Community Colleges Leading the Way in Sustainability and Resiliency

Date: September 15, 2026
Time: 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Ballroom A

This session will highlight the innovative work being done at community college campuses across California in clean energy, climate and resiliency. We will explore how community colleges are prioritizing high performance buildings and clean energy infrastructure to address high energy costs, climate change, and community resilience. The focus will be on campuses as living laboratories that are guided by the statewide vision for sustainability, innovative design principles for facilities and operations, and opportunities for student and faculty engagement and community benefits. Community colleges offer a compelling value proposition for spurring innovation and place-based solutions that expand the workforce while meeting the needs of the communities they serve. Community colleges are a unique economic driver for California in meeting our climate goals and promoting a clean energy future. This session will will showcase the innovative work being done at community colleges in partnership with state government, industry, national laboratories, universities, and local communities. The best practices and practical approaches will allow participants to envision how they can tackle these issues in a way to promote sustainability and economic development across their campus in a way that connects students, faculty, and facility managers.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Understanding of the groundbreaking work that is being led by community colleges across the state and different approaches being implemented
• Ability to see firsthand on how to integrate sustainability and green design into existing and new campus infrastructure through real world examples
• Familiarity with the concept of transforming a campus into a living laboratory with technology showcases, applied student research, and well-designed workforce development programs
• Increased knowledge of the California state system for the design, approval, and implementation of energy and sustainability projects on campus
• Ability to see how community college programs can be a pathway to green jobs that meet the industry needs and help create high paying jobs

Speakers:
Marcos Rodriguez, Executive Director, Facilities and Operations, Bakersfield College
Ida Clair, State Architect, CA Department of General Services, Division of the State Architect
Eera Babtiwale, Special Projects Director, Sustainability, Mt. San Antonio College
Sara Sullivan, Program Director, California Renewable Energy Laboratory