City of Bloomington Announces New Assistant Director of Sustainability

(BLOOMINGTON) – The City of Bloomington has hired Lauren Travis as the new Assistant Director of Sustainability in the Department of Economic and Sustainable Development. 

Travis will help lead the City’s sustainability initiatives, including implementation of Bloomington’s first Sustainability Action Plan finalized in early 2019.  The City’s first formal sustainability planning effort, the Sustainability Action Plan outlines the City’s strategy with regard to environmental, social, and economic resiliency.  Having assumed the position June 17, Travis succeeds Autumn Salamack, who left the City in March to return to her native state of Washington.  

In her role, Travis will facilitate sustainability best practices in City operations, participate in regional and national sustainability networks, and represent the City on the Bloomington Commission on Sustainability.  To fulfill the goals of the Sustainability Action Plan, Travis’ initial focus will be to coordinate the City’s sustainability reporting efforts, including the completion of an updated Greenhouse Gas Inventory to help the City minimize the generation of greenhouse gas emissions.  Travis will also help the City track its performance on energy, water, transportation, health, and equity metrics as one of the first fifteen cities in the US selected to participate in the LEED for Cities and Communities Program.  

“We are pleased to welcome Lauren into this vital role at the City,” said Mayor John Hamilton.  “Her experience will serve our community well as we continue to work to ensure Bloomington’s long-term viability on environmental, economic, and social justice fronts.” 

In prior roles, Travis supported sustainability and community development initiatives at various non-profit organizations by developing partnerships with community organizations, businesses, and educational institutions.  Most recently, Travis served as the Project Manager for Regional Opportunity Initiatives, Inc. to develop and launch quality of place projects across the Indiana Uplands Region. In 2017, Travis was part of the first year of the Indiana Sustainability Development Program (ISDP), an Indiana University Office of Sustainability-McKinney Family Foundation Program Initiative to grow Indiana’s sustainability workforce.  As an ISDP fellow, she served as a Water Quality Coordinator Fellow at Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter and worked to increase volunteer engagement in Hoosier Riverwatch, a state-run water quality education and monitoring program. 

Travis holds a master’s degree in public affairs with a concentration in sustainability from the Indiana University O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.

Travis’s salary is $50,000.