Samantha Smithies

Samantha Smithies

Project Coordinator

California Center for Sustainable Communities at UCLA

La Kretz Hall, Suite 300
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Campus Mailcode: 149606

Pronouns: she/her

Samantha Smithies is the CCSC project coordinator.

A UCLA graduate, she’s committed to advancing sustainable, equitable, and resilient communities through environmental justice and planning work. Prior to joining CCSC, she served as a UC President’s Climate Action Fellow and worked with the California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research.

Her previous projects include a study on the integration of environmental justice in California local planning under SB 1000; UCLA’s inaugural climate resilience plan; pilot campus engagement and planning strategies; California’s general plan reporting requirements; and California’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing mandate.

Outside of work, Samantha is passionate about getting involved with her community, from serving on the Albany, CA Climate Action Committee to the North Westwood Neighborhood Council.

Projects

Electric distribution and generation in the foreground with natural gas infrastructure in the background.

Mindful Gas Decommissioning

California’s goal of decarbonizing the state’s energy sector by 2045 requires an accompanying strategic approach to the decommissioning of the extensive gas infrastructure.

Electric distribution infrastructure in Los Angeles.

LADWP – LA100 Equity Strategies Initiative

As part of the LA100 Equity Strategies study, CCSC estimated residential service panel capacities throughout the LADWP service territory to assess what upgrades may be needed to support comprehensive electrification.

EnergymetersMontyDickersonPixnio

Equitable Electrification of Existing Buildings: A Pathway to Decarbonization

Building electrification is the most viable solution to reducing building greenhouse gas emissions, with the added benefit of improving air quality. Yet, electrification of existing buildings is difficult. Often times, a homeowner or landlord experiences unexpected complications when trying to retrofit their building.

Recent Publications

Quantifying the electric service panel capacities of California’s residential buildings

Eric Daniel Fournier, Robert Cudd, Samantha Smithies, Stephanie Pincetl

Published Work | 2024 | Energy Policy

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