Director, Laura Patiño

Career

Laura Patiño, a native Colombian, is the director of the Department of Resilience and Sustainability for the City of San Antonio. Laura leads the development and implementation of citywide resilience efforts which will help our communities equitably prepare to, bounce back from and withstand shocks, which are natural and human-driven disasters, and stresses, which are vulnerabilities that afflict our communities on an everyday basis.

As director, Laura guides the work of her team to build resilience and advance sustainability through practical and data-driven programs in community resilience, energy management, sustainable infrastructure, and eco-friendly and energy-efficient transportation .

Prior to this position, Laura served as the Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Austin where she:

• developed a comprehensive resilience framework (One Austin).
• created grant programs to enhance community organizations capacity before, during  and after disasters.
• implemented a resilience hubs program.

Prior to Austin, Laura served at the City of Houston for four years, focusing on Harvey Recovery efforts, the Resilient Houston strategy and Houston’s Climate Action Plan.

Laura's accomplishments include:

• Contributing author to the Fifth National Climate Assessment.
• Serving in multiple task forces and advisory councils across Texas and the United States.
• Named a GreenBiz 30 under 30 honoree.

Education

• Master's Degree in Bioresources Engineering, McGill University in Montreal
• Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Engineering, Louisiana State University