City of Lawrence and Douglas County announce leaders for Sustainability Offices

The City of Lawrence and Douglas County will have new leaders, Kathy Richardson and Kim Criner Ritchie, for their separate Sustainability Offices. Both offices will follow their respective priorities while continuing to collaborate on projects that improve sustainability efforts throughout Lawrence and Douglas County. Previously, Lawrence-Douglas County Sustainability was a combined office that worked on initiatives for both the City and the County. 

The City of Lawrence Sustainability Office will be led by Director Kathy Richardson. Kathy has worked at the City of Lawrence for 20 years, beginning her career as the waste reduction and recycling specialist. Before becoming sustainability director, Kathy served as the solid waste manager and oversaw the collection services for trash, recycling and yard waste as well as operations of the Compost Facility and Household Hazardous Waste Facility. 

The City’s sustainability initiatives will be largely focused on their commitment to environmental sustainability as outlined in the strategic plan. The office will work in collaboration with the County on the Climate Action Plan, among other joint initiatives. 

The Douglas County Sustainability Office will be led by Sustainability Manager Kim Criner Ritchie. Kim joined the Lawrence-Douglas County Sustainability Office in 2019 and has more than 13 years of experience working in sustainability, having preceded her local government role with sustainability planning and programming in higher education.  

The Douglas County Sustainability Office will also include Jamie Hofling, sustainability impact analyst; Umut Bayramoglu, Common Ground program manager; and Connie Fitzpatrick, food systems specialist.  

The County sustainability office will continue working on supporting local food systems development, adoption and implementation of the Climate Action Plan, enabling urban agriculture and food production, and creating an Open Space plan for the stewardship of undeveloped land in Douglas County.  

Both the City of Lawrence and Douglas County are excited to further their work in this area and look forward to continued collaboration in the years to come.