Clean Cities and Communities Coalition Directors Inaugurated into Hall of Fame for Dedication to Advancing Clean Transportation
Sept. 13, 2024
Margaret Smith (DOE), Mike Laughlin (DOE), Joy Gardner (Empire Clean Cities), Alicia Cox (Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities), and Mark Smith (DOE). Photo by Amy Coppersmith, Coppersmith Photography
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) inducted clean transportation heroes Alicia Cox of Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities and Joy Gardner of Empire Clean Cities into the Clean Cities and Communities (CC&C) Hall of Fame on Sept. 12 at the 2024 CC&C National Training Workshop. The induction recognizes and honors Cox and Gardner for their leadership, commitment, and contributions to the advancement of clean transportation across the United States.
Coalition directors also selected Alisha Lopez, coalition director of Southeast Florida Clean Cities Coalition and acting coalition director of Central Florida Clean Cities Coalition, for the Benjamin Watson Leadership Award, named in honor of a long-time coalition leader for his uplifting spirit and personality.
CC&C coalitions work locally in urban, suburban, and rural communities to strengthen the environment, energy security, and economic prosperity. Coalition directors tailor projects and activities to unique opportunities within their communities and cultivate strong relationships with public and private stakeholders.
Alicia Cox, Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities
Alicia Cox joined Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities (YTCC) in 2011, originally supporting staff as an intern through the DOE Clean Cities Workforce Development program (now titled, Accelerate). She has been coalition director for more than 10 years and has represented the northwest region on the CC&C Coalition Council for two terms.
Cox is a CC&C champion who supports the mission and vision with a steadfast attitude and warm personality, supporting and promoting the use of all alternative fuels in the Wyoming/Montana/Idaho region. She is currently working with a group in Montana to establish an apprentice coalition to help expand the CC&C mission in the Northwest. Over the years, she has developed and helped establish many initiatives, including Drive Electric Greater Yellowstone, the Electric Vehicle (EV) Experience, the EV Ambassador Program, the EV Accelerator Program, and EV charging station rebate programs. Cox served as a major partner in DOE’s WestSmart EV, WestSmart EV@Scale, and CORWest projects, which all support EV infrastructure buildout in the Northwest.
Cox’s work also expands beyond EVs. She led development of training and curriculum for local stakeholders in green fleets, a transportation-themed sustainability series focused on alternative fuels, vehicles, and other fuel-saving practices, including renewable diesel, natural gas, idle reduction, rideshare, and transit.
YTCC’s longstanding efforts around the area’s ski resorts and national parks are especially lauded, given the coalition’s territory includes some of America’s best skiing and two of the top 10 most-visited national parks in the U.S . Both Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park are responsible for increased road congestion in the region during the summer months. One of the coalition’s most notable recent projects is the Wheel House Commuter Bike Hub, which reduced emissions and traffic congestion by providing e-bike charging and bike storage so local commuters can reduce their vehicle use during high-tourism season.
Under Cox’s 10-plus years of leadership, YTCC has displaced a total of 972,646 gasoline gallon equivalents (GGEs) and reduced 9,235 tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The coalition fosters relationships with 80 stakeholders from some of the most sparsely-populated states in the country—Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.
“Thank you all, I love the Clean Cities and Communities coalition network,” said Cox. “You all are my family, and this work is so fun and always changing!”
Joy Gardner, Empire Clean Cities
Joy Gardner has been the coalition director of Empire Clean Cities (ECC) since 2018. Always with a smile and a can-do attitude, Gardner manages a staff of six and approximately 200 stakeholders. In just six years, ECC stakeholders have displaced over 70 million GGEs and Gardner’s leadership has helped multiply the coalition’s impact through an impressive variety of projects that improve the lives of people living in the diverse areas of New York City (NYC) as well as CC&C’s capabilities.
ECC holds several stakeholder events each year, reaching a whopping 5,000–7,000 people annually. ECC’s 15th Annual Stakeholder Meeting, held in May in conjunction with the Annual NYC Vehicle and Equipment Show, was the coalition’s largest show yet and received compliments from stakeholders.
ECC recently received two competitive Vehicle Technologies Office Funding Opportunity Announcement awards. One of the funded projects, titled the Bronx is Breathing, is engaging with business and community stakeholders from the historically disadvantaged neighborhood of Hunts Point in the South Bronx to develop a community-driven EV charging deployment plan and install six DC fast chargers (DCFCs) in the area.
The coalition also participates in the Equitable Commute Project, working to expand economic access to sustainable micromobility through a focus on electric bikes, as well as the Bronx Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus project, which will deploy two hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses into Metropolitan Transportation Authority service in the Bronx.
In addition, the coalition is a key partner with New York State Energy Research and Development Authority in a pilot project to seed deployment of four solar and battery powered refrigerated truck trailers at the Hunts Point Produce Market in the Bronx. They also play a role in the Redhook Recharge Zone, which is building out 20 DCFCs in the Redhook neighborhood of Brooklyn to provide alternative transportation options to neighborhood residents, create a local pipeline of good-paying green jobs, and build grid resiliency to help the neighborhood withstand climate-related impacts.
The coalition also leads Mission Electric, an electric vehicle campaign and one-stop shop for all information regarding resources, events, and funding incentives to ease the transition to EVs.
Furthering the CC&C mission through empowering New York state coalitions, ECC is leading the effort to envision and implement the New York State CC&C Alliance among all six coalitions in New York. The Alliance plans to expand CC&C services to underserved counties in the state, enhance services to existing stakeholders, increase revenue sources for all coalitions involved, and unite statewide communications through enhanced newsletter and website platforms.
“I am so grateful to all of Clean Cities and Communities for being my mentors and friends and providing great ideas to continuously improve my coalition,” said Gardner. “I’m so happy to be part of the CC&C team!”
Visit the Clean Cities Hall of Fame to learn more about these and previous honorees.