Meet our new employee: Braden Latham-Jones
We're excited to welcome Braden Latham-Jones, the Office of Sustainability's newest team member! Braden joins our team in the role of Climate Program Manager, where he will lead the City's Climate team and build partnerships in support of the Austin Climate Equity Plan. We asked Braden a few questions to learn more about him, his passions, and what drew him to this new job.
Q: Where are you from, and what do you like best about your hometown?
A: I was born outside of Dallas and grew up mostly in small towns throughout the Midwest. I spent good time growing up on a small family farm owned by my grandparents and surrounded by forests. Walking through those woods for hours with my grandfather remains among my best memories. It also taught me how to love and understand ecosystems and all the life within, eventually leading me to this work.
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself and what interested you in joining the Office of Sustainability.
A: I've had a long-standing respect for the Office of Sustainability team and their commitment to building a livable future. Our team is known nationally for being on the cutting edge of climate work and has some of the leading climate, food justice, and resilience experts. Austin's Climate Equity Plan was also the first climate plan in the nation to provide strategies that address the unequal impacts of climate change on communities of color. So, when the opportunity came to join this team, I jumped at it!
Q: What are you most excited to accomplish during your time with the Office of Sustainability?
A: Our community expects us to meet the goals they helped establish through the Climate Equity Plan to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. It's an ambitious and achievable goal, but we'll need a broad coalition ready to take bold action to get it done. So, I'm most excited to work with our community and City leaders to help us get there.
Q: What are some of your favorite things to do or places to go in Austin?
A: If I have a free weekend, I usually wander around the beautiful greenbelts, waterways, and parks across Austin. But the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is at the top of my list. It offers plenty to do for people of all ages and abilities all year round.
Q: What is your favorite sustainable thing to do in your personal life?
A: I'm an avid gardener. It reduces our carbon footprint and allows me to enjoy the sun and play in the dirt. We grow enough to have plenty on our plates and still share the excess with neighbors and friends. Food scraps or trimmings then get composted in our backyard. That compost ends up in our garden beds, and the cycle continues. The City's composting program has really upped our game and allowed us to divert other items we couldn't compost at home!
Q: What is your favorite food and why?
A: My go-to cuisine is traditional Chinese food and Sichuan food specifically. The "mala" flavor in Sichuanese dishes is unbeatable.