: transportation, energy, water, waste, building and development.

We are happy to see Glendale appoint its own Sustainability Officer, start the process of creating a Sustainability Commission, and move forward on local initiatives such as environmentally preferred purchasing that will help create a culture of sustainability in our community.