Registration

Event Description

California’s century long love affair with the automobile is a primary driver of greenhouse gas emissions, which increasingly influence climate change and spark climate disasters. Even with clear evidence citing the risks of fossil fuel-oriented transportation, Californians are driving more, not less, partly because other viable options feel out of reach. A recent report by Next Gen Policy notes that California is at a crossroads when it comes to transportation.

For generations, advocates, policy makers and industry have worked to change this narrative, and a two-pronged approach has emerged to decarbonize the transportation sector. The first strategy is primarily focused on electrification. While the technology exists, compared to a nation like Norway which has disincentivized fossil fuel-driven transportation, policies in California, which have led to an adoption rate for EVs of 20%-25% of new car sales and are bold in many ways, have not yet achieved a scale needed to avert the climate crisis. A second strategy includes alternatives to driving, public transit, bicycling and walking, along with a built environment that encourages this healthier, carbon light transportation. Many of these strategies are part of the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, which aims to cut all greenhouse emissions from the transportation sector by 2050.

At this upcoming convening, you’ll connect with a leadership working on making the vision of a decarbonized transportation sector in California a reality. You’ll also learn about the new Clean Rides initiative, which is developing a strategy to influence a greener transportation sector in California. In addition, you’ll hear about the Transportation Electrification Partnership and how the upcoming 2028 Olympics could be a catalyst to shift the transportation culture in Los Angeles. 

This convening is part of a series of quarterly conversations hosted by the Southern California Grantmakers Environmental Funders Group to educate prospective and current environmental funders about environmental challenges and opportunities in Southern California and foster collaboration, and share successes and challenges. Please contact Katy Pelissier at katy@socalgrantmakers.org for more information or visit the group's page on the Southern California Grantmakers' website.

To register for all upcoming dates, please click the "Register for Recurring Dates" button. This feature is only open to members; please contact us if you are a non-member and wish to register for the series at programsrsvp@socalgrantmakers.org or (213) 680-8866.

Recurring Dates: 

Speakers

Headshot of Marisa

Marisa Garcia

Activism Director, Move LA

Marisa Garcia is the Activism Director at Move LA. Marisa grew up near two busy freeways in a city in Southeast Los Angeles County that is heavily impacted by air pollution, so she is all too aware of the harm that our overdependence on cars has caused Southern California residents. As an asthmatic, reducing the air pollution and traffic congestion that plagues the Los Angeles area by providing people with alternative transportation choices is an issue that is near and dear to her heart. Since joining the Move LA team in 2011 her commitment to helping transform LA County’s transportation system, improving regional air quality, and expanding affordable housing has strengthened. She has led efforts to successfully pass Measure M, Measure H, Measure ULA, and coordinated volunteer signature gathering to help qualify Measure A for the November 2024 ballot.

Marisa recently graduated from Coro’s Women in Leadership Cohort, and TransitCenter’s Emerging Leaders BIPOC Cohort. She looks forward to continuing to work towards helping to improve the world around her, and seeing what the future holds for communities like the one where she grew up.
Michelle smiling

Michelle Kinman

Senior Vice President, Market Transformation, Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator

Michelle Kinman is the SVP of Market Transformation at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, leading LACI’s work to accelerate system change through public-private partnerships, forward-thinking policies, and innovative pilots in the zero emission transportation, clean energy and sustainable cities sectors. She joined LACI in 2018 to advance the Transportation Electrification Partnership, bringing together 30 public and private sector partners to accelerate zero emission transportation in the LA region ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Michelle was formerly the Clean Energy & Transportation Program Director for Environment California working to shape and pass numerous clean energy policies, including California’s historic SB 100, and coordinated the Charge Ahead California campaign, a joint effort of environmental and environmental justice organizations to ensure that California expands access to electric vehicles in low-income communities of color. She was also a leader in the L.A. County Electric Bus Coalition, which secured commitments from LA Metro, the City of Los Angeles and City of Santa Monica to transition their bus fleets to electric by 2030.

Prior to turning her attention to California, Michelle was Co-founder and Deputy Director of Crude Accountability, a nonprofit that works to protect the environmental and human rights of people in the Caspian and Black Sea regions that are impacted by oil and gas development. Michelle has a graduate certificate in Environmental Policy & Management from the University of Denver, and a BA in International Studies and Russian from Washington University in St. Louis.
Marcel Porras

Marcel Porras

Deputy Chief Innovation Officer, LA Metro

Marcel Porras is the Deputy Chief Innovation Officer at LA Metro working on the Olympics, Universal Basic Mobility, and transportation technology. Prior to joining Metro, Marcel worked for the City of Los Angeles in a variety of leadership roles including Chief Sustainability Officer at Los Angeles Department of Transportation where he led the Bureau of Transportation Technology and as Associate Director of Transportation for the Mayor of Los Angeles. Marcel has a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from UCLA and has over sixteen years of experience in transportation, planning, and economic development.
Martha is smiling

Martha Roskowski

Mobility and Access Collaborative Coordinator, The Funders Network

At her consultancy Further Strategies, Martha supports non-profits, agencies and foundations working for systemic change. She coordinates the Mobility and Access Collaborative at the Funders Network, serves as a strategic advisor to an emerging effort to change how state transportation dollars are spent, and is currently the Philanthropic Outreach Consultant in the Office of the Secretary at the US Department of Transportation. In previous jobs, she put protected bike lanes on the ground and into the US design toolbox with the Green Lane Project at PeopleForBikes. She helped win funding for the federal Safe Routes to School program. She was deemed the “godmother of Complete Streets” for helping launch that movement. She has worked for the City of Boulder and led advocacy group Bicycle Colorado. She serves on the advisory committee for the Vision Zero Network, the board of Better Boulder and the Community Cycles Advocacy Committee. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.
Carter smiling

Carter Rubin

Director of State Transportation Advocacy, NRDC

Carter Rubin advocates for zero emissions transportation options that support equitable access for all. Rubin leads NRDC's state-level transportation advocacy to ensure that transportation investments and policy support climate-friendly and equitable communities. He previously served for five years in the Los Angeles mayor’s office, working on transportation policy and public administration. Rubin earned his master's in urban and regional planning at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he focused on transportation, land use, and parking. He is based in NRDC’s Santa Monica office.

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