Meet the Office of Sustainability, Climate Action, and Resilience (OSCAR)

Susie Strife, Director
sstrife@bouldercounty.gov

Susie Strife is the Director of the Office of Sustainability, Climate Action, & Resilience for Boulder County. In this role, Susie leads Boulder County’s climate action and sustainability efforts, developing programs and initiatives with a special focus on climate strategy and policy. Complimentary to her work at Boulder County, Susie is deeply committed to educating young people. She teaches courses at the University of Colorado and has been an active board member of several environmental non-profits.

Susie received her PhD from the University of Colorado in 2009, funded by the EPA’s Science to Achieve Results Fellowship, and received her BA from Middlebury College in 2002. Susie is motivated by her young daughters who are a constant reminder that sustainability is meaningful work especially in creating a vibrant future for all youth. She loves to backcountry ski and trail run, but her favorite way to spend time is playing with her high-spirited little girls.

Zac Swank, Deputy Director
zswank@bouldercounty.gov

Zac Swank is the Deputy Director of Boulder County’s Office of Sustainability, Climate Action, and Resilience. Zac oversees Boulder County’s Built Environment and Decarbonization teams focused on commercial and residential electrification, efficiency, sustainability, and environmental justice. Zac has an MBA and a BA in environmental politics. Prior to Boulder County, Zac was operations manager of Colorado CarShare, a Fellow at Natural Capitalism Solutions, and advised entrepreneurs as a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa.

Tim Broderick, Senior Sustainability Strategist
tbroderick@bouldercounty.gov

Tim is the Senior Sustainability Strategist for Boulder County’s Office of Sustainability, Climate Action, and Resilience. Tim helps develop strategic planning and visioning for the department, and is responsible for managing the nature-based solutions (NbS) and circular economy teams.

Tim leads regenerative agriculture initiatives to increase soil health, sequester carbon, and enhance resilience. He has distributed close to a million dollars of on-the-ground grant funding towards regenerative agricultural projects in Boulder County. He also helped launch Restore Colorado, which recently received the USDA Climate Commodities Grant and is now a part of the CO Department of Agriculture Healthy Soils Challenge. Before working in government, Tim spent 10 years as a sustainability professional in higher education at Colorado State University and Temple University.

Dede Croissant, Climate & Circularity Specialist
dcroissant@bouldercounty.gov

Dede is on the Nature-based Climate Solutions and Circular Economy Team. Dede leads urban landscape initiatives to improve resilience and mitigate climate impacts, investigates opportunities within carbon markets, and helps design and manage OSCAR’s circular economy programs to reduce supply chain emissions in the manufacturing sector. She also works on regenerative agriculture initiatives such as the Sustainable Food and Agriculture Fund. Deandra completed her Masters of Sustainability from the University of Sydney.

Brett Fleishman, Senior Climate Strategist
bfleishman@bouldercounty.gov

Brett manages OSCAR’s big-picture climate policy and strategy work. Driving projects, programs, and policies toward the scale and structure necessary to meet our climate and justice goals, Brett works with federal government agencies and regional partners to generate the needed resources and momentum. He has a background in climate finance, climate policy, organizing, and activism. Brett holds an MS in Development Economics from The New School.

Dave Hatchimonji, Low-Income Energy Services and Green Workforce Development Lead
dhatchimonji@bouldercounty.gov

Dave’s focuses on increasing services to lower-income and climate disproportionally impacted communities, and how to increase green trade opportunities and capacity within the region. He began his tenure with Boulder County at Longs Peak Energy Conservation prior to joining OSCAR. Dave has a B.A. in Environmental Studies from the U.C. Santa Barbara and an MBA from C.U. Denver.

Christian Herrmann, Climate Communications Director
cherrmann@bouldercounty.gov

Christian is a bonafide creative with an award-winning knack for telling compelling stories that drive engagement and bring big issues to life. Christian manages strategic communications for Boulder County’s Office of Sustainability, Climate Action & Resilience. He is responsible for the department’s creative direction, branding, media relations, and public information campaigns, which have generated national and international news coverage. He also co-founded the Colorado Climate Communicators Coalition, a first-of-its-kind professional organization for governmental and government-adjacent communications professionals. His video and digital media work focuses on social justice, education, and the arts with emphasis on subjects from traditionally marginalized and LGBTQ+ communities. Christian completed his BA in Social Anthropology at Cambridge University.

Marina La Grave, Climate Equity Specialist
mlagrave@bouldercounty.gov

Marina leads OSCAR’s intercultural communications, engagement, and language access initiatives. She works across departments and within the community to advance equity, strengthen collaboration on race and justice, and deepen relationships with the county’s most climate-vulnerable groups. By analyzing climate and sustainability initiatives through an equity lens, Marina supports decision-making processes and prioritized actions across the department. Marina is a United Nations translator and interpreter with over 30 years of experience.

Sabina Maniak, Climate Communications Specialist
smaniak@bouldercounty.gov

Sabina works across OSCAR programs and teams to ensure that all communications are concise and accessible. She is responsible for developing web content and newsletters, and enjoys learning about and sharing all elements of the county’s climate and resilience work. Her interdisciplinary background includes international climate policy, environmental justice, earth sciences, wind energy, and transportation. Sabina completed her MA in Urban Resilience and Sustainability at the University of Colorado, Boulder and her BA in Linguistics at Washington University in St. Louis.

Kevin Peterson, Nature-based Climate Solutions Specialist
kpeterson@bouldercounty.gov

Kevin’s work focuses on managing our forests, grasslands, and watersheds to increase resilience and address the impacts of climate change. Kevin also facilitates inter-departmental collaboration on water for the county and manages the Boulder County Climate Innovation Fund, which funds innovative regional projects on carbon dioxide removal and landscape resilience. Kevin has a BS in Biology and a MS in Natural Resources and Environment and a background in watershed management and environmental science.

Collin Tomb, Climate & Health Strategist
ctomb@bouldercounty.gov

Collin reaches across county lines to address the common sources of air pollution and greenhouse gases through state-level programs and policy, working closely with Public Health and the Policy Office. She brings health, science and equity expertise to the policy process through government and professional collaborations. Collin has a background in bioscience, green building, business sustainability and air quality. She holds a BA in Biology from Harvard University and an M.Arch. from the University of Utah.

Lea Yancey, Senior Sustainability Strategist
lyancey@bouldercounty.gov

Lea leads countywide transportation electrification initiatives to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles, electric bikes, and associated charging to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality. Her work encourages collaboration to achieve mutual goals, share knowledge, improve environmental justice, and leverage resources. Lea also manages the Boulder County Environmental Sustainability Matching Grant program, which supports funding to municipalities for their communities’ sustainability priorities. Lea received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering, with a minor in air and water quality, from the University of California at Berkeley.