Meredith McDermott oversees the NYC Public Schools Office of Energy & Sustainability as the first Chief Sustainability & Decarbonization after serving as Director for over 8 years. Her Office leads all sustainability and climate programs, projects, planning, and policy, establishes pathways to reduce emissions and waste, optimize building performance, and support all school stakeholders and communities to take climate action. She worked to include climate education as a formal priority in City climate policy for the first time and her team supports both student and teacher leadership teams to drive progress and engagement in school sustainability. Meredith advocates for education as a foundational element of all climate solutions and works to improve school infrastructure and link opportunity and impact to students, staff, and communities. Meredith previously led sustainability at Chicago Public Schools, implemented immersive science education programs in San Diego, and has Masters degrees in Marine Science and Sustainability Management from the University of Queensland in Australia.
