Image: Chandra Farley (2nd to right) speaks to Amplifiers: Atanta participants, April 2025.
When you talk with Chandra Farley, Atlanta’s Chief Sustainability Officer, it’s clear she brings practical experience and a communal perspective to the city’s climate work. Farley leads the Office of Sustainability and Resilience, which is currently spearheading one of Atlanta’s most ambitious projects: the development of a comprehensive Climate Resilience Action Plan.
This plan builds on earlier city initiatives – the Climate Action Plan, Clean Energy Plan, and a resilience strategy – but under Farley’s leadership, it’s being updated and integrated with a sharper focus on environmental justice and local engagement. Her intention is for the document to be a living plan, continually evolving and updated based on how Atlanta residents are increasingly affected by climate change.
Grounded in Community
Farley’s professional path led her through architecture, building design, and energy efficiency. “I came to clean energy and climate through the intersection of daily life,” Farley explains. “It was about how people can save money on their utility bills, how buildings can run more efficiently, and how communities can access real benefits from sustainability improvements.”
In her current role, she’s kept that focus on what matters to residents. Atlanta’s new resilience planning process has involved an expanded 32-member Climate Resilience Advisory Board, which includes residents, nonprofits, technical experts, and representatives from some of Atlanta’s most energy-burdened neighborhoods. Beyond the board, working groups remain open to any interested community member, making sure diverse, local perspectives are consistently heard.
What the Plan Will Address
The Climate Resilience Action Plan is intended to address not only energy and climate targets for the city, but also the broader impacts of climate change – like more frequent extreme weather, increased flooding, and rising heat risks impacting Atlanta metro’s more than 6 million residents.
Farley’s team has been gathering feedback from the community, city agencies, and technical partners, aiming to develop a framework that reflects both the scientific data and local needs. “We want residents to feel included in this process and to see how this plan will impact their neighborhood in a positive way,” she says.
In April 2025, Atlanta kicked off citywide engagement events to gather input on the draft plan, and over the next six months, the city will continue shaping the plan’s key actions. The first draft is expected to be presented to the public by September, with a final version delivered by the end of the year.
Notably, Atlanta’s Sustainability Ambassador Program is a community-centered initiative designed to empower residents with the knowledge and tools to advocate for clean energy solutions in their neighborhoods. The program – which has trained nearly 500 Atlantans to date – trains Atlanta residents and City employees to become better stewards of the environment and trusted messengers on energy, urban agriculture, and climate resilience.
As part of her ongoing commitment to local leadership and equitable engagement, Chandra Farley has been instrumental in supporting this work. She recently spoke at Amplifiers: Atlanta, a workshop co-hosted by Generation180 and Rewiring America, where she emphasized the critical role of community voices in driving sustainable change. “We can’t do this work without the people who are most affected by energy and climate decisions at the table,” she said.
Collaboration Across Cities Facing Extreme Weather
Atlanta isn’t working in isolation. Farley and her team are in regular conversation with peers through networks like the Southeast Sustainability Directors Network and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, sharing strategies and learning from other cities tackling similar resilience challenges.
“Being in spaces like SSDN and USDN helps us sense-check what we’re doing,” said Farley. “We get insights into how other cities are framing their plans, how they’re measuring progress, and what’s working when it comes to engaging communities. We’re not reinventing the wheel – we’re building on collective knowledge.”
Heat resilience, in particular, has become a top priority, as Atlanta faces increasing risks from extreme heat events. Farley’s team is looking closely at how other cities, including Phoenix and Miami, are designing their approaches. “One of the questions we get asked the most is, ‘What are you doing about the heat?’” she said. “We’re using every resource available – from federal tools to city partnerships – to understand and mitigate the impact, especially for the communities most at-risk.”
Farley’s vision for success over the next five to ten years focuses on accountability, transparency, and local impact. “I want people to say, ‘I feel heard,’” she explained. “Even if things don’t go exactly the way someone hoped, they should feel included in the process and be able to see how the plan is positively impacting their neighborhood.”
A Call for Participation
Atlanta’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience is seeking broader community participation, including help spreading the word about current initiatives. For example, the city recently launched an open call for graphic designers to help create a visual identity for Climate Resilience ATL, aiming to make the work more visible and accessible to residents.
“We’re trying to do a better job of getting the word out,” said Farley. “Our social media isn’t exactly ‘popping,’ as the young folks say – but we’re hoping people will tag us, amplify our events, and collaborate with us to make sure these resources actually reach the communities they’re meant to serve.”
With the right mix of science, community leadership, and local accountability, Farley’s team is working to ensure Atlanta’s resilience efforts deliver tangible, equitable outcomes. “All of our work is rooted in environmental justice,” she said. “And that means it has to be informed by the people it’s designed to serve.”
This post was produced by Generation180, sharing the stories of local leaders driving climate action and clean energy solutions across the country.
