Sally Greenspan walks her talk. And when she’s not walking, she’s biking or taking transit throughout the Bay Area, thinking about what an equitable, sustainable, and resilient California could look like.
A big-picture thinker with an incredible wealth of experience in urban planning, architecture, public policy & research, and land use, Sally is Senior Director of the Building Sustainable Communities program at Enterprise Community Partners. The program focuses on using housing as a tool to advance a more equitable and climate-smart future for California by building and supporting communities where people don’t need or want to rely on cars. In the last five years, Sally and her team have partnered with housing developers, transit agencies, and local public works departments to secure more than $1 billion in funding through the state’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program.
Sally calls the experience of navigating a largely car-free life in the East Bay “eye-opening and enraging,” yet where there’s a will, there’s a way.
“We walk and bike a lot of places that most families with kids would not consider,” she said of her family, “which often results in us showing up to events and gatherings sweaty, late, and covered in dust.” But it’s worth it to her and her husband, determined to create a good life for their two young children that doesn’t revolve around cars. It’s something she wants not just for her own family, but for everyone.
“I believe in TransForm’s mission to ensure all people have access to healthy, connected, and affordable communities,” she said.
Sally has been involved with TransForm’s work since moving back to California in 2017 after 15 years in New York City, and joined the Board of Directors last December. While her current role with Enterprise Community Partners is centered on housing, Sally frequently encounters transportation issues she is personally passionate about and feels that TransForm’s work best aligns with her vision of a world far less reliant on cars.
“It’s been a delight to learn about all the wonderful programming TransForm is running,” she said. “Not only legacy programs like GreenTRIP and Safe Routes to Schools, but also new initiatives and research like the Black Life and Public Transportation project. There is a growing momentum in the turn toward more equitable and sustainable development, both in public institutions and our culture. TransForm is the ideal partner to ensure that equity is front and center as this giant cruise ship that is the State of California pivots toward a more walk-, bike-, and transit-friendly future.
“There is an urgent shortage of organizations working in the equitable and sustainable transportation space in California, and so much work to be done. TransForm’s role is more important today than ever before as our society increasingly starts to reckon with what institutional racism and automobile-centric development has done to our communities. The world needs TransForm, and I hope to contribute to the organization as it continues to thrive and grow.”
We’re fighting for smart housing and transportation solutions to climate change everyday, and we’re doing it with equity top of mind. Join us and stay tuned on the latest news of our work: sign up for our monthly newsletter today.