After 18 years of dedication to UC Davis, Camille Kirk has accepted a position at The Getty Trust as their inaugural Head of Sustainability. As Kirk embarks on a new chapter in her career, Carla Fresquez, the current engagement program manager of UC Davis Sustainability, will step in as the Interim Director of Sustainability.

Kirk shared a note of farewell with her UC Davis colleagues:

It has been a true pleasure and privilege to work with so many wonderful colleagues and students and to serve UC Davis, and the UC, for the past 18 years. While I will miss all of you as immediate colleagues, I hope we’ll find ways to collaborate again. I believe passionately in the missions of both the UC and the Getty, and I am excited to build a sustainability program for another world-renowned institution.

- Camille Kirk

Leaders expressed appreciation for Kirk’s many contributions to UC Davis — and a look forward to her next steps:

"Camille is a visionary leader and organizational strategist who can provide thoughtful leadership, creativity, subject matter expertise and an experienced perspective on sustainability issues," said Steve Olsen, chief operating officer of the J. Paul Getty Trust. 

“We look forward to strengthening our connection with Camille as she joins a very reputable foundation at The Getty Trust,” said Lucas Griffith, the interim associate vice chancellor of Campus Planning and Environmental Stewardship. “While we continue our great work on sustainability here at UC Davis, we’re excited about the possibility of collaborations with Camille in her new post at The Getty Trust so that we may continue to learn from each other and leverage the leadership of both organizations.”

Throughout her tenure, Kirk has held various roles related to environmental planning and sustainability. In those roles, Kirk collaboratively accomplished a great deal of progress that has helped UC Davis earn and retain high global rankings in sustainability. Some of the highlights include the first campus sustainability plan in 2008; climate and drought response plans which UC Davis has implemented or is underway with key actions like the Big Shift project to reduce our carbon footprint; campus campaigns like Green Workplace to engage the community to take action; high impact student experiential learning programs, such as the Climate Action Fellowships and The Green Initiative Fund; an innovative partnership between Global Affairs, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office, and Sustainability to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals at UC Davis; and certainly not least, the Fossil Fuel Free Pathway Plan, the first in the UC system. In addition, she has served the university on numerous boards and steering committees, both regional and international.

Kirk built a Sustainability team that is prepared to carry on with the next steps to keep UC Davis in a leadership position. As of August 7, Carla Fresquez will serve as the interim director. Kelli O’Day will continue to lead the assessment program and help advance climate resilience planning through a DEIJ perspective. Fresquez and Griffith will develop a continuity plan to cover Kirk’s various board seats and committee appointments.