Green Careers Panel + Mixer

Come hear career pathway stories from a range of inspiring professionals in environmental fields, followed by a networking mixer with light dinner and drinks. Panelists’ bios will be available in advance if you’d like to learn more about their backgrounds. All students welcome!

RSVP Required — Click to Register!

Jerome Chou

is a Senior Planning Principal at Kounkuey Design Initiative, a design and community development nonprofit, where he has led a wide range of projects at many scales, including planning and design for parks and community centers, vacant lot activations, a shade master plan, and projects supporting unhoused people in public space.

His experience spans landscape architecture, urban planning and community organizing in the public, private, and non-profit sector; as well as writing, editing, and organizing public art projects. As part of his past work, he helped manage the conversion of the Freshkills landfill into into a public park; led projects to support urban agriculture and fashion-based manufacturing in New York City; developed programs for the U.S. Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Biennale; and organized a public art festival at the site of an abandoned, former Chevrolet manufacturing plant in Flint, Michigan. Jerome has Masters Degrees in Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.

Johanna Teissere

is the Farm Director at Uncommon Good, a local non-profit located in Claremont. She is a first-generation Mexican-American who is the first in her family to earn a graduate degree and a teaching credential, which she earned from Loyola Marymount University.  She became an L.A. County Master Gardener in 2003 and this started her interest in helping low-income families have access to fresh fruits and vegetables.  While teaching for L.A.U.S.D, she began taking horticulture classes at Mount San Antonio College and that led her to her present career. Prior to this, she was the Garden Manager at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes’ award-winning Garden & Culinary Arts Program for 7 years. During her time off she enjoys growing vegetables and rare fruit trees at her Pomona home.

Catherine Baltazar

was born and raised in the concrete jungle of Los Angeles and now lives by the coast in Long Beach, CA. A graduate of Wellesley College with a B.A. in Environmental and Cinema & Media Studies, she has long blended creativity with advocacy—from launching a photojournalism project on women-led communities confronting climate change in Southeast Asia to shaping urban climate strategies here in LA. Catherine has worked across public health, local government, and grassroots nonprofits, leading efforts from LA County’s Urban Heat Island Reduction Plan to tree-planting projects that rooted climate resilience in East LA. Today at Climate Resolve, she carries this spirit forward—building partnerships, guiding fellows, and securing resources that connect bold climate solutions with the communities most impacted. A lifelong transit rider, she also served on LA Metro’s Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC), working to reimagine a safer, more accessible transit system. She is currently an inaugural fellow in Liberty Hill’s Environmental Leadership Initiative (ELI), a statewide program supporting leaders advancing Environmental Justice. At her core, Catherine is driven by a love for her city, a belief in community wisdom, and a vision of climate solutions rooted in joy, equity, and everyday life.

Steven B. Frieson

serves as the Chief Operating Officer and Principal at Alta Planning + Design, where he has over 40 years of expertise in transportation engineering, planning, and construction management. However, Steven’s journey transcends more than just technical skills; it embodies the spirit of overcoming obstacles, fostering community, and pushing meaningful change in the environments we navigate daily.

Growing up in Southern California during a period marked by both change and conflict, Steven witnessed the expansion of the freeway system and the rapid evolution of mobility, though not always in an equitable manner. This backdrop ignited his interest in understanding the mechanics of transportation, and how it could be improved for all. Earning his Bachelor of Science degree from Stanford University in Civil Engineering, Steven is also an Envision Sustainability Professional, and licensed Professional Engineer.

His background includes leadership roles at Psomas, Birge Engineering, Boyle Engineering and Arroyo Engineering Solutions, during which he built a representation for delivering high-impact projects with a focus on equity, safety, and sustainability. Since joining Alta in 2018, Steven has helped shape its overall business structure and expand the firm’s focus on creating cross-disciplinary teams to deliver people-centered mobility solutions across the country.

Beyond the technical work, Steven is a champion of mentorship and inclusion in the field of not only engineering but business development. He’s passionate about supporting emerging professionals from underrepresented backgrounds and has a gift for fostering transportation systems that are designed to serve all communities more equitably. When not performing his ‘day job’, Steven serves on the board of the March Field Air Museum and is an avid pilot.

As Steven puts it: “I want to be part of the change. I want to make sure that the next generation of Black and Brown professionals know they belong here, and that they’re supported and seen.”