Ella Acker is a Northern California native, driven by the idea that accessibility, resiliency, and creativity are the foundations for strengthening community capacity. Throughout high school, Ella worked for the Town of San Anselmo, where she led and implemented the construction of a pocket park on a local dead-end street. Additionally, she moderated policy discussions and community outreach sessions on rent control ordinances within the town. This inspired Ella’s decision to attend Occidental College and major in Diplomacy & World Affairs, aiming to better understand patterns in global systems and organizational behavior.

In college, Ella primarily focused on refining her writing and data analytics skills through her work as a 3-year Writing Advisor and Fellow at Occidental College’s Writing Center, as well as a Data Analyst for her college’s Office of Sustainability. Working at the intersection of renewable energy policy development and stakeholder management, Ella compiled and streamlined the foundational data for the college’s first Climate Action Plan. Currently, Ella works as the CivicSpark Fellow for the County of Solano, where she supports the Department of Resource Management. Her work primarily focuses on shaping and implementing energy efficiency programs throughout the county, as well as considering how workforce capacity can be expanded within the scope of producing green jobs. Building up community spaces and knowledge as they relate to renewable energy policies is what inspires and shapes Ella’s work.