Dr. Emily Young Awarded The 2011 Nicholas P. Bollman Award
Mar
15
Written by:
3/15/2011 8:15 AM
Award Recognizes Smart Growth Leaders Who Inspire Through Values and Actions
March 15, 2011 – The San Diego Foundation (www.sdfoundation.org) has announced that The Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities has awarded Dr. Emily Young, The Foundation’s Senior Director, Environmental Analysis and Strategy, the 2011 Nicholas P. Bollman Award. Established in 2008, this national award recognizes leaders who share the commitment that Bollman embodied to improving conditions for future generations, without expectation of reward.
Dr. Young has earned outstanding community recognition through her efforts to provide
donors with extensive information concerning the region's environmental needs and
opportunities. She manages The Foundation's environmental grants, and works with the
Environment Working Group to adapt and implement the Environment Program. Before
she joined The San Diego Foundation, Dr. Young spent five years as Assistant Professor at
the University of Arizona's Department of Geography and Regional Development. She has
also conducted extensive research on marine fisheries and wildlife protection, communitybased
conservation, and sustainable development in coastal marine areas of Baja
California.
“Emily has played a key role in establishing The San Diego Foundation’s Environment
program as a model for the community,” said Bob Kelly, president and CEO of The San
Diego Foundation. “We are particularly proud of her ability to convene nonprofit
organizations, business leaders and government agencies to drive the work of the Climate
Initiative and the Environmental Working Group.”
Through Dr. Young and the Environmental Working Group efforts, the Environment
Program has granted more than $7 million to environmental organizations and programs in
San Diego, has leveraged $156 million in private and public funding,
and has added 28,000
acres of conserved land and engaged more than 2,200 residents and more than 20,000 new
volunteers in environmental stewardship.
Young’s tireless efforts have played a vital role in strengthening our capacity to influence
development of our region’s Sustainable Communities Strategy, as well as providing
critical funding for nonprofit organizations working to ensure that SB375 and related public
policies are implemented in a way that avoids additional sprawl, reduces vehicle miles
travelled, and enhances regional ecosystem resilience to climate change. To date, The
Foundation has invested more than $1.3 million to address climate change in our region
and to support research on regional emissions and climate change impacts.
“Emily's understanding of natural systems, her intellectual integrity and collaborative
leadership style have made her one of the most important environmentalists in our region,”
said Scott Peters, chair of the Climate Initiative.
Highlights of Climate Initiative results to date include the following:
- Publishing the groundbreaking Regional Focus 2050 Study, California’s first regional
assessment of climate change impacts, as well as follow-up research to map critical habitat
conservation corridors and risks from sea level rise to wetlands and infrastructure along
San Diego’s coastline, as well as risks to our regional water supplies.
- Funding and convening environmental, transportation, public health, and social equity
organizations working to build climate-friendly communities and public policies that
promote transit-oriented development and enhance regional ecosystem resilience to climate change. These groups have been instrumental in securing a higher than expected
GHG reduction target for the San Diego region’s first SCS.
- Facilitating a forum amongst executives from our region’s eight largest local
governments and public agencies to help advance regional approaches to climate
mitigation and adaptation.
- Supporting innovative regional approaches to climate resilience and mitigation through a
multi-year partnership with ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, which has already
resulted in completion of ten municipal GHG inventories (with another eight to be
completed this spring), as well as development of a San Diego Bay Adaptation Strategy in
partnership with major public and private stakeholders around San Diego Bay.
- Partnering with six organizations to successfully secure an almost $1 million grant from
the National Science Foundation to increase climate science literacy and awareness in the
San Diego region.
The award was presented to Dr. Young on March 22 at the 12th Annual Funders’ Network
Conference in Detroit, Michigan.
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