Striking Gold in Pittsburgh: Sustainable Pittsburgh’s New Director Joylette Portlock

Joylette Portlock from the film ‘Climate Warriors’

A new era of Environmentalism is taking shape in Pittsburgh with Joylette Portlock’s arrival at Sustainable Pittsburgh.

 The non-profit Sustainable Pittsburgh is an organization that is centered around the sustainable prosperity of our area.

Portlock studied biology and anthropology at MIT, and also received a degree in genetics from Stanford University.  With a diverse background, Joylette is the ideal candidate for the non-profit. Her most recent endeavor was her assistant director of Science and Research position at the Carnegie Museum.

Beyond the Carnegie, she was the founder of non-profit communication forum ‘Communitopia’, and her ‘Don’t just sit there- do something” videos that are featured on Communitopia took off because of her wit and fluid dialogue about sustainability. With the free time she had, Joylette was a key component in Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project along with holding the position of outreach coordinator at PennFuture, another Pittsburgh based non-profit.

We can pretty much categorize Portlock as a sustainable superhero.

Although she can not share with us what initiatives she plans on conquering when she officially begins her new position in December of this year, she said the following as quoted in the Pittsburgh Courier

 “The reason that I’m doing this work is to do it with communities and with consumers, and that’s what my job will be. Everyone has a stake—so we need to get as many stakeholders involved as possible,” she said. “The opportunities need to be built into the system, not as an afterthought.”

Portlock spoke on how she believes that one of Pittsburgh’s largest problems stems from inequality. As our city pioneers into sustainably conscious endeavors, every community must be included. This directly aligns with Sustainable Pittsburgh’s missions:

  • Sustainable Development – a better way (integrating 3Es)
  • Integrity in approach & trusted change agent
  • Passion for Southwestern PA – diverse people, resources, region
  • Systemic change at scale for the region
  • Collaborative in partnerships and public engagement

And Portlock understands that.

Her role at PennFuture and The Carnegie Museum have paved the way for her to become a local icon in the environmental organization world, which she believes will allow her to undertake larger projects, making a greater change.

Joylette Portlock is the environmental leader that Pittsburgh needs, and as the director of Sustainable Pittsburgh we can expect to see great change.

To learn more about Sustainable Pittsburgh: http://sustainablepittsburgh.org/about/overview/ 

Communitopia: https://www.communitopia.org/board.html

 

One Comment Add yours

  1. callie.oliver says:

    What an awesome write-up about her and her contributions. I am impressed and proud that such an awesome woman is working in our city and doing such fantastic work. I’m excited to follow her non-profit work.

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