Marin County Sustainability
Gretchen Schubeck
Sustainability Programs Coordinator
City of Novato
Government leadership to address our changing climate has never been more urgent, as evidenced by recent devastating floods and wildfires that have claimed lives and destroyed entire communities, increasingly frequent and dangerous heat waves that make it impossible to work, play, or exercise outside, melting ice sheets and associated rising sea levels, destruction of species habitat on land and in the ocean, and droughts so prolonged and severe that they threaten the viability of the global food system.
Marin County has a long, and well-respected history of environmental and climate leadership and although the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated within our county make up a tiny fraction of global emissions, every community has a role to play in the collective effort to address climate change. Novato’s Sustainability Coordinator, Gretchen Schubeck will share what Novato and other Marin County governments are doing to support their communities to reduce GHG emissions and will discuss the most impactful actions individuals can take to reduce their climate footprint.
Gretchen’s background
Gretchen Schubeck has been a leader in the development and implementation of community-based, sustainability programs for both local governments and the nonprofit sector for nearly three decades.
After graduating from San Francisco State University with a degree in Urban Studies, Gretchen moved to New Zealand where she worked for Waitakere City Council (New Zealand’s first ‘EcoCity’) in a variety of sustainability and urban revitalization roles before being appointed Executive Director of Auckland-based nonprofit EcoMatters Environment Trust.
After emigrating back to the United States with her family, she served as Executive Director of the Bay-Friendly Landscaping & Gardening Coalition prior to joining Daily Acts, a nonprofit based in Petaluma, first as Programs Manager and then Associate Director.
While Gretchen has spent the majority of her career working in the nonprofit sector, she has always viewed partnerships between local governments and community-based nonprofits as the key ingredient to achieving lasting social, economic and environmental change.
Gretchen was appointed to the position of Sustainability Programs Coordinator for the City of Novato in 2017. She lives in Novato with her husband Scott and daughter Nina.
