Caltrans Fills Sustainability Director Post: Congratulations Ellen Greenberg

Months after its Deputy Director for Sustainability, Steven Cliff, went back to work for the Air Resources Board, Caltrans has hired a replacement for this key post. New hire Ellen Greenberg comes with impeccable credentials, having worked for decades as a planner in both public sector and private sector jobs.

She worked most recently as principal at Arup, a design, planning, and engineering firm, on Britain's high-speed rail. Before that she worked with transportation agencies including L.A. Metro, Vancouver's TransLink, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in the Bay Area, and helped prepare General Plans for numerous California cities. She worked as director of policy and research at the Congress for New Urbanism, and served for a short time as its interim executive director.

Greenberg was also the lead author of Caltrans' Smart Mobility Framework, a 2010 planning document that threatened to sit on the shelf until Caltrans was forced to reshuffle its priorities and begin the long process of remaking itself.

The Smart Mobility Framework (here's a fact sheet about it) laid the groundwork for Caltrans' new focus on finding ways to reduce driving while increasing mobility and safety and supporting social justice, the environment, and the economy. It's fitting that one of that document's key authors will now become the deputy director in charge of making sure those priorities are incorporated throughout the organization.

In a press release, Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty says that “Ellen will be a valuable addition to the Caltrans Executive Team. She will help Caltrans advance its sustainability commitment by applying those principles into the planning, design, maintenance and operation of California’s vast transportation system.”

Streetsblog agrees that Greenberg is a great choice for this job. Congratulations to her and we look forward to her success.