SARAH O’KEEFE

Director of Sustainability and Climate Justice, Mayor's Cabinet, Cleveland

Sarah O'Keeffe serves as the lead for the Mayor's Office of Sustainability in the City of Cleveland, directing sustainability and climate justice initiatives and a staff of passionate sustainability leaders. As a part of Mayor's Bibb cabinet, Sarah is currently working with peers to evaluate, update and establish priorities in circular economy, transforming energy, transportation, land use and other resource-intensive systems at the local and regional levels in the pursuit of equitable solutions to climate change and other environmental issues facing the Greater Cleveland community.  A specific 2023 priority for the city will be the scoping of a regional decarbonization framework that is centered in equity, is inclusive of nature-based climate solutions and will help better quantify climate action goals to reach science-based targets. Sarah and the Office of Sustainability also work collaboratively with a number of community-based groups, non-profit organizations and other governmental agencies on these priorities, including the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District, Cleveland Tree Coalition, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, Power a Clean Future Ohio, the Cleveland 2030 District, Greater Cleveland Partnership, NOACA, NEORSD, OH EPA and others.