Commissioner, Brigid Shea

Started the Texas’ Clean Water Action Program in 1988. As Director, coordinated a successful national strategy to get cities across the US to pass ordinances banning the use of Ozone-Depleting chemicals;

Coordinated campaigns with several rural communities to oppose permits for hazardous waste disposal sites and worked with those communities to increase regulatory protections;

Headed up Save Our Springs (SOS), the groundbreaking central Texas water quality citizen initiative, to pass the Save Our Springs ordinance in 1992, protecting Barton Springs for generations to enjoy;

While serving on the Austin City Council from 1993 to 1996 -

• Pushed passage of the first wind energy project in Texas in partnership with LCRA, the General Land Office (GLO) and Austin Energy;
• Dramatically altered the pricing structure for water and electricity, incentivizing conservation and penalizing wasteful use;
• Attended the Berlin UN Climate Summit in 1995, and pushed numerous climate related initiatives utilizing the city’s purchasing power;
• Created the city’s first ever campaign finance law with matching funds paid for by lobby registration fees;

After retiring from City Council, worked as a consultant on the 10 year-long Austin Clean Water Program, which cleaned up the city’s leaking sewer lines in most of its creeks. The program won numerous EPA awards and was listed as one of the top infrastructure projects in the nation;

Co-founded a small consulting business, Carbon Shrinks, which advised large Carbon emitters how to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions; One of our projects, with Texas Lehigh cement, won the TCEQ environmental excellence award;

While serving on the Travis County Commissioners Court since 2015 -

• Pursued numerous climate preparedness projects and initiatives;
• Created the first of its kind neighborhood-based fire drill, which won the National Association of Counties best in class award;

On Call - "Neighborhood Fire Evacuation Drills"

If you're interested in applying, please fill out the Neighborhood Fire/Evacuation Drill form.

• Pushed the conversion of the water supply for the county’s four large downtown buildings away from using treated drinking water for air conditioning and replaced it with treated wastewater (purple pipe water). The project saves approximately 10,000,000 gallons of water on the demand side each year, helping our region stretch our drinking water supply
• Initiated jail efficiency and water conservation project reducing electric utility costs by 40% and conserving 28 million gallons of water per year on the demand side by swapping out the water supply and using treated waste water for the new plant cooling towers, low-flow fixtures and well-water to irrigate the inmate garden.
• Promotes a similar conversion of air-conditioning supply water at the UT campus, the state capital complex, and large downtown high-rises, which could save as much as 1,000,000,000 gallons a year saved on demand side;
• Sponsored and passed with unanimous support, Travis County’s first greenhouse gas inventory, Travis County‘s first climate action plan, and the County’s first net zero emission plan;
• Co-sponsored and passed with unanimous support, Travis County’s PACE program – the first PACE program in Texas, which has resulted in almost $4 million in energy and water saving investment in Texas and over $120 million in Texas.
• Sponsored and passed with unanimous support, a commitment to achieve 75% of eligible county employees telecommuting on a permanent basis, making Travis County a leader on this issue among local governments. This not only reduces our county’s second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, which is employee commutes, it also reduces traffic congestion, improves employee productivity and morale, keeps us safer during COVID-19, and will ultimately saves taxpayers money on office space and utilities.
  • May 12, 2020 Commissioners Court Agenda Backup of Telecommuting Item
  • Online agenda item with full backup and video and minutes
• Texas Energy Summit, Lifetime Achievement Award, 11/20

  We've awarded the 2020 Texas Energy Summit Lifetime Achievement Award to @CommishShea! Thank you for all your hard work and the impact you've made!
  
  Learn more about the Texas Energy Summit: https://t.co/GOsRHOsQvA pic.twitter.com/jOoVYiZ73H

  — Texas Energy Summit (@txenergysummit) December 15, 2020

Successfully pushed an upgrade to our regional Council of Governments (CAPCOG) emergency notification system, Warn Central Texas. The region went from an 8% contact rate for emergency warnings to more than 70% contact rate, dramatically improving our effectiveness and resiliency in the face of climate disasters.

Currently serves on the board of Texas Campaign for the Environment, the national Clean Water Action board, several National Association of Counties (NACo) environmental committees, and as the current US board Chair of ICLEI, International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, the oldest global non-governmental organization, NGO, of local governments for sustainability.