Mountain View has named Danielle Lee as its first chief sustainability and resiliency officer. Lee will lead the city of Mountain View's upcoming sustainability and climate resiliency efforts, according to a recent city announcement. She is expected to begin the new role on Monday, March 7.

"I am overjoyed to have this opportunity to lead the sustainability program for the city of Mountain View, a city that is leading the way regionally in building a sustainable community," said Lee. "I’m particularly excited about sustainability and resiliency from the lens of building a stronger and more connected community for everyone."

Lee will be responsible for advising the city on sustainability and resiliency goals, work to develop programs to achieve carbon neutrality, resiliency, adaptability and equity, oversee how the city implements its Sustainability Action Plan and promote community, city and private sector participation in sustainability efforts, among other tasks, according to the city.

She will join the city of Mountain View with more than 17 years of local government experience. She has worked for San Mateo County since 2005 in a number of sustainability-related roles and as an analyst, and has spent the past six years as assistant director in the county's Office of Sustainability.

While there, she helped to support the development of Peninsula Clean Energy, a local joint powers authority enabling cleaner power for county residents as a default compared to what PG&E offers. She also worked on a countywide climate effort called Climate Ready SMC, worked on a water summit held to discuss county water management problems and helped to expand the county's commute benefits program for employees.

She has a master of business administration degree from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor's degree in Integrative Biology from U.C. Berkeley. She also volunteered with the Peace Corps in Malawi, Africa for more than two years in the early 2000s.

"As the city’s first chief sustainability and resiliency Officer, Danielle has an ideal skill set to collaborate across the city organization and with community partners to set and accomplish Mountain View’s vision for a sustainable future," said City Manager Kimbra McCarthy.

As part of Mountain View's climate action goals, the city aims to curb carbon dioxide emissions citywide to 80% below 2005 levels by 2050.

As of 2019, community-wide greenhouse gas emissions totaled the equivalent of 601,980 metric tons of carbon dioxide, a decrease of about 14% from 2005 baseline levels. And as of 2018, greenhouse gas emissions by the city government totaled the equivalent of 8,700 metric tons of carbon dioxide, a decrease of about 51% from 2005 baseline levels, according to the city website.

Other sustainability programs include the city's community tree master plan, preparing for sea level rise by improving current conditions along the Bay, and preventing stormwater runoff from polluting local water systems.