Hello, I’m Jason. I currently work as a staff researcher and project director at the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation. I work on projects at the intersection of climate change, labor, and the built environment, and research the economic and employment impacts of decarbonization and sustainable land use.

The majority of my time at UCLA is devoted to managing a five-year long evaluation of the first round of grant projects funded through the Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) program. Launched in 2016 by the California State Legislature, the TCC program funds the implementation of neighborhood-level transformative plans in disadvantaged communities that include a variety of coordinated GHG reduction projects, such as rooftop solar energy, tree planting, public transit service, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and waste diversion. The first round of grants will be implemented in Fresno, Ontario, and Watts, with grant amounts ranging from $35 to $70 million in each site.

Prior to working at UCLA, I spent seven years between San Francisco, New York, and Madrid working on a variety of urban planning issues, including housing discrimination, criminal justice, energy and water conservation, and carbon sequestration. While working on those topics, I held a number of roles, including researcher, policy analyst, technical assistance provider, and community services coordinator. The thread that connects these experiences is my interest in working towards a more sustainable and equitable future.

I received my master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA and my bachelor’s degree in Political Economy from UC Berkeley. I am also an alum of the City Hall Fellows program in San Francisco.