Ames Hires Nolan Sagan as City’s First Sustainability Coordinator

The city of Ames has hired its first sustainability coordinator, tasked with ensuring its workforce achieves net-zero emissions.

Nolan Sagan will serve as a resource for all City departments to ensure work is aligned with the Ames Climate Action Plan, which outlines initiatives to achieve an 83 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050.

Sagan took up his new position in July and has already felt an outpouring of support.

“There are a lot of people interested in this work, and there’s a great team in town that’s been doing it for a while,” Sagan said. “It’s been a great change, and I can’t wait to get involved and get to work.”

A unique full-time role

Ames shared the position of quarter-time sustainability coordinator with Iowa State University for more than a decade. Merry Rankin, who held that position, will return to Iowa State full-time at the end of August.

One of the goals of the Ames City Council to recognize environmental sustainability was to hire a full-time sustainability coordinator, Pa Goldbeck said.

“It made sense to hire someone full-time since the Climate Action Plan was adopted (in 2023),” Goldbeck said. “We know there’s a lot to do with that, and it makes sense to hire a sustainability coordinator to help us implement that plan.”

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What is the role of the Sustainability Coordinator?

Sagan will help each department understand Ames’ sustainability goals and how to achieve them. He will also assist with long-term project planning and assess how sustainability fits into their current work.

Sagan must also identify, prepare, and administer grants that support the Ames Climate Action Plan. He will engage in educational and outreach activities on sustainability, speak to groups, and promote greenhouse gas reductions in communities.

“We have these fantastic, ambitious goals that we’re working toward,” Sagan said. “It’s about making sure that we’re moving in the right direction and doing everything we can to make efficient use of the resources that we have.”

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Prepared based on previous experience

Sagan earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University of Northern Iowa and a master’s degree in environmental geology from the University of Kansas.

Since 2019, Sagan has served as the sustainability and asset specialist for Spire Energy, a natural gas provider to 1.7 million customers in Missouri, Alabama, and Mississippi. He launched their sustainability program and put them on a path to net zero emissions.

Sagan, who has always enjoyed the outdoors and was interested in science, described his career as a “match” between his personal and professional goals.

“Learning what’s happening to our climate was a call to action for me,” Sagan said. “I’m really grateful to be able to work on these initiatives as part of my career, and I think it’s really important. There are a lot of people in Ames who would agree with that.”

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Celia Brocker is a government, crime, politics and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at [email protected].