Stories by Lucia Athens

Lucia Athens was previously the City of Austin’s first Chief Sustainability Officer, where she has served since 2010. A licensed landscape architect, Athens is a leader in climate action and sustainability who brings more than 30 years of experience and wisdom to the table.

Athens helped develop Austin Energy’s Green Building rating, the first in the world, and later chaired the LEED® 2.0 Site and Water technical group. She has served on the National Board of Directors for the US Green Building Council, the Green Business Certification Institute, and EcoDistricts. She currently co-chairs the WELL for Cities Advisory Council, and serves on the LEED for Cities and Communities Working Group.

Athens has collaborated with many organizations, including Forbes IGNITE, Rocky Mountain Institute, World Resources Institute, Clinton Global Initiative, and the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems. In 2015, she was awarded a Rockefeller Foundation residency fellowship at the Bellagio Center at Lake Como, Italy.

Athens is a frequent keynote speaker on behalf of organizations including The Economist, Atlantic Monthly, Metropolis Magazine, and the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.

A native Texan, Athens makes her home in Austin with her husband and two adorable rescue dogs.

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