Who’s Not in the Room?
Integrated Energy Master Planning Through Equity and Engagement

Date: September 15, 2026
Time: 4:20 PM – 4:50 PM
Ballroom G

What if the most important voice in your facilities and sustainability planning process is the one you have never heard? This session explores San Mateo County Office of Education’s innovative approach to Integrated Energy Master Planning, which combines facilities planning, sustainability initiatives, facility condition assessments, and equity-centered community engagement into a single planning framework. Learn how engagement with medically fragile students, non-verbal students, adjudicated and at-promise youth, educators, and families revealed critical facility and sustainability priorities that traditional planning methods often overlook. Attendees will discover how continuous engagement informed project prioritization and helped align climate action goals with student and staff needs. The session will also highlight the development of a countywide Long-Range Facilities Planning (LRFP) blueprint designed to help school districts integrate sustainability, equity, and community voice. Participants will leave with strategies for creating more equitable and resilient learning environments while building trust and support for implementation.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

By the end of this session:

• Attendees will be able to identify populations that are often underrepresented in facilities planning processes and evaluate how their absence may influence planning outcomes and capital investment decisions.
• Attendees will understand how equity-centered engagement methods, including empathy interviews, listening sessions, and student-focused engagement, can reveal facility needs and priorities that traditional surveys and public meetings often miss.
• Attendees will learn how equity indicators can be integrated with Facility Condition Assessment (FCA) data to create a more comprehensive and transparent framework for project prioritization.
• Attendees will be able to apply a practical framework for aligning community voice, facility data, and educational priorities to support more equitable, trusted, and sustainable long-range facilities planning.

Speakers:
Julie Hilborn, Director of Environmental Literacy and Sustainability, San Mateo County Office of Education
Anton Blewett, Principal, Educational Strategy, RSS Consulting
Ron Soper, Director of Sustainable Facilities and Construction, San Mateo County Office of Education

Julie Hilborn is the Director of Environmental Literacy and Sustainability at the San Mateo County Office of Education. She joined SMCOE in September of 2022 after a multi-faceted career in the formal and informal science and environmental education sectors across K-12 and university levels. Julie directs the Environmental Literacy and Sustainability program at SMCOE, which provides support to San Mateo County schools in prioritizing environmental literacy and integrating environmental sustainability and climate-ready practices across school campuses, curriculum, community, and culture. In 2025 she led SMCOE to become the first county office of education to receive Green Achiever recognition through the California Green Ribbon Schools program. She also worked internationally as an Instructor for Outward Bound Zimbabwe, and in the private sector as an environmental consultant on large-scale construction projects. Julie holds a BA from Stanford, an MA from San Jose State, an administrative credential from SMCOE and a teaching credential from San Francisco State.