(Pittsburgh, PA) – Sustainable Pittsburgh executive director Joylette Portlock, Ph.D., has announced she is stepping down at the end of 2024 after six years at the helm. Succeeding founding executive director Court Gould, Portlock joined Sustainable Pittsburgh in Fall 2018 and hit the ground running. Under her leadership, Sustainable Pittsburgh expanded and revitalized connections among its strategic networks, deepened knowledge and understanding of sustainability best practices, and bolstered its role as a sustainability thought leader for the region. Her tenure has also seen strengthened capabilities and internal capacity in key areas, including a full organizational rebrand, unveiling of a new technology platform for Sustainable Pittsburgh’s suite of sustainability recognition programs, and the launch of a brand new recognition program for workplaces.
“It’s been a privilege and an honor to lead this great organization and I couldn’t be prouder of all we’ve accomplished, thanks to an experienced, talented staff and so many dedicated partners,” Portlock shared. “However, I’ve come to understand that leadership, especially on sustainability, may best be understood as neither a sprint, nor a marathon – it’s a relay. And I have no doubt that Sustainable Pittsburgh will continue to be a vital regional resource that achieves great things from here.”
“On behalf of the Sustainable Pittsburgh board, we are grateful for Joylette’s dedication and commitment to the organization,” shared Harris Heit Blum, Board President. “Her leadership has laid the groundwork for mission-driven success into the future.”
Sustainable Pittsburgh works to encourage regional collaborations that can meet the scale of our sustainability challenges, convening stakeholders within and across sectors as needed. What may be the most prominent example in recent years of Portlock’s tenure is the cultivation of the Clean Energy Workforce Roundtable, a growing network of stakeholders working since 2021 to ensure the region is positioned to meet the demands for clean energy workers with a diverse and appropriately trained workforce. This work has placed Sustainable Pittsburgh in the national spotlight; last year, Jobs for the Future selected Sustainable Pittsburgh as one of 10 organizations across the country to move on to Phase 2 of the Quality Green Jobs Regional Challenge , and just recently the U.S. Department of Energy announced Sustainable Pittsburgh as a Host Organization (in partnership with Coalfield Development in West Virginia) for a two year fellowship for the Community Workforce Readiness Accelerator for Major Projects (RAMP) Initiative.
The Roundtable is just one of the robust networks Sustainable Pittsburgh facilitates in its role as a convener. CEOs for Sustainability and the Sustainability Practitioners Network are seeing increased engagement among C-Suite executives and sustainability professionals, respectively, and the Sustainable Community Development Network (SCDN) has shown more than 150% year-over-year growth in engagement through the launch of SCDN Policy Connection, bi-monthly webinars featuring timely topics on decarbonization, state and federal funding opportunities, and more.
Sustainable Pittsburgh serves other critical roles for the region including teacher, resource, catalyst, and thought leader. Its acclaimed sustainability recognition programs, reopened in 2022 on a new technology platform, propelled a new phase in the organization’s work to build the knowledge, perspective, and ability needed to create a better tomorrow for the region. All of the newly launched recognition programs, including the innovative Workplace program that debuted in 2023, enable better tracking of aggregated data, such as diversity, equity & inclusion metrics; energy usage; waste reduction; and water savings. Sustainable Pittsburgh can use this information to identify areas where businesses and communities might need more support, critical in a time of increasingly abundant funding opportunities.
When Portlock was just a year into her executive director role, the Covid-19 pandemic added a layer of complexity to her leadership. Moving to virtual operations, the organization pivoted to provide critical resources, including the launch of Allegheny Eats and Choose Local. During this time, Portlock also instigated new projects to support better regional data-driven decision making on sustainability topics, and to address emerging needs around single-use plastics.
Founded in 1998, Sustainable Pittsburgh celebrated 25 years of igniting change for a better tomorrow in 2023. The organization has helped the region navigate intensifying conversations about decarbonization and social equity, and helped position southwestern Pennsylvania for success in competing for federal funds. Sustainable Pittsburgh’s work is well-structured to continue to build: engaging leaders, connecting stakeholders, and making sure that practical sustainability is increasingly built into the fabric of the region.
The board will announce its search for a new executive director in the coming weeks.