Check in from the Sunnyvale Team: Mallory Mitton

Hello, my name is Mallory Mitton and I am one of the co-leads of the Sunnyvale team.

Since the team’s creation in the summer of 2020, we have worked to make the City of Sunnyvale more climate-friendly. In 2020, we focused on advocating directly to Sunnyvale City Council. We successfully advocated for more stringent reach codes, which are guidelines for the City to follow in new construction or renovations. For example, we pushed for more EV chargers in residential buildings and minimizing exceptions for all electrical appliances. Our team also shaped Sunnyvale’s Active Transportation Plan to include more pedestrian and bicycle safety goals.  Prior to the 2020 election, we hosted a climate change forum for the city council candidates to share their climate change policies.

Our plan for the end of 2021 and beyond is to work towards decreasing food waste in Sunnyvale by partnering with organizations such as Food Runners, who bring leftover food from restaurants to those facing food insecurity.

I look forward to seeing what more we can accomplish. I would like to thank all of our student members as well as our two adult advisors Linda and Kristel who have helped lead us since day one. Over the past two years, our team has learned many things - from public speaking to collaboration - and how to work together towards a common goal.