Recent grants from the Santa Barbara Foundation and Towbes Foundation totalingmore than $50,000 will set new plans in motion for Built Green Santa Barbara. “We’ve been developingthe program’s intellectual products, brand, and constituency slowly over the last decade. It’s time now to step to the next level,” says Karin Perissinotto, President of the Built Green Board of Directors. As partof this amplification, the organization has hired Kathleen O’Brien as its new Program Director. Some will recognize O’Brien as the nationally renowned consultant who helped design the program.”Her familiarity with our program as well as the lessons learned from other programs she’s helped develop is going to be a big boost to the plans we have for this year,” notes Perissinotto.A priority for the new director who is expected to hit the ground running this coming January will be launching initiatives funded by the grants. Some of this work will build on current work, such as greenjob training, K-12 student engagement, public outreach, and the 2030 Challenge. There will also be expansions in new areas identified by community stakeholders in workshops conducted in 2010, including quantification of benefits from green building features in the Built Green program, and a planfor the development of green affordable workforce housing. In all of these efforts, the focus is expected “to be on outcomes, not activity,” says, O’Brien.Other priorities will be improving the program’s visibility and reach into the community, as well asstrengthening the organization’s systems and structure to ensure its longevity. “Right now, the programexists because of a few very dedicated individuals,” says O’Brien. “It’s important to move beyond that tocreating a self-sustaining and independent organization that will be here to foster the long term change envisioned by these visionaries.” The Built Green Program is housed in the Built Green Resource Center, at 914 A Santa Barbara Street, Santa Barbara. Information about the program is available at www.builtgreensb.org.

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