About the Instructor

Kara Odegard

KaraOdegard_headshot

Kara Odegard led the City of Spokane's 2021 Sustainability Action Plan, the city's first comprehensive climate action plan, using a collaborative leadership model and a team of 40+ subject matter experts. The plan was co-created with a large team of community stakeholders and now serves as a template for other municipalities.

Kara is also the founding partner of Measure Meant, a consultancy working with organizations, tribal nations, and cities to build transformative sustainability programs through climate planning, B Corp Certification, and sustainability reporting. In recent years, her work has centered on climate planning with tribal and regional government partners across Washington state and the Pacific Northwest, alongside sustainability consulting for corporate clients nationally. Her recent projects include:

  1. Partnering with the Nez Perce Tribe's Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Division’s Air Quality Program and Water Resources Division's Climate Team to provide project management and technical support in writing the Tribe's Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP), funded through the EPA's Carbon Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program. This partnership helped the Tribe secure $46 million in EPA implementation funding.
  2. Developing community engagement plans for the five Upper Columbia United Tribes (UCUT) as part of their PCAP project, also funded through the EPA's CPRG program.
  3. Leading climate risk and vulnerability assessments for municipal, tribal, and private entities across the Pacific Northwest, building on methodology she developed through several years working with the Climate Impacts Research Consortium (a NASA climate program) and NOAA's Regional Sciences and Assessments program on the Spokane Climate Project.

She is a practiced communicator, stakeholder manager, and community leader with over 25 years of experience across multinational, national, and local organizations. Throughout her career, Kara has developed a broad skill set and a talent for translating complex ideas into down-to-earth language and processes.

Kara holds a Master's in Leadership for Sustainability from the University of Vermont, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, and a BA in English from the University of Washington.