The Construction Source America

8 | City of Atlanta tor and non-profit development gives him an edge when communicating across the initiative’s five stakeholder groups all while strengthening the office’s credibility with local and national institutions. Juan Garcia- Sanchez transitioned from practicing corpo- rate and agricultural law in Illinois and Flor- ida to overseeing the creation of policies and legislation needed to advance Atlanta’s sus- tainability goals in each impact area. Ruthie Norton, an Atlanta native and environmen- tal engineer, provides strategic planning and analysis for the City’s utility portfolio in addition to benchmarking those accounts against national standards. Jules Toraya, an Army veteran, came to the office as a vol- unteer and has since ramped up Atlanta’s electric-vehicle readiness and zero-waste ef- forts, earning him a full-time position with the team and the distinction of subject mat- ter expert for veterans in clean technology and sustainability. Prior to launching many of the current programs, Quarles says Atlan- ta completed a thorough assessment of the factors contributing to its carbon footprint; it was the first city in Georgia to actually qualify and quantify such measurements. That accomplishment was quickly followed Peachtree Road Farmers Atlantic Station