Colleen Callahan
deputy director
Luskin Center for Innovation
3323 School of Public Affairs Building
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1656
(310) 267-5435
ccallahan@luskin.ucla.edu
Colleen Callahan is deputy director of the Luskin Center for Innovation (LCI). She has served in this role since 2010, helping to build LCI from the ground up. Collaborating with colleagues and civic partners, she helps to ensure that LCI’s research informs evidence-based environmental policy. Colleen conducts strategic planning, partner engagement and oversees research projects, communications, events, and more.
Colleen’s research addresses environmental equity, climate, transportation, and access to public space. This includes leading LCI’s California Climate Investments research, which has helped inform how billions of dollars are invested to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide local benefits, particularly in front line communities affected by pollution and poverty.
She has more than 15 years of experience in social entrepreneurship, environmental policy, and urban planning. Colleen is co-founder of the Los Angeles Sustainability Collaborative, a nonprofit that mentors and empowers emerging environmental leaders. Previously, she directed and taught in the UCLA Leaders in Sustainability (LiS) Certificate Program, which benefits about 100 graduate students annually from 20 plus disciplines across campus. Before coming to UCLA, she established the Los Angeles office of the American Lung Association, later serving as their manager of air quality policy.
She is a Switzer Environmental Fellow, recipient of the Neville Parker Award from the U.S. Council of University Transportation Centers, and co-recipient of two national awards from the American Planning Association. She holds a M.A. in Urban Planning from UCLA and a B.A. in Urban and Environmental Policy from Occidental College, Phi Beta Kappa.
