Acton Appoints Andrea Becerra As First Sustainability Director

ACTON, MA — Acton is welcoming its first Sustainability Director, Andrea Becerra. Acton's Sustainability Office was created after a resolution was passed in the 2020 Town Meeting.

Becerra worked on the Natural Resources Defense Council for more than five years before coming to Acton. During her time on the council, Becerra focused on various things from communication strategies to build support for the U.S. Clean Power Plan, to advocating for water-smart policies across the Americas.

"Following the recent Special Town Meeting vote to adopt a resolution declaring a climate emergency, coupled with the Select Board’s long-standing goal of sustainability, I am excited to have Andrea on board as Acton’s first Sustainability Director to help oversee sustainability programs and initiatives in Acton," Town Manager John Mangiaratti said.

The town sustainability director will be in charge of managing the Green Communities grant application and reporting process for municipal projects, working with the Department of Public Works to implement solid waste/composting and recycling programs and publishing an annual report on progress toward sustainability goals.

Becerra has worked on global climate initiatives as a consultant for DevGlobal and as a fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute. She also attended the United Nations Climate Conference in Bonn, Germany, as a Tufts University delegate. In Bonn, Becerra was inspired by the incredible energy and work led by municipal governments. While the U.S. had announced its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions increased at the local level through initiatives like Local Governments for Sustainability and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy.

Becerra received an undergraduate degree from Davidson College and graduated with a master’s degree from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, where she studied integrated water resource management and environmental and resource policy. As part of her graduate degree at Tufts, she also received a Water: Systems, Science, and Society Certificate.