February 2021
NEWS
CivicSpark Welcomes New Director and Operations and Compliance Coordinator!
On February 16th Shauna Goodman joined the Local Government Commission as the National Service Program Director. Goodman brings 13+ years of experience in community-benefit organizations and higher education. She has a proven record of relationship building with volunteers, donors, clients across organizations and teams. As the National Service Program Director, Goodman will oversee the direction of the Local Government Commissions’ CivicSpark and California Climate Action Corps programs.
Richard Balli will be joining us as the new CivicSpark Operations & Compliance Coordinator on February 22nd. Richard is a Sacramento State alumni and is coming to us from a local Sacramento law firm. He is tech-savvy, detail-oriented, has a background in social media and communications, and will be providing cross-program operational support.
SCAG Wins APA Best Practices Excellence Awards
With Fellow Support
Senior CivicSpark Fellows Amanda Caswell, Vannesa Reyes Salazar, and Natalie Arreaga supported our long-time Partners at SCAG in winning two Excellence Awards for Best Practices from the American Planning Association!
Fellows were instrumental in developing SCAG's active transportation database as well as the agency's climate adaptation communications strategies, partnering with Here.LA to hold interactive Climate Talks Pop-up Box events to engage community members with climate change and adaptation strategies, and understand what climate change messaging resonated best with people in Southern California. You may re-watch the virtual awards ceremony here.
First-Ever Climate Action Corps Fellows were Sworn in!
The inaugural 68 Climate Action Corps Fellows completed their 7-day orientation to be sworn in as AmeriCorps Members! Along with Bay Area Community Resources, the Local Government Commission will be implementing partners of this new program as our Fellows embark on their 7.5-month service organizing communities to take direct climate action!
The Groundwater Resources Association of California hosts Fellows for January Branch Meeting
The Groundwater Resources Association of California Sacramento Branch hosted CivicSpark Fellows for their January Branch Meeting.
Fellows Madeleine Travis from the Central California Region and Andrew Bake from the North Coast Region, alongside the Local Government Commission's water program Project Manager Atley Keller, presented on their sustainable groundwater management projects and how CivicSpark supports addressing water issues in California.
Madeleine is a fervent advocate for environmental justice, climate adaptation, and equitable access to potable water.
She currently assists the County of SLO with stormwater capture for groundwater recharge research and outreach to support the County in achieving groundwater sustainability.
She is hopeful that her current efforts will have a meaningful impact and is eager to further expand her education and experience to continue to mitigate inequities in the water world.
Andrew is very conscious of the unequal distribution of water availability and safety and is interested in leveraging water policy to build a more sustainable water system. The Ukiah Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency is completing its Groundwater Sustainability Plan for the Ukiah Valley Basin (UVB) mandated by the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. His team is hard at work installing a monitoring network, building out a model of the groundwater and surface water flows in the UVB, and working on creating management actions that benefit all water users within the basin.
OPPORTUNITIES
Fellow applications for the 2021-22 Service year
OPEN March 1!
 Share this opportunity with your network and potential applicants
Priority Application Deadline will be March 30. 
Register for an upcoming informational webinar and visit our website to learn more about the program and how you can support communities in California.
Priority Deadline for Partner Applications
Closes February 28!
Help us share this opportunity with agencies and organizations in your network.
APPLY NOW our priority deadline is February 28.
Visit our website or register for an upcoming Partner informational webinar to learn more about the program and how our Emerging Leaders may support your agency.
REGIONAL DIGEST
Fellow Spotlight
Question of the Month: "What personal or professional goals do you hope to accomplish through CivicSpark in 2021?"
Isabelle teDuits | Sacramento & Sierra

"Although the state of the world remains uncertain for 2021, I feel fortunate to have stability within the CivicSpark program. Progress can continue toward reaching my personal and professional goals. One of my primary professional goals is to explore the endless possibilities of career options through networking. Also, since starting the fellowship, I began teaching myself graphic design and utilized these new skills in my projects. I seek to continue to grow this skill throughout the year. A personal goal for 2021 is to continue to explore California. CivicSpark pushed me to move to a totally new place with so many adventurous opportunities."
Chole Trifilio | Bay Area

"I’m guessing that like many other Fellows, I am approaching the new year with a sense of reflection and reprioritization. I am looking forward to managing a pilot study on carbon sequestration. We will be working with our county waste partner to apply compost to municipally-owned landscapes in order to test the potential benefits of carbon sequestration, soil health, water retention, and more! If all goes well the compost will be applied at our first site in the spring, and I will be well-versed in project management, which is a big goal of mine. "
UPCOMING EVENTS
Various dates between January 28 to February 24

February 17 | 8:30 am

February 23| 10:00 am

February 23| 5:30 - 6:45 pm

February 24 | 11:00 am

February 24 | 11:00 am

February 27| 1:00 pm

May 5 - 6 (Tickets are $16 until March 22. Scholarship form is here)
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CivicSpark is a Governor's Initiative AmeriCorps program implemented by the Local Government Commission in partnership with the Governor's Office of Planning and Research. Each year, 90 Fellows are placed across California in regional hubs to implement targeted projects that build capacity for local government agencies to better address community resilience issues such as climate change, water resource management, and access to opportunities.
Learn more about CivicSpark at www.civicspark.lgc.org.