Robert & Patricia Switzer Foundation

Fellowship Year: 2009

Academic Background: UCLA - MA 2010- (MA in Urban Planning Leaders in Sustainability certificate program)

Current Position: Deputy Director , UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation

Currently Working On: Closing the Environmental Justice Gap: A Workshop to Advance Evaluation Methods

Colleen Callahan is Deputy Director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation, which unites the intellectual capital of UCLA with forward-looking civic leaders to advance environmental sustainability through scholarship, research, and community engagement. Initiative areas include Sustainable Energy, Smart Water Systems, Climate Action Planning for Local Governments, Green Chemistry, and Clean Tech for Los Angeles. Prior to joining UCLA, Colleen was the Manager of Air Quality Policy for the American Lung Association. In this role she collaborated with diverse coalitions and advocated for policies to reduce air pollution and global warming emissions from the transportation and energy sectors. She is a founding Board Member of the Los Angeles Sustainability Collaborative, a nonprofit organization that sponsors research to raise awareness on environmental issues and inform policy making in Southern California. She holds a .M.A. in urban planning from the University of California, Los Angeles. Her interdisciplinary studies focused on transportation planning and environmental policy. She graduated from Occidental College with a BA in urban and environmental policy, Phi Beta Kappa. She considers herself home in both Los Angeles,CA (where she has lived for over a decade) and her home town of Tucson, AZ. She is is a runner, hiker, and transit rider.

Expertise: Air Quality, Architecture & Urban Planning, Environmental & Public Health