The Lasting Impact of ÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵ's First Climate Action Corps Fellows
In September 2025, ÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵ was chosen for the first time to serve as a host site for the Climate Action Corps Fellowship, an AmeriCorps program that places individuals with organizations across the state to advance climate efforts in four key areas: urban greening, organic waste diversion, edible food recovery, and wildfire resiliency. The partnership was extremely beneficial for both the university and the two fellows, who brought new ideas, capacity, and energy to the campus
Chloe Williamson and Nardose Fasika were stationed with ÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵ's Office of Sustainability and Office of Basic Needs respectively. Over the course of their full-time, 11-month fellowships, Chloe and Nardose developed and expanded organic waste diversion and food recovery programs and engaged nearly 100 volunteers in these efforts.
Chloe's largest contribution was spearheading the Zero Waste Ambassadors program. She took the lead on recruiting and training a team of volunteers, staff, and service-learning students to provide education and outreach to attendees at athletics events and other campus events to help them properly sort organic waste and recyclables. Chloe and her Zero Waste Ambassadors then conducted post-event waste audits to evaluate the effectiveness of their outreach efforts and collect data on waste diversion.
"My fellowship was transformative from both a personal and professional standpoint," Williamson stated. "I spent this past year representing ÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵ's Office of Sustainability in building programs from the ground up. My role involved leading comprehensive education efforts and extensive collaboration across university departments to implement requirements laid out by the state and CSU system on campus."
Nardose helped develop processes for measuring the impact of the Beach Bites food distribution system, which alerts students when leftover food from catered campus events is available. Nardose conducted outreach to campus partners to enroll and train them as Beach Bites administrators, increasing the number of opportunities for students to access food and reducing food waste on campus.
"My time as a CCAC fellow at ÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵ helped deepen my understanding of how closely climate action, environmental justice and public health are intertwined," Fasika reflected. "Through food aid initiatives like Beach Bites and Swipe Out Hunger food drives, I saw the tangible impacts that coordinated outreach, education and cross-departmental partnerships can have on student wellbeing."
While their projects were distinct, Chloe and Nardose collaborated to organize several climate education events at the intersection of food recovery and organic waste diversion. They coordinate a panel discussion of experts on the overlap between food justice and climate change and hosted a using kumquats, lemons, and oranges harvested and donated by staff from their personal fruit trees.
Reflecting on the skills she gained as a fellow, Chloe remarked, "these experiences allowed me to deeply understand how to create solutions among many stakeholders with differing priorities and what it means to execute projects for the first time without existing frameworks to use."
Nardose completed her fellowship while also completing the first year of her master's in public health at ÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵ and reflected on how the experience expanded her perspective on her chosen field. "This fellowship gave me the opportunity to do meaningful work towards food security and sustainability alongside the student communities I served," she shared. "I leave this fellowship with a stronger foundation in community health education and a commitment to dismantling the barriers that keep food, health and sustainability out of reach for communities who need them most."
As the first (but hopefully not the last) ÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵClimate Action Corps Fellows, Chloe and Nardose made important contributions and laid down a road map for future work.
"We are so grateful to our Fellows for their tireless efforts over the past 10 months, and we wish them continued success in their next chapter," said Holli Fajack, who served as the site supervisor for the fellows. "We know they will both continue to make a positive impact wherever they go!"
