Giving Compass' Take:

• In this Q&A, Shawn Marshall shares that bringing together community activism and green technology can be a powerful and accelerating combination.

• How can donors help support growth in local climate action? What can you do in your community? 

• Here's how the data revolution can feed the next green revolution.

Shawn Marshall, who has served as mayor of Mill Valley, California, and currently serves as executive director of the nonprofit LEAN Energy US, pioneered the concept of community choice aggregation (CCA) — sometimes also referred to as community choice energy — nearly 14 years ago. She has gone on to advocate for it all over the country and the world. CCA is a model of community partnership for energy production that can accelerate clean energy goals and provide autonomy to cities. Marshall was successful in getting a CCA established in Marin County in 2010, and has guided the establishment of CCAs all over the United States ever since. She was heavily involved in the fight for CCA in San Diego, which voted to establish its CCA in September 2019, and is the largest U.S. city to date to do so. We sat down with Marshall to talk about the green transition, community autonomy, and the power of local change.

Casey O’Brien: Can you describe a bit about the model of community choice aggregation?

Shawn Marshall: Essentially the way it works is that it’s a partnership or a shared relationship between the incumbent utility — which, in California, is Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), or in San Diego’s case, San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) — and the communities that band together to form a CCA.

Read the full article about supporting a green transition by Casey O'Brien at Shareable.