October 29, 2010: Greenworks Philadelphia: Implementing Urban Sustainability

The ambitious plan sets 15 sustainability targets in the areas of energy, environment, equity, economy, and engagement to make Philadelphia the greenest city in America by 2015. In this webinar, we will discuss the first year of Greenworksimplementation and share our success to date and strategies looking ahead to making Philadelphia more sustainable.

Katherine Gajewski

Ms. Gajewski has served as the Director the Mayor's Office of Sustainability since April 2009 and worked with the Nutter Administration as a Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff in the Mayor's Office since January 2008. In this role, she managed major citywide projects, including the Philly Spring Cleanup which, in its first year, was recognized as the largest citywide clean-up in U.S. history. She worked closely with Mayor Nutter to appoint many Boards and Commissions, identifying candidates, making recommendations to the Mayor, and setting the direction and focus for these entities. She has also led a number of the Nutter Administration's community outreach efforts, playing a major role in the public engagement during this year's budget process. She worked with community organizations across the city to organize eight town hall meetings last year that were attended by thousands of people. She has served as an advisor to Mayor Nutter, Chief of Staff Clay Armbrister, and senior members of the Nutter Administration on a wide range of policy issues, with a particular focus on sustainability. Prior to joining the Administration, Katherine worked on the Nutter for Mayor campaign coordinating the sustainability and planning policy teams. She played a key role in Nutter's transition, coordinating transition teams and searches for senior personnel. From 2004-2006, Ms. Gajewski was the Campaign Coordinator for the Breathe Free Philadelphia Alliance, the coalition that led the successful grassroots campaign to pass smoke-free legislation in Philadelphia. She later consulted for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to oversee the implementation of the law - including a comprehensive business outreach and public education campaign - which resulted in compliance levels well exceeding expectations. She also worked as an aide in then Councilman Nutter's office during 2006. Before arriving in Philadelphia, Ms. Gajewski worked for land conservation organizations in Vermont and Seattle. She holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University.

Alex Dews

Mr. Dews is the Policy and Program Manager for the Mayor's Office of Sustainability in Philadelphia. His focus at MOS is on City green building policy along with tracking the progress of Greenworks, Philadelphia's sustainability plan. Prior to joining MOS, Mr. Dews worked as a project manager on a variety of residential and commercial real estate development projects in Philadelphia and around the country.