Lauren Faber O’Connor

Adjunct Professor, University of Southern California, Former Chief Sustainability Officer, City of Los Angeles

Lauren teaches Tools, Methods, and Methodologies in Urban Sustainability at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. She spent the last eight years as the Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Los Angeles where she developed and oversaw the green transition of over two dozen city agencies, including the largest municipal electric and water utility and busiest Port and Airport in the country. Lauren brought stakeholders together to devise LA’s Green New Deal, a UN-recognized global model for local action to confront the climate crisis and build an inclusive and equitable green economy. Lauren ushered in a series of climate-leading actions related to reaching a zero emissions Port, requiring that all new construction in Los Angeles be all-electric, eliminating single-use packaging, pursuing 100% recycled water and 100% clean energy, and ending urban oil drilling. She also oversaw the national network of mayors committed to climate action known as Climate Mayors and LA’s Chairship of the international mayoral climate action organization C40. 

Lauren has spent her career working on environmental issues from serving as West Coast Political Director for the Environmental Defense Fund to being appointed Assistant Secretary for Climate Change at the California EPA to addressing climate change and energy as Senior Policy Advisor at the British Embassy. Lauren serves on the Boards of California Environmental Voters, WRI Ross Center for Cities, National Renewable Energy Laboratory Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems, and USC Center for Sustainability Solutions. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Earth Systems and Economics from Stanford University, and Master’s degree in Climate and Society from Columbia University.