Alison Linder, PhD

Alison’s professional goal is to reduce the environmental footprint of cities, companies, and individuals, and has addressed this goal through research, implementation, and project management in a variety of sectors and subject areas, all with the theme of environmental improvement and sustainability. 

Alison is a Senior Regional Planner and the Clean Cities Coalition Director at the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) where she focuses on strategies and partnerships to advance zero and near-zero emission technologies across modes such as passenger, transit, freight, and rail. She also leads the SCAG Accelerated Electrification Team, Clean Technology Program, and Resilience Policy Lab to set a regional vision for a zero-emission transportation system and to support the region in implementation. 

She has served on the California EPA’s Electric Vehicle Battery Recycling Committee and is currently teaching Nature in the Urban Environment as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California.  This course provides students with tools to incorporate natural processes into planning decisions and covers subjects such as the water cycle, urban habitat, parkland, equity, and environmental regulations.  Linder received her PhD in Urban Planning from the University of Southern California where she focused her dissertation work on corporate environmental responsibility and the motivations for greening efforts.