Amber Vaillancourt worked with the Town of Dedham, MA to advance their climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts after completing her undergraduate degree in Natural Resource Planning and Community and International Development from the University of Vermont. Amber's work with the Town centered around the requirements set out by the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, an international coalition of cities and towns working to cut Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and engage in resiliency planning. Amber started the process of creating a baseline community-wide GHG Inventory by acquiring stationary energy, waste/ wastewater, and transportation data and contributed to preliminary research on the Town's Climate Action Plan. Additionally, she engaged in research on identifying local and regional climate change vulnerabilities and hazards in support of the Town's involvement in Massachusetts' Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program. Amber got a chance to work beyond the GHG inventory by assisting Town staff and The Sustainability Advisory Committee on the development of an environmental checklist for new commercial construction. Dedham's sustainability efforts can serve as a model for similar towns in Metro Boston seeking to understand and address their contribution to climate change by using an approach scaled and tailored for their community. Amber hopes to build on her fellowship experience by pursuing a Master's in city planning focused on sustainability and equity.
